1309.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
379 
instance, after a shower, iu haying aiul harvest, 
or in the morning, before the clew is off the 
hay. With a big garden or plot of land of this 
kind near the house, a farmer need never be at 
a loss to know what to set his men to do. No 
matter what the weather is, there is always 
something that can be done in the garden. 
To most of which "The Pines" assents. 
You think yon have made a discovery, but had 
you read the Agriculturist properly you would 
have seen that we have constantly advocated 
the separation of the Fruit Garden and the 
Kitchen Garden. You have followed the old 
English way of doing things, and a "plentiful 
lack" of fruit is the result. Have your fruit 
garden by itself, and when it is worked, be there 
to see, and you may chance to taste a Primate, 
the best of all early apples. 
Now about working the farm garden entirely 
by the spade and hoe, I cannot agree with you. 
Small stuff is best cultivated in this way, but if 
the cabbages, beets, carrots, and the like, are so 
far apart that, at odd times, the cultivator can 
go through them, the garden will be in better 
order than if hand labor is relied upon. 
Our market-gardeners know a thing or two, 
and you would be surprised to see the work 
they do with a small "cabbage plow." They 
seem to prefer this to any other implement. 
It runs shallow; first the soil goes one way and 
then the other, and is kept constantly stirring. 
Now it is just as easy to have the garden stuff 
in rows 200 feet long as it is to have it in eight 
vows 25 feet long. But, of course, the manner 
of working will depend upon the size of the 
garden. If simply a small family garden, where 
none of the products are sold, and nothing is to 
be preserved for winter, then the hoe and rake, 
or some of the excellent hand-cultivators, will 
answer, and the crops may be put nearer 
together than where the cultivator is used. 
The Trumpet Creeper (Tecoma radicans) is a 
most showy climber. It has pleasing foliage, 
and its great orange colored flowers are splendid 
when seen from a distance. But then, on the 
other side, it suckei'3 almost as badly as a New 
Rochelle Blackberry, and by coming up through 
the grass at ten and twenty feet away from the 
main plant make9 itself a nuisance. 
It is not surprising that there is a popular 
belief that certain trees poison the ground. 
"When we see the number of roots that a vigor- 
ous tree throws out, and the great expanse of 
foliage which is making a constant demand 
upon the roots, we only wonder that anything 
grows near a large tree. "We do not believe that 
a tree " pizens the ground," as is the common 
expression. The trouble is that it appropriates 
all the nutriment and also casts a broad shade. 
AVe have a good illustration of this in a large 
black-walnut tree that stands just on the line 
between us and our neighbor. The former 
occupant of this place dug down and cut off 
all the roots from his side of the tree, while 
those upon the other side were allowed to re- 
main. Things upon our side grow moderately 
well near the tree, while the exhausting influence 
of the roots is plainly to be seen upou our 
neighbor's laud 
•«-* — — ^^^^— — i ^ 
AtmrarN Sown Annuals. — There are a 
number of annuals which when they come up 
in the flower garden from selt-sown seeds bloom 
much better than those sown iu spring. The 
cultivator should take a hint from this and sow 
seeds of such plants in the fall. One plant which 
we now seldom see in cultivation, the Rocket 
Larkspur, is especially benefited by this treat- 
ment. A bed of larkspurs sown in autumn will 
come out in spriug as showy, if not as fragrant, 
as one of hyacinths. Most of the California 
annuals do much belter if fall sown — Nemo- 
philas, Whitlavias, Gilias, etc., as do Pansies, 
Mignonette, and many others. It is well to 
give the soil a covering of litter, to prevent 
frequent freezing and thawing iu early spring. 
Horticultural Skirmishing. 
• — 
Just now the small-fruit growers and ama- 
teurs are having a lively time, and as the agri- 
cultural and horticultural papers do not seem 
to afford room for the combatants, their articles 
overflow into the daily papers. The vexed 
questions seem to be three: 1st, Is there a distinct 
Raspberry called the Naomi, or is it the Fran- 
conia ? — 2d, Is the "Mexican Everbearing" 
Strawberry distinct from the old Monthly Al- 
pine .' — 3d, Is the Black-cap Raspberry called 
Mammoth Cluster, the Miami or the Mc'Cor- 
mick? — All these points are important ones to 
fruit growers and one would think that it would 
not be difficult to settle them. The matter 
seems to have got outside the bounds of dis- 
cussion into a skirmish of words and a squabble 
of personalities. One would think from read- 
ing the articles written upon both sides of these 
questions that the main point was not to establish 
the truth but to charge the other side with 
ignorance, iuterested motives, or something 
worse. Many of the fruit men seem to be re- 
markably sensitive, and if one differs with them 
in au estimate of quality or on a question of 
identity he is immediately accused of being 
prejudiced, or in the interest of some rival va- 
riety. If the controverted points above referred 
to are ever settled we shall gladly record the 
verdict. Meantime the varieties in dispute are 
getting a splendid advertising through the agri- 
cultural and other papers at the East and West. 
