184 



[October, 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Strawberries, potted, and layer plants, may 

 still be set out during this month ; but the 

 longer this is deferred the more care has to 

 be given to the preparation of the ground 

 and the plants themselves. 



Do not cover up your Strawberry beds at 

 the first light frost ; the end of next month 

 is time enough. 



Currants, if fairly treated, are among the 

 most profitable fruits for the market, and the 

 easiest grown in the home garden. But 

 Currants have become tired of their long, 

 patient suffering, and have rebelled against 

 the shiftless neglect to which they have been 

 subjected in the past, and have resolved 

 that, unless decent treatment is henceforth 

 accorded to their tribe, they will rather sur- 

 render to the borers and worms than benefit 

 their ungrateful owners any longer. In con- 

 sequence of which, all those desiring Cur- 

 rants must give the plants proper treatment. 

 This consists, at this season of the year, in 

 cutting out all weak and sickly shoots and 

 one-half of all the old, supplying their places 

 with the strongest of the young growth, 

 which latter should be cut back to about 

 three-fourths of their length. 



To produce best results, every part of the 

 bush must be in healthy, vigorous condition. 

 This is not possible when a great many 

 sprouts are allowed to grow simultaneously. 

 Six strong stems, springing from the root, 

 are a good average number to retain ; and as 

 young branches bear always larger and bet- 

 ter fruit than old ones, it is good policy to 

 remove canes that have borne for two or 

 three years. 



All pruniugs and rubbish on the ground 

 should be carefully raked off and burned, in 

 order to destroy every trace of insect life 

 that may be attached to them. 



Now is also the best time for enriching 

 the ground, by spading or forking under 

 lightly a few forkfuls of rotted manure 

 around each bush. 



The Tree System of training, which is fre- 

 quently practiced in Europe, has not proved 

 successful here, on account of the devasta- 

 tion of the borers. When there is only one 

 stem from the root, and this becomes at- 

 tacked by the borer, the entire plant is 

 destroyed; while in a bush there are other 

 branches to take the place of a dead one. 



Raspberries and Blackberries, where new 

 plantations are to be made, should be planted 

 now. Autumn is much the best time for 

 planting Raspberries, Blackberries, Currants, 

 and Gooseberries, provided the soil is dry 

 and in good condition generally. Not only 

 because there is so much time gained in 

 " busy spring," but because these plants 

 sprout so early that there is rarely sufficient 

 time in spring to prepare the ground, procure, 

 and plant the roots before they have already 

 sprouted. Therefore, even when the ground 

 is not in readiness for fall planting, or this is 

 for other reasons not practicable, it is a good 

 plan to order the plants before the ground 

 freezes hard and heel them in properly so as 

 to have them ready for early spring planting. 

 If planted in autumn, a light coat of stable 

 litter or other mulching material should be 

 scattered around the plants after heavy frosts. 



NEW AND OLD RASPBERRIES. 



j Editor of American Garden: 



It has become too common in practice to 

 seek to boost or "boom" the new varieties 

 of fruit by decrying the virtues of the old. 

 It is questionable morality. In the Septem- 

 ber number of The American Garden, you 

 pictured the Marlboro Raspberry plant, 

 which was all well enough; but in the 

 printed description — which may not have 

 been your own — the impression is given 

 that the new plant has been tested on dif- 

 ferent soils by impartial men, and found 

 more profitable than the Hudson River Ant- 

 werp, which is not a fact. In character, the 

 Marlboro plant is partly native, like the 

 Cuthbert, and the fruit is fine in quality; 

 but the entire hardiness of both remains to 

 be proved, and their season cannot be pro- 

 longed, as is that of the Antwerp. I have in 

 my small city garden a few rows of H. R. 

 Antwerp, from which I picked, daily or every 

 other day, berries for the table, beginning on 

 the second day of July, and ending on the 

 thirteenth of August — a period of over six 

 weeks ; while young canes were grown from 

 seven to ten feet in height, which is super- 

 fluous growth, as all varieties must be cut 

 back to five feet, within the reach of the boy 

 and girl pickers. It may be said that this 

 comes from special care, but that the Ant- 

 werp has not "run out" is proved by the 

 field culture of Mr. J. R. Hawkins, of Mount- 

 ain ville, in this county. I visited his patch, 

 on invitation, previous to the ripening of 

 fruit, and requested an account of pickings 

 and sales at the close of the season. From 

 0000 hills he sent to market over 17,000 

 cups, or 5670 quarts; and after averaging 

 returns, he finds that the berries brought 

 twenty-one cents a quart. When the Marl- 

 boro or the Cuthbert has reached such results 

 it will be time enough to depreciate the 

 worth of the old Hudson River Antwerp as 

 a market fruit ; and when the Peach fever is 



i finally burnt out, the fruit-growers of this 

 valley must return to and replant the 

 Antwerp. A. A. Bensel. 



