200 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



August, 



have now withered down. Bulbs taken up seemed 

 to be rotting. What shall I do with them ?—Mai-y 

 L., Warren Co.y Indiana. 



396. Dressing for Roses. What is meant by 

 "a good dressing of guano"" for outdoor Roses, and 

 how often should it be given ? I mixed a dessert 

 spoonful of guano with five times the quantity of 

 soil and put on the ground round a Charles Lefeb- 

 vre Rose, which soon died Could this have killed 

 ifi—Blunder. 



397. Azaleas and Camellias. My Azaleas, 

 which I have repotted since blooming, have lost 

 nearly all their leaves and two of the plants have 

 died. They have been outside for the last month. 

 My Camellias also are troubled, but with a queer 

 kind of blight or bug, which makes the leaves turn 

 quite limp and fall off. The insect on the leaf is 

 brown, hard, and can only be removed by pressure. 

 What can I do for my plants t—Mrs. (f. W. S. 



3i)8. Crown Imperials Not Blooming. Can 



some one suggest why my plants of these should 

 not have flowered thisyearV— J. G, O. 



399. Birds and Vineyards. For several years 

 robins and other birds have come to my vineyard, 

 destroying the crop. No doubt they will be on 

 hand again. What would you do to prevent their 

 serious depredations?— GVape Grower. 



■100. Planting Evergreens In the Fall. Some 

 recommend August and September. Is it a good 

 time to plant '(—James Mayfield. 



401. Anricnlus. {a) Where can I procure Auric 

 ula plants? (b) How shall I proceed to raise them 

 from seed? I have often tried, but so far without 

 success. — Geo. L. Adams. 



4fti. Apples for Washington Territory. Kindly 

 name sorts of Apples that succeed in Washington 

 Territory. I find the climate of this region ap- 

 proximately more like that of England than of 

 the Eastern States and even Canada. Our sum- 

 mers are too cool to mature your best-known sorts. 

 It is not Interesting to get Baldwins the color of 

 Greenings, and so on.—'' Porno ^'''' London, England. 



403. Rose for Wisconsin. What is the most 

 hardy and prolific Rose, and the best time to order 

 and plant two 3 year old roots for immediate bloom- 

 ing. Thermometor goes down to 45* below zero in 

 winter. Roses do well generally. 



404. Plums for North. What kind of large Plum 

 will be hardy here where season is 2 to 4 weeks 

 shorter than at Buffalo?— W. S. W., Shewario, Wis. 



405. Lucretia Dewherry. Will some correspon- 

 dent tell us (a) how best to train Lucretia Dewberry 

 on trellise or in hills with stake supports or left to 

 run wild? {b) Is it profitable for market? (c) Should 

 it be planted near some productive BlackbeiTy, the 

 Snyder, for example, to fertilize it? id) In the cold 

 North do the canes require covering over winter? 



406. Brush in Balsam Fir. A fine Balsam, say 

 3 feet high when set out 34 years ago, now 60 feet 

 high, a foot or more in diameter at base, well fur- 

 nished from the ground, has much dead brush inside 

 along the main limbs. Should this dead brush be 

 taken out or would that let the sun in too much? 

 Manuring and cultivation I think have kept it alive 

 and vigorous.— i^. K. Phoenix. 



407. Fall Planting of Fruit, (a) Having some 

 land to plant, I would ask if it is safe to set trees 

 etc. in the fall and what kinds? (6) Where can I get 

 the Alexander Apple on Paradise stock?— -4. M. B. 



REPLIES TO INQUIRIES. 



1^76. " Chinese "Lilj.^^—Pardanthus Cliinensis. 

 Too rich soil, too much moisture, too much shade, 

 will cause luxurient leaf growth and few fiowers. 

 In an old field near here, in open, rolling, poor soil, 

 there is a patch of this Lily several rods wide. It 

 escaped from cultivation and naturalized itself 

 with the freedom of a Day Lily. In this patch it 

 does not grow as luxuriantly as it does in our gar- 

 den, but it blooms better.— W. FALCONEa. 



