1887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



117 



that the sooner the invariable use of stiff European 

 bouquet papers could be discarded for such pur- 

 poses, the sooner will the Toronto tlorists be in the 

 way of leading their customers to demand better 

 flowers and arrangements. 



Berries, Plums, Currants, and some Peaches 

 helped make up a display quite creditable to any 

 society, and its attracting, as it did, thousands of 

 visitors during the two days, must have been alto- 

 gether gratifying to President Geo. Vair and Sec'y 

 J. R. Edwards, whose kind and courteous attentions 

 to your correspondent shall long be remembered. 



July Meeting of the Wisconsin State 

 Society. 



[Reported by George J. Kellogg, of Janesville.] 



The summer meeting at Baraboo, July 30- 

 31st., was a decided success. The weather was 

 of the finest, and although the complaint of the 

 drought was universal, the show of Rasplierries, 

 Blackberries, Dewberries, Currants, Apples, 

 Vegetables and flowers excelled any summer ex- 

 hibition. The reception was cordial, entertain- 

 ment ample, and local attendance better than 

 usual. Papers very fine, discussions spicy, and 

 the two days full of good Horticultural work 



I was surprised to find Bartell's Mammoth 

 Dewberry carrying oflt 1st prize, 

 competing with Luoretia. While 

 Bartell is not productive on some 

 soils, Lucretia has been sent out by 

 some nursery firms badly mixed, 

 though there was no doubt of the 

 genuine being on exhibition, and it 

 took 3d prize. The Golden Queen 

 Raspberry is not up to its recom- 

 mendations, and no Blackberry gets 

 ahead of Snyder, Stone's Hardy 

 and Ancient Briton. 



Members of the convention visi- 

 ted the extensive orchards and 

 nursery grounds of A. G. Tuttle.who 

 has more varieties of Russians in 

 bearing than any other man in the 

 United States. While some varie- 

 ties have the off year others are 

 bearing to breaking, and the blight 

 is no more serious on them generally than on 

 Duchess. His Duchess orchard is very heavily 

 loaded, while among his old standard varieties 

 I do not think he has a bushel of Apples. He 

 exhibited Russians of last year's crop and a 

 tine show of early vaineties of this year's growth 

 side by side. 



The report of the Jessie Strawberry as fruit- 

 ing on Mr. Loudon's grounds this year, on low 

 black soil,was fuUy erjual to last year's crop on 

 high clay soil; and M. Crawford, of Ohio, 

 vn-ites me that after fruiting it 3 years he finds 

 no weak point in it and considers it the best 

 variety ever sent out. 



The show of Grapes in the vineyards about 

 Baraboo is very full and forward, and about 

 the only fruit crop in our State that promises 

 to be up to the average. I found most of our 

 fruit men taking your valuable paper. 



eighth of an acre or more each, and all in good 

 tilth, instead of a few plants of each. 



Our host prefers the Crescent for market, as ditl 

 most of the members when called upon to express 

 themselves in the discussion later on. some objected, 

 however, because of so many small berries at the 

 close of the season. The Cumberland was recom- 

 mended as a prime table berry, but too shy a bearer 

 for market. The Sharpless was reported as doing 

 well on clay soil, but as being worthless on sandy. 



Before the close, Mr. Bailey told an interesting 

 anecdote of early life here before a fruit tree or 

 plant of any kind had been set out. Soon after 

 coming here from New York he had a barn to raise 

 and invited his neighbors to assist. In those days 

 whiskey was thought to be absolutely indispensable 

 on such occasions, and Mr. Bailey being known as 

 a temperance man was told that without that article 

 he could not get his building up. He, however, re- 

 lied on the curiositj' of mankind, believing they 

 would come just to see if he had it or not. 



He was not mistaken, for the morning brought 

 all hands ready for business and the barn went 

 quietly up. At the close of the work all expected 

 to see the whiskey jug brought out, but instead our 

 friend went into the house and brought out the rare 

 treat of a two bushel bag of fine Apples, all the way 

 from New York State, which he emptied out upon 

 the forest leaves and told each man to help himself. 

 Many of the men had not seen an Apple for years 



Mr. Wright was afraid this thing Is not going to 

 work, for this reason: They arrange their plates at 

 the exhibition five rows deep, and the result is that 

 the tickets at the back are hidden from sight. The 

 Montreal Horticultural Society has about five 

 thousand little clips for sticking on the plates, with 

 a thing standing up in the center to (ilace a label 

 in : and the Renfrew Society also has some of them, 



Mr. (iarfleld said that back labels would not be 

 hidden if the fruit was exhibited on low tables. 



ATTACHING LABELS TO PLATES OF EXHIBITION FRUIT 



and were of course much surprised, and hesitated 

 some time before making an onset upon the beau- 

 ties, but finally the Apples disappeared and all 

 returned home satisfied that whiskey was not a 

 necessary adjunct in barn raising. 



Strawberries In Michigan:— Apples 

 Triumph over Whiskey. 



[Report of Meeting of the Grand River Horticul- 

 tural Society, by F. E. Skeeles.] 



The Society met with S. S. Bailey, June 10, 

 at his farm in Paris township. Over seventy 

 members with their wives attended. The 

 Strawberry was the topic for discussion. 

 Nearly all members were of the opinion that 

 high culture paid best with this fruit. After a 

 " basket picnic " Mr. Bailey helped each guest 

 to a plate of " Maggie " Strawberries, a variety 

 which he raised in large quantities and of the 

 best quality, as all could aver. 



