406 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 503. 



well watered a few days previous to planting. Two or three 

 waterings during the winter should be sufficient, but extra care 

 must betaken toward spring, when the roots begin to move. 

 If a large number of plants are grown and additional space is 

 required, partly sunken brick or stone pits may be used. 

 These are preferably built on the north side of greenhouses as 

 lean-to structures, or may be made as additions to the barn- 

 cellar. If the roof is flat and there is danger tha t the kylights 

 will be overweighted with snow, tilted lantern skylights may 

 be built, and this will also provide a good means of ventilation. 



Wellesley, Mass. T - D. Hatfield. 



A Thin-skinned Americana Plum. 



THE thick, tough and often harsh skin of the native plums is 

 the most serious objection to their edible qualities, espe- 

 cially of those belonging to the Americana species. I have 

 been looking hopefully for a variation in this species that 

 should have the thin and mild skin of the Domestica plums, 

 and now this variation seems to have appeared. A plum has 

 recently been found in northern Minnesota that, with other 

 valuable qualities, has a skin so thin and tender that it can be 

 eaten, when fully ripe, as readily and with as little unpleasant- 

 ness as the tenderest-skinned European plum. The fruit is 

 very large for a native plum ; it ripens early, and while not as 

 rich as some of the finest Americana varieties, is sufficiently 

 tender, juicy and pleasant to rank as first-class. 



This plum, which is being introduced by a Minnesota 

 nursery firm under the name Aitkin, appears to belong to the 

 group that was described as Prunus nigra by Aiton, and that 

 Professor Waugh proposes to designate as Prunus Americana, 

 variety nigra. 



Experiment Station. Madison, Wis. -C o. Lrdjf. 



Vegetable-garden Notes. 



THE vegetable garden presents a somewhat desolate ap- 

 pearance since recent frosts killed all tender vegetables, 

 and comparatively few green crops now remain. We always 

 have all crops removed to the rubbish pile as soon as they are 

 spent, for neatness, and because they are disagreeable to han- 

 dle if allowed to remain until after sharper frosts. The season 

 now drawing to a close has not been a favorable one for all 

 vegetable crops. There was an abundance of rain, but the 

 temperature in June, July and part of August was much below 

 the normal. There is only about one-third of an average crop 

 of potatoes. Sweet Corn was not up to the average, being poor 

 until the end of August. A great deal of Fodder Corn, grown 

 by farmers in this locality, failed to ripen. A sowing of first- 

 crop Sugar Corn made on July 18th gave us good ears by Sep- 

 tember 27th ; Crosby, sown on Juiy 2d, was ready a week 

 earlier. Tomatoes have not done as well as usual ; on light 

 lands the season has suited them fairly well, but in stiff, clayey 

 loam, such as our soil is, the results have been less satisfac- 

 tory. For an early variety and good cropper, Early Fordhook 

 (Burpee's) has done well ; the fruits cracked less than those 

 of any other sort grown by us. Aristocrat, Stone, May's Fa- 

 vorite, Honor Bright and Autocrat all proved reliable main- 

 crop varieties. The past season suited Peas better, perhaps, 

 than any other vegetable, and late sowings of American Won- 

 der and Nott's Excelsior have recently given us nice pickings. 



Celery now commands attention, as it is the most important 

 crop remaining in the ground. This season we have been 

 fortunate enough to escape all blight on our plants, although 

 many market-growers complain of the prevalence of rust and 

 leaf blight. As the season advances plants which are being 

 blanched bv means of boards will need some protection over- 

 head in the form of a scattering of leaves, hay or dry fern. 

 Winter varieties, such as Boston Market and Kalamazoo, must 

 now be earthed up. Preparatory to this work we mix some 

 air-slacked lime in with the soil about the stems of the plants 

 to keep worms away. Of course, there are various ways of 

 wintering Celery, all of which have something to be said in 

 their favor. We have tried them all and are convinced that 

 the best way to have Celery in good condition throughout the 

 winter, with a sweet nutty flavor, is to avoid storing it in caves, 

 pits and cellars, and to earth it up where it grows and protect 

 it overhead sufficiently to exclude frost, with leaves or seaweed 

 and boards. This plan may involve a little more labor, and 

 market-growers may never adopt it, but for private establish- 

 ments we believe it to be the best method. Winter Celery 

 should be planted on ground where water never stands ; 

 we place ours on light soil and it never fails to winter well. 



