428 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 348. 



TJ^OUR years ago I received a number of tubers of Gloriosa 

 " superba from India, and find that they flourish out-of- 

 doors here with very little care or attention. They were tried in 

 three different situations : (1) in high, dry sandy soil, with 

 little humus or fertilization, but occasional watering; (2) in 

 sandy soil rich in humus, near a watercourse and about three 

 feet above water; and (3) in the muck of a drained pond about 

 eighteen inches above water. In this last situation they grew 

 and bloomed, but dwindled from year to year and were sub- 

 ject to disease; in the first they did moderately well and were 

 healthy ; but in the intermediate position they grow rankly, 

 are covered with bloom all summer, and increase by abundant 

 self-sown seedlings every year. The only care they receive is 

 an occasional weeding and a little tying to make them cover 

 their trellis evenly. The tubers are left in the ground undis- 

 turbed, as the winter is our dry season, though the soil where 

 they are is always somewhat moist, and they do not start until 

 our spring has gone and really hot weather has set in — some 

 time in May. 



Perhaps the failure with this plant, mentioned on page 408, 

 may be due to too great drying or chilling of the tubers in win- 

 ter, or the soil may not have been sufficiently porous. With us 

 the soil-temperature is usually about seventy degrees during 

 the growing season, and not much below that point, even in 

 winter, a few inches below the surface. In May, when the 

 plants start, the air-temperature ranges from sixty degrees to 

 ninety degrees, and the atmosphere is generally dry, but the 

 plants do not seem to be injured in the least by the excessive 

 moisture and heat of the rainy season which make it so diffi- 

 cult for us to keep up a midsummer garden of any kind. 

 Oviedo, Florida. Theodore L. Mead. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



HIGH winds, heavy rains and early frosts have com- 

 bined to give the kitchen-garden a somewhat unkempt 

 appearance of late. As soon as Lima Beans, Sweet Corn 

 and other tender crops are cut off they should be pulled up 

 and wheeled to the rubbish-pile without delay. We find it a 

 good plan to save a quantity of corn-stalks, and when protect- 

 ing our Strawberry quarter with a coating of dry leaves in 

 December we spread the stalks thinly over the leaves, and 

 thus prevent the wind from scattering the leaves about. 

 Celery, being the most important crop now in the ground, 

 must receive constant attention. Except for late winter crops, 

 we have a decided preference for blanching with boards over 

 earthing up with soil after the ordinary fashion. With the 

 advent of colder weather soil can be banked up against the 

 boards, while a coating of leaves over the tops of the rows, 

 pressed loosely among the heads, will preserve them from 

 injury. Late varieties, such as Boston Market and Giant 

 Paschal, will need earthing several times, care being taken in 

 all cases to perform the operation when the plants are dry and 

 the soil not sodden. Among other varieties tested this year 

 for the first time, Kalamazoo is the most promising, and its 

 clean growth, fine flavor and probable good keeping qualities 

 will commend it for trial next year. De Candolle has grown 

 the most vigorous of any kind we have, but has rotted badly, 

 and does not seem likely to be of any service here. Paris 

 Market, solid white, is a good second early variety, which 

 gives large white heads as easily as White Plume, and of 

 equally good flavor. Cauliflowers heading in should be exam- 

 ined every day or two. Caterpillars must be looked after, or 

 they will quickly spoil the flowers. Hand-picking we find the 

 best remedy. A leaf or two should be broken down over the 

 flowers as a partial protection from frost. As a general rule, 

 we have no frost severe enough to injure Cauliflowers until 

 the 10th of November, about which date we find it advisable 

 to lift the plants not headed up into cold frames. 



Brussels Sprouts will be benefited by having a quantity of 

 the lower leaves, many of which are decaying, broken off. As 

 this vegetable will endure greater cold than others of the 

 Brassica family, plants need not be lifted before December. 

 Prickly Spinach will now be making good growth ; the ground 

 occupied by it should be stirred occasionally and weeds kept 

 down. Ruta Bagas and other Turnips will make considerable 

 growth still, and the hoe may with advantage be run through 

 them yet. Beets, Parsnips and Carrots will be ready for digging, 

 taking advantage of a time for lifting them when the soil is not 

 pasty. We find these keep admirably packed in sand and 

 laid on the floor of an open shed, a thick coating of dry leaves 

 being placed over them when colder weather sets in. Parsnips 

 will keep perfectly well in the ground where they have been 

 growing, but are more convenient if lifted and stored with the 

 other roots. Turnips can be similarly treated later on. 



