i887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



191 



tained on its surface in little depressions or 

 near to it, and evaporating before it is of any 

 use to plants. Mulching would enable much of 

 this water to get down to the roots of the plants. 



Such together being the capabilities of mulcli- 

 ing, it isplain thatit would be highly beneficial 

 whenever otherwise there would be a lack of 

 moisture in the soil. And I prefer to jwint out 

 in my imperfei-t way the action of mulching 

 in general, to telling what Ijenetib it has done 

 my vines and bushes; for I have learnetl that 

 what may be good for me may not lie good for 

 my neighbor live miles away, except as it bears 

 on some general principle. 



Some gardeners or fruit growers may not 

 rind mulching worth the cost. On ground 

 where the ground water is near the surface, or 

 where the soil is largely composetl of clay, 

 mulching will likely not be prolitable. Its ob- 

 ject being to increase the amount of moisture 

 in the soil; hence it is needed only when other- 

 wise there would Xte a lack of moisture. 



As for the material any convenient loose 

 litter, loose enough to allow the rain to pass 

 readily into it, and yet close and thick enough 

 to shade the ground completely, is all that is 

 needed, and the cheaper it is the better. There 

 is an abundance of vines, small bushes, straw, 

 leaves, etc., just when a mulch is most needed. 



Of the part that a mulch plays in keeping 

 down weeds, in uitritication, or in keeping 

 Strawberries clean or trooseberries free from 

 mildew, I have not I'oom to speak. 



Condensed Gleanlngrs. 



Gathering Pears Before Maturity. Pick a 

 few at intervals from a week or two to two or three 

 days before full maturity, marking the dates, and 

 observing then" quality when soft, with a few gath- 

 ered from the tree when fully ripe. The best time 

 may be thus definitely ascertained. The rule 

 among pear growers is to gather the crop when, by 

 lifting the hanging specimens hito an upright posi- 

 tion, they readily separate or crack otf from the 

 tree. Select the largest aud ripest first, which will 

 leave the smaller and greener room to grow, in- 

 crease, and develop into later and larger ones.— 

 Country Gentleman. 



A Remedy for the Bound-Headed Borer. A 



farmer got some Apples trees from us this spring. 

 When asked how he managed the borer, said he 

 had no trouble with them; that he placed a good 

 forkful of fresh barnyard manure close around 

 the butt of each tree every spring. My sons at 

 once remarked that must be the reason that so 

 few borers were found last season in a young 

 orchard of over 100 trees, they having placed 

 manure to them in the spring. If this holds good, 

 it is about the simplest remedy I know of, and has 

 the additional benefit of enriching the soil, a matter 

 too often overlooked.— S. Miller, in Rural World. 



Clean Celery. Short, clean Celery is such a very 

 desirable production that all should do their ut- 

 most to secure it, and careful, timely attention 

 will, as a rule, accomplish it. The chief matter is 

 to dress the plants with soot, lime, and salt. Salt 

 is dangerous, but it agrees with some things and 

 Celery is one of them. It must not, however, be 

 used very freely, and a slight sprinkHng now and 

 then is sufficient. As soon as the plants begin 

 growing place a little in the trench, spreading it 

 over the surface, but not quite over the plants. 

 Repeat this after each earthing, and in nineteen 

 cases out of every score, there will be no worm 

 marks on the Celery. Soot may be used in the 

 same way, but it may be placed more over the 

 plants, and it may be mixed with the soil in the 

 process of earthing. Lime may also be used in 

 the same way. Should earthing go on, and it is 

 not discovered that there are any worm markings 

 until they have taken possession of it. it will be 

 labor in vain to apply any of these preventives. 

 Prevention is the point to consider, and this can 

 only be done by beginning with the growth of the 

 plants, and continuing the application of the anti- 

 dotes as long as it is necessary.— Journal of Horti- 

 culture. 