[The description of the Marlboro in our 

 last number was, as we stated plainly, that 

 of Mr. Caywood, and we had not the least 

 j intent ion to convey the idea that this variety 

 i had been tested on different soils, as we 

 know that such is not the ease. The only 

 plant that, prior to this year, has been al- 

 lowed to go outside of the originator's 

 grounds is at the Rural's experiment grounds, 

 where it grows healthy and vigorous and has 

 produced very fine berries. 



We agree with our correspondent that its 

 entire hardiness remains to be proved ; but 

 not so of the Cuthbert, which has long since 

 passed its years of trial. At the recent 

 meeting of the American Pomological Soci- 

 ety at Philadelphia, the Cuthbert has received 

 more praise than any other Raspberry on the 

 list, and is nearly everywhere recognized as 

 the best hardy red Raspberry in cultivation. 

 We have grown it for ten years or more 

 without protection whatsoever, and it never 

 failed to make a vigorous growth and pro- 

 duce a large and profitable crop, while the 

 Hudson River Antwerp we could hardly keep 

 alive, in spite of all the care it received. 



We are well aware that the Hudson River 

 Antwerp, where it succeeds, is not excelled 

 as a market berry ; but not every one is so 

 fortunate to live in that favored region of 



the Hudson River Highlands, and many 

 have, therefore, to content themselves with 

 hardier though less excellent kinds. It will 

 hardly be necessary to warn fruit-growers 

 not to rush into planting acres of Marlboro 

 at a dollar apiece. They have had too ex- 

 pensive experiences in this line, but they 

 are willing and anxious to try promising 

 novelties in an experimental way, so as to 

 be able to judge for themselves about their 

 merits ; and it is surely the duty of a horti- 

 cultural journal to inform its readers of the 

 promising novelties that are brought to pub- 

 lic notice. — Editor.] 



GRAFTING CRAB-APPLE TREES. 



From practical experience, I can indorse 

 all that John Stahl says in his article on 

 Crab- Apples published in a recent number of 

 The American Garden. 



He strikes my experience exactly, on the 

 pruning question. I am not a rabid pruner 

 in general, but I know that Crab-Apple trees 

 need to be severely dealt with in this respect. 



His treatment of the subject was very com- 

 plete, so far as the fruit and cultivation of 

 the tree itself was concerned, but he omitted 

 to mention the important relation which 

 Crab-tree culture bears to the successful 

 growing of other fruits in this country, es- 

 pecially the northern portions. 



The hardiest and most prolific portion of 

 my orchard is that which I first set out to 

 Crab-Apples, and into which I have since 

 grafted other less hardy varieties of Apples. 

 Crab-Apples are of themselves desirable 

 ; to a certain extent, but it does not take 

 many trees to supply a family with this kind 

 of fruit, and as a market Apple they are 

 j nearly a failure. I had set out a hundred of 

 them, and when they got well to bearing, 

 found that I had an "elephant " on my hands. 

 They were so hardy and fruitful that I could 

 not bring myself to cut them out, so com- 

 menced grafting into them. By this means, 

 the hardiness of the Crab-Apple can be com- 

 bined with the more desirable fruit, and the 

 cost of obtaining a hardy and fruitful orchard 

 in this way is very much lessened. One can 

 usually buy them at the nurseries for $12.00 

 per hundred, and may do the grafting him- 

 self. 



This operation should be commenced the 

 I second year after they have been transr 

 planted, thus giving them time to get well 

 rooted and growing before imposing the extra 

 strain, caused by the grafting, upon them. 

 Nor should many grafts be put into the tree 

 at a time. The operation should extend 

 through two or more seasons, grafting from 

 a third to one-half each year. Old bearing 

 trees may be grafted, but the labor involved 

 is much increased where the trees are al- 

 lowed to attain their full size before graft- 

 ing is commenced. 



After being well set, these grafts want 

 frequent care, as the Crab- Apple is such a 

 rank grower that the newly set grafts will 

 stand poor chance if left to their fate. Young 

 shoots will spring out all around the grafts 

 and draw away the much needed nourish- 

 ment, if not constantly watched and nipped 

 back. Unless the native limbs are well kept 

 back all over the tree, it is of but little use 

 to put in grafts, for they are sure to get 

 smothered and starved by the more- rapid 

 growth of the Crab-Apple. 



W. 1). Boynton. 



