72 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



February, 



A. M. PTJEDY'S DEPARTMENT. 



Post-office address. ■ - Palmyra, N. Y. 



Briefs. 



After heavy snow falls tramp around the fruit 

 trees to prevent mice from working at the bodies. 



The Early Ohio. A Mr. Taylor, of Kansas, who 

 grows all the leading Potatoes, and 30,000 bushels 

 a year, prefers the Early Ohio to all others. 



Remember that it is a good plan in order to pre- 

 vent Gooseberries from breaking down to the ground 

 with their weight of fruit to tie the tops together. 



Attend at once to the fruit crates and boxes or 

 baskets. fJet them overhauled and fixed up in good 

 shape. Don't wait till the bustle of spring work. 



If you have an old half starved Apple tree or or- 

 chard feed it, and do it now. by hauling out plenty 

 of manure and scattering under the trees. If you 

 haven't that, scatter straw, and it not that, muck 

 from the swamp, and if not that, put on the coal 

 ashes thickly. and you will soon see a change in them. 



Its astonishing what a difference even one hand- 

 ful of unleaehed wnod-ashes makes in the growth 

 of a Peach tree the first year or two, scattered in 

 the bottom of the hole where the tree is set out, 

 and if a teaspoonful of salt be mixed with it all the 

 better, onl.v have it well mixed into the soil before 

 setting the tree in. 



It is strange that more people do not plant out 

 Sage. The demand for it in every town is large and 

 prices high. It is as easily grown from seed as 

 Cabbage. Simply sow early in a box in the house 

 or greenhouse, and transplant, as soon as frosts are 

 over in the spring, into rows two feet apart, and one 

 foot apart in the row. 



Grape-vines may be trimmed now and.the trim- 

 mings cut up into three-eye cuttings and buried in 

 the cellar for spring setting. The same, too, with 

 Currants and Gooseberries if not done before. 

 It is said that a pound of copperas scattered under 

 each Grape-vine is a preventive to Grape rot and 

 mildew: as it so cheap it will cost but little to try it. 



Depth of Planting. Much has been said and 

 written as to the depth trees should be planted. 

 The kind and condition of the soil has much to do 

 with it. If soil is deep, with an open alluvial sub- 

 soil, they may be planted much deeper than when 

 sub-soil is hard and impossible to loosen up. We 

 have thrown out earth from the bottom of wells 

 and outhouses in Northern Indiana on which seed 

 would grow and succeed well, while, here we could 

 not make it a success even on earth thrown up 

 from one to two feet in depth. 



A Correspondent Writes. The author of " Ten 

 Acres Enough " recommends marl as a specific 

 manure tor Blackberries. What do ,vou say ? We 

 say that circumstances alter cases. The marl is ex- 

 cellent on the poor, worn-out, sandy soil of New 

 .Jersey, where Blackberries need some fertilizers, 

 hut on notably good soil it will not do. For fruit. 

 Blackberry bushes should not be forced into too 

 much growth. By the way, that book has done 

 more harm than good. Many a poor man has 

 started out with " air castles " after reading it, to 

 find more fiction than truth in its pages. 



We hear a great deal of talk about Strawberries 

 being winter killed, but ten acres are spring killed 

 where one acre is winter killed. It is not the ex- 

 treme cold that kills Strawberry plants as a rule, 

 but the heaving out in the spring by freezings and 

 thawings. To prevent this, now is the time to spread 

 on the coarse manure or straw or hay evenly over 

 the plants, so as to hide them from sight. " But," 

 we hear some one say, "the foul stuff in hay and 

 straw is bad for the beds." So it is, but this may 

 be prevented by first hauling the mulch out into 

 some old field, throwing it over once or twice and 

 thus working the seed all out of it. Then it may be 

 spread over the plants, and here it can lay until 

 after the fruiting season. 



Radishes under glass require little heat, yet it 

 will not do to freeze them hard when growing fast . 

 If accidentally frozen, do not let the sun strike 

 them until they thaw out, and they will generally 

 recover without much injury. But if they are in 

 tender condition from rapid growth, and the sun 

 strikes them while frozen, the.y are often spoiled. 

