1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



133 



BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED. 



The Farmer's Call Is the title of a new monthly 

 published at Quincy, 111. Its initial number is 

 well filled with interesting and valuable original 

 matter, as well as judicious selections. That it 

 is ably and carefully edited will be superfluous to 

 mention, when it is stated that our esteemed cor- 

 respondent, John M. Stahl, is its editor. 



The American Silk and Fruit Culturist, 

 published monthly by Glover tf- Campbell, Phila- 

 delphia, begins its second volume with the July 

 number. This journal is ably edited and neatly 

 printed, and renders efficient work in promoting 

 an industry which, although as yet in its infancy, 

 is destined to become of vast importance. 



The Southern World, of Atlanta, Ga., is a 

 handsome, richly illustrated, and well gotten up 

 semi-monthly, devoted to the rural, industrial, 

 and commercial interests of the country, and 

 especially to the development of the many South- 

 ern resources. It is surprising that so good a 

 paper can be furnished at the low subscription 

 price of $1 a year. 



Cornell University Experiment Station, Sec- 

 ond Report.— The board of control of this 

 station consists essentially of the Agricultural 

 Faculty of the University, which carries on this 

 work with the small appropriation made by the 

 trustees. The larger part of the pamphlet is de- 

 voted to Prof. J. H. Comstock's excellent mono- 

 graph on Scale Insects. It contains also reports 

 of the various experiments in cattle-feeding and 

 with field crops and fertilizers, made at the 

 station during the year. 



Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Trans- 

 actions for the year 1882, Part II.— This volume, 

 like, all its predecessors, embraces much informa- 

 tion of more than temporary interest. Several of 

 the papers read at the meetings we have already 

 been able to publish in our columns, as the 

 society, in its characteristic progressive spirit, 

 has issued advance sheets of its proceedings, 

 copies of which were kindly sent us by Secretary 

 R. Manning. These and many other papers of 

 equal value are here preserved in convenient and 

 permanent form. 



Kansas ; Its Resources and Capabilities, its 

 Position, Dimensions, and Topography. Infor- 

 mation relating to vacant Lands, Agriculture, 

 Horticulture, and Live Stock. Together with 

 Statements and Statistics concerning Schools, 

 Churches, Manufactures, Mines and Mining, etc., 

 etc. Prepared by the State Board of Agriculture. 

 This interesting pamphlet is printed in the Eng- 

 lish, German, Swedish, and Danish languages, 

 is for gratuitous distribution, and will be mailed 

 free to any one upon application, stating the 

 language desired, addressing Wm. Sims, Secre- 

 tary, Topeka, Kansas. 



Report of the Fruit Growers' Association of 

 the Province of Ontario, P. C. Dempsey, Presi- 

 dent; D. W. Beadle, Secretary. The continuous 

 and increasing prosperity and usefulness of this 

 society are plainly visible in the large, increase 

 of members —nearly two thousand names being 

 enrolled on its list — as well as the improvement 

 and enlargement of its annual reports. The 

 volume before us contains, in addition to the 

 proceedings of the meetings, many highly valu- 

 able papers on various horticultural topics, 

 devoting also a considerable space to matters 

 pertaining to forestry. The report of the Ento- 

 mological Society, which is full of interesting 

 matter, is bound with it, both together making 

 a handsome volume. 



The Natural Cure, a Manual of Hygiene, for 

 Well and Sick, by C. E. Page, M. D. 278 pp., 

 12mo, extra cloth. Price, $1 00. New-York : Fowler 

 <£• Wells, publishers. — There is probably no fallacy 

 rooted deeper in the popular mind than the sup- 

 position that drugs are always necessary to 

 restore health to the sick ; while to the contrary, 

 the leading tendency of progressive medical and 

 natural science, during the present half century, 

 has been to demonstrate that in a great many 

 cases the recuperative forces of nature, if prop- 

 erly directed, are far more powerful restorers 

 than medicines. This work is designed to show 

 the great importance of hygiene as an aid to 

 the treatment of disorders of various kinds, and 



its careful study will no doubt be of benefit 

 to those afflicted with incipient disease, as well 

 as suggest timely preventives to those in good 

 health. 



