June i, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



261 



stroy weeds as to cut up the sproutinfj luislies and throw all 

 the strength of the new growth into canes in the rows. It left 

 alone the ground between rows would he alisolutely Idled with 

 young shoots. In spite of the cultivator, I ;uii ohligeil in the 

 fall to dig out superlluous canes. These are heeled in till 

 spring, and then sokl. Every grower of small fruits should 

 have his surplus bushes and vines in sliape to be disposetl of 

 at some prolit. Until last year 1 grew my Raspberries even 

 higher than at present, anci the advantage was in shading the 

 ground, as well as making it more convei\ient to pick ; but I 

 have changed my plan somewhat because the tendency was 

 to shade too heavily the young shoots and weaken canes. The 

 walls of berries presented on solid rows of canes tied as de- 

 scribed is a picture. 



In growing Blackberries we are compelled to take into con- 

 sideration the style of growth ; for some of our standard 

 varieties send up invariably erect canes with few side shoots, 

 while others are spreading and sprawling. Of the former 

 kind are Snyder and Wachusetts ; of the latter, Minnewaska ; 

 and between the two Erie, Agawam and Taylor. There is a 

 decided advantage in the upright growers if you insist on 

 cultivating between the rows. But this, after the berries have 

 taken full possession of the soil, I abandon. They will 

 smother weeds and grass, and no hoeing is necessary. After 

 the second year I do nothing but cut out dead canes 

 and shorten the tops, either in the fall or spring. The main 

 point with Blackberries is the soil. This, if possible, should 

 be cool, loamy and rich ; but I never allow any application of 

 barn manure. Fertilize with soil, rotted chip soil, or whatever 

 will mulch and cool the soil. Our chief danger with Black- 

 berries is a dry spell when the berries are approaching ma- 

 turity. Of the berries now in cultivation, my clioice for qual- 

 ity is Taylor and Agawam. Erie has not killed back this 

 winter as it sometimes does ; but it is not with me a good 

 cropper of fine berries. Snyder is always reliable, but of 

 moderate quality. Wilson, Jr., I see is still spoken of by some 

 as hardy, but here it is hopelessly a failure. It kills down 

 always, and even in the winters when peach-buds escape. 

 Kittatinny is a noble fruit, and I get a crop from a small field 

 by bending down the canes. Wachusetts Thornless does not 

 differ largely from Snyder, and is entirely hardy. Few berries 

 are badly affected by dry weather. On the whole, the key to 

 success is cool, moist soil, not wet. If planted on high land, 

 eitlier mulching must be resorted to or frequent use of the 

 cultivator. The Lucretia Dewberry is tender and must be 

 laid down for winter and covered with leaves. In the spring 

 I lift mine and tie to trellises. It will not pay to plant large 

 fields. The demand for the Dewberry is, however, unlimited, 

 but few persons are willing to incur the labor of cultivating it. 

 The fruit is enormously large, very rich, and two weeks 

 earlier than the high Blackberries. It will not ship to a dis- 

 tant market. r- n u j> 



Clinton, N.Y. E- P- PotVell. 



Insecticides and Fungicides in the Orchard. 



PERHAPS I am too conservative for this progressive age, 

 but I cannot help thinking that we are doing more 

 spraying in our orchards now than we shall do ten years 

 hence. There has rarely been any great scarcity of tree 

 fruits in this country that spraying would obviate. It cer- 

 tainly could not have given the country a generally good 

 crop of apples in i8go, and when there is a good blooming 

 and the fruit sets freely, we have enough, and some- 

 times a good deal more than enough, as we had last year. In 

 the off-years it will probably pay to spray our apple orchards, 

 but in a plentiful one it would be better if we Icnew a good 

 way to greatly reduce the fruitage of our trees, by a simpler 

 method than thinning it by hand. I had all the fruit my trees 

 would carry in 1890, being one of the few lucky ones, and I 

 am still thankful to the Codlin-moth for the help she gave me 

 in causing a large proportion of it to drop prematurely. I 

 have never yet felt sure that this moth is, on the whole, a 

 serious enemy to the careful fruit-grower. I am inclined to 

 think that a light crop, occasionally, is a benefit to the trees 

 as well as the market. 



So much for the Codlin-moth. Spraying has no effect upon 

 the Railroad-worm, Trypeta pomonella. As for the leaf 

 and fruit fungus that causes spotting, I think the quicker we 

 uproot every variety subject thereto, the better for us all. 

