1887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



U5 



from the little beetles which some years be- 

 gin very early their attacks on the fruit. 



For family use especially the satisfaction 

 of having tlie fruit turn out so much better 

 in general should lead to this course being 

 adopted by all who have vines. There will 

 be ample compensation for the small trouble 

 and expense involved. To what extent bag- 

 ging will come into use with market growers 

 remains to be seen; perhaps in the more 

 favorable localities for the Grape it would 

 be looked upon as a needless outlay, but ' 

 without question in many others 

 the improvement in the fruit 

 would easil3' outweigh the cost 

 and trouble of the bagging. 



A Raspberry plantation can only be a success 

 in the hands of a specialist with a special soil 

 and a special situation. The man must be 

 careful, tidy, intelligent and be able to look 

 after his plantation for eight months in the 

 year. The soil must be dry, rich, soft and not 

 over ambitious to form a sod. A few weeks of 

 neglect will allow the sod to become established 

 and then yoiu- patch will deteriorate with great 

 celerity. Raspberries should be planted about 

 4 by 6 feet, and be cultivated both ways dming 

 the season. Frequent hoeing is also necessary. 



The profitable Raspberry plantation is found 



These machines are made in various sizes, 

 cutting strips from eight to fourteen inches in 

 width. They can be set to have the sod of any 

 desired width or thickness. The smaller size is 

 for hand use. It is claimed that from upwards 

 of one-half an acre to over three-fourths of an 

 acre of sod can be cut in one day by each ma- 

 chine. As the price of the machines range but 

 from between fifteen to thirty-two dollars each, 

 it is easily computed that a machine should 

 very soon pay for itself. 



A Cherry-time Monster of 

 the Air. 



So the birds are to believe, and our 

 engraving well shows how horribly 

 ugly, j'et not unltfe-like, the mon- 

 ster may be made to look. It is an 

 improvement on the Potato stuck 

 full of feathers, but which birds 

 soon become accustomed to, finding 

 it unpossessed of Ufe, This present affaii- is 

 anything but tame in looks and actions, and 

 has been found effectual in frightening birds 

 from Cherries and other fruits when other 

 means have failed. 



For the body, a long Mangel Wurzel, or a 

 large Parsnip or Beet, the uglier the better, is 

 used. Into this feathers are thrust along what 

 is to be the back and sides, with two set in the 

 head end for horns. For the tail the feathers 

 are mounted on light twigs, the object of this 

 being to keep the suspended monster lively by 

 turning with the wind. The eyes are important 

 parts for giving a life-like appearance. These 

 consist of two bits of broken porcelain, thrust 

 into the root from the top downwaid, and with 

 eye-holes gouged out of the sides to these. 



Two small spin-wheels ai-e projected forward 

 of the eyes, to add hoiTor to the look. They 

 are made of circular pieces of tin about four 

 inches across. These are cut from the edge to 

 near the center into about ten or more radia- 

 tions, and the parts given a slight twist, wind- 

 mill like. A vrire nail through the center 

 attaches each wheel to the end of a stick and on 

 this it should revolve in every shght breeze. 



For suspeuding it a cord which encircles the 

 body, is carried up to one end of a halt hoop- 

 shaped iron rod, the other end of which is 

 bolted to a pole that is raised sUghtly alx)ve 

 one of the trees to be protected. Then the 

 monster bobs about and turns with the wind, 

 the spin-wheels fly and clatter, and altogether 

 there is a dreadful look to strike terror to evil- 

 doing birds, even those disposed to boldness. 



Raspberry Culture In Canada. 



E. WORDKN, NIAGARA FALLS, ONT. 



In Ontario Raspberries are grown by the 

 acre aB successfully as in Pennsylvania. The 

 Cuthbert, which is less hardy than some, has 

 never been seriously injured with me. It has 

 displaced such older kinds as Philadelphia, 

 Highland Hardy, Clark, Turner, Brandywine 

 and the Antwerps. Of these the Turner, 

 Brandywine and Philadelphia ai-e safer for 

 northern Ontario. 



The past winter has been imusually severe. 

 The lowest thermometer with me was 10° below 

 zero. In February the lowest was 4 above. 

 Snow fell the same month about 7 inches ; rain 

 fell nearly four inches. 



Western Ontario is warmer than the greater 

 portion of New York State. Black Cap Rasp- 

 berries are of course hardy with us. The 

 Gregg is not entirely hardy as we go north. 

