CURRENT GARDEN LORE. 



435 



Mediterranean district. Its juice is noted for deleterious 

 or injurious properties, and, consequently, has been let 

 alone. The Japanese, however, seem to understand 

 handling it, and it is certain that they make a beautiful 

 lacquer or varnish from the juice of their trees ; but 

 they keep the process a secret. — Leisure Hour. 



Prolonging the Fruit Season. — A curious fact in 

 fruit-culture is that, if the bulk of the crop is picked when 

 ripening, and a portion of it — say a fourth or less— is left 



Fig. 



-Lath Propagating-House. 



on the tree, the latter will cease to ripen, and will remain 

 on the tree in good order for a month longer. I picked 

 some fine old Bufifum pears that were left on the tree a 

 full month longer than the main crop, which was gathered 

 September 20. The most perishable plums, such as 

 Washington, will behave in the same way. Nature pro- 

 vides in some fruits for a long succession by loosening the 

 ripe ones from the stem. This is peculiarly true of the 

 Gravenstein and Summer Strawberry apples, but it is 

 often worth our while to follow nature and secure a long 

 season of some favorite fruit. — Garden and Forest. 



A Parcel Post.— Why should we be behind other 

 countries so far in this ? The government, with equip- 

 ments ready at hand for doing this great service to the 

 people, leaves them to the conscienceless express com- 

 panies, whose exactions are continually increasing. 

 Farmers, everywhere, let your representatives hear from 

 you about this. Put in your just claims. Everybody, 

 whether living in town or country, will be the better for 

 the readiest and earliest dissemination of all means for 

 making farms more productive of the very best articles 

 for food or for clothing. — N. Y. Tribune. 



Sprouting Tree-Seeds. — For the germination of 

 apple, pear, orange and other seeds, there is nothing 

 better than a lath-house like the one shown in the illus. 

 tration, fig. i. The laths are one-half inch 

 apart, giving the plants enough light and air, 

 and at the same time preventing the ingress of 

 birds, etc., which scratch up the seeds while 

 sprouting. The houses can be made of any 

 size, and the sand-beds (fig. 2) are used for 

 growing seedlings and for starting cuttings of 

 different kinds. To prepare sand-beds for sprouting 

 peach, apricot and plum-pits, nuts, etc., frames of any 

 size desired are made of 12-inch boards set on edge and 

 resting on the ground. The frames are partly filled with 

 sand, upon which a deep layer of pits or nuts is placed, 



and covered with sand. The sand is kept continually 

 moist, yet not too wet. The seed is examined from time 

 to time, and as soon as it begins ta sprout is taken out of 

 the sprouting-beds and planted in the nursery. — From 

 Report of California Horticultural Society. 



Setting Onion-Plants. — Few things in market-gar- 

 dening have pleased me as much as this onion-plant busi- 

 ness. We have pushed the plants pretty freely with 

 guano ; and if the tops get so tall as to begin to lop over, 

 we shear them off. The onions are so tenacious of life 

 that I have seen every one grow in a long row through a 

 large field, when the planting was done by schoolboys so 

 small that I feared they would not be able to do it suc- 

 cessfully. The ground was fine and mellow ; and as it 

 was just after a rain, all that the boys did was to push 

 the onions down into the ground with their forefingers, 

 and then press a little earth on top of them. No matter 

 how crookedly they stuck them into the ground, they all 

 stood up straight in a few days. The ground was marked 

 out for onion-plants with a wheat-drill, running a good 

 dressing of fertilizer into the ground at the same time 

 that it was marked. We plant the onions in every other 

 drill-mark. — Root' s Gleanings. 



Shippers' Trade-Marks. — As to colored baskets, 

 boxes or crates, I have no fancy for them. My taste in- 

 clines to clean, unpainted baskets and packages, and I 

 use no others. I have too much respect for myself, my 

 customers and my berries to offer them in old, moldy, 

 stained and weather-beaten boxes or crates. Were I a 

 purchaser, such packages would repel me. If unreturn- 

 able packages, etc., of this sort were consigned to the 

 crematory, it would be a blessing for the comunity. I 

 know of no better trade-mark than the grower's name, 

 with well-grown, carefully assorted fruit, honestly put 

 up in neat, clean packages, of full capacity, to back it up. 

 — E. Williams, in Rural Xeii' Yorker. 



What Good Roads Would Mean. — They would make 

 it possible for the farmers to take prompt advantage of 

 the highest market at any season of the year. They 

 would save him days and weeks of time wasted every year 

 in wallowing through the disgusting mire of dirt roads. 

 They would reduce to a minimum the wear and tear on 

 wagons and carriages. They would lessen the expense 

 of keeping horses in working order, and fewer horses 

 would be required to perform the farmer's work. They 

 would require less e^lnse to keep them in repair than 

 do the dirt roade. They would afford ready communi- 



FiG. 2 — Sand-Beds for Sprouting Tree-Seeds. 



cation with the outside world at all times of the year, 

 and spare the farmer many vexations and nervous strains. 

 They would practically shorten the distance to the local 

 market and increase the demand for country and suburban 

 property. They would be free from dust in summer and 



