November, 1890. 
199 
a 
ORCHARD ff AND 
CARDEN 
■4k Some of the bowls and pans made by the 
new wood-fiber process are well adapted for 
growing the Chinese Sacred Lily in, as well 
as other things. This ware is very light, 
impervious to water, almost unbrakable, 
and cheap. The gardener already uses the 
water pails with much comfort to his arms, 
and there are other things in the same line 
that he might use quite as well, if he only 
knew it. 
The Hampden County (Mass.) Horticul 
tural Society is trying popular prices of 
admission, and with satisfactory results. 
They had a large and excellent exhibition 
only a week after the fine show of the 
amateurs, and yet the large hall was 
crowded with people, and here is where 
low prices of admission do their work. 
Parties who go only once with high prices, 
go, it was observed, two, three, and even 
four times with low prices, and the result is 
a large ad lition to the treasury, which is a 
good thing for the society. A better thing, 
however, is that people go who cannot 
afford the high prices, pass a pleasant hour 
or two among the beautiful plants and 
flowers, receive delightful impressions not 
easily worn off, return home happier and 
better men and women, and resdve to add 
a few more plants to the few already in the 
window, and which have made home much 
brighter than it would have been without 
them. Low prices, indeed, make the society 
a public educator in a much broader and 
better sense than it can ever become with 
high prices. This is an experiment which 
some metropolitan societies might follow 
with pleasure and profit. 
Though praised by all who grow it. Clem- 
atis r.occinea is not yet by any means as 
widely known as it should be. It is in 
i some respects a remarkable plant, especially 
as regards its rampant growth and the pro- 
fusion and long continuance of its bloom. 
It readily adapts itself to a variety of soils : 
and though an herbaceous plant (dying to 
the ground every year), it quickly covers a 
very large surface with its handsome foliage. 
Its singular, wax-like flowers, produced on 
long stems, are interesting and attractive, 
and last a long time when cut. When it is 
desired to cover an object rapidly for the 
summer, there are few plants so good for 
the purpose as Clematis coccinea , provided 
it has something to cling to. It is thoroughly 
hardy. 
The Abyssinian Banana(J/»sa eusete) may 
now be seen occasionally on the lawn, and 
it will doubtless ere long become more or 
less common. It is a stately plant of grand 
proportions, and admirably adapted for 
lawn ornamentation, particularly where 
. tropical effects are sought for. It may be 
suggested that a noble plant like this does 
not need any accessories. The large leaves 
are more firmly knit together than the 
common Banana, and are not, consequently, 
so easily torn by strong winds. Those who 
have plant houses can raise the plants from 
seed with a little patience, and florists 
would help to make this Banana better 
know n and more popular by growing plants 
in this way till they are a year old, before 
offering them for sale. There can be no 
doubt that ihere will be a good demand for 
them, if only to grow as annuals, where 
there is no room to store them for the 
winter. — P. B. Mead. 
November. 
As winter draws nigh, open air work in 
the garden gradually ceases. The earthing 
up of the celery crop is now the most 
important item among our vegetable crops. 
As the weather grows ccoler this can pro- 
gress as rapidly as the growth of the plants 
will admit, and in the lati'ude of Philadel- 
phia it should be completely finished by the 
last of the month. Then, if the celery is to 
be taken up for -winter storing, select a dry, 
well drained spot, and dig trenches, a little 
more than half as deep as the celery is tall, 
and about a foot wide. The plan generally 
recommended is to make them so deep 
that the tops of the celery will be level 
with the surface when stored, but I have 
found trenches made in this way very 
difficult to keep water out of. It is much 
better to make the trenches mere shal- 
low and then bank earth on each side, 
packing it tight to the celery, and finally 
covering entirely over the top. Then cover 
with leaves and corn stalks to prevent hard 
freezing, and the celery will keep better 
than in deep pits. When ceb ry is grown 
in beds, as we grow it about Baltimore, it 
is not lifted but the beds are entirely covered 
with earth by the end of November, and as 
the weather gets colder a heavy coat of forest 
leaves and corn stalks is put over all. To 
my notion celery grown and kept in these 
beds, though hardly as large as that grown 
in single rows, is much more crisp and 
palatable. 
* * 
* 
As the weather gets cold the rows of kale 
and spinach should be protected by a coat 
of strawy manure, forest leaves or straw, 
when the winters are severe. It is getting 
more common at the North, in private gar- 
dens, to grow some spinach for winter use 
in cold frames, from which it can be cut at 
any time free from frosted leaves. For this 
purpose plants can now be transplanted 
from the open ground to the frames. 
Tomatoes under glass will need careful 
attention, and should be shifted into the 
pots in which they are to fruit. It is best 
to grow a succession of plants to keep up 
the fruiting to a late period, and throw out 
the old plants as soon as the first set fruit is 
off. Plants grown from seed I find always 
better than those grown from cuttings. 
Cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce plants, 
io be wintered over in cold frames should 
be set in them at once, two or three inches 
apart. Set the cabbage and cauliflower 
deeply so as to protect the stems from hard 
freezing and bursting. Keep the glass off 
as late as possible, and at all times in winter 
give all the air practicable. While we still 
sow a few cabbage plants in fall, our main 
dependence is on plants raised in hot beds 
in January and February, these usually 
giving us the best results. 
* * * 
* 
Chinese Rose-colored Winter Radishes 
can be lifted and pitted, but they will keep 
in better condition if allowed to remain 
where they grow, and thickly covered with 
straw or forest leaves. 
* 
* * 
When the ground freezes hard we have 
found it a good practice to lift parsnips, 
and salsify and heel them in closely in a 
furrow, covering the roots with soil. 
Though freezing does them no injury, it is 
much more easy to get at them when heeled 
in than to dig them from frozen ground. 
* 
* * 
Lettuce and cauliflower plants that were 
set for heading in frames will now need close 
attention and careful covering of the glass 
when frost gets severe at night. These 
being kept in a growing condition would be 
injured by freezing, as they are kept closer 
than those merely intended for wintering 
over. The frames in which these plants 
are grown should be well banked on the 
outside with earth or fresh manure, to keep 
frost from creeping under the sides, and the 
covers at night should be close fitting board 
shutters, or thick straw mats. At the far 
north hot-beds must be used for this purpose, 
but from Philadelphia southward cold 
frames are better. 
* * 
*• 
Tn the latitude of North Carolina the late 
crop of Irish potatoes will now be completing 
their growth. As soon as the tops are cut 
by frost they should be dug and stored. If 
not convenient to do so at once, then clear 
off the tops and cover with straw. The 
prospect is that a killing frost may come 
earlier than last fall, when potato tops kept 
green at Raleigh until November 28th. 
From experiments made this year it seems 
probable that the best time for planting this 
late crop in North Carolina is soon after the 
middle of August. Potatoes planted at that 
time are now (Oct. 6) in full bloom and will 
mature, while those planted later are in 
danger of being cut down before maturity. 
We are annually learning more of this valu- 
able southern crop, and hope to give some 
valuable notes another season. 
* * 
* 
In our next we hope to give the results of 
vegetable tests at the North Carolina Station 
this year, some of which are still in progress. 
One experiment with tomatoes is worth 
noting. Our early tomato plants were care- 
fully forwarded under glass, for the purpose 
of showing how early skilful handling 
would enable an energetic market gardenei 