Root crops, such as Parsnips, Beets, Carrots and Turnips, 

 are stored in sand in an open shed and covered with leaves on 



the approach of cold weather. Parsnips should be left where 

 they grow, or, at least, a part of the crop. Their flavor is im- 

 proved by a few freezings. Those taken out in spring have a 

 better flavor than the stored ones. Parsley may now be planted 

 in a frame ; the roots should be shortened and most of the 

 large leaves removed. A few pots in a corner of a greenhouse 

 will furnish a supply while frames are closed up by severe cold 

 and snow. A few roots of Mint placed in boxes and brought 

 into heat later on will also be useful. Lettuces from late sow- 

 ings out-of-doors are now being transplanted into frames. 

 Some of these will head up by Thanksgiving season, while 

 others will continue the winter supply until they are suc- 

 ceeded by those sown in heat in the new year. 



We have just made a sowing of forcing varieties of Toma- 

 toes. These are intended to ripen from the end of February 

 onward. Our earliest sowing now has fruits of a good size, and 

 these will commence to ripen about the first of November. 

 These plants need plenty of liquid-manure and the necessary 

 attention in removing laterals, dead foliage, etc. 



With the greater part of the vegetable garden cleared of 

 crops, much may now be done to relieve the pressure of 

 spring work. Beds of Horseradish, Asparagus and Rhubarb 

 may be made now. Manure may be wheeled on vacant land 

 and dug over as time allows, leaving it rough on the surface, 

 so that frost may act on it. To make stiff, retentive soil more 

 workable a dressing of lime rubble, finely screened coal-ashes, 

 sand, road-scapings or crushed shells may be given. We 

 usually do some trenching in our vegetable garden before the 

 first of December, and always work in plenty of good manure. 

 Ground which has been cropped for half a century is greatly 

 benefited by this treatment, as abundant crops in the succeed- 

 ing season show. 



Taunton, Mass. IV. N. C?-aig. 



Plant Labels. 



A SET of permanent labels which will suit the tastes of 

 all cultivators of plants is not likely to be adopted, but 

 there are several kinds now in use with which little fault can 

 be found. For bearing the names of the larger-growing her- 

 baceous plants and shrubs a strip of half-inch wood three 

 inches long and two inches wide fastened to a bar of iron one- 

 half inch wide, one-eighth inch thick, and of sufficient length 

 to insure stability in the ground, seems to be an almost perfect 

 label. Space is afforded on the surface for the natural order 

 to which the plant belongs, though this is hardly necessary, 

 excepting in public gardens, and for the common and techni- 

 cal names of the plant with its native country. This informa- 

 tion can all be written in letters of sufficient size to be clearly 

 legible at a distance of several yards. For the small-growing 

 herbaceous plants and shrubs a good label is in common use 

 in several of the large British botanic gardens. It was, I 

 think, first brought into use by Robert Lindsay, of the Edin- 

 burgh Botanic Garden. Tnis consists of a piece of sheet zinc 

 about two and a half inches long, one and three-quarter inches 

 wide, with the corners cut off. For keeping it in good condi- 

 tion a tew inches above the surface of the ground a piece of 

 galvanized wire about two feet long is bent double and the 

 looped part is soldered on to the zinc. The prongs thus 

 formed should be about two inches apart when in the ground. 

 Windstorms and freezing and thawing of the soil have no 

 effect in altering their position. The use of acid preparations 

 for writing on the zinc has to a great extent been discarded. 

 Besides their uncertain durability the appearance of the labels 

 when written on with these preparations is decidedly unattrac- 

 tive. An improved method, first used, if I mistake not, by 

 Henry Pfister, the head-gardener of the Executive Mansion, 

 and successfully utilized in Europe since, is to first give the 

 part of the label intended to be written on at least two coats of 

 good white paint ; these should be allowed to dry thoroughly. 

 Before writing on this label it should be given a thin coat of 

 black paint over the white, and while the paint is fresh the 

 name should be written with a sharp-pointed stick. The black 

 paint is thus displaced and the white shows through clearly. 

 If the lettering is done properly it will last several seasons. 

 When it becomes the worse for wear it is easily replaced by 

 soaking the labels in a solution of lye to remove the old paint, 

 when the operation of painting and lettering can be repro- 

 duced. The lettering is, of course, more legible when done 

 with a camel's-hair brush in black on a white ground, or in 

 white on a black ground. I prefer the latter method, as the 

 entire label is less conspicuous. Labels for potted plants, 

 especially Orchids and fine foliage plants, when made of strips 

 of wood painted white have a glaring look, which detracts from 

 the appearance of the plants. The method already suggested 

 of painting white first, then black, and lettering in white, can 