»- Growing Bushy Abutilons. Most of the newer 

 sorts of recent years are much more compact in 

 habit and more fioriferous than the old kinds, and 

 it is well for amateurs, who have not large houses, 

 to keep to the dwarfest-growing, freest-fiowering 

 varieties. Small plants in the spring will bloom 

 when but a few inches high, and it often happens 



that there is a reluctance to sacrifice the flowers 

 by the shoot-stopping that is necessiiry to induce 

 the production of side-branches sufflcientto secure 

 bushy growth, and in this way the plants are run 

 up with a single stem, so as to givetheui a scraggy, 

 straggling appearance. To avoid this there is no 

 chance l)ut timely pinching tlie shoots, regardless 

 of the loss of a few Mowers Plants that were 

 struck from cuttings last summer wilt now be in 

 bloom. To keep tliem moving freely, they nuist 

 either have additional root-room or be regularly 

 supplied with manure-water. Unless where very 

 large specimens are wanted to train to a pillar or 

 over a wall It is much the best to sustain the growth 

 by stimulants, to avoid the use of large pots. As a 

 matter of course plants of this description produce 

 much the greatest quantity of flowers, and it is not 

 necessary to give them very large pots if stimu- 

 lants are used— London Ganlening Illustrated 



Compost for Roses The best soil for Roses is 

 what is known by gardeners as a rich hazel loam 

 of a nioderateiy Ann texture. Cut it with a spade 

 from three to nine inches thick, according to qual 

 ity. Where it can be had in the form of old sod, 

 clear of trees, (as decaying leaf mold is absolute 

 ly injurious to Roses) it is so much more valual)le. 

 In soil as described above, the roots of the grasses 

 will form a dense fiber all through it, sometimes 

 ten to twelve inches deep; then I prefer to take the 

 whole depth, and if a yellow clay below, should 

 add some to the compost. The next thing re- 

 quired is well-decomposed cow manure ; this, if 

 possible, should be at least one year old. This on 

 hand, commence yourcompost heap, to every eight 

 or nine loads of good loam, adding one load of 

 equal size of manure, and so continue until 

 enough is collected for the season's use. Where 

 the soil is inclined to be heavy, add one part to ten 

 of good sharp sand as you go along ; let it lie a few 

 days to get settled. If it heats, .so much the better. 

 Turn the whole over and beat it up fine with dig- 

 ging forks; if it is not considered rich enough, add 

 a little pure ground bone, as it is mixed to go into 

 the houses, aud you have a compost that will grow 

 good Roses if judicious care is taken of the plants. 

 —J. N. May, in American Florist. 



c^^z 



Training Trees to Cover in Winter. 

 Strawberry Eaieing for the Girls. The farmer 

 is so busy and has so many thing to attend to that 

 the Strawberries will not be likely to get the care 

 that they need. It is quite a science to raise large 

 crops of fine berries: one must read and study and 

 then attend to them at just the right time all 

 through the season. This pays fhiely when one 

 makes a business of it. <.>ne day my girls were 

 telling me that they wanted to do some work away 

 from home so as to get some pocket money. It 

 struck me this was a laudable ambition, and the 

 Strawberry business occurred to me, and I asked 

 them how they would like it to take charge of the 

 whole matter and pocket the money. Well, the 

 result was I gave them the nicest, richest (mark 

 that^not some poor corner) piece of land on the 

 farm, and have engaged from a grower what plants 

 they will want, leaving the choice of varieties to 

 him. I have bought them books enough to study, 

 so they can learn all that is possible in that way. 

