206 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 4S3. 



. itural Department. 



The Vegetable Garden. 

 I I 'PIOUS rains during the middle of May and the absence 

 oi unseasonable warm weather and of frosty nights have 

 peen specially favorable for starting vegetables of nearly all 

 Kinds, ~>eas especially revel in such weather and have made 

 s'out hatjlm which ought to yield good returns later. Our hot, 

 unvmers make it impossible to produce as large, sweet, 

 "'.s peas here as in Great Britain, where the cooler, 

 ter climate is extremely favorable to their growth, and 

 their bearing season is much longer. With a little extra atten- 

 tion, however, a satisfactory crop may be grown. Hot weather 

 forces the vines unnaturally, and if the roots are dry one 

 good picking of peas is about all the vines will yield, when the 

 ground might as well be cleared for another crop. A mulch- 

 ing between the rows with Meadow Grass or similar material 

 is useful. If the Peas are sown where they can be watered 

 artificially, and a good standing sprinkler is kept running night 

 and day in the patch, the yield will be increased immensely. 

 For a late crop we still find the old Champion of England 

 indispensable. There are many varieties which produce larger 

 pods and peas and as heavy crops in England, but they are 

 not so satisfactory here for some reason. Stratagem, York- 

 shire Hero, Shropshire Hero and Duke of Albany do fairly 

 well ; other kinds are unsatisfactory. 



Lima Beans should be sown here about the end of May 

 when the weather is settled and warm. It they are sown earlier 

 they do not germinate satisfactorily. We find Burpee's Bush 

 Luna the best of its class and have discarded the Pole Limas 

 entirely. There is really no use for them when the bush varie- 

 ties will yield fully as fine pods and many more of them in 

 proportion to the space occupied, without the labor of erecting 

 poles and keeping the vines fastened to them in the earlier 

 stives of their growth, and the probability of their being blown 

 down by autumnal gales. We make fortnightly sowings of 

 String Beans until early in August, so as to have a constant 

 supply. 



Peppers and Eggplants do best in very rich soil. If a regu- 

 lar supply of liquid-manure and a light mulching can be 

 afforded to the Eggplants the fruit will be greatly improved in 

 quality as well as in quantity. Potato bugs are likely to be 

 troublesome during the early stages of growth, and the plants 

 will need hand-picking daily. Neglect in this particular may 

 mean the loss ot every plant in an incredibly short space of 

 time. To destroy the same pests on Potatoes we mix one 

 pound of Paris green with two bushels of air-slacked lime, and 

 dust this over the plants with a fine sifter in the early morning 

 while the foliage is damp. Two applications during a season 

 are sufficient to keep them under. 



Tomatoes have recently been planted out. These we will 

 look over once a week to tie up and do necessary thinning out 

 of laterals. Tomatoes are now generally trained on poles or 

 to trellises, and those who have once tried this system will 

 hardly care to see their plants rambling over the ground as in 

 former years. For the best success Tomatoes should be 

 planted on different ground at least every second year. The 

 trellises are easily moved if they are light. Aristocrat and 

 Autocrat are two useful dwarf-growing Tomatoes of the Cham- 

 pion type specially adapted for gardens where space is limited. 

 We have tried both for forcing, but they were not a success. 

 Generally we pick our first fruit out-of-doors about the end of 

 June, from plants set out from six-inch pots with fruit already 

 set. Our indoor plants provide a good supply until the middle 

 of July, when we throw them away. A batch which com- 

 menced to fruit at the end of February is still bearing freely, 

 and the fruit of a later lot is just beginning to ripen. As our 

 plants are all grown in pots frequent waterings and copious 

 doses of strong stimulants are needed at this season. Of varie- 

 ties we have forced this season Cornet is satisfactory ; the fruit 

 is of medium size, firm and of good flavor, and it sets very 

 freely in winter. Eclipse has done extremely well. We picked 

 an average of sixty-two fruits from twenty plants in one batch. 

 The fruit is not quite so firm as that of Cornet, and if planted 

 out a large proportion is liable to come hollow. May's Favorite 

 and Comrade are both desirable sorts to fruit from January 

 1 uiward. Some of our most popular outdoor sorts are 

 failures under glass. At a commercial place near-by a grower 

 who had not handled Tomatoes before planted a house 100 by 

 20 feet with Acme, Lorillard and Perfection in December. A 

 house of this size planted with the proper forcing varieties and 

 treated properly should have yielded 4,000 pounds of fruit, 

 whereas not a bushel has been picked thus far, while the 

 house is a wilderness of laterals almost as dense as an African 

 jungle. 



