14 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 1912 



Grapes are used for more purposes than 

 any other fruit, and there are few small 

 country or suburban homes that do not 

 boast of grape arbors. 



Of the black grapes, the comparatively 

 new Campbell Early is the best all-around 

 variety we have, with Concord a close 

 second. Worden should have third place. 

 Of the red varieties I place Regal first, 

 the old Catawba holding second place, 

 and Brighton third. In white grapes I 

 like Niagara, but Green Mountain (much 

 earlier) presses pretty hard, while Moore's 

 Diamond deserves third place. 



Any place large enough and which can 

 afford the space should have a persimmon 

 tree. Nothing is more delicious than a 

 persimmon after the frost has ripened 

 it. But if you taste it before it starts to 

 shrivel, (which the fruit does as soon as the 

 frost strikes) , it will take some time to get 

 your mouth straightened out. The native 

 American is the best to plant. 



Another good fruit not highly prized 

 is the mulberry. But do not plant it near 

 any other fruit, as it is a heavy feeder 

 and soon robs the soil. Downing's Ever- 

 bearing is the one variety to grow. Sweet 

 fruits are an essential about the home, 

 and especially for preserving and jellying. 

 Of them all the currant leads in general 

 utility. It is easy to grow and very pro- 

 ductive. In red varieties I consider Per- 

 fection far the best, with Fay's Prolific 

 second. White Grape is the best white 

 variety. Of the black varieties Black 

 Naples takes first place for quality, with 

 Black Champion second. 



Most people have a poor opinion of 

 blackberries, simply because they do not 

 know what a real blackberry is. When 

 not well grown the blackberry is but the 

 poorest imitation of a fruit, being all seeds 

 and with no flavor. But given good soil 

 — and then! Ah! Wilson's Early, is a 

 good sweet berry, though not as large 

 as some of the others. For main crop I 

 see very little difference between Taylor, 

 Rathburn and Kitta tinny. All are good 

 varieties and any one of the three can be 

 depended upon. For cropping Snyder 

 will outclass any of them, but the berries 

 are small. 



Some people seem afraid to grow goose- 

 berries because they are subject to mildew, 

 but there are cures for mildew. The 

 gooseberry is a good table fruit besides 

 being excellent for preserving. The 

 English varieties, as table fruits, clearly 

 outclass the American varieties, the berry 

 being much larger and of a superior quality. 

 The only thing preventing their super- 

 ceding our own varieties is that they are 

 more susceptible to mildew. 



The best varieties of the English type 

 are: Crown Bob, a good red of extra 

 quality; Whitesmith, the best white; but 

 the champion of all is Industry, a big dark 

 red fruit, the berries being as large as our 

 plums. All these varieties are covered with 

 long, soft spines which not only add to 

 their appearance but are a sure criterion 

 of quality. Of the American varieties 



Downing is easily the best. This is a 

 wonderful cropper and the fruit is of a 

 fair size and good quality. Columbus 

 would be my second choice and Smith's 

 Improved third. 



For profitable returns for time and 

 money spent I think no fruit equals the 

 raspberry. Its requirements are simple 

 and when once planted you can have 

 raspberries indefinitely. Of the red- 

 fruited varieties Cuthbert still looks best, 

 and is very productive. The new variety, 

 King, may be fully as good and in some 

 locations may do better, but with me it 

 was not as productive and the plants 

 were smaller. The third place I would 

 give to Miller's Red, and I would surely 

 plant a few of the new St. Regis, an ever- 

 bearing variety which lives up to its reputa- 

 tion, bearing quite freely right up to frost. 

 In yellow varieties there is no other yellow 

 to approach Golden Queen. In the black 

 caps Gregg a good sized berry of high 

 quality comes first. Cumberland is very 

 hardy and productive. Schaffer is the 

 best flavored, though the berries are rather 

 small. The Lucretia dewberry or trailing 

 blackberry is worth a trial, for the fruit 

 is of a good quality and though not up 

 to the standard of the cane varieties, the 

 plant does well in very dry situations 

 where the cane blackberry suffers from 

 sun scald. 



With strawberries location seems to 

 have a wonderful effect on the size and 

 quality of the various varieties. A variety 

 that is first class on Long Island may not 

 live up to that same standard in New 

 Jersey. I do not mean that an inferior 

 variety in one place would do better than 

 a good variety in another. A good 

 variety is good from New York to San 

 Francisco, but while Marshall might 

 reach its highest state of perfection around 



Dwarf trained fruit trees are most serviceable for 

 very small gardens: they occupy practically no space 

 at all and are auite picturesque 



New York, Climax or some other good 

 berry may be a little better at San Fran- 

 cisco. The wise one selects strawberries 

 according to local experience. There is 

 no more to be said beyond endorsing the 

 following as most generally adaptable: 



Excelsior, Glen Mary, Marshall, Sample, 

 Climax, New York, the Hunn and Parker 

 Earle. The curious persons will un- 

 doubtedly want to try some of the fall 

 fruiting varieties which yield crops in 

 October and November. 



A Little Planting for February 



TT IS full time to think about planting, 

 A even though a blizzard may be howling 

 outside the window this very minute. 

 Some cabbage, celery, lettuce and rad- 

 ishes may be sown in flats to be trans- 

 planted into the hotbed or coldframe as 

 soon as it is ready. So, too, some of the 

 hardier ornamentals may be started in the 

 same way. Try sowing cosmos, sweet peas, 

 dianthus, pansies, gaillardia, calliopsis sal- 

 piglossis, and Phlox Drummondi in flats - 

 and also the ornamental grasses and some 

 of the tender annual vines such as the 

 cypress vine, {Ipomcea Quamoclit), the 

 butterfly runner {Phaseolus multiflorus 

 var. papilio), the Allegheny vine (Adlumia 

 cirrhosa), the cup-and-saucer vine (Cobcva 

 scandens) and the canary-bird flower (Tro- 

 paolum peregrinum). 



Most people want lots of flowers in their 

 garden. The trouble is that there are two 

 ways of getting them and a good many 

 persons choose the wrong way. By all 

 means plant all the varieties you can afford 

 to buy, whether you know what sort of 

 blossoms you are going to get or not. But 

 put the strangers and the sorts that you are 

 growing for cut flowers somewhere where 

 they will not clash with the real garden 

 scheme, or leave it desolate when they are 

 gathered for decorating the house. In 

 other words, use the plants you are familiar 

 with for your color schemes, perennial 

 borders etc., and have a little experimental 

 plot for trying out new species and varieties 

 of doubtful color properties. 



Tighten up the wires on the grape trellis 

 and anywhere else that they are used. A 

 simple support for the cane fruits will prove 

 a tremendous advantage at picking time, 

 and when you have to cultivate, too. One 

 way is to sink a strong post at each end of 

 the row, nail a crosspiece to it and attach 

 wires to the arms of the crosspiece far 

 enough apart so that the canes can grow 

 up between them and rest on them. Some 

 growers advise the use of spring coil wire 

 which retains its tightness in all kinds of 

 weather. If there is no necessity for shift- 

 ing the trellises, iron posts will prove 

 economical in the long run. But good 

 locust posts, if treated with some pre- 

 servative when set, will last from thirty 

 to fifty years which is ordinarily long enough 

 to satisfy any one. Any form of creosote 

 or tar will serve this purpose. 



Don't forget to brace the end post of 

 any fence or trellis. 



