158 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



June, 



feet blooming kinds. I will give a list embracing 

 early and late, of excellent quality and productive, 

 25 May King, 85 Wilson, 25 Miner's Great rroliflc, 

 25 Parry, 25 Mt. Vernon. 



Seventh row. four feet from the last and two feet 

 apart, 25 Crescent, 25 Windsor Chief, 2."i Manchester, 

 25 Jewell and 25 Cornelia. The last row are all pis- 

 tillate varieties and must be planted near some 

 variety with plenty of pollen. You may ask. Why 

 plant any pistillates? They are, when properly pol- 

 ienized, our best bearers. You want to plant a new 

 bed each year, and after two crops of Strawberries 

 plow under the old bed . The other rows may con- 

 tinue on the same land for ten to twenty years. 



Two rows of Strawberries, 250 plants, will cost 

 you one cent each, unless you want all Jewell, but 

 the prices given are when the kinds and quantities 

 are taken. The Strawberries well cared for will 

 yield, the following year, about .500 quarts of choice 

 fruit, worth more than the whole investment for 

 plants, and after the second season all the rows, 

 except the Strawberries, will increase in value and 

 production until you will have to sit up nights to 

 eat fruit, or let your wife or daughter have the sur- 

 plus to sell. You, Brother Farmer, furnish the 

 plants and let your wife and daughter furnish your 

 tnble with all the fruit you want three times a day. 

 on condition that they can have the surplus, and 

 I will risk your having to buy sandy berries. 



Good land, well fenced, long rows, good plants 

 true to name from some reliable nursery, not a 

 traveling man, well tended, properly mulched in 

 November, and you will be happy, have less doc- 

 tor's bills and eat less pork. 



Now a word about the vegetable garden. Plant 

 Potatoes or Peas next to the Strawberries, so the 

 ground will be in good condition for your next two 

 rows of Strawberries, plant all rows through the 

 whole length of the garden and wide enough so you 

 can cultivate with a horse. Put in plenty of seed, 

 tend well, thin out properly and then what room 

 you have left plant to Sweet Corn or Potatoes, and 

 this acre of ground well eared for will be the most 

 profitable acre on the farm. 



Apple Talk In Maine. 



[From proceedings of Slate Poiiioloyical Society.] 



Phineas Whittier stated that Apples were of 

 little value as stock food, because it was hardly 

 worth the cost of handling when done by hired 

 help. Some three or four years he had no 

 other way to dispose of cheap Apples and so fed 

 300 or 400 bushels per year, but had not found 

 tiny profit in feeding to sheep or cattle. For 

 swine had found that his swine in spring were 

 as large as when they started in the fall. In 

 answer to the question, Have sheep any effect 

 on the Codling Moth ? he said that a portion of his 

 orchards are pastured, and there the fruit is not 

 as wormy as in the other orchards. To have 

 sheep fertilize an orchard, you want a large 

 pasture adjoining and have the sheep huddle in 

 the orchard. 



Mr. Briggs said he had an idea of feeding his 

 sheep in the orchard. He has noticed that where 

 sheep run there is less wormy fruit. 



Mr. Howe cut Itirge quantities of mulching 

 of various kinds and put a high value upon it. 

 Does not know how to grow up orchard trees 

 without it. Uses it also tor large trees. Would 

 not place the mulch close to the trunk of the 

 tree. There are only two things he would not 

 use — green sawdust and Apple pomace. Ashes 

 are good for orchard trees and cause fine fruit, 

 that is, fruit perfect in growth and finish, and 

 free from insects. 



As to kinds of Apples. Has not in recent years 

 grafted any but Baldwins. In a succession of years 

 these prove the best. The Northern Spy some years 

 proves excellent, while this year it was small and in- 

 ferior. In keeping Apples the Russets must be 

 kept from the air to prevent wilting. They must 

 be kept tight. Has lined up cribs with paper. 

 Greenings should be kept in boxes or in bins 2 1-2 

 feet deep if the cellar is wet. If there is anything 

 he feels proud of, it is in taking a tract of cheap, 

 rough land and making a success out of it, and get- 

 ting a living from it at the same time. 



T. M. Merrill finds the best preserved Apples 

 when kept in large bins, and the deeper the better, 

 only they should not rise to the ceiling. The best 

 kept Apples are found in the bottom of the cribs. 