310. Tuberous Tropaeolums. Such species as 

 T. tuberosum T. pentaphyllum and T. polyphyllum 

 are not reliably hardy, hence should be lifted and 

 stored in sand, sawdust, or earth, in a box in the 

 cellar over winter. Let the distance apart and 

 depth be governed by the size and soundness of 

 the tubers. Say a foot apart in the row and three 

 • inches deep for good common-sized tubers. They 

 often are very refractory plants and refuse to be 

 comforted at any price. In cool, moist places, and 

 an eastern or southeastern exposure T. speciosum 

 (which has thick, cord-like roots), may live, but, 

 really, I haven't seen a decent plant of it in the 

 country. I havegiven up bothering with it.— W. F. 



35*3. Planting by Moon. Thus far I have failed 

 to see any advantage gained where I have seen it 

 practiced. For one, I choose to plant in the earth 

 and let others plant in the moon. The best time I 

 ever found was when the soil was in the rightstate. 

 and the weather favorable. That the gaze of the 

 man in the moon should have a propitious influ- 

 ence upon the vegetating germ is beyond our com- 

 prehension. His smiling, face, to be sure, is ever 

 turned towards us, for astronomy demonstrates 

 his inability to give us the cold shoulder, though he 

 shows the shady cheek part of the time. If, as has 

 been asserted, his bright reflections are deleterious 

 to the sleeper, why not to the plant ? We well re- 

 member the sedative influence they had in our 



younger days, "when mellowed to that tender 

 light, which Heaven to gorgeous day denies."— X. 



354. Fuchsia Storm King^ ; Frau Emma. These 

 names refer to the same variety. 



306 Blackberry Bust. This is a case of the 

 well-known Blackberry rust, the bright orange 

 powder being the spores of the fungus. To dig 

 out the affected plants and burn them is no doubt 

 the best advice that can be given.^ Professor J- C. 

 Arthur, of the New York Experiment Station, says 

 that we are entirely in the dark regarding several 

 important items concerning the rust, The spores 

 may be able to germinate at once upon the Black- 

 berry and thus spread the disease rapidly, or they 

 may only be able to grow upon some other kind of 

 plant at first, and then return to the Blackberry ; 

 In which way, is not known. Does the fungus pro- 

 duce another set of spores to tide it over winter, or 

 does it live inside the Blackberry plant, and for dis- 

 tribution depend upon the orange spores, which 

 from their delicacy are evidently summer spores ? 

 We cannot tell. Here is a chance for a valuable 

 but difficult investigation. In the meantime the 

 best practice is to give good cultivation and extir- 

 pate all diseased plants. 



370. Pale Marechal Niel Roses, it is the 

 opinion of some growers that there are two forms 

 of this Rose, and we have seen two plants in the 

 same garden, one of which afforded rather small 

 and pale, and the other large and rich golden 

 blooms, but we do not for a moment suggest that 

 yours is an Inferior form. We suspect there is 

 something wanting in the soil In your district that 

 Is necessary for imparting richness of color to the 

 blooms, but we have in mind an example of a plant 

 budded from a Rose of deep color producing pale 

 blooms, though the stock may have had some in- 

 fluence on the change. The liquid manure you 

 have given would have a tendency to deepen the 

 color, rather than the reverse. Some authorities 

 are of the opinion that a trace of iron in the soil 

 intensifies the color of flowers, hence iron fiUngs 

 have been emploj'ed for changing the color of Hy- 

 drangeas. An exjieriment appears to be worth 

 trying of sprinkling iron filings on the ground over 

 the roots of one of your plants, or giving water 

 impregnated with iron. We have no experience of 

 any such trial, but know that Roses color well in 

 soil containing iron ; whether the blooms would be 

 equally rich without it we do not know. 



377. Raspberries Turning Yellow. Neither 

 Black or Red Raspberries thrive well on low, wetf 

 mucky soil, The white leaves are caused by exces- 

 sive moisture and lack of the recjuired fertility. 

