498 



THEY SAY. 



educated than mine. I have watched them for years 

 and know that they eat plants. They are fond of rex 

 begonia leaves and stems, gloxinia and gesneria bulbs, 

 and will eat geraniums and a few other plants just 

 above the ground where they congregate in large num- 

 bers. Even the innocent earth worm I have caught in 

 mischief. He destroys hyacinth bulbs and will some- 

 times work his way under the bark in roots, but he is the 

 most innocent of all intruders with me. — Mrs. J. V. 

 Taylcjr, Salem, Orcgoi . 



Sans Fences. — The owner of a country place in 

 Orange county, N. Y., says by the removal of fences 

 and sinking stone walls, the size of the place is appar- 

 ently doubled, and the enjoyment of it increased to a 

 greater extent. 



Disagreeable Gardeners. — These days of hot and 

 suddenly changing temperature are trying to the tem- 

 pers of gardeners and employers. Some have stood the 

 test so far, but many have not. Trials have come to 

 all, the bugs, "the inevitable foes " have appeared with 

 droughts in parts of the western country, and long con- 

 tinued rains on some parts of the Atlantic seaboard have 

 washed away the plants. All this is bad and discourag- 

 ing, but not enough to dishearten the busy man, fond of 

 a garden, but without the time to give it superintend- 

 ence, who has to trust to his hired gardeners. Happy 

 is he if they prove satisfactory ! This is the most dis- 

 couraging part of many a man's endeavors. He does 

 not grudge the expenditure of his money, and is willing 

 to submit to fate in the contest with weeds, climate, dis- 

 eases and insect foes, knowing that his case is no worse 

 than others ; but the human element is more than he 

 can contend against. This course alone brings more 

 country places into the real estate agent's hands than 

 any other. Could it be removed, their value about all 

 our cities would soon be doubled. Those who have 

 had to contend with indifferent, disobliging and care- 

 less gardeners alone know the trial they are. They can 

 destroy more cherished plans and plants than all other 

 causes combined, and do it in a way to escape detection. 

 They are the men who bring their craft into disrepute, 

 and in the end injure themselves, their employers and 

 all other gardeners. Some men are so addicted to one 

 form of gardening, as for instance ribbon-gardening, 

 that they will give no attention to other things. If their 

 employer wants a little natural beauty and grace in 

 some way, they will pretend to acquiesce, but see to it 

 that their pretended efforts always result in failure and 

 are left alone to pursue the work they like to do, unless 

 their employer gets tired of the whole, and gets rid of 

 them and their hobby together. 



This explains why gardeners who are painstaking 

 and obliging retain their places and do better than 

 those who are superior in skill but are disagreeable on 

 a gentleman's place. The gardener is so important to 

 the domestic concerns of a family that his personality 

 is of more consequence than almost anyone on the place. 



Gardeners have their trials no less than their employ- 

 ers, who are often unreasonable and inconsiderate, but 



more commonly are accustomed to hiring men and 

 know a good one when they get him. Most of us know 

 places where none of the help remain for any great 

 length of time, and it seems as if there must be some- 

 thing radically wrong in the management ; but these 

 places are exceptional. A gardener without a good tem- 

 per and an obliging disposition had better go into some 

 other vocation rather than make himself a temporary 

 obstruction on any country place, for he will not be long 

 wanted.— J. D. W. 



Grafting Wax. — I call it grafting wax, though its use 

 in grafting is a small part of its proper use. It is to 

 cover wounds of plants, that they may heal. For in 

 curing vegetable wounds, as in curing the wounds of 

 animals, we can only exclude the oxygen and bacteria, 

 that nature may do her work. Hence the small fruit 

 grower or florist will frequently find it advantageous to 

 use this wax. For that matter, it is a good salve for 

 your own cuts ; and especially for the deep cracks that 

 come in some fingers working in damp earth. First 

 wash the hands clean, very clean, to get the dirt out of 

 the cracks. The wax will exclude air and dirt, and give 

 the cracks a chance to heal. So when applying it to our 

 cuts or bruises on plants, shrubs or trees, make the sur- 

 faces clean and cut off any ragged wood or bark. 



The ingredients are : Rosin, four parts (by weight) ; 

 beeswax, two parts ; beef tallow, one part. Mutton 

 tallow may be used, but is not so good, I have known 

 some to use lard, but I cannot recommend it. Some 

 think linseed oil better than tallow, and it may be if 

 perfectly pure. 



Heat the ingredients in a kettle over a slow fire for 

 thirty minutes, stirring them that they may be thorough- 

 ly mixed. Then pour the mixture into cold water, and 

 ' ' pull " it as you would molasses candy, until it is quite 

 light colored. Make into rolls half an inch in diameter 

 and six inches long, and keep in a cool, dry place. If 

 you use it in cold weather, soften it by putting it in 

 lukewarm water ; if in warm weather, it will work bet- 

 ter if first put in cold water. After you have it, you 

 will be surprised how often you will have good use for 

 it. Perhaps the best name for it is salve for plants. I 

 have always used it and my father used it before me, 

 so I know that it is good. — S. M. J. 



Climate and Plants. — I am surprised to see in Mr. 

 Willits' article the statement on p. 318, June American 

 Garden, as to the want of knowledge in 1856 of our 

 western interior, its climate and capacities, and par- 

 ticularly his remarks as to wheat growing in the north- 

 west. I had the honor to be called on by Judge Mason, 

 then the Commissioner of Patents, to prepare an ex- 

 tended paper on climatology for the agricultural re- 

 port of 1853, which occupies pages 327 to 433 of that 

 volume. In that report, p. 338, etc., treating of wheat 

 climates, I claim all the northwestern plains as favora- 

 ble, and quote Sir John Richardson at length (p. 391) 

 that wheat at Lake Winnipeg is equal to any grown in 

 the United States. In several portions of my report 

 full claim is made to the capacity of the interior and 



