26 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 308. 



neglected. An interesting bulletin, prepared by Mr. E. 

 G. Lodeman, has just been issued by the Cornell Ex- 

 periment Station, and it contains the opinions of sev- 

 eral practical fruit-growers on this subject. Mr. S. D. 

 Willard, of Geneva, New York, says that "no man engaged 

 in growing apples can afford to dispense with spraying. 

 It should be done, at least, twice in a season and every 

 year, and it will pay a larger percentage on the investment 

 than any other outlay of equal amount." Mr. George T. 

 Powell, of Ghent, New York, writes, after five years' expe- 

 rience in spraying with insecticides and fungicides : " I am 

 satisfied to plan for doing this work in the future more 

 thoroughly than I have ever yet done." Mr. C. E. Chap- 

 man corroborates these opinions, and states that his 

 sprayed apples not only "showed less scab, but they were 

 larger and of better color and brought higher prices." We 

 add, in a condensed form, some of the principal points 

 brought out in this bulletin : 



Apple-scab. — This is the most serious enemy of the apple- 

 grower. The fungus is active before the leaf-buds open, and 

 the little apples are attacked as soon as the flower is open. It 

 is not known at what season the fungus practically ceases or 

 during what period the apples and leaves are most liable to 

 attacks, nor can it be definitely stated what number of applica- 

 tions are necessary to protect apples from the scab-fungus. As 

 a rule, it may be said that the application should be made at 

 least once before the trees blossom, while two applications 

 are necessary after the falling of the blossoms upon those va- 

 rieties which are habitually injured by the scab to any serious 

 extent. Upon the most susceptible varieties one or two addi- 

 tional treatments are advisable, while only one or two applica- 

 tions can be made with profit to such sorts as have strong 

 resistant powers to the disease. Such varieties as King, 

 Maiden Blush and Fall Pippins will repay four or, probably, 

 six applications. Red Astrachan can be profitably treated 

 three times, but it is doubtful whether it will pay to make more 

 than one or two applications to the Baldwin or Fallawater. 



The Best Fungicide.— In making a choice of remedies, 

 cost, ease in preparing and applying, and adhesive power must 

 all be taken into account, and lately another important factor 

 must be considered, which is the readiness with which the 

 various fungicides may be applied in combination with the 

 arsenites against insects. No one surpasses in all these points, 

 but the Bordeaux mixture seems as yet to be the most effective 

 fungicide. The amount required to spray a full-grown tree is 

 about four gallons, and with proper machinery one hundred 

 and twenty-five trees can be sprayed easily in a day. A power- 

 ful pump should always be used, as it requires twice as much 

 exertion to apply a given amount of liquid with a small pump 

 than is necessary when one of ample power is used. All the 

 parts which are exposed to the action of the mixtures should 

 be of brass or brass-lined, for iron soon corrodes. The noz- 

 zle used at the station is known as the McGowan, and it gives 

 little trouble by clogging. Trees with spreading tops, like the 

 King and Baldwin, should be set at least forty feet apart, in 

 order to furnish sufficient room for the passage of a wagon. 

 The greater ease with which an orchard may be sprayed when 

 in full bearing is of itself a sufficient argument for open plant- 

 ing of Apple-trees. The arsenites are the approved remedies 

 against the codlin-moth, and no preference can be given to 

 Paris-green or London-purple for this purpose, provided they 

 contain an equal amount of arsenic. The first brood of larvse 

 can be controlled by two applications of either of the arsenites, 

 and it is doubtful whether any financial gain is derived from 

 later applications. It appears that the Bordeaux mixture and 

 the arsenites are equally effective, whether they are applied 

 alone or together, although Paris-green and London-purple, 

 when applied more than once or twice, may do damage to the 

 foliage, unless their caustic action is neutralized. Lime appa- 

 rently stops this action if a quarter of a pound, first slacked in 

 water, is put in every forty gallons of the poison mixture. 



Results of Spraying — The foliage of a tree, when kept 

 healthy by spraying, persists longer and does better work, and 

 this is seen in the size of the apples. The size of Fall Pippins 

 was practically doubled by keeping the trees and fruit free 

 from fungus. The increased health and vigor of the tree also 

 intensifies the color of certain varieties, and the keeping qual- 

 ities of the Fall Pippins and Maiden Blush were apparently 

 augmented, and all these improvements were so evident that 

 in the market the price of the sprayed apples over those not 

 sprayed was increased on an average by $1.00 a barrel by the 

 applications made during the season. 