 Foliage of coru will turn white when the soil is too 

 wet. I see no trace of disease or insects' work. 

 Chas. A. Green. 



379. What Kills Peaches. It Is not the ex- 

 treme cold that kills Peaches. Take it in a dry 

 fall, when the ground freezes, as It usually does, 

 before we get late fall rains, if this is followed by 

 cold weather in December, for successive days, 

 with brisk, cold winds, as was the case two years 

 ago, then the Peaches will suffer. I recall one year 

 wnen, the day previous to Christmas, we had 

 200 peach trees which were then all right. We had 

 extremely cold weather two or three days previous 

 but it did not seem to hurt the life of the trees. 

 Then came a cold wind, and It seemed to kill the 

 buds. Formerly when Peaches were a sure crop 

 I think they used to have as cold weather as 

 we do now. Wood. 



380. Fuchsia Leaves Crinkled. The leaves 

 sent are not unusual. It usually arises from 

 the plants being grown in too low a temperature, 

 and in too moist and rich soil which is not favor- 

 able to root action. The only remedy we know is 

 to afford the plants a liglit position in a house with 

 a temperature of TiC^ to 55° artificially, avoiding a 

 saturated condition of the soil, increasing the sup- 

 ply of water as the plants increase in growth, thus 

 giving evidence of free root action. It also arises 

 from sudden depression of temperature, or from 

 currents of cold and dry air following a dull and 

 moist period. It seldom or never attacks plants 

 grown in the open air. Sometimes the crinkling is 

 a consequence of the attacks of angle worms, 

 probably due to an excess of organic matter in the 

 soil, and is common not only to Fuchsias, but Pe- 

 largoniums. It is advisable to cease propagating 

 from such ptants. 



381. Books on Rural Art. < >n cottage building, 

 "Reed's Cottage Houses for Village and Country," 

 price $1.25; on arranging grounds, "Long's Orna- 

 mental Uardening for Americans," price $2; on 



frape culture, ''Fuller's (Jrape Culturist," price 

 1.50; on wine-uiaking, "Hussman's Grape Grow- 

 ing and Wine-Making," price $1.50. These can be 

 ordered through this otifice. 



385. Summer Pruning of Grapes, We never 

 summer prune Grapes, but simply rub off the new 

 growth from portions of the vine where it is not 

 wanted. A. M. P. 



See article on page 1H6 of this number. 



3H6. Currants, etc., as Trees. To grow Cur- 

 rants and Gooseberries in tree form simply rub off 

 new growth on lower part of stalk. 



387. Curing Evaporated Fruit. Yes. it is 

 necessary to throw Raspberries over two or three 

 times after being evaporated to cure properly, and 

 too, screens must be kept in the windows to keep 



flies out of the room. Our plan adopted this sum- 

 mer is to put in paper sacks as soon as dried, and 

 when rush is over, run them through evaporator 

 and thus take out sweat and dampness.— A.M. P. 



388. Black Raspberry Crop. As near as we 

 can judge and from information we can gather in 

 this great Black Raspberry section there will not 

 be over two-thirds of the crop of last year, because 

 of being badly winter-killed the past winter. In 

 some localities they are badly damaged, while in 

 others they are but little hurt by the changeable 

 open winter, freezings and thawings.— A. M. P. 



401. Auriculas. The plants may be procured of 

 John Saul, Washington, D. C. A packet or two of 

 seeds procured in the spring will give a good sup- 

 ply of plants for another season's bloom. The 

 seed should be sown in March or April in a well- 

 drained pot or pan, filled with light, loamy, soil. 

 Sow thinly, and cover slightly with fine, sifted soil. 

 Place in a warm, moist situation, as close to the 

 glass as possible. Water should be very carefully 

 given whenever necessary, and as soon as the 

 young plants are strong enough to handle they 

 should be transferred into shallow boxes, and 

 placed in rows an Inch and a half apart each way. 

 Auricula seed vegetates slowly, and the yoimg 

 plants are slow in making their appearance. —Chas. 