 He has found this the case in handling some T,000 

 barrels the present season. 



W. P. Atherton, in his twenty years experience 

 has learned that the King of Tompkins refuses to 



give Uberal returns. He knows no reason why this 

 is so, only that it won't bear. Has learned the folly 

 of an orchard mixed with different varieties of fruit. 

 The Northern Spy, though slow to come into bear- 

 ing, yet when old enough gives good crops. The 

 Golden Russet, Poughkeepsie Russet, Haas, Rambo, 

 New York Greening, Tetofsky, Duchess and all 

 other summer varieties have been grafted over, ex- 

 cept the Red Astrachan, and those have got to take 

 it next spring. Has learned that fixed rules cannot 

 be rigidly laid down for application in all cases in 

 training and pruning trees. Some trees naturally 

 extend upwards, while the Rhode Island Greening, 

 for instance, is drooping in its habits. As the 

 branches grow and load with fruit they lie upon 

 the ground, and the fruit will not ripen as well as 

 that which is exposed to the sun and air. If sheep 

 are to be kept in the orchard the trees must be 

 trained higher, so has come to the conclusion that 

 there is danger of training too low. In keeping Ap- 

 ples the temperature should be as low as can be 

 without freezing, and it should be even as possible. 

 Mr. Merrill, New Gloucester, said the matter of 

 storage was an important one, and certainly a mat- 

 ter that affects the value of the fruit. Can hardly 

 agree that fruit keeps better stored in barrels. His 

 opinion in buying fruit was that Apples stored in 

 bulk kept the best and came out in best shape. 



HOUSE PLANTS. 



Balsams. These may be grown along as pot- 

 plants in light, rich soil for decorative purposes. 



Cactuses. The easiest course for summer treat- 

 ment is to plant them in the border, which may be 

 done after the blooming period. 



Calceolarias, and the like class of plants, for 

 winter tlowering, to be sown during the month for 

 earliest bloom. After potting off the seedlings 

 plunge in a frame, giving considerable water and 

 shading with a lath screen (described last month). 

 This seed is extremely fine, and in its sowing much 

 care must be taken . Our method has been to in- 

 vert a small pot in the bottom of a large sized one, 

 filling up with rich sandy soil to within one inch of 

 the top. Then press the soil somewhat firm and 

 smooth, and thoroughly water it by absorption, 

 setting the pot in some shallow water, in order that 

 the surface be not disturbed. The seed should now 

 be sown, covering it slightly and that with very 

 finely sifted soil. Over the top of the pot tie a 

 cover of strong white paper, upon which pour water 

 to form a depression, and this then should be kept 

 constantly filled with water until the seeds are well 

 up. Thus sufficient moisture is provided and the 

 light is not obstructed. 



Cinerarias. Read the directions for Calceolarias. 



Cobseas, Fuchsias and such like rapid growers 

 should have supports as needed. 



Hanging Baskets. The great point in their care 

 is to keep well-watered to the very center of the 

 earth from the start. Unlike with pot-plants, which 



off. In September the several parts called pips to 

 be taken from the old soil, separated and repotted 

 in light, rich earth. Then until growth commences 

 give but little water, increasing the supply later. 



Pomegranates. Some weak manure water.as they 

 come into bloom, will help to a strong growth. 



Pot-plants not to be allowed to root into the soil 

 on which they stand ; turning them will prevent this. 



Primulas. Directions for Calceolarias will apply. 



Veranda Boxes. In these many plants grow in 

 a small bulk of earth, and they should receive water 

 accordingly. With each application it must be 

 seen to that the mass of soil is saturated throughout. 

 Often such boxes suffer and grow shabby from 

 nothing in the world but superficial watering. 



A. Metal Cup with perforated pipe outltt fnr Vases, etc. 

 B Spout of can with cork and quill inserted to cause a 

 fine stream. C, Reduced Pipe for can spout, for se- 

 curing a light flow. 



SIMPLE AIDS IN WATERING. 



have the benefit of the pot rim tor retaining water 

 until it can soak in, hanging baskets are not apt to 

 get much of the water poured over them, and often 

 as a result the earth becomes extremely dry, even 

 with daily watering. For thorough treatment, 

 soak once a day in a tub of water, or apply the 

 water to the middle by a very small stream, (See 

 B and C in the accompanying engraving), or make 

 use of device A in the engraving. 



