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©RCHARD^gARDEN 
AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY JOUR- 
NAL OF HORTICULTURE. 
Devoted exclusively to the Interest of the American 
Orchard. Vineyard. Fruit, Vegetable and 
Flower Garden. 
Progressive ! Reliable ! Practical ! Scientific ! 
*n buerlptlon Price, 50 Cents per A n mi m 
Fite Yearly Subscriptions for $2.00. 
Entered at the Post Office at Little Silver as second class 
matter. 
H. G. Cornet, Editor. 
Advertising; Rates. 
Per Agate line, each insertion 30e 
One Page. " $90.00 
One half Page “ 50 00 
One quarter Page “ 30.00 
Rates for yearly ads. and for 2 '4) lines or over giv- 
en upon application. 
Reading notices ending with adv. per line nonpa- 
reil, 50c. Preferred position ten per cent, extra. 
LITTLE SILVER, N. J.. FEB., 1890. 
CONTENTS. 
Berry Patch. Shuster’s Gem Strawberry— Black- 
berries in Indiana 23 
Biographical. The late Peter Henderson 30 
Catalogues Received 31 
Editorial .. 30 
Flower Garden. Decorative Palms— Floral Notes 
— How to Grow Pansies from Seed -The Coming 
Hedge Plant 26, 27 
Fungi. The Mysterious Disease of the Vine in Cali- 
fornia-More About that California Vine Dis- 
ease 32, 33 
Household. Leaks in the Kitchen — Be Social- 
Health Hints— A Handy Food Warmer— A Decor- 
ative Easel— Indian Pudding 36 
Insects. Arsenical Sprays for the Plum Curculio— 
Agrilus Ruficollis 33, 34 
Nuts and Nut Trees. Grafting the Chestnut and 
Hickory— Grafting the Hickory— Hardiness of 
the English Walnut 29 
Orchard. February Suggestions— Scab of Fruit and 
Rust of Foliage of the Orchard Fruits — Native 
Western Plums— Two Apples of Merit— Early 
Queening and Early Ripe— Liquid Grafting Wax 
—High Culture in the Orchard — Iron Clads— 
The Wagener Apple 24, 25, 26 
Our Book Table 31 
Vegetable Garden. Garden Work for February - 
Seeds and Seedsmen— A Cheap and Handy Prop- 
agating Bench— Vitality in Seeds— Resting Land 
in Grass 28, 29 
Vineyard. Vineyard Work for February— Grafting 
the Grape 34 
Have you renewed your subscription for 
1890 ? If not, please do so now. 
Prof. C. C. Georgeson, late of the Imper- 
ial College, of Tokio, Japan, and more re- 
cently of Orchard & Garden, now occu- 
pies the Chair of Agriculture at the Kansas 
State Agricultural College and is Director of 
the Experiment Station. He should be ad- 
dressed at Manhattan, Kans. 
Circumstances decree that the subject of 
our series of horticultural sketches this 
month is the late Peter Henderson. When 
the announcement of his sudden death was 
flashed through the country a few days ago 
it was a great shock to his many friends and 
acquaintances. His name was a household 
word in the homes of all lovers of horticul- 
ture and kindred pursuits, and the sad news 
of his death brings profound sorrow to our 
hearts that a great and good man has passed 
away. Those of our readers who knew him 
only from his writings or through business 
relations with him, will be glad to read 
this brief sketch of his successful life. 
Tlie late Peter Henderson. 
Peter Henderson was born in 1823 at Cath 
Head, a village near Edinburgh, Scotland, 
and derived his early education from the 
parochial school, where he is said to have 
carried off more prizes than any other lad in 
the school. At the age of sixteen years he 
began his horticultural career as an ap- 
prentice to a gardener and devoted himself 
most assiduously to his chosen profession. 
He won the gold medal offered by the Bo- 
tanical Society of Edinburgh for the best 
scientifically arranged herbarium in compe- 
tition with all Great Britain, was an ardent 
worker for the advancement of horticul- 
tural science, and his industry and love of 
learning were such that he is said to have 
walked ten miles twice a week to a mathe- 
matical school during his apprenticeship. 
