BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRl'ITS. 



681 



Allow us to introduce to you a great family of gar- 

 deners — THIRTEEN in one : The American Garden and 

 Popular Gardening head the list, and the lesser lights 

 combine in one great horticultural ray that shall en- 

 lighten the gardens of America. 



There is always room at the top — for big apples and 

 strawberries, says the California Frtdl Gro'ih:r. The 

 admission from such a source is a surprise. We had 

 been given to understand that California fruit was big, if 

 somewhat flat, all the way through the package ! 



Did Apple Pomace Do it ? — Mr. Moulton, one of my 

 neighbors, has an apple orchard now bearing four or five 

 barrels of extra smooth, perfect fruit. He says the only 

 dressing used for the trees was apple pomace from his 

 steam cider mill. — W. C. Jennison, Nat'uk, Mass. 



Kindness May Kill. — Avoid covering half-hardy 

 plants too early. As a rule, December covering of 

 these is better than covering earlier. When you do 

 cover, remember that a big slab of sod cut about an inch 

 and a half thick is one of the best of coats for many 

 things. 



Those who have not tried Zinnia I/aas^eana, Jl. pi. • 

 are advised to make a note of it for next season's planting. 

 It is an easily grown annual, with any number of pretty 

 double flowers that in color remind you of African 

 marigolds. We expect to illustrate it sometime soon. 



We always collect dry leaves in autumn. It helps 

 to clear up the premises. Even if not worth much for 

 manure, they come handy as absorbents in stable and 

 poultry houses, and for the hens to scratch in during 

 winter. The little labor pays well, especially as labor 

 at this time is cheap 



Those who, in adorning their lawns with hardy 

 shrubs, overlook the berry-bearing plants, such as bar- 

 berry, snowberry, waxberry, strawberry tree, privets, 

 bush cranberry, make a great mistake. They excel in 

 beauty just now. All of our leading nurserymen can 

 supply these, and the price is low. 



Must the Pole Limas Go ? They seem to have 

 lost that relish for us which they possessed before the 

 time of Henderson's Bush Lima. Is this due to the 

 superiority of the latter in flavor, or to the peculiarities 

 of the past season as affecting the former only ? What 

 have our readers to say on this point ? 



A Soil-handling Tool — Having considerable earth 

 to grade recently, I made a tool from a defective si.x-tine 

 manure fork, as shown by drawing, that for effective- 

 ness really surprised me. The tool entered either sod 

 or ordinary hard soil more readily than would a spade, 

 ■while it is lighter than that tool. — Cayuga Marketman. 



Our nurserymen should make more of the variegated- 

 leaved corchorus as a fine hardy shrub, in their cata- 

 logues. It stands the winters unprotected as far north as 

 Niagara Falls. It is one of the most shapely, graceful 

 and vigorous dwarf shrubs on our grounds. We have 

 noted its good qualities in this latitude for fully twenty 

 years, and are surprised that it is not more grown. 



With the chrysanthemum's recent increase in merit 

 and popularity, it now crowds the rose rather hard for 

 position as queen of flowers. Still how can it ever 

 wholly displace that fragrant, time-honored favorite ' 

 A compromise to the effect that two queens be recog- 

 nized, the June and the Autumn queen of flowers, is now 

 quite in order. 



To SHOW to what extent the chrysanthemum has 

 taken possession of all hearts, it is only necessary to 

 notice the spirit of the New York Florists' Club. At 

 their coming chrysanthemum show, November 2-8, they 

 offer the large sum of ^6,500 in premiums. Madison 

 Square Garden on those dates will be worth a journey 

 across a continent to see. 



Fruit or Vegetable ? — Should the tomato and 

 melon be classed among fruits or vegetables ? It seems 

 simple. See how the groceryman places them — always 

 among the vegetables. See where you find them on 

 the exhibition table — always among the vegetables: and 

 if you want to find where they grow, you go into the 

 vegetable garden. Enough said; a bean is just as much 

 a ' ' fruit. '' 



With the recent improvement in chrysanthemums, 

 their culture has become most fascinating. When, 

 therefore, you attend the shows, make a note of the 

 better varieties, with a view to adding them to vour 

 stock another season. This journal will help you all in 

 its power, but when it comes to suggesting colors and 

 forms, each person's taste should be the criterion for 

 that person. 



Thky Fail, — I have obtained flower-seeds from the 

 best houses in the country. Treat them as best I can, 

 many will fail. The seedsmen say it is the grower's 

 fault. Maybe ; but I have tried 

 all treatments, and yet meet with \ ' 



many disappointments. My fear is 

 that too many of our seedsmen 

 do not renew their stocks of seeds 

 sufficiently often, especially out- 

 side the more staple sorts. — May 

 Gaines, Oneida Co., N Y. 



Is Done Lifting Bouvardias. — 

 I don't plant them out for lifting 

 in the fall any more. I keep them 

 in pots through the summer, plung" 

 ing these with the rim a little 

 deeper than the beds. To prevent 

 worms entering, I place a smaller 

 pot directly under the other in 

 plunging. Lifted and potted plants 

 never give such satisfaction through 

 winter as do those receiving the 

 other style of treatment. — C. C. 

 Magee, IVoviestey Co., i\Iass. 



Soil-handling 

 Tool. 



As Others See It. — Thousands of city children now 

 every year are given a fair glimpse of the country, thanks 

 to fresh-air missions. " Wat de country is like is dis ; " 

 said a small, red-haired Irish waif after his return from 