Many growers now transplant their Onions instead of sow- 

 ing them outdoors, and this is certainly the best method. 

 Plants set out about April 1 5 1 li are now growing vigorously, 

 and all the attention they will need from now onward is to stir 

 the soil with a hoe or cultivator, and a good watering in dry 

 weather, to make a crop of extra-large bulbs. Doses ot liquid 

 manure, applied once in ten days after the middle of June, 

 particularly after a rainfall, will greatly increase their size. 

 Onions are among the few crops which succeed on the same 

 ground year after year. If Leeks have not vet been sown 

 there is still time to make a sowing. To produce good Leeks 

 they should be liberally treated during the growing season, 

 like Celery. Musselburgh and The Lyon are first-class sorts. 

 Early Parsley kept in frames over winter is now running to 

 seed. This is a suitable time to make a sowing of Parsley for 

 plants to be lifted in the fall and set in frames or placed in a 

 cool greenhouse. When large enough to handle, the plants 

 should be thinned out a foot apart. A variety of sweet herbs 

 and pot herbs are needed on most private establishments. 

 Some of these are annuals, while many are perennials. A 

 sowing of any of these may now be made. Sowings of Cauli- 

 flower made now will give a good supply of heads in the fall. 

 Brussels Sprouts, one of the finest of the Brassica family, may 

 still be sown, while Savoys, Curled Borecole of different sorts, 

 and Cabbage should not be neglected. Lettuce should now 

 have as cool and moist a location as possible, and a fortnightly 

 sowing will assure a constant supply. Good summer kinds we 

 have tried are Deacon, Black-seeded Tennis-ball, Salamander, 

 Big Boston and Sutton's Cabbage. 



Early Celery has recently been planted outdoors in well- 

 enriched trenches, and will be kept moist at the root to insure its 

 steady growth. Our main sowing for winter use is not quite large 

 enough to prick out yet. An additional sowing of Paris Golden 

 should be made now to come in during October and Novem- 

 ber ; if this is sown now there is less danger of its rusting. 

 Cucumbers in frames and houses, particularly those of the 

 English type, now require an abundance of water and frequent 

 doses of manure, while a syringing with tobacco-waterorsome 

 other liquid insecticide will keep black fly in check. Unless 

 fumigation is done lightly and carefully it is liable to scorch the 

 foliage badly. Squash bugs will shortly be about in swarms, 

 and they will speedily destroy all vestiges of Squash, Cucumber 

 and Melon plants if they are not attended to promptly. Some 

 of these details are liable to be neglected during the rush of 

 bedding out in the flower garden. We dust our plants with 

 tobacco-dust and lime, particularly on the under sides of the 

 leaves while the foliage is damp. A daily journey should be 

 made among the plants so that proper care may be given 

 them, and a few hours of neglect may cause serious loss. 



Taunton, Mass. W. N. Craig. 



Notes on Garden Irises. 



T)EFORE the Irises mentioned on page 188 have ceased to 

 -*-' llower the bolder-bearded species and varieties will make 

 their appearance. As usual, the first to bloom is the purple- 

 flowered I. Germanica, which is the most universally known 

 species of the family. In fact, non-gardening people if inter- 

 rogated will always say that "an Iris is a big purple flower 

 olten seen in old gardens." Following the type closely is the 

 white variety and also the white Florentine Ins. Both of these 

 Irises are slightly tinged with light purple, but are strikingly 

 beautiful, having also bold flowers on tall stems and broad 

 erect leaves. Both of these species are scentless. The flower 

 which often does duty as I. Florentina, and is fragrant, is a 

 form of I. pallida. There is a pure white form of I. Florentina 

 known as I. albicans. Good forms of this are treasures not 

 often to be had from the dealers. 



Lately there has been introduced a superior form of Iris Ger- 

 manica. variously known as Macrantha or Amazon. It bears 

 a flower much larger than the type, but similar in coloring. The 

 hybrid German Irises are also coming into flower. Of these I 

 have several times in Garden and Forest given details which 

 it seems unnecessary to repeat, but it may be said again that a 

 carefully selected lot of these plants will give at this season in 

 the garden of hardy plants a most charming and delightful 

 effect with a minimum of trouble and expense. 



Of a distinct type are the Siberian Irises, which are also of 

 this season. These are beardless Irises with tall grass-like 

 leaves, and as they have short creeping underground rhizomes 

 they make dense clumpsof the utmost hardiness, and are very 

 useful and effective in the garden. There are several forms 

 with purple and white flowers which are of moderate size. There 

 is also another narrow-leaved Iris, very common through 

 Asia, I. ensata. The tall leaves are strongly veined, and the 