 Enough Reds and Blacks are raised to interfere 

 greatly with the profits. Many nish into the 

 business, having heard some foolish boasting 

 about the large profits, only to regret it later. 



A CHERRY-TIME MONSTER OF THE AIR. 



near to market or shipping station, and within 

 reach of manme. The general farmer should 

 grow only the berries for home use. The mer- 

 chant who invests in every st3'le of goods heard 

 of will not succeed. The farmer with his broad 

 acres who attempts to engage in all kinds of 

 fnut and vegetable culture will not make a 

 great success of his undertaking. 



A Sod-Cuttlng Machine. 



In the vicinity of all our larger towns many 

 acres of sod are annually cut for use in lawn 

 making. All who have engaged in this work 

 know that it is slow and laborious, and of a 

 kind in which the use of machinery has in the 

 past played no important part. We beUeve, 

 however, that sod-cutting machines have been 

 in use in England for a long time. 



Our attention some time ago was called to a 

 machine made for cutting sod, and invented 

 and patented by an American. This is the 

 Richmond Sod-Cutter, of which we give an 

 engraving herewith, from the catalogue of Mr. 

 E. T. Teas, Dunreith, Indiana. There is no 

 good reason that we can see why a machine 

 of this kind should not do effective work, 

 whUe it certainly would appear that a smooth- 



REPLIESTO INQUIRIES. 



SS6. Peaches'tn West Virginia. In 

 part answer to this inquiry I would say 

 that yellow Peaches, evaporated, sell 

 from 2 to 3 cents per pound more than 

 white ones in this market. C W. Idell, 

 Commission Merchant, New York. 



313. Eeports of Horticultural So- 

 cieties. These are seldom if ever 

 offered for sale apart from the consid- 

 eration that becoming a member of a 

 society entitles'any one to receive the 

 report of such society without further 

 cost. Usually the price of membership 

 in societies of this kind is from SI to 

 $2 per annum, a sum that would in 

 almost any case be. for the report thus 

 secured alone, well spent. Indeed in 

 some cases whei'e liberal state aid is had 

 in publishing state hortieultural society reports, as 

 in Michigan, Illinois and Missouri, these are large 

 volumes of from 400 to 000 pages, bound in cloth, 

 and which if they had to be bought from ordinary 

 publishers would cost two or three times what it 

 would cost to secure membership in the societies 

 issuing them. 



■iot. Gooseberries for Profit. Gooseberry cul- 

 ture is made profitable by some persons in our 

 Province." A responsible gentleman has told me 

 that he had sold his Gooseberries the past year at 

 twelve and a-half cents a quart in his district. His 

 plants produced half a bushel each, and that they 

 were planted six feet by four. A little calculation 

 shows that that would pay pretty well; it would 

 beat Strawberries without costing near the time to 

 care for them. He managed to get these high 



E rices by leaving his Gooseberries until the Straw- 

 erries and Raspberries were nearly over, when he 

 was only about a week selling them. This summer 

 they have been selling at various prices up to 

 twenty cents a basket. The way they were pre- 

 pared for market was to separate the large ones 

 from the small ones, by means of a perforated 

 zinc, the former being sold at a higher rate than 

 the latter. For mildew the bushes attacked were 

 treated with a dusting of sulphur. Canadian. 



2St. Mildew in Early Grapery. Attend very 

 carefully to the ventilation. A sudden chill will 

 mildew your vines no matter what other prevent- 

 ive measures you use. Open the ventilators a very 

 little to begin with, and as the heat of the day in- 

 creases, ventilate a little more fully. Never syringe 

 with ice-cold water; never soak your vine borders 

 (in the case of early started vinesj with icy waters. 



A SOD-CUTTING MACHINE. 



ness and uniformity of thickness in the sod 

 could be attainable that would be far superior 

 to hand-cut sod, as such runs. Every gardener 

 knows that a sod of uniform thickness, and 

 especiaUy if it be in roUs, as left by this ma- 

 chine, makes a better lawn than one in which 

 the sod varies in respects such as these. 



.■^^.'J. Gladioluses in Pots. We have seen num- 

 bers of Gladioli admirably grown in pots. In order 

 to have the flowers early the plants may be started 

 in frames, evenly plunging the pots in coal ashes 

 or other refuse, and growing the plants in the 

 open air as if they were Chrysanthemums. One 

 large corm may be placed in a 6-inch, and three 

 medium-sized corms in a 7-inch, and a greater num- 

 ber in larger pots if bold masses are desired. Bbit. 