 There are enough good sorts that do not spot, and some care- 

 ful work in crossing the resisting sorts upon the best of the 

 valuable spotting sorts, will give us practically many non- 

 spotting duplicates. Such a duplicate, with me at least, is the 

 Shiawassie, in place of the Fameuse. Scarcely one of the 



Russian Apples is subject to this disfigurement, and by free 

 crossing with resistant varieties we can keep clear of spot 

 altogether. What, then, is the use of planting out these spot- 

 ting varieties, when we already have so many kinds that do 

 not spot ? Spotting and cracking of our varieties of a|jple and 

 pear are simply indications of a weak constitution or an im- 

 licrfect adaptation to our soil or climate. We have been com- 

 pelled, on this eastern slo|)e of America, to plant the tree 

 fruits of the western slope of Europe. It is no way surprising 

 that many of them prove illy adapted to our climatic ("ondi- 

 lions. The severe winters and torrid summers of eastern 

 America would be far better suited to the fruits of like latitudes 

 from eastern Asia. Perhaps crosses between the two would 

 be equally good ; no one knows that they would not be even 

 better. It remains a most astonishing thing to me, that the 

 elVorts to introduce these eastern European and Asiatic tree- 

 fruits to eastern America are looked upon so indilt'erently, 

 and even so scornfully, by most of our expert fruitgrowers, 

 and by the great nursery firms. We have, on the western slope of 

 our own continent, abundant proof that many of the fruits of 

 western Europe are much more at home there than in our 

 eastern states. The Vines of western Europe have never 

 succeeded in eastern America. The same is true of Apricots 

 from that region, but varieties of all these fruits are growing 

 successfully in eastern Asia, that, by all analogy, ought to suit 

 us much better and give us more satisfactory results than we 

 now liave. True, in our middle states, the Pears, Peaches, 

 Plums, Cherries and Apples of our transatlantic neighbors — 

 or a sufficient number of them or of their American seedlings 

 — are doing tolerably well, though rarely so well as in their 

 old home. But, even where these fruits succeed, the trees are 

 shorter-lived than the same varieties are in Europe, showing 

 that they are not thoroughly at home with us. In fact, most 

 of our popular and profitable varieties of Apples, Plums and 

 Cherries, and even of our Pears, are seedlings grown in this coun- 

 try, and presumably a step or more on the road toward gradual 

 acclimation to our conditions. Why adhere to a weak type 

 when a stronger is at hand ? It may be said that the Asiatic 

 varieties are not equal to the European. No one knows this 

 to be true. It is as yet but a hasty and bold assumption of 

 conservative minds. But, even if true, when we have secured 

 the vigor we may soon add to it the desired quality, and I feel 

 very sure that when we get stronger races of tree-fruits we 

 shall not have to wait long for quality, while we shall have 

 constitutions vastly in advance of the old stock, and con- 

 sequently greater resistance to both insects and disease. 



Newport, Vt. P- H. HoskillS. 



Some Vegetable Notes. 



THE last week in IVIay or first of June is a good time in this 

 latitude to sow Tomato-seed for a late crop. Even if the 

 early plants, by reason of an unusually favorable season, 

 continue to produce fruit, it is, late in the season, very 

 inferior to that produced as the tfrst crop on a fresh lot of 

 plants. For canning purposes this late crop is the best of the 

 season. 



Theplantingof succession crops of Snap Beansshouldbekept 

 up, as fast as the plants of the last so wing fairly develop leaves, un- 

 til August, and in this latitude until the middle of September. 



Salsify-seed sown the last of the month or the first of June 

 will generally be better than that sown early in spring. Here, 

 July 1st is time enough, for if sown early it will run to seed at 

 midsummer, or at least get a check that will injure the quality 

 of the roots. 



Succession crops of Sugar Corn should be planted up to 

 July. In this climate it is almost impossible to have early 

 sweet corn, on account of the ravages of the Boll-worm, so 

 we have to be content with Adam's Early in June and early 

 July. With late Sugar Corn it is different, and we have fine 

 ears of Stowell's Evergreen and Mammodi. Late in May is a 

 good time to plant it, with successive plantings every two 

 weeks until the latter part of July. 



Musk-melons may still be planted. For family use we prefer 

 the Emerald Gem, but the city-market buyers, who buy by eye 

 mainly, will take the coarse Hackensack and even worse 

 ones in preference. 



Plants of Fottler's Brunswick Cabbage, set now, will make 

 a fine succession crop to the Wakefield and Early Summer. 



It is not yet too late to plant Okra. Aside from its value as 

 an ingredient in soup, this is a delicious vegetable boiled and 

 served like asparagus. It is not well to plant it too early, as it 

 is quite sensitive to the weather, and will do better, starting 

 after the ground has become warm. 



In the south, the last of May is the best time to sow seed for 