A stroll over the farm showed that, of the 

 many varieties cultivated, the Parry made the 

 best appearance. Belmont, a strong, vigorous 

 plant with good fruit, May King, Maggie, 

 Crescent, and Cumberland were in prime con- 

 dition. One gi'eat advantage here was the see- 

 ing of most of these varieties in large plats, an 



Attaching Labels to Plates of Fruit. 



[Report of C. W. Garjield^s remarks before the 

 Fruit Growers'' Association, of Toronto.] 

 In Michigan we have had that thing under 

 advisement for some years. We succeeded 

 in getting a style of plate that pleases us very 

 much, a tin plate japanned. We can transport 

 four or five thousand of them in small space. 



But when we got a label on the plate at a 

 state fair somebody who wanted to see exactly 

 what was on that label would reach over, take 

 it off, and then set it back on another plate. 

 We then doubled up some wire and fixed it so 

 it would slip right over the edge of the plate, 

 and then there was a twist at the top of it that 

 we could stick a card in. The twist on the 

 bottom to slip on the plate was not like the 

 twist on the top, so that in the majority of 

 cases people got it wrong side up, and then 

 when the labels were put in they were in all 

 shapes. We were sick of it the first year. 



For three or four years we were trying to get over 

 that, so at our last exhibition I had a wire so 

 arranged that there is a circle with a standard going 

 right up in the center of that circle (see upper left 

 engraving). That circle may be a couple of inches 

 across, and it lies on the plate. You put the Apples 

 right on the circle, and the label sticks right up in 

 the center, and the Apples that are on the edge of 

 the circle keep it firm. You can have an entry card 

 and the name of the fniit both on the upright part. 

 An important point in connection with this article 

 is that you cannot jerk the label away without pull- 

 ing the Apples off the plate. Another advantage is 

 that there is no doubt to which plate the label 

 belongs, as the label is right in the center. It was 

 estimated these could be made for a cent apiece 

 when made by the thousand. 



The Work of Vlllag:e Improvement 

 Associations. 



[Concluded from Page 198.) 



Objects to be Gained. Some of the more im- 

 portant objects of these associations are as follows: 

 First. They foster public spirit and town pride. 

 Their influence is marked and happy in fraternizing 

 the people of a town and leading all cla.sses to meet 

 and work for the common good. Illustration: in 

 one town where a large foreign population is en- 

 gaged in extensive quarries and in manufacturing, 

 the manufacturers, operatives and quarrymen 

 joined with the citizens on a Saturday afternoon in 

 a " big bee, " where many hands made light work, 

 or, rather, did much work, and all " had a good 

 time." Henceforth they thought more of their 

 town and more of their homes, which shared in 

 these improvements, as did the sidewalks, road- 

 sides, cemeteries and other public 

 grounds. The village improvement bee 

 may help to counteract the tendency 

 of rural life to isolation and seclusion. 

 In some towns, after such a day of 

 united work, a collation prepared by 

 the ladies becomes another bond of 

 union and fellowship. 



Second. A prominent aim is the im- 

 provement of the home. There remain 

 many homes desolate, neglected and 

 repulsive, where taste and trees, 

 shrubbery or vines, with a lawn, would 

 seem to make the "wilderness blos- 

 som as a Rose." Slatternliness in and 

 around the house repels from their 

 rural liomes many youth who might 

 otherwise be bound in strongest ties 

 to the fireside. Many farmers and 

 mechanics, and their tlu-ifty wives, 

 now realize how easily and econom- 

 ically they can surround their dwell- 

 ings with flowers, shrubs and vines 

 like the \'irginia Creeper, or the still more 

 beautiful Japanese Ivy, and thus increase the at- 

 tractions and market value of the homestead. If 

 taste and culture adorn our homes and grounds, 

 and music adds its charms, our children will find 

 the healthful pursuits and pleasures of rural homes 

 more attractive than the pomp and glare and whirl 

 of city life. 



Third. Another aim is the promotion of public 

 health by securing better hygienic conditions in the 

 homes of the people and in their surroundings. 

 Many sanitary improvements have thus been made, 

 especially in drainage, in the removal of wtiste- 

 the putrescent animal and vegetable matter around 

 the house— and inguardiug wells and watersupplies 

 from impurities. I often find faulty drains; some 

 times an open, stagnant pool under the kitchen 

 window, or neglected privies or cess-pools too near 

 the well, or a cellar made foul by cats, rats or 

 decaying vegetables, and tainting the air of the 

 whole house. I find many wells vitiated by surface 

 water, fouled by impurities, and decomposing sub- 

 stances lying on the ground. 



Fourth. The making of sidewalks meets a felt 

 want in many towns. In no other way can the 

 comfort and sociality of a village be promoted so 

 economically as by making sidewalks. One town 

 has lately completed many miles of neat gravel 

 sidewalks, which add greatly to the attractiveness 

 of the village. I have observed with interest the 

 public appreciation and usefulness of the concrete 

 sidewalks in Clinton, Conn. The fine footways 

 abounding throughout England invite the pedes, 

 trian habits of the women of that country. It is 

 largely because they exercise daily in the open air 

 that they retain so long the bloom and vigor of 

 youth. More outdoor rambles would promote the 

 health and prolong the lives of American women. 

 Good footways invite friendly calls and foster 

 social life and rural enjoyment. 



Fifth. Street lights remove another hindrance 

 to social intercourse in country villages. Evening 

 is the favorite time for calls and for various gather- 

 ings. The cost of kerosene illuminators is now 

 moderate. It is one of the signs of social advance- 

 ment that so nmny of our associations are thus 

 saying, " Let there be light." 



