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THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[July, 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Strawberries. — Immediately after the pick- 

 ing season all mulch should be removed 

 from Strawberry beds, the ground well stir- 

 red and freed from all weeds. The applica- 

 tion of composted manures or concentrated 

 fertilizers at this time is especially desirable, 

 as now, after the exhaustive strain of the 

 bearing season, the plants are more enfee- 

 bled than at any other time of the year. 

 The ground should be kept light and loose, 

 and free from weeds throughout the summer. 



If new beds of potted plants are to be 

 made, the ground should be prepared with- 

 out delay by repeated spading or plowing, 

 and enriching of the soil. 



Blackberry and Black-cry) Culture have lat- 

 terly suffered a serious check by the appear- 

 ance of the " Raspberry Rust," which 

 attacks not only the cultivated but also the 

 wild plants. This trouble, which appears in 

 orange-colored patches on the under side of 

 the leaves, and spreads gradually over the 

 entire bush, is a parasitic fungus — a minute 

 microscopic plant which has grown through 

 the substance of the leaves in fine threads. 

 These filaments finally come to the surface 

 in masses, forming patches, and then de- 

 velop the thousands of minute orange-spores, 

 giving the peculiar color to the infested 

 foliage. 



This rust is a rapid-growing pest, and 

 has its course of destruction so nearly run 

 when it shows itself that there is no known 

 means of stopping it after it has once begun 

 its work. 



It is to be remembered that the yellow 

 powder that dusts upon one's hands and 

 clothes from infested leaves is the spores or 

 minute bodies, by means of which the rust 

 plant is propagated; therefore the destruc- 

 tion of them is a precautionary measure. So 

 soon as a bush is found affected, the best 

 way is to cut it down and burn it at once. 

 The whole bush is usually attacked, there- 

 fore do not try to save any part of it ; better 

 clear the ground of a useless bush, and 

 at the same time destroy a multitude of 

 spores that would otherwise find their way, 

 by means of the wind, etc., to other bushes, 

 and then propagate the pest. 



Mulching. — All trees and shrubs set out 

 during the fall and spring are benefited by 

 mulching during the midsummer months. A 

 good mulch is far better than watering, as it 

 serves not only to keep the soil moist, but it 

 helps the tree also by keeping the ground 

 cool ; it prevents the baking of the surface 

 and supplies fertility. Even stones placed 

 around newly set trees are better than 

 nothing ; leaves, straw, weeds, rakings 

 from the lawn or garden — any light, loose, 

 vegetable matter will do. Strong, fresh 

 stable manure, however, should be avoided. 

 Transplanted trees, like patients with ampu- 

 tated limbs, need nursing rather than over- 

 feeding and stimulating. 



Currants and Gooseberries, old as well as 

 young, are generally benefited by mulch- 

 ing. Coal-ashes cannot be used to better 

 advantage than by spreading them around 

 Currant-bushes. 



Pruning.— Young trees looking yellow and 

 sickly at this season, may often be saved by 

 severe pruning of all their branches. 



STRAWBERRIES, 



When swallows build beneath the eaves, 

 There grows, deep hidden under leaves, 

 Near to the ground, retiring, shy, 

 Tinged with the summer's earliest dye, 

 With bright complexion — healthy — clear — 

 The fairest berry of the year, 

 The Strawberry amid the green, 

 The luscious fruit, the jeweled queen. 



Happy is he who, now and then, 



Can wander from the marts of men, 



To prune his trees, to trim his walks, 



To lift his Roses' drooping stalks ; 



Or, with his wife and children fair, 



Eat his own fruits in open air, 



And watch, well pleased, their bright eyes gleam, 



To feast on Strawberries and cream. 



The happy lark is mounting high ; 



Her anthem quivers through the sky , 



The wind upon the tree-top swells; 



Below it rocks the Lily-bells; — 



The fruit is pluck'd — the cloth is laid — 



They sit together in the shade, 



And share a feast whose luxury pure 



Might tempt the richest epicure. 



E'en those whose harsher fate detains, 

 By care, or toil, or money-chains, 

 In smoky precincts of the town, 

 Far from the garden, field, or down, 

 Who, bending over desk severe, 

 Scarce know the changes of the year — 

 Partake, O Juno ! thy blessings shed, 

 And love thee for thy berries red. 



Sweet are the Grapes that bloom by Rhine, 

 Sweet are the eastern Date and Pine; 

 Sweet are the Oranges that grow 

 Where Guadalquiver's waters flow; 

 Sweet is the Apple— sweet the Pear — 

 The blushing Peach — the Cherry fair; 

 But bright and beauteous though they be — 

 Give me, oh give, the Strawberry. 



Charles Mackay, 



THE PEAR CROP. 



