1887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



177 



fraternity would engage in the breeding of a new 

 race in each region of our great empire the possi- 

 ble good results must be beyond estimate Instead 

 of hoping much from strangers let each man dig the 

 soil and plant in his own field the most perfect 

 seeds of the finest fruits of the trees most healthy 

 and vigorous in his own special region. Out of 

 many failures must issue success. 



" In the Government Experiment Stations to be 

 established we have much to hope for. It is the 

 duty of nurserymen to do their utmost toward in- 

 fluencing public sentiment, so that a reasonable 

 part of the congressional allowance shall be devoted, 

 under honest and competent direction, to the orig- 

 inating, testing, and disseminating of 7it;KJ varieties 

 of fruits and plants, by seedUng pro- 

 duction on the spot. Nurserymen 

 must be leaders of public opinion 

 in solving the question of what to 

 plant He must refrain from sell- 

 ing himself, or by his agent, to the 

 ignorant purchaser, articles unfit 

 for the region where they are to be 

 planted. 



'■ The duty of the educated nurse- 

 ryman also calls him to an extra 

 effort toward re-clothing our de- 

 nuded hillsides with forests, by urg- 

 ing the sale and planting of timber 

 trees. The forest area of nearly all 

 the States is far below the healthful 

 limit for civilized fruits and civilized 

 men. Burning droughts in summer, 

 devastating floods in spring, unob- 

 structed gales in winter, with less- 

 ened snowfall and greatly increased 

 depth of soil-freezing, striking at 

 the life of fruit trees and plants, are 

 a few of the conse^iuences follow- 

 ing a generation of forest destruc- 

 tion. Spain, Italy and Southeastern 

 France are examples ever before 

 our eyes of the terrible conse- 

 quences following forest destruction. 



"In that art of ordering and ..." . •""■'' 

 planting the grounds immediately 

 about the dwelling, the nurserymen 

 must in large measure be the 

 teachers of the people. Some Frenchman has said : 

 ' The useful will get itself done; it is the beautiful 

 that requires labor.' Every nurseryman knows 

 how men, when able, may build costly edifices, 

 and even buy and plant trees for the food they 

 bring, while refusing to make adequate provision 

 for gratifying the lovo of the beautiful in the souls 

 of wife and children by a proper outlay for orna- 

 mental trees and plants. 



"The profound moral influence of pure and beau- 

 tiful surroundings, entering into the daily life and 

 habit of the young, cannot be overestimated, and 

 every nurseryman who earnestly labors towards 

 beautifying the homes of his generation will, I 

 doubt not, find some of his sins blotted out through 

 compassion because he has blessed his fellowmen. " 



SOME GENERAL NOTES OF INTEREST. 



The motion for biennial meetings didn't take. - 



PresidentWatrous' re-election was good enough. 



Warfield's No. 2 was shown as " the coming 

 Strawberry." 



The name was changed to American Nursery- 

 men's Association. 



The Prairie Farmer showed enterprise in print- 

 ing an association special. 



The Jessie was well shown in clustersas itgrows. 

 A great cropper no doulit. 



The Weeping Mulberry attracted much atten- 

 tion as a novelty. IMore about this later. 



Grafting by machinery is about the latest. Two 

 machines were at work in Exhibition Hall, one of 

 which —the Speer— did very slick work. 



Nurserymen and fruit growers on such occasions 

 geta taste of stale city berries at the hotel tables, 

 that is, if they eat them. More than one grower 

 coidd be seen sorting down his dish of Strawberries 

 before he could be lead to partake. 



Beduced Postage, hust year's committee ap- 

 pointed to work a change in the postage rates could 

 not report much progress. A new committee was 

 appointed to co-operate with the Seedsmen's Asso- 

 ciation to secure the reduction from the coming 

 Congress. 



Evergreens for the Northwest. Mr. Iiavid Hill, 

 of Hundee, 111., who made a tint- eshiliit of nursery 

 stock, recommends the following evergreens as 

 especially adapted to cold regions: Pinus montana. 

 Hemlock— when it has got good roots,— Northern 

 Red Cedar, Scotch Pine for great hardiness, Austri- 

 an I'ine, White Spruce, Norway Spi*uce, American 

 Arbor Vitae. 



The members' green badges everywhere drew 

 the eyes of Ireland's sympathizers some as a red 

 shirt attracts a turkey gobbler. More than once a 

 "God save Ireland " was heard as badge wearers 

 passed along the streets. Be careful," gentlemen of 

 the executive committee, in the selection of these 

 colors, or some day in these stirring times you may 

 get us into tiouble. 



The Freight Classification on trees having been 

 rated both unjust and oppressive, a committee of 

 five was appointed by the chair to report on the 

 matter, with the result of presenting the following 

 resolutions, which were unanimously passed: 



Whereas, The Nursery interests of the Unitod States are 

 large and varied, and nursei-ymen are the dii>semiaatorB of 



about as evenly as they could be placed with the 

 hand. The three persons will plant at least 1,500 

 trees in a ten-hour day. 



STAKING TOMATOES, AS DONE BY MR. ENGLE. 



fruit trees, and p'ants from which fiuits are grown, pro- 

 ducing nilHions of pounds of freight for the railroads, and 



Whereas, Fruit trees and plants are now classified In 

 freight schedules as flrst-clas.s. and frequently one and one- 

 half and even twice flr.st-class rates, therefore 



Hesolved, That we earnestly protest against such classifl- 

 cation as unjust, and injurious to all concerned, and ask as 

 being to the best interests of the railroads themselves that 

 all nursery products be classitied as third-class freight. 



Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by this 

 association to memorialize the several railroad joint freight 

 associations, and urge upon them the justice and wisdom 

 of the change in claesiflcatlon as above indicated. 



It was also moved and carried that the committee 

 be allowed to draw not to exceed S300 for properly 

 presenting this matter to the railroads. 



Forest Tree Planting. Robert Douglass, of 

 Waukegan, III., in his excellent paper on this sub- 

 ject, said that after experimenting in different 

 ways in the matter of planting the following was 

 adopted: Break the soil in .lune, or at the time 

 the grass is in the most thrifty state of growth. 

 Break (piite shallow, not deeper than two, or at 

 most, three inches, as the greater the amount of 

 succulent growth and the shallower the breaking, 

 the more surely will the sod be killed in the sum- 

 mer. Late in August, and during September of the 

 same year, we then turn the sod over lengthwise of 

 the furrow, and deep enough to bury the sod and 

 leave two or three inches of earth over the entire 

 surface. If it is not designed to plant in the 

 autumn, we leave the ground in this condition 

 until the following spring, when the harrow and 

 roller will put the land in excellent condition for 

 planting. Before the planting is conmienced the 

 harrow and roller are run over the laud, and after 

 that the marker, marking off the ground four feet 

 each way, the same as for cfiru. The workmen are 

 then divided off into companies of three each, or 

 two men and one boy, the two men with spades, 

 the boy with a buntUe of trees. The two men with 

 spades plant on adjoining rows, the tree holder 

 standing between them. The planter strikes his 

 spade vertically in the groun(i on the running line, 

 close up to the cross mark, then raises a spadeful 

 of earth, the boy inserts the tree, the earth is 

 replaced, the planter places his foot close up to the 

 stem of the tree- -hearing on his full weight— and 

 passes on to the next mark. The boy is kept quite 

 busy attending two planters. After a little ex- 

 perience the boy will learn to bring each tree out 

 of his bundle with a circular upward motion that 

 will spread out the roots when placed in the groimd 



Tomatoes.— Varieties, and Culture In 

 the Matter of Staking. 



[E. B. Engle, before the Pennsylvania State 

 Horticultural Society.] 



I have not much to say as to varieties. Ou 

 the whole, I have found but little, if any, im- 

 provement for years. As a rulo, I find those 

 of mediuTn size to be best for general purposes, 

 and most profitable for the maiket gardener. 



During the jjast few years we 

 have grown chiefly Acme, Para- 

 gon, and Livingston's Perfec- 

 tion. I usually raise my own 

 seed, by selecting the best and 

 most perfect specimens, as well 

 as the earliest to ripen. In our 

 opinion. Acme is the most delic- 

 ious of the varieties yet tested, 

 very desirable for family use, 

 but too delicate and tender for 

 shipment. 



In growing Tomatoes for market 

 we aim to have them as early as 

 possible. In the height of the sea- 

 son they are usually so plenty as to 

 afford httle or no profit. For early 

 planting we sow seeds in January 

 or February in shallow boxes, and 

 force in the green house. We plant 

 out soon as the ground is dry and 

 warm, usually in May, setting the 

 plants two feet apart, in rows four 

 feet apart. 



Each plant is trained to a stake 

 four to five feet high. We find this 

 the most satisfactory manner uf 

 training them. It does not pay us to 

 grow them without staking. We 

 trim closely at first, leaving only a 

 few branches for early fruiting. 

 Later we do not trim, but simply tie the vines to 

 the stakes until the top is reached, when they are 

 allowed to hang over, and fruit until killed by 

 frost. We believe as many can be grown thus 

 as by any method. 



In training we make about three tyings to a stake, 

 leaving onlj* the main vine to grow. As the shoots 

 or laterals grow, we cut them back to one leaf, and 

 if these grow too much, we cut them back again. 

 I am convinced that leaving sufficient foliage to 

 protect the fruit from the direct rays of the snn, 

 and at the same time not so dense as to exclude 

 light and air too much, will produce the finest 

 fruit. The sketch herewith will show our method. 



Fruit Evaporating In Western New 

 York. 



[From Report of B. J. Case, before Western New 

 York Society.] 



A stranger traveling through the northern 

 part of Wayne County will be surprised with 

 the number of evaporators that he will see. 

 Five years ago nearly every farmer had his 

 little "dry house," with a drying capacity of 

 three to fifteen bushels per day. Now about 

 every other farmer has an evaporator, with a 

 drying capacity of from 40,to 301) bushels per day. 



In order to operate these evaporators this 

 last season we have been obliged to import 

 Apples from other counties and other States. 

 We had shipped in from Yates County about 

 10,0(J() bushels, and from Michigan about r)(),()OU 

 bushels, so that the aggregated shipment of 

 evaporated Apples from Sodus station up to the 

 present time is about 2,noo,(.K.H) pounds. 



The other stations on the Kame and Watertown 

 road together have shipped about as many more, 

 making in all about 4,()0(MK)0 pounds of evaporated 

 Apples, or 300 car luads. The rise in price of evap- 

 orated Apples this fall and winter was a surprise 

 to everyone. Reports told us that Michigan, Ohio, 

 Indiana, Southern Illinois and Missouri had the 

 largest crop of Apples ever known, and that all of 

 the Kastern States. Pennsylvania, and southern and 

 central New York had a fair crop. But when the 

 Apples came to be barreled and evaporated so that 

 an estimate could be put on them, it proved to us^ 

 as fruit men, a problem of great importance and 

 that is this: \Vhen the ftmr counties bordering on 

 Lake Ontario, viz. : Niagara, Orleans, Monroe and 



