1887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



69 



over the grass as soon as it is high enough to 

 cut, and kept trimmed over frequently to keep 

 the growth of grass uniform and prevent the 

 injurious growth of weeds. 



Neither in the preparation and formation of 

 a lawn, nor in its keeping af terwai'ds, are there 

 any half-way compromises. The work must 

 be done thoroughly to begin with, and then 

 timely attention to cutting the grass all 

 through the growing season will ensure a 

 satisfactory result. Thanks to the numer- 

 ous cheap and efficient lawn mowers to be 

 found everywhere, there is in this day 

 really no excuse for imperfectly kept la^^■ns. 



grown in the open air, where the insects and 

 winds do the work, yet, when grown in the 

 forcing-house, it is absolutely necessary, par- 

 ticularly in midwintor. This is best done with 

 a camel's hair pencil, by detaching the pollen, 

 or fertilizing dust, from the stamens and ap- 

 plying it to the stigma. It will also facilitate 

 impregnation on bright days to slightly jar the 



Peter Henderson on Forcing 

 Cucumbers. 



The mde greenhouses or forcing-houses, 

 22 feet wide, which we have described, can 

 also be made equally available for forcing 

 Cucumbers, either during the entire winter 

 and spring sea-son, or to be used to succeed 

 the last crops of Radishes or Lettuce in 

 the spring season only. 



If wanted for the forcing of Cucumbers 

 during the fall season, the seed should be 

 sown in the greenhouse about October 1st 

 in small pots, thi-ee or fom- seeds in each, 

 thinning out to one strong plant. These, in 

 thirty days, will have become sufficiently 

 strong to plant out at twenty to twenty-four 

 inches apart on the south side of the bench, 

 one row only. A trellise of galvanized 

 wire is made with about a nine-inch mesh, 

 diamond shaped. This, on the middle bench , 

 should be kept two feet from the glass, but Sabbatia Comjyestris 

 on the front bench it can only be kept one 

 foot from the glass, because so near the sashes. 



The depth of soil should be, if on raised 

 wooden benches, about five or six inches; if on 

 the solid center bed, eighteen inches to two 

 feet. The soil should be a sandy loam, ^ith 

 one-fifth well-rotted cow manure. 



The night temperature in the forcing-house 

 for the fall, winter and spring months for Cu- 

 cumbers should range as near as possible from 

 sixty to sixty-five degrees, with a temperature 

 on bright days of from ten to fifteen degrees 

 higher, giving ventilation at all reasonable 

 times. Cucumbers delight in a moist atmos- 

 phere, and whenever the weather is bright and 

 clear water should be sprinkled on the pipes, 

 walks and under the benches. A th-y atmos- 

 phere is certain to develop the Red Spider, 

 which Ls fatal to success. 



It may also be here stated, if Cucumbers 

 are to be forced during the winter months, 

 that to keep up tlje necessary high tempera- 

 ture eight rims of four inch 

 pipe will 1 le requued in a green- 

 house twenty feet wide, in- 



See "Sotne of the Netver Garden 

 Products^^ etc., page 70. 



wire trellis, so as to let the pollen loose, which, 

 in floatuigthrough the air.fastens on the stigma. 

 Cucumbers from seed sown in October will 

 give a continuous crop until June — of course, 

 if well handled. When wanted only to succeed 

 crops of Lettuce or Radishes in sjiring, the seed 

 should not be sown until February or March. 

 The variety for forcing which seems to be 

 most favorably received in our markets is " Se- 

 lected Early White Spine," though, of late 

 years, the beautiful long kinds, such as " Tele- 

 graph " and " Rambler," which are almost ex- 

 clusively used in Europe, are beginning to be 

 favorably received. 



Forced Cucumbers from December to May 

 average, for best quality in the market of New 

 York, W per dozen, and, if the forcing is well 

 done, this price will be found to pay very well. 

 Southern competition, of course, seriously in- 

 terferes with the forcing of Cucmubers, as it 

 does with nearly everything else in early vege- 

 tables and fruits; but, like 

 hot-house Grapes, the bloom 

 and tine appearance, together 

 with the more delicate flavor, 

 of the forced Cucumber, finds 

 customers in all large cities 

 who are wUling to pay for the 

 finer quality. — From Revised 

 Gardening for Profit. 



A Straw Mat Weaver and a weighted Spool made 



stead of si.x, as recommended for Lettuce and 

 Radishes, though, when grown only to succeed 

 the Lettuce or Radish crop in spring, which is 

 usually the case, the six runs of pipes at that 

 season will be sufficient. 