Tomatoes on trellises, if they have so far escaped frost, may 

 be kept in bearing a little longer by being protected with a 

 canvas or other covering ; other fruit should be spread on the 

 shelf in a warm, airy shed. By this means the supply can 

 easily be prolonged into November. Plants for winter-fruit- 

 ing, raised from seed sown in July, should now have their 

 early fruit over half-swelled ; an early gathering from these 

 can be made early in November. Side laterals must be rubbed 

 off regularly, and fertilizing of the blossoms no longer 

 neglected if a regular production of fruit is desired. An addi- 

 tional sowing of seed, if made now, will give ripe fruit in 

 March. May's Favorite, Nicholson's Hybrid, Cheminand Con- 

 ference are all good kinds to use. 



Lettuce, out-of-doors, when headed up, will now keep well, 

 and a scattering of dry leaves over the plants will preserve them 

 from injury from early frost. Where good heads are desired 

 for Thanksgiving, the plants, if half-grown in the open, should 

 be transferred to a frame at once, kept well supplied with 

 water and freely aired. Later sowings should also now be 

 transplanted into their winter quarters. Parsley may now be 

 lifted and planted in a frame, when all but a few young leaves 

 should be removed. Herbs, such as Thyme, Marjoram, Sage, 

 etc., should be cut, tied in bunches and hung up to dry. 



All spent and decaying crops should be removed to the rub- 

 bish heap and the hoe run over ground where any weeds are 

 to be seen. The vegetable garden too often presents a 

 slovenly appearance at the approach of winter, decaying 

 crops and weeds being prominent features. Just as soon as 

 we get our crops from the ground we commence to put ma- 

 nure on, and a considerable portion of it is dug over before 

 winter, leaving the soil rough on the surface. This permits 

 the frost to pulverize the ground more, not to speak of 

 the improved appearance it gives to the garden. This autumn 

 preparation helps to take off the strain on one's energies when 

 spring work is pressing. 



Taunton, Mass. W. N. Craig. 



Violets. — These plants should all have been housed and well 

 established by this time, and possibly flowering freely for the 

 past month, as ours have been. One of the best features of 

 the Lady Hume Campbell Violet is that it may be brought to 

 good condition by the middle of September every year. 

 Violet-plants are now making a quantity of runners, and it is 

 the custom to pick them off and throw them away, depending 

 on those produced in the spring for the propagation of stock 

 for next year. A better way, and one that we have practiced 

 successfully for some years, is to save all of the last crop of 

 runners made in the fall and to put them in flats, in a mixture 

 of equal parts of sand and leaf-mold. The flats should be 

 placed in a shady cold frame, where they soon take root, and 

 where they may remain until next May — that is, until planting- 

 out time. Several advantages result from this plan ; the 

 Violet-plants that have been kept and forced to produce to 

 their utmost either in frames or houses are weakened thereby, 

 and are unfit for propagation, and may be thrown away. The 

 stock we have in frames is never subjected to fire-heat, and 

 the plants are sometimes frozen for several weeks at a time, 

 but this does not seem to hurt them if they are not thawed out 

 until the weather has moderated. Cold-frame space is also of 

 less value than that of a heated house, where all spring propa- 

 gation must of necessity be carried on, and this would be 

 quite an item in a large establishment of a commercial 

 grower, where it is necessary to handle the young stock 

 several times. But the principal point in favor of this plan 

 is that the young stock is strong, sturdy and not predisposed 

 to disease, and, as a matter of fact, we have never had any 

 disease on plants treated in this way. I am speaking now of 

 the newer Lady Campbell ; it has long been impossible to 

 grow any of the Marie Louise in this locality, but our plants 

 this year are a picture of health and better than ever before. 

 This seems to be largely due to the variety used and to fall propa- 

 gation, but getting them into their winter quarters by the last of 

 August is important. Our heavy night dews about that time 

 favors the spread of the dreaded spot, for which there is as yet 

 no cure, if the attack is a bad one. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. O. Orpet. 



Juneberry Success. — We are cultivating four named kinds of 

 Juneberries, besides several native varieties, and of those 

 which we have fruited the best is Success. It is dwarf in 

 habit, seldom more than four feet high, and bears large 

 quantities of large fruit. It is hardy here without protection, 

 and has borne regularly and abundantly since it began to fruit 

 three years ago. It is well worth cultivating in the home gar- 

 den, where the fruit can be protected from birds, and I think 

 it could be profitably grown for market. It is especially desir- 