Michigan State Horticultural Society.— An- 

 nual Report of the Secretary, Mr. Charles IF. 

 Garfield.— It there is any publication in this 

 country that comes nearer to the Ideal Horticult- 

 ural Report than this large, elegant volume, we 

 have hot been so fortunate as to see it. It gives 

 not only accurate and interesting accounts of the 

 meetings and transactions of the central society, 

 but every one of the twenty-eight auxiliary or 

 county societies of the State is entitled to a place 

 in the volume. Many of these reports and the 

 papers read at the county meetings are of great 

 interest to horticulturists generally. But the 

 unique and specially valuable feature of this 

 book is ,the Secretary's Port/olio. Here are gath- 

 ered, from every available source, facts, observa- 

 tions, experiments, and opinions in the field of 

 horticulture, condensed and sifted, and system- 

 atically, arranged, convenient for ready refer- 

 ence. This part in itself constitutes a valuable 

 work; and combined with the many excellent 

 papers by members of the society and other ex- 

 perienced horticulturists, it forms, in fact, a most 

 valuable Horticultural Annual. 



Insects Injurious to Fruits By Wm. Saun- 

 ders, F. It. S. O.— This handsomely illustrated 

 book will be found extremely useful to all who 

 are engaged in fruit culture, since it treats in a 

 concise and clear manner of all the insects known 

 to be injurious to fruits on this continent. 



These insects, numbering two hundred and 

 sixty-six in all, and illustrated by four hundred 

 and forty figures, are grouped in a convenient 

 manner under the fruits they injure, thereby en- 

 abling the reader, without any previous knowl- 

 edge of entomology, to determine any of them 

 with ease. Under each species those practical 

 points connected with its life-history which it is 

 important that a fruit grower should know are 

 briefly stated, and the remedies given which have 

 been found useful in destroying the insect. To 

 effect this purpose, much information hitherto 

 scattered through many works has been brought 

 together and added to the results of the author's 

 own observations, accumulated during twenty 

 years' experience as a practical fruit grower and 

 a scientific entomologist. 



Every fruit grower should have a copy, as it 

 contains, in a condensed form, all the informa- 

 tion on this subject which he requires. It will 

 enable him to solve many problems with refer- 

 ence to insect depredations with the smallest ex- 

 penditure of time and money. The book is written 

 in a popular manner, and is as free from scien- 

 tific phraseology as is consistent with accuracy. 

 Published by J. B.Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, 

 Pa. Price, $3.00. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

 Propagating Japan Quince.— Jf. O. H., Cow- 

 ansville, Canada.— This beautiful shrub may 

 be propagated by cuttings, like the common 

 Quince, and easier still by layering. Bend a 

 branch to the ground, fasten with a forked stick, 

 cover with soil, leaving the end of the branch 

 free, and next year it may be taken off and trans- 

 planted. 



Propagating Clematis.— H. S., Fond du Lac, 

 Wis. — Clematis may be grown from seeds of cut- 

 tings, but' the easiest way for the amateur is by 

 layering. Plants for this purx>ose should be set 

 out in rich soil and, as they grow, have their stems 

 pegged down and covered with soil at the joints. 

 Roots will soon form, but it is not advisable to 

 cut the layers off before the following year. 



Season for Planting Potatoes.— J?. Mercer 

 West Ya.— If the seed has been kept well and is 

 sound and healthy, it may be planted up to the 

 first of July, and will, in all probability, produce 

 a good crop. Of course, much depends on the con- 

 dition of the soil, the weather, and the care be- 

 stowed upon the cultivation of the crop. For 

 seed purposes, and for late keeping, such late 

 planted Potatoes are preferable to very early 

 planted ones. 



Plants for Shady Rooms.— J. F. P., St. John, 

 N. B.— In a room with plenty of light, although 

 little sun, nearly all plants may be wintered sat- 



isfactorily, but special care must be taken iu 

 giving them water, as they require considerably 

 less than when exposed to sunlight, and should 

 never be watered before the soil becomes moder- 

 ately dry. Geraniums, Fuchsias, Begonias, Callas, 

 Oxahs, Ivy, and Ferns of all kinds, are specially 

 suited for such situations. 