Although there is no necessity for ai'tificial 

 impregnation of the Cucujnber flowers when 



Making Straw Mats. 



As a common article of pro- 

 tection to hot-beds, frames, 

 seed-beds, etc., straw mats 

 commend themselves because 

 of their being light, conven- 

 ient, effective and cheap. If 

 weU cared for, seeing that 

 they are never rolled up while 

 damp to invite heating within 

 the roll, or if alwaj's handled 

 with reasonable care they are 

 also quite durable. 

 The spring season being near when straw 

 mats will be the most wanted in the garden, 

 we herewith present an engraving of a simple, 

 home-made affair for weaving them. The 

 form and working of this contrivance may be so 

 easily understood that any words of exjilana- 

 tion relating thereto seem aUuost unnecessary. 



of Iron Spikes. 



For twine, a light, strong, tarred article is to 

 be preferred, and this should be kept wound on 

 a proper number of spools iLsually 13 made of 

 two 20-penny spikes each, as separately shown 

 in the engraving. To make the spool, notches 

 should be filed near one end of the spikes which 

 are to hoM a winding of wire for keeping them 

 together. The other ends should not be united ; 

 by being a little apart the end of the twine may 

 bo drawn in between them so the spool cannot 

 unwind faster than the twine is wanted. The 

 object in using spools of iron is to secure 

 weight enough in 12 or more of these (one-half 

 on each side of the weaver) to hold the mat prop- 

 erly in place as the weaving progi'esses. 



Straight, bundle rye straw is the best, but 

 other kinds even if shorter might answer. 

 In the making, care should be taken to have 

 each layer consist of about the same quantity 

 of straw. A handful should be picked up, 

 divided into two parts, bringing the butt ends 

 of each part at opposite ends of the mat, at the 

 top of the main horizontal pieces where the ty- 

 ing is done. The tying of the twine a.s the ends 

 are brought over each layer of straw may con- 

 sist of a single tie if the twine is well taj-red or 

 of a double tie if it is not. The advantage of a 

 double tie is that, should the twine break at any 

 point duruig the future use of the mats there 

 would be but little liability of its opening out 

 beyond the break. 



Care should also be taken to keep the ends of 

 the different layers even. This may be most 

 readily accomplished by setting a wedge-shaped 

 gauge uprightly between the side pieces of the 

 weaver, against which to bring the butts of 

 the straw as layer by layer is brought into place 

 in the process of the weaving. 



A Glance at Some Kitchen Garden 

 Matters. 



E. S. GOFF, GENEVA, N. Y. 



The earliness of Peas may be enhanced some- 

 what by sprouting the seed in a box of moist 

 sand before planting. 



I have found nothing to surpass the early 

 Wakefield as a first early Cabbage, nor the 

 Early Summer for second. Portier and Prem- 

 ium Flat Dutch are the standards for late. 



The Eclipse Beet is one of the finest I have 

 tested. It is a few days later than the Egj'ptian 

 but more uniform in form and size, and is by 

 some considered of better flavor. 



As fai' as jiossible, arrange the vegetable gar- 

 den so that it may be cultivated with the horse. 

 Leave plenty of room at the ends of the rows 

 for turning. 



The common Burdock is one of the most im- 

 portant vegetables in Japan. The i-oot is the 

 part used. It is taken when one-third grown. 



Beware of novelties, unless you are willing 

 to be disappointed. If we look back over the 

 seedsmen's catalogues of former yeai's, wo find 

 that many novelties were called but few are 

 now chosen. 



The American Wonder Pea, though very 

 productive for the size of its plants, really 

 yields far less from the same amount of seed 

 than the taller varieties. The only real advan- 

 tage it possesses is that it is earliest of the 

 wrinkled sorts. 



Hot-bed frames made in sections and put to- 

 gether like the sides and ends of a wagon-box 

 are preferable to others, as they are stored un- 

 der cover during smmuer, where they are out 

 of the weather, out of sight and out of the way. 



Sifted coal ashes ai-e very useful for lighten- 

 ing heavy garden soils. Though they possess 

 little fertilizing value, they increase product- 

 iveness by making the soil more porous, giving 

 greater permeability to rains, and freer access 

 of oxygen to the roots of plants. 



The Fern-leaved Celery sent out last season 

 is not worth growing tor the table. 



The Stratagem, Pride of the Market, and 

 Market Garden are unexcelled as late Peas. 



It is safe to say that no Squash has yet been 

 found to surpass the Hubbard for general use. 



