BUDS. BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



67 



with dry heat, and have a very choice collection. In a 

 small greenhouse on the sunny side of our house where 

 the heat at night is much less, I have, in small, root- 

 bound pots, a large number of geraniums that excite a 

 great deal of admiration on account of their profuse 

 bloom.— S. T. Fuller, Me. 



Satisfactory Garden Friends of '91. — Ilyacintlius 

 (Galtonia) <ro«fl'?Va«J as the center of a bed of gladioluses 

 produced a highly satisfactory effect. Taller and more 

 vigorous than gladioluses, they added stateliness to the 

 group. They flower about the same time, and if the 

 flower-stalk is cut when past its prime, a new one takes 

 its place, if the bulb is strong. They like the lighter 

 soil, so essential to the gladiolus. They do well among 

 low-growing shrubs if the soil is light and dry, and a 

 little shade seems to keep their bloom more firm and 

 fresh. Some planted in a rose-bed did not do well. The 

 bloom was weak, quickly over, and a few rotted off, which 

 I attributed to a heavy soil and moisture under full 

 exposure to the sun. Some bulbs in a shrubbery which 

 were overlooked in the fall before and remained in the 

 ground over winter, came up strong and vigorous, and 

 bloomed well. They were mulched, however, during 

 winter.— W. C. E. 



Early Tomatoes without Greenhouse or Hotbed. — 

 A year ago last fall a chance seedling came up in one of 

 my flower-pots. After the fourth leaf had appeared, I 

 pinched out the top, and as often as the branches were 

 largeenough I pinched them again. About April 1 1 put the 

 plant in a box large enough to allow me to peg the 

 branches down. As soon as they were strongly enough 

 rooted I cut them off, and when it was time to put them 

 in the open ground, I had five large, strong plants with 

 blossoms. We had tomatoes for use and a few to sell 

 before the market-gardeners had any to sell. — E. A. B., 

 Ohio. 



Quality and Value. — To-day my attention was called 

 to a barrel of Talman Sweet apples. The specimens 

 were large for the variety, fair, with a rich, glossy sur- 

 face. What a contrast to the Talman Sweets brought to 

 market by one of the largest orchardists of this section! 

 The latter are small, with a pale, dull surface. The 

 difference in quality, as told by the taste, is even greater 

 than in size and appearance. The barrel of superior 

 fruit came from our English market-gardener, who 

 prides himself on furnishing " the best, " and who adds 

 to his soil the wealth that produces it. The orchard of 

 a competing grower is so large that it is impossible for 

 him to dress and feed it so as to produce first-class 

 fruit. — Jones. 



Standards of Taste in Grapes. — In the January 

 number of American Gardening I find an interesting 

 communication from George W. Campbell, criticising 

 a previous communication from E. P. Powell. Perhaps 

 you may care for other opinions upon this question, the 

 Woodruff Red grape— a grape which has excited much 

 controversy since its advent. Personally, I do not like 

 its quality— it is too foxy in flavor and I should only eat 

 it as a dernier resort. So far as I can judge, this is the 



only objection to be urged against it — if objection itbe- 

 The few vines I have ssen are vigorous growers. The 

 branches are large, the berry above medium if not large, 

 and in appearance it is one of the most beautiful of our 

 native grapes. A handsome plate of them was shown 

 in the exhibit of the Orange County Agricultural Society 

 at the late State Fair at Syracuse, and they attracted 

 more attention, because of their beauty, than any other 

 single plate. So, if we are to grow grapes for profit, I 

 am inclined to think the Woodruff Red will pay very well. 

 The time may come (it has not yet) when by a "con- 

 sensus of the competent " we may be able to establish 

 standards of taste that will be accepted by horticul- 

 turists and eventually by the masses of grape-eaters. 

 Until that time comes, the question of what to plant 

 must be largely settled by the answer to another query 

 " Will it sell?" I do not like the Woodruff Red. Not a 

 member of my family will eat Pocklingtons. We worry 

 down a few Wyoming Reds, until the better ones come> 

 and then we drop them for the season. The Lady, 

 which by the way does admirably in the Hudson river 

 regions, we eat sparingly, because it is early, but it, too, 

 is "foxy," and we want but few of any grapes that have 

 that quality. But these are matters of taste, and "there's 

 no accounting for tastes, " as a certain old lady is credited 

 with saying when she bestowed an osculatory address 

 on her cow. 



We believe Mr. Long recently spoke highly of the 

 El Dorado grape, grown by him at La Salle. If he has 

 found a spot where that grape will do well, we envy him. 

 In the Hudson river regions, it is a most unproductive 

 sort, but when a few bunches are secured they are of 

 exquisite quality, having a distinct pineapple flavor. — 

 E. G. Fowler. 



Wash vs. Rabbits. — Two years' trial of tarred and 

 oiled paper disgusted me with it, for the tarred paper 

 would blacken the bark and the oiled paper was easily 

 destroyed by storms, and either formed a good nesting- 

 place for insects. Last autumn my orchard of about 

 1,000 trees was thoroughly washed with the following 

 solution: iqt. of soft soap(strong); sqts. of boiling water; 

 2 oz. of carbolic acid, applied with an old shoe-brush. 

 This same solution applied thrice yearly proves a good 

 preventive for borers also. Now, about January 12, 

 no trace of injury from rabbits can be found, though 

 thousands have been killed in this section and "the woods 

 are full of 'em." — R. M. Sprague, Mich. 



The Wonderful Flower. — Our garden four-o'clock, 

 or Marvel of Peru, is an American plant, one of the 

 flowers that was earliest carried to Europe after America 

 was discovered. It was given the name mirabilis^ 

 meaning wonderful, because at the time it was found in 

 the West Indies, everything from the newly discovered 

 lands was boasted about on the other side of the water. 

 The zinnia, discovered two centuries later in Mexico, 

 would now be better entitled to be called wonderful. 



Insects on Plants. — There is nothing yet ahead of 

 a pointed stick, a stiff brush, a sponge, soap-suds and 

 close hand-work for getting rid of those common olant 