The crop of Pears in the vicinity of New 

 York will be very light this year, with the 

 exception of a few varieties. Last year 

 Bartletts were unusually abundant. Every 

 tree, young or old, capable of bearing, was 

 over-laden, and even with intelligent thin- 

 ning of the fruit by careful cultivators, the 

 heavy tax on the trees of bringing the crop 

 to maturity through the protracted drought, 

 which lasted one hundred and twenty days 

 in our section, the fruit spurs formed for 

 this year were few and weak. In conse- 

 quence, this spring there were only a few 

 scattering blossoms here and there on the 

 tops of the trees, and the yield will fall far 

 below anything we have had in several years. 

 It is so small in my own orchard that it will 

 not come under the rule of a tenth. And my 

 neighbors are no better off than I am in this 

 respect. 



The Beurre d'Anjou "set" better, and for 

 three or four weeks looked very promising 

 for an average crop. But this variety has, 

 within the past two or three weeks, shed a 

 large part of the " set," and now the appear- 

 ance is anything but flattering for a good 

 crop this year. 



Other varieties, including the Seckel, 

 Louise Bonne de Jersey, Beurre Clairgeau, 

 Doyenne Boussoek, and Lawrence, are well 

 set with fruit, and now promise to yield a 

 fair crop of Pears. None of these, with the 

 exception of the Seckel, have a heavy set on. 

 The last named is carrying more than should 

 be left on for the good of the trees or profit 

 of the owners. Even with a Pear as small 

 in size as the Seckel, it will pay the grower 

 to go through his orchard and pull off some 



where they are as numerous as they are in 

 our vicinity this year. 



The Duehesse d'Angouleme has, 'judging 

 from present appearances, not more than a 

 quarter of a crop on. The Duehesse blos- 

 somed freely enough, but a fierce and cold 

 north-eastern rain-storm of three days' dura- 

 tion, while the trees were in full blossom, 

 did sad mischief with the fertilization. The 

 small quantity of fruit that is set of this 

 variety looks well now, and is noticeably free 

 from the marks of the curculio, which, by 

 the way, have not been as numerous this 

 year as usual. 



When Pears are sparsely set and the trees 

 are healthy and vigorous, one is likely to be 

 deceived and underestimate the yield. But, 

 judging from present appearances, the Pear 

 crop in this vicinity will not be over a quarter. 



P. T. Quinn. 



HOW TO PLTJCK CHERRIES, 



The productiveness of many valuable 

 Cherry-trees is often damaged seriously by 

 having the twigs, when hanging full of fruit, 

 pulled from the branches. The buds from 

 which the crop of Cherries will be produced, 

 during one season, were developed and ma- 

 tured the previous year. Hence, if the twigs 

 that bear the buds be broken off, the tree 

 must reproduce other twigs during one season , 

 and then the season following develop fruit- 

 buds. We have seen scores of productive 

 Cherry4reeS stripped of the fruit-bearing 

 twigs to such an extent that they did not 

 yield one-fourth part of a fair crop. Careless 

 and thoughtless persons, when plucking Cher- 

 ries, break off the ends of the fruit-branches 

 and jerk off the twigs, pluck the fruit, and 

 throw the branches to the ground. This 

 practice is ruinous to the productiveness of 

 Cherry-trees. 



Persons who are employed to pluck Cherries 

 should be carefully instructed to take hold 

 of the stems of the fruit, with thumb and 

 fingers, while tender twigs are held securely 

 with the other hand. They should be taught 

 that, if the buds are damaged, there will be 

 no fruit the next season. If one will observe 

 old Cherry-trees, in almost any part of the 

 country, from which the fruit has been 

 plucked by those who were accustomed to 

 strip off the twigs to which the fruit was at- 

 tached, they will see long and bare limbs and 

 ragged and fruitless branches, simply because 

 the trees were seriously mutilated by pickers 

 who never knew that twigs and buds were 

 absolutely essential to the production of fruit. 

 Many varieties of Cherries are very slow in 

 the reproduction of fruit-buds. Careless and 

 thoughtless persons should never be allowed 

 to pluck the fruit from such trees. The buds 

 must be spared if one would raise fruit. 



S. E. T. 



THE HANSELL RASPBERRY, 



A basket of bright red, medium-sized, very 

 firm, and good-flavored Raspberries, of a 

 variety which we did not recognize, wel- 

 comed us on entering our office last week. 



The berries were kindly Jeft for us by Mr. 

 J. T. Lovett, of Little Silver, N. J., and 

 were the Hansell Raspberry, a chance seed- 

 ling cultivated for several years by Mr. J. 

 S. Hansell. Its extreme earliness and firm- 

 ness attracted the attention of prominent 

 fruit-growers. Judge Parry considers it the 

 best Raspberry in existence for profit.. 