Hibiscas should be set in the garden for summer 

 keeping. Good cuttings that can he spared to be 

 struck for next season's stock. 



Ozalis now out of bloom, and from which flowers 

 1 are wanted next winter, should be gradually dried 



LAWN AND FLOWER GARDEN. 



Bulbs of Tulips, etc., occupying beds that are to 

 be planted with summer fiowers, should be taken 

 up and healed in some shady place to ripen, after- 

 wards storing in a dry place until fall planting. 



Pegging down of Verbenas, Petunias, Achyran- 

 thes and other plants, which it is desirable to have 

 cover a good deal of ground, should early secure 

 attention. Wire pins, like hair-pins, bent twigs, or 

 curved pegs, will answer. 



Perennials. The beds or specimens of Aquilegia, 

 Delphinium, Campanula, Pa?ony, Geums, etc., 

 sbould be cared for in the way of any extra sup- 

 ports, removing dead leaves, and where culture is 

 undesirable a light mulch. Any open spaces can be 

 filled from either the annual or biennial claos, using 

 Dianthus, Asters, Stocks. Zinnias, Dahlias, Sun- 

 flowers, Hollyhocks, and the like. 



Pinks should be supported by neat stakes to keep 

 the blooms from being spoiled by rain and wind. 



Pinching, Nearly all plants will be benefited by 

 having the blossoms that appear immediately after 

 planting picked off, and shape given at the same 

 time to any straggling plants. Stevias, Chrysanthe- 

 mums, Carnations, and such fall and winter bloom- 

 ers to be pinched in for securing strong stocky 

 plants for the winter growth. 



Planting of tender stuff, as Coleus, Achyranthes, 

 Alternantheras, Ricinus, Heliotropes, Petunias, 

 Ageratums. Coba^a scandens. Begonias, Caladiums 

 variegated Stevia. and Fuchitis, must now be pushed 

 to completion where not yet done. 



Boses. Such insects as the Rose slugs and bee- 

 tles appear soon after the first of June, and 

 must be taken in hand promptly. See remedies 

 prescribed on page 129, May issue For mildew, 

 dust on Sulphur when the foliage is wet. Cut off 

 and trim any rust affected parts. 



Shrubs. The kinds which flower on the old wood 

 to be pruned immediately after the bloom is over. 

 Shortening back the branches, cutting entirely away 

 those that seem to be crowded or that are unneces- 

 sary. Such a cutting, which in February would 

 have destroyed nearly all the blossoms, will, if now 

 done, cause a free growth of wood during the 

 summer and for next year's bloom. 



Sprouts. A close look-out during the growing 

 season for sprouts from the roots of Lilacs, Oleas- 

 ters, and all other growths that throw up shoots 

 freely, or from the stocks of budded Roses, Kilmar- 

 nock and other Willows, Poplars and the like 

 classes. These as soon as started should be rubbed 

 or cut off. The same course is to be followed in 

 regard to such parts of any variegated, cut or 

 curled-leaved trees and shrubs as incline to return 

 to the original type. The variegated Kerria and 

 also the Waxberry are greatly inclined that way . 



PLANT CULTURE UNDER CLASS. 



Achimenes need help from Uquid manure to 

 promote the beauty of foliage and flowers. 



Amaryllis. After blooming comparatively small 

 pots are best, but root cramping cannot be carried 

 too far without injuring the vigor of the bulbs. 

 Where shifting is required use good loam, with a 

 little sand. Pack hard in the pots, water and syringe 

 well, exposing to nearly full sunlight. 



Azaleas, as they finish their growth, to be put out 

 to harden. They should have a sheltered shady 

 position, standing the plants on bricks or stones, to 

 prevent the worms getting in. 



Crotons can be plunged outside for summer 

 adornment after warm weather is established. For 

 treatment in the house they should receive rich soil, 

 moderate light, high heat and frequent cleansing. 



Euphorbia jacquiniflora. For these a free 

 growth must be insured in order to secure flowera 

 of good size and to have a second crop. They re- 

 quire an abundance of both light and heat, but 

 during the hottest part of the day need some shade. 