 We clip the above from an exchange. We have 

 had good luck with the Turnip Radish, grown 

 under glass, care being exercised to give them 

 plenty of fresh air and opening sash on pleasant, 

 warmish day. And while speaking of this we would 

 remind our readers that Onion seed sowed thickl,v 

 in rows two inches apart under glass, the first of 

 March in this section and south earlier, can be 

 transplanted in May and then get a long way ahead 

 of those sown in open ground in April. 



Cucumbers and Melons shot^d be started now 

 at the South in hot beds, with manure for under 

 heat. We have generally used inverted sods, say 

 four inches square, packing them close together 

 next to the manure after it was firmly packed 

 down. Let sods lay three to four days, with glass 

 sash on the beds before planting the seed. 



Then put in each inverted sod six to eight seeds. 

 Keep sufficiently watered and give plenty of fresh 

 air by removing or raising sash a little with each 

 pleasant day. 



It in danger of frost cover just before dark with 

 hay or straw or matting. When two inches high thin 

 out to three plants for each sod. Water well 

 so as to have sods wet, and then remove to the 

 open ground, having frames a foot square to put 

 them inside of, and if danger of frost after trans- 

 planting, cover frames as warm weather ap- 

 proaches. Keep well dusted with air-slaked lime 

 or wood-ashes to keep off bugs, and when frame is 

 filled up. and danger of frost is over, plant out. 



To " Fruit Recorder " Readers. We hope 

 and ti'ust that every old Recorder subscriber 

 will renew for Popular Gardening. We 

 find with the great care and perplexity of 

 publishing a paper off our hands and mind.we 

 are in a much better shape to go over our large 

 fruit farm and nurseries more, as also to visit 

 fruit growers in different sections, and hence 

 shall be in a much better shape to give our 

 readers more practical original matter from 

 our pen than we have ever been able to do in 

 the Fruit Recorder. We will do ovr very hexf 

 to make Popular Gardening the best paper 

 of its kind published in this country. The 

 reader must see it is not largely filled with 

 glowing descriptions of fruit that someone 

 has for sale, and in that line ■will be fearless 

 and unbiased in giving opinions of fruits. 



SUCCESSION OF FRUITS. 



The great mistake many fruit growers make, 

 especially beginners, is to plant too extensively 

 of one kind of fruit — like Strawberrie.s — to the 

 almost entire neglect of others, and even of 

 these but one or two varieties only. The 

 successful gardener or fruit grower is careful 

 to so plant of the different kinds of fruit that 

 he will have a succession from the first Straw- 

 berry to the last Grape. Where only Straw- 

 berries pay well, to follow the advice given by 

 many and plow up the bed after one year's crop, 

 is a mistake, for the reason that old planta- 

 tions give two or three good pickings before 

 new plantations ripen any fruit. 



There are certain kinds of fruit, like Black 

 Raspberries, that are profitably dried or evap- 

 orated, and of which one need not fear plant- 

 ing too many, for with the most complete 

 dryers now in use, if the market is overstocked 

 with this fruit, or there comes a wet spell, in 

 which they are likely to mold and spoil in 

 marketing, put them into the drying house. 



Dried Black Raspberries generally bring 33 

 to .SO cents per pound, and as it takes a trifle 

 over three quarts to the pound, sold at this 

 price it is about the same as 6 to 8 cents per 

 quart for the fruit, and this will pay. 



There is one fruit that is largely over- 

 looked, and yet sells well in every market — 

 Currants. One thing very nice about them is 

 that one is not obliged to pick them as soon as 

 ripe, and to force them upon a low market. 

 They will hang on the bushes a month after 

 ripening. As for the Currant worm, sprink- 

 ling the bush and fruit with a pailful of 

 water in which is a spoonful of white powdered 

 hellebore exterminates them quickly. This 

 should be done as quick as their work is begun. 



A plantation of Currants once set and kept 

 properly trimmed and fed with manure, will 

 last from 1.5 to 2(1 years, -nith but very little 

 cost. This fruit connects the Strawberry and 

 Raspberry crops nicely together. 