 The men will plow the ground when we do the rest 

 of the lot, and harrow aud roll it; and when we are 

 cultivating Potatoes we will run through the 

 berries; but the girls are to take the whole responsi- 

 bility. I think it will do them good. It will teach 

 them business. It will he healthful work. I thought 

 best to start them with a little over one-fourth of 



an acre, not on account of lack of vim. but because 

 I liave learned that concentrated farming is best, 

 in the berry patch as well as elsewhere. In a year 

 or two they can spread out a little if desirable. I 

 do not hesitate to advise any farmer or other person 

 to go at it in this way. It will <'<istoniy $r».00 or 

 $6.(.K) for plants About the [iiarket: Make one 

 among the people living right around you. There 

 are ten bushels of Strawberries sold in Hudson, 

 where I live, now, where there was a quart when I 

 first came on the farm, and the end is not yet by 

 any means. Plenty of people would buy nicp fresh 

 berries at a living price, if they werv put right be- 

 fore them who hardly know the Iiist« of the fruit 

 now. Now, I want to stir up the children as well 

 as the old folks a little by telling what has been 

 done on a single quarter of an acre. I have seen 

 the ground, and spent four da.\ s with the man who 

 did it— the venerable .J. M. Smith, of Green Hay, 

 Wis. It was not convenient to measure alt the 

 land and keep track of the crop. 90 our friend 

 marked off one fourth of an acre and picked from 

 it 3571 quarts—the largest crop, it is said, on 

 record. Just think if you do uot know of hundred- 

 acre farms that do not do much better. At 10 cents 

 a quart this would be $;jftT. This is enormous, but 

 uot greatly above Mr. Smith's average. From SK 

 acres last year, although terribly dry, he sold 

 $2,iJl.^,\;4 worth of berries, besides taking plants to 

 the value of fJOO from the same land in the spring. 

 But this was uot enough. After the berries were 

 picked he plowed the patch aud but in Cabbage 

 and Celery— fVOU more! Just $3,315.->4 from 3^ 

 acres of land! I took the figures right from his 

 books, where each day's sales were put down. 

 There isn't a question about their exact truth.— 

 T. B. Terry, In Gleanings in Bee Culture. 



Training Trees to Cover in Winter. My meth- 

 od of traiiiing Peach trees is shown in the figure, 

 where <( is the horizontal trunk, ti a support to 

 keep the trunk oflf the ground, and e a stake to 

 which the upright tnmk is fastened. To train a 

 tree, procure one not more than a yt-ar old, plant 

 it where you wish it to stand, and allow it to grow 

 straight up. Once a week all shoots must be 

 broken off as soon as they can be handled. Break 

 no leaves off the main trunk. Keep this up until a 

 month before frost is expected. The main trunk 

 will ripen its wood sufficiently to endure the win- 

 ter. About the time of the first hard frost care- 

 fully bend the trunk to the ground, and then fasten 

 it there by a hooked stick driven into the earth, as 

 at b. When winter has fairly set in, place a few 

 evergreen boughs or straw over the whole length 

 of the tree, with some light sticks on the covering 

 to keep it from being blown off. In the spring, 

 when the frost is out of the ground, remove the 

 covering and the stick that holds the tree down, 

 and allow the latter to resume its upright position. 

 After it has started to grow,cut off the side branch- 

 es, leaving but one bud to grow, and treat in the 

 same way as during the previous season. By the 

 fall the trunk will be from six to ten feet high, long 

 enough for a first trial ; bend it to the ground and 

 cover. In the spring, leave the tree down, and 

 allow only one bud to grow. This will push straight 

 up and send out branches, only a few of which 

 should be allowed to grow, and they should be 

 trained fan-shaped, parallel with the horizontal 

 trunk. Be sure to have a stout stake driven into 

 the ground to fasten the upright tnmk to. Other 

 stakes may be driven along the side of the fan to 

 fasten the branches to as needed. In the fall, 

 loosen the head of the tree from all its stakes, and 

 after placing straw or other material on the ground 

 to keep the twigs off the soil, bring the head down 

 sideways to the ground and fasten it there, then 

 put on the covering. The horizontal trunk can, 

 without injury, be twisted suftlciently to allow the 

 head to lie on the ground, and this can be done for 

 a good many years, for this horizontal trunk does 

 not increase in size nearly so fast as the upright 

 trunk does. It must be protected from the direct 

 rays of the sun, else the bark will be killed all the 

 way along the top. I lost some trees this way. 

 I find the neatest way is to swathe the trunk in 

 straw ; with a twine string fasten it to the trunk. 

 Be sure that no water can stand around any part 

 of the tree at any time during the winter. Keep 

 the ground perfectly clean from weeds for a good 

 way away from the tree, and mice will not be likely 

 to trouble it in winter, as experience proves that 

 they do uot run far on ground that is clear of grass 

 or weeds. Do not cover too early, and do not put 

 on too much covering. This method may appear 

 to require a good deal of work, but when the trees 

 once get into bearing you will find, as I do, that 

 it is considerably less work to put down and cover 

 a tree than it is to prune and cover a Grape vine. — 

 J. T. Macomber, in Rural New Yorker. 



