July, 1889. 
139 
ORCHARD GARDEN 
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earth. Forest leaves, preferably those of 
the pine which will not blow off, are then 
spread over the bed, and it is further thatch- 
ed over with corn fodder to exclude frost 
and water. As the soil remains unfrozen 
under this cover it is easy to get at the cel- 
ery at any time. Celery allowed to re- 
main where grown is infinitely more tender 
and brittle than that which has been lifted 
and stored. 
I think this plan for growing celery could 
be used at the North, by putting a row of 
stout stakes through the centre of the beds, 
nailing a ridge pole to them and making a 
rough board roof over the whole which 
could be covered with earth or cornstalks 
to exclude the frost. More celery can be 
grown on a small piece of land in this way 
than in any other, for a bed 5x50 feet will 
hold 550 plants, and the labor is light com- 
pared with that required to earth up single 
row^s, and then dig them up and trench 
•elsewhere. Note one caution, never earth 
up or handle celery except when it is free 
from moisture, and do not hill up too rap- 
idly while the weather is warm. 
Hayiuau or Southeru Queen Sweet Po- 
tato. 
Several correspondents want to know 
more of the Hayman sweet potato, and its 
adaptability to northern culture. This va- 
riety is better adapted to the North than 
South and is not much esteemed south of 
Virginia. It is a stout, chunky tuber, whit- 
ish on the outside with deep yellow flesh. 
It can be at once distinguished in a field of 
other varieties by its dark green and re- 
markably vigorous foliage. The qualities 
which recommend it are: 
1st Its earliness. In this latitude it will 
make a crop planted in July. 
2nd Its capacity for growing on strong 
clay' lands when other sorts usually fail. 
3rd Its remarkable keeping qualities. 
Any dry, frost-proof cellar will keep them 
perfectly. 
4th. They produce with us more potatoes 
per acre, that is, more weight than any 
other sort. In our southern markets and 
in Baltimore they do not sell as well as the 
Nansemond, except in Spring when they 
are in better condition. — W. F. Massey. 
There is nothing better for cucumber and 
melon vines than the soap suds from the 
weekly wash. Soak the soil thoroughly 
around the hills; let none go to waste. 
For the Striped Cucumber Beetle try 
dusting the squash, cucumber and melon 
vines with road dust whilst the vines are 
wet with dew. 
It is not yet too late to plant beans. It 
is said that when White beans are planted 
late they escape the Bean Weevil. 
The ground should be kept occupied by 
constant succession. When one crop is off 
another should be put in at once. Cucum- 
bers, turnips, cabbage, beans and many 
other late crops may yet be planted. 
July Work. 
The treatment of strawberry beds after 
bearing depends upon their present condi- 
tion; if very weedy and matted it will hard- 
ly pay to clean them. In these days of pot- 
ted plants it is so easy to obtain strong and 
well grown strawberry plants by the first 
of August that there is little cause for 
spending much time and labor on the old 
bed . Hence if it is in such a condition we 
would plough it under and set out a new 
bed on another spot. Well rooted young 
plants may perhaps be found between the 
rows in the old bed and when taken up by 
the trowel with plenty of soil adhering to 
the roots are quite equal to potted plants. 
A rainy day should be chosen for the work 
when the soil is moist. 
Some varieties of strawberries such as 
Chas. Downing, Cumberland, etc., continue 
to bear profitable crops longer than others 
but our experience has been that young 
plants generally bear the finest fruit, there- 
fore it is desirable to renew the plantations 
often instead of waiting until the crowns 
grow weakly and the fruit becomes small. 
If it is necessary to purchase plants from a 
distance, get pot-grown plants; the slight 
difference in price between them and the 
ordinary layer plants should be no consid- 
eration to one who wishes fine fruit the fol- 
lowing season. There is generally consid- 
erable loss in transplanting layer plants in 
August, except in cases where they may be 
procured close at hand, and it is late before 
they recover from the check and start to 
grow again. 
When the bed is to be kept over or it is 
not convenient to replant, the soil between 
the rows should be loosened by running the 
cultivator through them or lightly forking, 
and a topdressing of well rotted cow ma- 
nure applied. For the best results the run- 
ners should be removed. A quick and 
cheap method of renewing the strawberry 
bed is to dig the soil between the rows, turn- 
ing under a coating r f rotted stable ma- 
nure (never dig under long, coarse manure 
in summer), and comb out the runners from 
the rows so that they will root in the open 
spaces. Then, later in the season, the old 
rows of plants may be dug under, leaving 
a bed of new and young plants. 
Plantations infested with the leaf-roller 
may be relieved by mowing down the weeds 
and tops of the plants and when dry, burn- 
ing over the whole patch. 
Keep down the suckers of the raspberry 
and blackberry plantations Next year's 
crop will be borne on canes that grow the 
present season. Select the shoots that are 
needed for this purpose, four or five to the 
hill are plenty, and hoe out all the others. 
T^hese new canes should be checked by 
pinching off their tops when they reach a 
height of about four feet. This will cause 
them to become stocky and to throw uot 
laterals which, in turn, should be pinched 
back, the lower ones at about ten inches 
and the highest at about six inches from 
the main cane. 
The harvesting of the raspberry and 
blackberry crop should be conducted upon 
the same principles that we have suggested 
for the strawberry crop. Constant over- 
sight of the pickers, close attention to de- 
tails, careful packing and a judicions dis- 
posal of the fruit in shipment will be apt 
to bring a profit to those who seek it in this 
way. The little round half pint (Beecher) 
baskets are the proper baskets for red rasp- 
berries and the 60 halfpint crate the best 
sized package. For blackcaps the round 
pints are very nice although the square 
pints are equally suitable. Blackberries 
are usually shipped in square quarts. 
Among tlie Newer Strawberries— 1 889. 
Having made my annual round among 
the strawberry growers of New Jersey and 
having visited a few in other States, I am 
perplexed in going to write notes of the 
newer varieties. Knowing that many read- 
ers of Orchard & Garden are anxious to 
hear how the novelties have behaved, I 
wish to gratify their desires, yet the season 
has been such a peculiar one I hesitate to 
speak with the freedom and in the positive 
manner I would like, fearing I might err 
and do injustice to some of them. The ex- 
cessive rain and cold weather of the blos- 
soming time may account for the seeming 
unproductiveness of many sorts and the al- 
most constant rain during the picking sea- 
son was enough to render the finest straw- 
berry of poor, watery, acid flavor and unfit 
for shipment. It should also be borne in 
mind that the merits or demerits of a straw- 
berry can seldom be positively determined 
in a single fruiting, even in the most favor- 
able season. 
Pineapple. — Although resembling the 
Sharpless in both plant and fruit, the true 
variety is distinct and is apparently an im- 
provement upon it — particularly in produc- 
tiveness. I have heard it repeatedly stated 
that it is simply the Sharpless renamed. 
This is an error. 
Warfield No. 2 is a veritable wonder in 
productiveness and is of good size. It is 
also much firmer than the Crescent winch 
it rivals if it does not even excel in yield 
and is as much firmer as it is larger. The 
plant is also strong and vigorous. The fruit 
stems are so long that it is liable to give 
dirty fruit unless mulched. The variety 
should become famous by virtue of having 
sustained the claims made for it by its in- 
troducers. 
Jucunda Improved will be hailed with 
delight by many from the fact that it pos- 
sesses the rare qualities of fruit of its par- 
ent and unlike it has a sturdy, robust, dis- 
ease-resisting plant — unequalled by any of 
its type or for that matter *by t very few oth- 
ers. 
( Continued on page 145.) 