The cost of picking is light, and coming at a 

 time when the last pickings of Strawberries 

 and the first pickings of Raspberries are light- 

 est and pickers make but little money, turning 

 them into the Currants an hour or two each 

 day helps them out on the general picking. 



No fruit comes after the Strawberry that is 

 more sought for than the Red Raspberry. 

 And no fruit is more scarce in many markets, 

 and for these reasons. The country has been 

 flooded with tender and red sorts and they 

 have not been properly grown. Such hardy 

 sorts as the Hansel, Crimson Beauty, Turner, 

 Brandywine, and Cuthbert can be relied on in 

 every section where it is possible to grow the 

 red sorts. This excellent fruit must not be 

 cultivated too deep, but to run through them 

 shallow with a horse hoe that will cut off 

 suckers and weeds, and allowing but three to 

 four stalks to a hill, one is sure of good crops. 



The same may be said of Blackberries. By 

 planting such ' ' iron elads " as Snyder, Taylor, 

 Western Triumph and Stone's Hardy, these 

 too may be made very profitable. 



Then of Grapes, plant such old, hardy, tried 

 sorts as Concord, Rogers 4 and 1.5, Salem and 

 Pooklington, and one may have a selection 

 that will give this fruit the season through. 



RECEIPTS FOR GRAFTING AND WOUND- 

 DRESSING WAX. 



For winter use — French : Melt together 

 two pounds of clear rosin and two ounces of 

 beef or mutton tallow, and when cool add one 

 fluid ounce of spirits of turpentine and about 

 thirteen to fifteen fluid ounces of ninety-five 

 per cent alcohol, added slowly over a moderate 

 heat, the contents being well stirred until about 

 the consistency of honey, or .just so as to be 

 applied with a stiff feather. Keep in a wide- 

 mouthed bottle, and cork when not in use. It 

 is a complete dressing for all wounds on trees. 



For early spring — Major Freas : Four pounds 

 of rosin, one pound of tallow, and one of bees- 

 wax ; melt all together over a slow fire, and 

 when done turn out into a tub of cold water, 

 and pull as shoemaker's wax is made. This 

 may be softened with hot water if the weather 

 be too cool, and applied with a paddle. 



For summer, and to use upon trees — Farm 

 .Journal: Four pounds of rosin, one pound of 

 beeswax, and from half to a pint of raw lin- 

 seed ; melt all together gradually, and turn in- 

 to water and pull as for making shoemaker's 

 wax. This is a grafting-wax that needs no 

 seeing to afterward if well put on, by cooling 

 the greasy hands and applying secxindum art em. 



In cherry grafting always, and in other 

 kinds sometimes, strips of old muslin or calico 

 from a quarter to half an inch wide should be 

 wound over the wax and the ends imbedded in- 

 to it to hold the grafts steady, and to prevent 

 the slit from gaping.— Gen«arifo«in Telegraph. 



GOOD vs. POOR SOIL FOR SMALL FRUITS. 



An Illinois party asks, " Shall I choosearich 

 prairie loam, or ' bluff land ' that is sandy and 

 rather poor (or at least we Western folks would 

 call it so), for growing small fruit ? I can get 

 plenty of manure for the hauling." 



Heavy, rich, level land, like your prairies, is 

 very apt to "heave" badly, and it is this that 

 destroys plantations, while the bluff, roDing, 

 sandy land heaves but little, if any, and conse- 

 quently plants are not damaged. We have 

 always chosen sandy land for our operations. 



The great mistake many make, is either in 

 choosing too rich soU, or over-feeding it with 

 manure — supposing the more they put on the 

 larger the crops. As well might they over-stuff 

 a child with food to give it strength. Were 

 we to take our choice of a poor, sandy piece of 

 land, where even manure was scarce, or a deep, 

 rich, heavy soil, both being in sections where 

 fruits were liable to winter kUl, we should take 

 the poorest, plowing it deep, cultivating it well, 

 and changing the crops here and there on it 

 every two or three years. 



In certain sections of Western New York, 

 and others similar, where fruit does not winter 

 kill, and where there is not that rich, virgin 

 soil, and where earliness is not particularly 

 desirable because of Southern fruits coming in, 

 we should prefer about the best land that could 

 be hatl, keeping in view land that is easily 



