BUDS. BLOSSOMS, FRUITS. 



297 



A Fine Rustic Bridge. — The pretty water view on 

 this page, reproduced from the Gardeners'' Chronicle, 

 shows what a delightful effect rustic-work may contribute 

 to a scene of this character. Not only is such a bridge 

 one of the most effective that could be employed in such 

 a situation, but it should be by far the cheapest bridge 

 that could be constructed. The owner of the place or 

 his gardener should be ingenious enough to build a sub- 

 stantial affair of the kind, while the material need not be 

 difficult to obtain. The best time to cut wood for rustic 

 purposes is in the last half of the winter, which gives it 

 time to season gradually, and without bad cracking be- 

 fore summer when wanted for use. 



Apple-Growing in Maine. — About twenty years ago 

 I planted an apple orchard on a protected southern 

 slope. The trees were seedlings. They formed low, 

 spreading heads and their limbs were grafted about three 

 feet from the ground. The grafts 

 have made good growth and yield- 

 ed well, but the large branches 

 are almost horizontal, and the rays 

 of the noonday sun striking those 

 on the north side of the trees at 

 right angles, scald them badly. 

 They also break down when 

 loaded with fruit. The branches 

 on the south side of the trees are 

 not injured. On one tree the 

 main branches on the north side 

 stand nearly perpendicular, so 

 the sun's rays, which cross them 

 obliquely, can do no harm. The 

 tender sorts are injured at the 

 trunk, but the hardy seedlings are 

 not. Trees of Baldwin, Porter 

 and Hubbardston Nonesuch are 

 scalded most. I had a small or- 

 chard of Benoni trees which were 

 top - grafted six feet above the 

 ground. The grafts, like the ^ 

 stocks in which they were set, 



grow upright, have come to bearing, and are doing 

 finely. These grafts are Jewett Fine Red, and fail with 

 me, the variety being tender, except when treated as 

 mentioned. In this state we must select hardy upright- 

 growing sorts and give them good cultivation and but 

 little pruning. Recently I visited an orchard situated on 

 an exposed northern slope. The trees were in bad con- 

 dition, the bark on many having burst off entirely around 

 the trunk. There was no sun-scald and the branches 

 and tops were all right, but the stems had suffered 

 severely. The hardy sorts seemed to be injured as badly 

 as the tender ones. Extreme protection as well as ex- 

 treme exposure should be avoided. — Charles A. Miller, 

 Maine. 



Dating Seeds-Packets. — The legislature of the state 

 of North Carolina passed a law last year which clearly 

 recognizes that to put old worthless seeds into new 

 packets, with bright chromo-prints, does not rejuvenate 



the seeds. In place of bright colors on the outside of the 

 packet it wants a date showing exactly when the seeds 

 within the paper were grown. Now, if any person or 

 persons doing business in the state shall sell or offer for 

 sale any vegetable or other seeds without such a date 

 upon the packet, they are liable to a heavy fine or im- 

 prisonment. To mark a packet wrongly also subjects 

 the offender to a serious penalty. There is only one 

 small matter which North Carolina Solons have omitted, 

 namely, to provide means for proving conclusively the age 

 of seeds to the satisfaction of a jury. Is it not true that 

 without this violations of the law cannot easily be proved, 

 and the law itself will remain inoperative ? 



A Plant "Kleptomaniac." — One of my friends 

 who is in good circumstances, owns a nice house and a 

 lovely garden and is passionately fond of flowers. She 

 spends hours caring for them and has m^ny and choice 



BK.^UTIFUL and EFFtCTlVE RUSTIC BRIDGt. 



varieties. She drove around to see me the other morn- 

 ing and admired a double petunia in my front yard. And 

 it was a beauty ! A rich maroon, spotted with bright yel- 

 low. I showed it off with pride, and laughed to see the 

 " I must have it !" in her eye. I left her at the gate and 

 went in to wash my breakfast-dishes. When I went out 

 after sundown to water my double petunia, it was gone. 

 Imagine my feelings ! I hastily put on my things, walked 

 a mile and a half to my friend's house, leaned over her 

 front fence and there was my lovely flower, blooming 

 away beside a General Jacqueminot rose. It was nearly 

 dark, and no one was in sight. I hastily dug up my plant, 

 and then, wishing to leave a reminder of my visit, put 

 my visiting-card in the soft earth where the plant had 

 been. We are still friends. She calls on me, but this little 

 episode has never been referred to. It would be safe to 

 leave your purse in her hands, but a coveted plant is 

 where the kleptomania comes in. — Sister Gracious. 