Preserving: Bulbs 27/. R. 11'., Roselle, X. .1. — 



Hyacinths, Tulips, and other Dutch Bulbs need 

 not necessarily be taken up every year after 

 flowering. The ground over them may be lightly 

 hoed, raked, and sown with Portulaca or Mignon- 

 ette, or. some shallow rooting bedding plants, as 

 Verbenas, may be planted between the rows of 

 bulbs. If taken up, they should be dried in the 

 shade, the leaves be removed, and the bulbs kept 

 iu sand in a dry place. 



Cannas are easily wintered, if dug before severe 

 frost penetrates the soil. They should be kept 

 entirely dry during winter, placing the clumps 

 close together on the floor of a warm cellar. It 

 will not do to dump them iu barrels or boxes be- 

 fore they are completely dry. 



Grape Trellis.- S. C. S., Aiken, S. C— Our 

 correspondent has about eight thousand Niagara 

 Grape-vines, set 10x10, and desires to know the best 

 and cheapest mode for trellis and training For 

 strong-growing varieties, like Niagara. Concord, 

 etc., there is no easier and more convenient system 

 of training than the " Kniffiu System," adopted 

 almost exclusively in the Hudson River Grape 

 region. It consists in stretching two wires hori- 

 zontally, the lower three and a half, the upper 

 six feet from the ground. Each vine has four 

 arms, two to each wire. These arms are renewed 

 every year by cutting off all branches except the 

 strongest shoot nearest the main stem, which 

 takes the, place of the previous year's bearing 

 cane. The summer pruning consists simply in 

 cutting off the ends of shoots that may grow too 

 rampant, except the one to be retained for next 

 season. 



Plants for Name.-S, L. I).. Vtica, X. Y. — The 

 pretty plant with the delicate pink flowers and 

 Aquilegia-likc leaves is a Thalietrum, Meadow 

 Rue, several species and varieties of which de- 

 serve more attention than they receive. 



M. O. B., Oowansville, P. Q.— The specimens 

 sent are Spiraea leaves, the smaller of S. Uhnaria, 

 Dropwort, thelarger, probably, ,s'. palmata, Queen 

 of the Prairie, both beautiful plants. Spiraeas in 

 general are called Meadow Sweet; but there is 

 no accounting for popular names, they vary in 

 different localities. Why not adopt the name 

 Spiraea, which is euphonious enough, and about 

 the meaning of which there can be no mistake 

 the world over? 



J. If. T)., Hagerstown, Md.— The plant is a Sola- 

 num, of the Bitter-sweet class. We cannot give 

 its specific name, but do not think that it is 

 hardy. 



A. M. M., Charleston, S. C— The small, delicate 

 grass is Poa annua, Low Spear Grass. It re- 

 sembles the Kentucky Blue grass, Poa pratensis, 

 very much, but is lower, and has smaller pani- 

 cles. It is one of the most widely diffused grasses, 

 and accommodates itself to a great, variety of 

 soils and climates. The taller grass is a wild 

 Rye, probably Tritieum caninum, not Eye grass, 

 which is a Lolinm. It affords some fodder very 

 early in spring, and on poor soil might be culti- 

 vated to advantage. 



J. C. P. D., Rutland, Yt.— Fringe Tree, or 

 Virginia., or White Fringe Tree, Chionanthus 

 Yirginiea, is the correct name of this gem of a, 

 tree. A description of it was given in our last 

 November number. Spring-planting is preferable 

 iu the Northern States Jasminum nudiflorum 

 is hardy in sheltered positions. 



Frank Siddall's Soap, the advertisement of 

 which appears on other pages, is a real boon to 

 every intelligent housekeeper. We know froiu 

 personal experience that it facilitates wash-day 

 wonderfully, and makes the clothes as white as 

 snow without injuring their fabric. But no one 

 need expect success with this soap unless the 

 directions are followed in every detail. It is not 

 sufficient to tell the laundress to do as directed, — 

 for not one in a hundred will do it,— but the mis- 

 tress of the house has to see to it herself, for the 

 first few times at least. 