A New Insecticide. 
M. Cloez, who is engaged at the garden of the 
Paris Museum — the world-renowned Jardin 
des Plantes — has invented what he considers a 
complete annihilator for plant lice and other 
small insects. This discovery is given in the 
Revue Horticole, with the endorsement of its 
distinguished editor, E. A. Carriere. To reduce 
M. Cloez's preparation to our measures, it will 
be sufficiently accurate to say, take 3' | a ounces 
of quassia chips, and 5 drachms Stavesacre seeds, 
powdered. These are to be put iu 7 pints of 
water and boiled until reduced to 5 pints. 
When the liquid is cooled, strain it, and use 
with a watering-pot or syringe, as ma)' be most 
convenient. We are assured that this prepara- 
tion has been most efficacious in France, and it 
will be worth while for our gardeners to exper- 
iment with it. Quassia has long been used as 
an insect destroyer. The Stavesacre seeds are 
the seeds of a species of Larkspur, or Delphin- 
ium, and used to be kept in the old drug stores. 
Years ago they were much used for au insect 
that found its home iu the human head, but as 
that has fortunately gone out of fashion, it may 
be that the seeds are less obtainable than for- 
merly. The Stavesacre seeds contain Delpliine, 
which is one of the most active poisons known, 
and we have no doubt that a very small share 
of it would prove fatal to insects. 
Taking up Plants for "Winter. 
Many of the half-hardy plants which have 
bloomed in the borders, such as Fuchsias, Car- 
nations, Roses, Geraniums, etc., should now be 
prepared for their winter quarters and potted 
at once. These may be kept iu a cold frame or 
pit or in a dry cellar. The succulent shoots 
should be cut away at the time of potting, and 
be exposed to the air, but shaded until they be- 
come established. The longer they can be kept 
out without injury from frost, the better will they 
endure their winter confinement. Chrysanthe- 
mums for blooming iu-doors should now be 
potted. They will wilt somewhat at first, but 
will soon recover, and give a satisfactory bloom. 
After the flowering is over, cut back the stems 
and place the pots in the cellar. Some of the 
Geraniums will bloom during the winter in the 
house if taken up early and well cut back 
at the time. Ivy for house growth will bear 
almost any treatment, but it is best to take it up 
at once and -allow it to be well rooted in the 
pots before removing it in-doors, and then take 
it to a cold room. 
Getting "Wild Flowering Shrubs. 
Those who wish to transfer any of the many 
beautiful wild shrubs from their native locali- 
ties to their gardens and grounds should mark 
them before the leaves have fallen. Unless one 
has examined the wood and habit of growth 
more closely than most persons are in the habit 
of doing, he will find it difficult to distinguish 
one naked shrub from another. It is much 
better to remove those shrubs which grow in 
low and wet places in autumn than to wait 
until spring, as then such localities are usually 
so wet as to be inaccessible. Besides this, there 
is more time iu the fall for such work. If the 
shrubs cannot be set out at this season, heel 
them in carefully, and they will be all ready for 
spring planting. It is a well-known fact that 
plants which grow naturally in wet places will 
flourish all the better if transferred to a drier 
soil, while those which naturally prefer a dry 
situation will not endure a change to a low and 
moist one. In the removal of native shrubs 
these points should be borne in mind. 
Coru Salad, 
One of the earliest green things which ap- 
pears in our city markets is Corn Salad — small 
tufts of green leaves, which look fresh and 
spring-like, and are prized by the French and 
Germans, but we doubt if it is much consumed 
by Americans. It is sown in autumn — perhaps 
it is too late now in Northern localities — and 
when the plants are up they are covered, on 
the approach of cold weather, with straw or 
ha}'. In March the covering is removed, and 
the first warm days start it into growth and 
give a cutting. It does not seem to have any 
positive qualities in itself, but, being tender, it 
makes an acceptable salad, with whatever dress- 
ing may be fancied. 
Keeping Winter Pears. 
No fruit is worse treated than the late autumn 
and winter pears. They are generally gathered 
before their time, and then kept in a dry atmos- 
phere. What wonder is it that a fruit which 
should be melting and delicious, turns out to be 
a shrivelled, tough, and tasteless thing 1 Most 
