[August, 



|ke pniil (.j«mlei|. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Strawberry Planting in Summer.— The diffi- 

 culties of making newly set plants live at 

 this season of extreme heat and frequent 

 drouths have led to the use of potted plants, 

 the manner of starting which we have de- 

 scribed in our last number. With ordinary 

 care in planting, not one in a hundred of 

 potted plants need fail ; and if the ground is 

 rich and in good condition, with proper cul- 

 tivation during summer, nearly a full crop of 

 berries may be obtained from the plants next 

 season. Many of the prize berries at the 

 late New- York Horticultural Exhibition were 

 raised on potted plants set out last August 

 and September. 



Paper boxes may, in the absence of pots, 

 be used to good advantage, as is shown by 

 the experience of one of our readers, who 

 says : 



"Last year, wishing to pot more plants 

 than I had pots for, I took thick wrapping- 

 paper, cut it in strips ten inches long and 

 four wide, lapped the ends and pinned to- 

 gether ; then folded twice, to form the cor- 

 ners, at each of which an incision of one and 

 a half inches was made. The flaps thus pro- 

 duced were folded and doubled, so as to form 

 the bottom of the box, and pinned together. 

 These boxes answered the purpose very well, 

 and lasted till the plants were established 

 enough to be taken up. I have since used 

 similar ones for Tomatoes and other plants." 



Potting in Frames. — When it is not con- 

 venient to pot plants in the field, a modified 

 plan may be pursued, by taking up the young 

 plants carefully— on a cloudy day, if possible 

 — and planting them in small pots. They ave 

 then plunged in sand or soil under the shade 

 of a tree, and watered when necessary: in 

 about three weeks they .may be transplanted 

 like ordinary potted plants. Our corre- 

 spondent, Mr. L. B. Pierce, mentions a nur- 

 seryman living in a town, and having his 

 Strawberry beds two miles from home, who 

 fills large cold frames with plants thus potted. 

 These plants are invariably better than those 

 potted in the field, as they are constantly 

 under the eye of the grower, can be shaded 

 when desired, and never suffer from want of 

 water. 



Ground-layers, when transplanted in sum- 

 mer directly in beds, should be protected 

 from the sun, at least during the first days 

 after transplanting. Nothing is better for 

 this purpose than a small, very leafy branch 

 of a tree, stuck in the ground south of each 

 plant, so as to shade about a square foot of 

 soil. This gives sufficient shade, and the 

 withering and dropping leaves gradually ad- 

 mit more sun as the plants grow stronger 

 and require less shade. 



Grape-vines, especially varieties with thin, 

 tender leaves, should be frequently exam- 

 ined, and as soon as mildew makes its ap- 

 pearance, which occurs about this season, 

 ' ' flowers of sulphur " should be used with- 

 out delay. This is very fine pulverized sul- 

 phur, obtained by sublimation, and is best 

 applied with bellows made for the purpose. 

 It is important that the entire vine is dusted 

 over, as soon as the first signs of the trouble 

 appear, and that the operation is repeated as 

 often as occasion may require. 



PROPAGATION BY BUDDING, 



Budding is a favorite method with nursery- 

 men for rapidly multiplying distinct varie- 

 ties. Although the time in which it can be 

 successfully performed is quite limited, the 

 possibility of making a tree from every bud 

 makes it the most feasible method of in- 

 creasing rare and choice fruits, etc. The 

 season for budding is usually midsummer or 

 early autumn. When the sap appears too 

 watery, as it sometimes does early in the 

 budding season, the operation should be de- 

 ferred until later, when the sap thickens 

 and is depositing its annular ring of pulp 

 or woody fiber immediately under the bark, 

 and the implanted bud unites more readily 

 and incorporates its growth with the stock. 



around the stock, thus pressing the bark 

 closely over the bud. The ligature must not, 

 however, be allowed to press, or rest, on the 

 eye of the inserted bud. 



In ten days to two weeks the ties are re- 

 moved by cutting or unwinding, when most 

 of the buds will be found united with the 

 stocks. With buds that may have failed, and 

 be found shriveled up, the operation is im- 

 mediately repeated on a fresh portion of the 

 bark, so as to leave no blanks. When the 

 stocks are in rapid growth, it is often neces- 

 sary to unwind the ties earlier to avoid injury 

 of stock or bud by strangulation, and if the 

 bud has not fully united it is tied again. 



In early budding the stocks are often 

 headed back at once after the buds have 

 taken, thus forcing the growth of the in- 

 serted bud immediately ; but in later budding 

 the heading back is deferred iintil the follow- 

 ing spring. This heading back is accom- 

 plished by a clean cut opposite the inserted 

 bud, severing the stock immediately above 

 it. Some persons advise leaving several inches 

 of the old stock as a support, to which the 



TRANSVERSE CUT AND BUD INSERTED AND 

 SLIT AND BUD READY TIED. 

 FOR INSERTION. 



The buds are taken from the current sea- 

 son's growth, and may be used as soon as 

 fully developed and sufficiently ripened. 



The stocks should be gone over a few days 

 previous to inserting the buds, and ail side 

 shoots and sprouts removed for a few inches 

 above the ground. 



A transverse cut is made at a smooth place 

 on the stock, and a perpendicular cut or slit 

 downward from this, for a distance of an 

 inch or more, the corners of the bark being 

 slightly elevated with the point of the knife. 



BUD-GROWTH TIED TO 

 STUMP OF OLD STOCK. 



RING BUDDING. 



CUTTING A BUD 



Then taking the stick or young shoot of 

 buds of the variety to be multiplied, the 

 operator enters the knife above and brings 

 it out one-half inch below the bud or eye. 

 Into the opening previously made in the 

 stock, this bud is now inserted and pressed 

 downward under the bark; then tied, by 

 passing strings of bass bark or cotton yarn 



young shoot is tied, removing after a time 

 by a second cut opposite the bud ; but this 

 is not necessary in most eases. 



All sprouts must be removed as they ap- 

 pear on the stock after it is headed back, so 

 as to throw the growth exclusively into the 

 inserted bud ; otherwise, the bud will never 

 push, and will finally die out. 



In Vance's method of buddiug, the bud is 

 inserted where a bud has been cut out of the 

 stock, which is theoretically the place for the 

 bud, but practically an operation trouble- 

 some to perform and of doubtful advantage. 



On some stocks the bark 

 ' ' will run " when the leave s 

 unfold in the spring ; work 

 ing them at this time 

 is called spring budding. 

 Buds are taken from the 

 young growth of the pre- 

 vious year, which have 

 been kept moist and dor- 

 mant in an ice - house. 

 These often make a strong 

 growth, and buds from 

 this growth may again be 

 used for fall budding. By 

 this double working, a va- 

 riety can be multiplied 

 very rapidly. 



Ring budding is accom- 

 plished by taking off a ring 

 of bark from the stock one- 

 fourth inch wide, more or less, and replacing 

 it with a similar ring containing the bud of 

 the variety to be propagated. This method, 

 although offering no material advantage, for 

 general purpost s,over those already described 

 is in some instances, especially with grape- 

 vines, used successfully by some propagators. 

 —J. Jenkins, author Art of Propagation . 