Vegetables in the Greenhouse. 



THE slow, laborious and costly method of forcing vegeta- 

 bles by the use of fermented manure in hot-beds is fast 

 giving way to cultivation in greenhouses. This is certainly 

 more economical, saving time and labor, as also the cost of 

 manure, one-half of which is lost in the process of fermenta- 

 tion, to say nothing of cleanliness. Besides, the results of 

 greenhouse cultivation are impossible with ordinary hot-beds, 

 since under the most favorable conditions only one crop can 

 be taken, whereas two can be obtained from the greenhouse 

 between December and May. 



I desire here to give an account of the use we made of the 

 Chrysanthemum-house between the 1st of December, 1892, 

 and June of last year. The house is sixty feet long, containing 

 an area of benches equal to that of twenty hot-bed sash. A 

 raised bench was filled with good rich soil to the depth of six 

 inches, and Lettuce-seed was sown on part of the bench, and 

 the remainder was left for successive plantings. This space 

 might have been used in the mean time for other plants, but 

 this would have involved the risk of introducing aphis. The 

 result was that we never had occasion to fumigate or use in- 

 secticides during the whole winter, and those who have been 

 troubled with aphis among Lettuce know what an advantage 

 this was. It was decided to try as many as possible of the 

 principal forcing varieties of the different vegetables in order 

 to determine which succeeded best. As a night temperature 

 of more than fifty degrees, Fahrenheit, could not be main- 

 tained, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Melons, which need sixty 

 degrees or more, were not tried. The very small difference 

 between the various strains of Erfurt Cauliflower was surpris- 

 ing, and, except in the purity of the strains, there was none 

 worth noting. Early Danish was two days earlier than any. 

 Henderson's Snowball was the most even grower. Veitch's 

 Early Forcing, Kronck's Perfection and Farquhar's short- 

 stemmed Early Erfurt were very much alike, and all a little 

 uneven. Among Lettuce, Hettinger's Hot-bed Lettuce was by 

 far the best, and, curious to note, unlike most other varieties 

 of the Tennis-ball, it proved of no use whatever for garden- 

 culture. Henderson's Rapid-forcing Radish was the earliest 

 of all, being ready in from eighteen to twenty days from sow- 

 ing. This variety was closely followed by French Breakfast 

 and Ne Plus Ultra. The white-tipped, forcing, turnip-rooted 

 variety is about four days later, but is crisper and better fla- 

 vored. Early Egyptian Beet and French forcing Carrot each 

 took three months to mature. 



Old Beet-roots forced nicely for beet-greens, and small Ruta- 

 baga Turnips, forced, and cut when about one foot high, make 

 a most delicious dish. Under the bench, room was found for 

 a few roots of Rhubarb, and by putting these in from cold 

 storage we had them in succession during the whole winter. 



Asparagus forced equally well under the benches, but from 

 some reason, perhaps because the roots were too old, although 

 they forced freely, the shoots were woody and tasteless. From 

 another experience in forcing Asparagus, I found that it is bet- 

 ter to place sashes over beds specially prepared for this pur- 

 pose, and to line the sides below the ground-level and upward 

 to the top of the frames with dry leaves, for the winter, and in 

 early spring with manure. This method makes the conditions 

 more natural. For green onions for salad we found that 

 shallots forced easier than onion sets, and were equally as well 

 flavored. A patch of Watercress four feet square furnished 

 all the supply we required. 



For succession we planted twelve Cauliflowers and a pro- 

 portionate quantity of Lettuce-plants and other vegetables 

 each week. The same ground was fertilized and used 

 over again as fast as cleared, only in a different rotation. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Forcing-houses in Dark Climates — Damping Off. 



MLICH sunlight is essential to the most successful forcing 

 of fruits and flowers. It is not always best that the sun 

 pour directly upon the plants all day, but the days should be 

 bright and clear. Those portions of the country which are 

 much overcast during winter should be avoided for commer- 

 cial forcing-business. Our own experience enforces this 

 advice. Ithaca is one of the most cloudy places in the northern 

 states. A bright, clear day in the winter months is unusual, 

 and frequently the sun does not shine an hour continuously 

 for a week and more at a time. Lender these conditions plants 

 grow slowly and bear comparatively little; and ttie greatest 

 care must be exercised in watering and general management 

 to keep the soil sweet, and to avoid the spread of fungi. If I 

 were going into commercial forcing-house work, I should 