At the age of twenty he came to New 
York. He had no capital, but was full of 
energy and pluck. He worked for others 
until 1847 when he had saved enough money 
to start in business for himself as a market 
gardener near Jersey City. His industry 
and practical methods brought him success 
and he soon added floriculture to his busi- 
ness. In 1865 he began the seed business in 
partnership with James Fleming in Nas- 
sau St., New' York, which was succeeded 
by the present business of Peter Henderson 
& Co., 35 and 37 Cortlandt St., composed of 
Mr. Henderson and his two sons, Charles and 
Alfred. The business has grow-n rapidly, 
having an immense seed warehouse and 
several acres of greenhouses in Jersey City, 
the largest in this country. 
Mr. Henderson was well known as a horti- 
cultural writer and his thoroughly practical 
articles, no less than his practical and in- 
structive books, have aided materially in the 
success of many a gardener and florist. 
Many of them have appeared in Orchard 
and Garden. His most important books, 
published in the order named, are: “Gar- 
dening lor Profit,” Practical Floriculture,” 
“Gardening for Pleasure,” “Garden and 
FarmTopics” and his “Handbook of Plants.” 
Mr. Henderson was a man of much energy 
and public spirit. A staunch Republican 
in politics he always declined to stand for 
February, 1890- 
office though often urged by his party to do 
so. He was a man of strict integrity. When 
the Bergen Savings Bank suspended some 
years ago owing to official mismanagement, 
Mr. Henderson, who was one of the found- 
ers, in conjunction with two other directors 
made good the amount due the depositors. 
Devoted to his family and business, he was 
an indefatigable writer and vuorker for the 
best interests of Horticulture. A memoer 
of the N. Y. Horticultural Society, Society 
of American Florists, The New York Flor- 
ists Club, and The Seed Dealers’ Association; 
the calls upon him were frequent and he 
always responded. 
He was a large property owner and was 
wealthy, the legitimate results of his mar- 
velous success in building up business — per- 
haps not so marvelous w-hen we consider 
his energy, industry and capacity for work, 
aided by his own practical methods. 
Peter Henderson died at his home on Jer- 
sey City Heights on January 17th last, from 
pneumonia, which began with an attack of 
influenza, and after an illness of a few 
days only. He leaves a widow, two sons 
and a daughter. 
Important to Silk Growers. 
The Secretary of Agriculture, at Wash- 
ington, has just received from Europe a 
consignment of choice silk -worm eggs which 
he will distribute gratuitously to all persons 
who desire to raise silk-worms and who are 
so situated that they can do so satisfactorily. 
He will also be able to furnish books of in- 
struction in silk-culture before the sericul- 
tural season opens. For three seasons he 
has been purchasing cocoons from Amer- 
ican silk growers at an average price of 90 
cents per pound, and wishes a still further 
supply with which to continue the experi- 
ments now being made at Washington in 
the reeling of silk from the cocoon. All, 
therefore, who seek a market for their co- 
coons or who wish silk-worm eggs or books 
of instruction or information of any sort in 
relation to the industry can obtain the same, 
free of charge, upon application to Hon. J. 
M. Rusk, Secretary of Agriculture, Wash- 
ington, D. C. 
Nitrate of Soda for Tomatoes. 
An interesting field experiment on toma- 
toes has been in progress by the N. J. Ex- 
periment Station. It has been thought that 
both barnyard manure and commercial fer- 
tilizers increase the yield at the expense of 
maturity, especially in the case of ferti- 
lizers, and it was for the purpose of study- 
ing the effect of different methods of ferti- 
lization with nitrate of soda upon early 
maturity and yield, that the experiment 
was made. We have not space here to go 
into the details of the work but merely state 
the conclusions reached, viz : 
1. That nitrate of soda, while increasing 
the yield, does not do so at the expeuse of 
maturity when a small quantity is used, or 
when a large quantity is used in two appli- 
cations. 
3, That nitrate of soda did increase the 