 E. Parnell, Queen's, L. I. 



317. Raspberries Ailing. I think that your 

 best course will be to remove all plants as soon as 

 they show Indications of any ailment.— C. E. P. 



833. About Ixias. This is a genus of beautiful 

 Cape bulbs embracing a great many species and 

 varieties, and all of them well worthy of cultivation. 

 They are half hardy, and should be grown in pots 

 for the greenhouse, where they will show their 

 handsome fiowers about January. They can be 

 easily grown doing well in a compost composed 

 of two-thirds leafy loam, one part well decayed leaf 

 mould. Drain the pots well. When done flowering 

 gradually dry them off, until September when they 

 shold be repotted and started into growth. After 

 the bulbs are potted In September they should be 

 treated precisely as Hyacinths. Chas. E. Parnell. 



351 . Mildew on Plum. Procure a bottle of Hen- 

 derson's Mildew Mixture, and apply according to 

 directions. Chas. E. Parnell, Queens, L. I. 



352. Planting by the Moon . Planting or sowing 

 in any particular phase of the moon has not the 

 least effect on growth, productiveness or anything 

 else. C. E. P. 



354. Fuschsia Storm King; Frau Emma are 

 identical. I think that the former name has come 

 to stay. C. E. P. 



355 Books on Flowers and Seed Growing. 

 Brill's Farm Gardening and Seed Growing is the 

 latest work on seed growing. Breck's Book of 

 Flowers, Ellwanger on the Rose, Henderson's Prac- 

 tical Floriculture, Long's Home Florist and Orna- 

 mental Gardening, Rand's (Jarden Fiowers, Wil- 

 liam's Window Garden, and Vick's Floral and Veg- 

 etable Garden, will all give you a great deal of use- 

 ful information. C. E. P. 



3G'J. Blackberry Rust. Cut off and burn all 

 infested branches immediately. If this does not 

 keep it in check you had better destroy the infected 

 plants. C. E. P. 



371. Young Asparagus Bed, Do not cut the 



tops off luitll the seed commences to ripen in the 

 fall. C. E. P. 



373. Roses From Seed. They will bloom when 

 from two to four years old. C. E. P. 



302. The Fragrant Olive. This requires but 

 little skill or experience to cultivate. During the 

 summer plant it out in a deep well enriched border 

 in a partially shaded situation, and early in Sep- 

 tember it should be taken up and potted. Use a 

 porous or soft baked pot and let it be proportionate 

 to the size of the plant, care being taken to drain it 

 well. Give it a compost composed of two-thirds 

 turfy loam, one-third well decayed manure. In the 

 winter give it a lightsunny situation and an average 

 temperature of fifty degrees. Water copiously dur- 

 ing the summer, less in the winter. C. E. P. 



365. Violet Seed. You cannot procure seed of 

 the Swanley White Violet. You will have to pro- 

 cure plants. Some of our seedsmen would no 

 doubt procure seed of the English Blue Violet ( Viola 

 odorata) for you. C- E. P. 



3f)7. Young Canaries. I think It is indigestion 

 caused from feeding improper food that ails the 

 canaries. Food for nestlings should be prepared 

 fresh daily, as it will sour if kept longer. C. J. 

 should send 15 cents to Bird Food Co., ;i47 S.Kth St., 

 Philadelphia, and secure a copy of the Practical 

 Book of Cage Birds, telling how to keep different 

 varieties in health. G. C. B. 



342. Grapes Shriveling in Winter. Over-dry- 

 ness of the air is what causes shriveling. A cool 

 basement rather dry is perhaps the best place for 

 keeping Grapes, but here they should be in boxes, 

 and these kept tightly covered. Where this fruit 

 is preserved fresh on a large scale, it is done in 

 houses specially prepared for securing a uniform 

 temperature, not excessively dry, by filling the 

 walls with sawdust. The Malaga Grapes that are 

 in such large quantities imported fresh from Spain 

 for the winter trade in America are remarkable 



