200 
zmEEICA^ GEIOULTUEIST. 
[Mat,, 
grow like weeds. They are fed chiefly on skimmed 
milk, with a little meal and bran, and are hardened 
off before killing with corn or other grain, but re¬ 
quire very little. These pigs until a short time be¬ 
fore they are killed, have the run of an extensive 
manure cellar, where it is warm in winter and cool 
in summer, so that they are always comfortable, 
and their growth always rapid. I do not know 
that the market is ever glutted with this style of 
pork. For its economic production, however, 
skim-milk is almost an absolute necessity. I be¬ 
lieve the best ])ig jiork tliat can be made, is that of 
a first cross between large Berkshire sows, and 
small Yorkshires. They are always white, com- 
piact, small-boned, very quick growers ; keep fat 
with food upon which pigs of the coarse breeds 
would half starve, and tlie pork partakes of the 
character of the Yorkshires; the fat and lean is in¬ 
terlarded, and juicy and tender. The Essex pro¬ 
duces a similar cross with Berkshire sows, but the 
pigs are black, hence rarely favorites at the North, 
though prized in hot climsites as they are free from 
skin diseases, and not poisoned by the “Paintr-root.” 
The Flower Garden and Lawn. 
It is late to expect the best results from sowing 
grass seeds, and if the lawn is of but moderate 
size, it will be better to lay sods. The turf from a 
road-side or pasture should be well beaten down 
to bring its roots in contact with the soil. If grass- 
seed is sown as late as this month, it is customary 
to add a sprinkling of oats—say a quart to a bushel 
of grass-seed. The object of this is to afford shade 
to the young grass, and it is well enough if the 
oats are not allowed to go to seed. They should 
be cut early. The lawn should be mowed with a 
lawn mower, every week or ten days, until dry 
weather comes, and then the frequency should de¬ 
pend upon the growth. Do not cut uji the lawn 
with too many beds. Place them near the drives 
or walks where they will be seen. They maj’be 
planted in masses of one kind each, or in ribbons 
of contrasted colors. In either case make the soil 
rich, and keep the grass margin well defined. 
This is the month in which nurserymen advise 
evergreens to be transplanted. Success with ever¬ 
greens depends upon keeping the roots from dry¬ 
ing. If the roots of a deciduous tree dry out, they 
can be restored. Not so with the conifers. If 
their roots are once allowed to dry, no moisture 
will restore them. Whether evergreens are to be re¬ 
moved from a nursery, or from pastures, keep 
the roots well covered. When they are set out, if 
several stones, as large as one can lift are laid over 
the roots, they will anchor the tree, and serve as 
an excellent mulch to keep the surface soil moist. 
After the fall-planted bulbs — Tulips, Hyacinths, 
Narcissuses, etc., have bloomed, do not disturb 
them as long as the leaves remain green. tVlien the 
foliage begins to turn yellow, the bulbs may be 
taken up, dried, and kept until time to plant next 
autumn. Gladioluses, Lilies, etc., may now be 
])lanted. Tuberoses may be left until the soil is 
well warmed, or they may be started in boxes of 
earth in a sunny window. If no hot-bed is at hand, 
place dahlia roots in a sunny corner, and cover 
them at night. When tlie buds start divide the roots. 
Northernmost Garden in the United States. 
In the summer of 1883, a small exploring party, 
under command of Lieut. Schwatka, of the U. S. 
Army, crossed the coast range of the Alaskan 
Mountains from Chilkat, and reached the head of 
STATES .—Engraved for the American Agriculturist, 
the great Yukon River, over two thousand miles 
long, and there built a raft and floated down tins 
stream over one thousand three hundred miles, 
exploring, and surveying it as they went along. 
At Nuklakayet, some seven hundred odd miles 
from its mouth, the first white trading station 
was encountered, although a few abandoned ones 
had been met before—and the raft exchanged 
for a civilized boat. Nuklakayet is near the junc¬ 
tion of the Yukon and Tanana, in latitude 65° 08' 
North, and therefore eighty-five geographical, or 
ninety-eight common miles from the Arctic Circle. 
The station was kept by Mr. A. Harper, and here 
he had raised a small garden of vegetables, as 
shown in the illustration from a photograph taken 
by Lieut. Schwatka’s paity. This garden is the 
most northern one in the United States, within a 
day or two’s journey of the Arctic Circle Itself. 
The predominating vegetables were turnips, the 
largest of which raised last year weighed a trifle 
over six pounds. A few other hardy plants make 
up the small, but interesting garden. The greatest 
obstacle in gardening in this valley, is the dense 
swarms of mosquitoes that abound from the time 
the snows disappear in the spring, until frost 
comes in the fall, and makes life a burden for all 
kinds of animal existence. Another almost equal, 
is the character of the ground. In winter, with the 
thermometer at from 50° to 60° below zero, the 
soil freezes to six or seven feet in depth, and in the 
short hot summer it thaws but two or three feet, 
leaving a substratum of ice that holds the water, 
and makes even the sides of the hills marshy, and 
more like a bog than tillable soil. This marshy 
character gives rise to a luxuriant superficial moss, 
that grows everywhere and makes walking toilsome. 
and cultivation almost out of the question. Mr. 
Harper has chosen a southeastern slope on the- 
river bank, and here the immediate drainage 
has helped him to raise this phenomenal gardeiu 
The northernmost spot on the globe where lye and 
oats ripen, is at Kengis, in the Swedish Province 
at Norrbotten, forty-nine miles to the north of the 
Arctic Circle. The northernmost place where corn 
matures is at Muoniovara, ninety-eight miles north 
of the Circle, and is located just the same dis¬ 
tance above, that Mr. Haiper’s garden is below it.. 
The Great Laurel, or Eose Bay. 
Among the finest native fiowering shrubs in this- 
country is the Great Laurel {Rhododendron. max~ 
imum). So far as foliage is concerned, there is 
nothing finer among the cultivated Rhododendrons. 
Were it without bloom, it would be an attractive 
shrub in any ornamental ground. But the blos¬ 
som, though inferior to most of the seedlings of 
of the R. Catawhie^ise, is still charming in a state of 
nature, and both foliage and flower have been ■ 
wonderfully improved under proper treatment. ! 
Of course the best are to be chosen where means I 
are abundant, but the prices of the cultivated va- ! 
rieties are still so high, that our rural population 
do not feel that they can afford them. But the R. j 
maximum., in many localities, is as common as al¬ 
most any other shrub, and can be had for the 
trouble of transplanting. This Rhododendron is j 
found from the southern part of Rhode Island, ! 
through New Jersey, southward, and is seen in [ 
great iwofusiou in the mountainous regions of 1 
Pennsylvania and further South, and is one of the 
attractive features of a railroad trip through that ! 
region in the early jjart of July. It was a great [ 
favorite with the late Asa Fitch, and his place at 
Fitchville, Ct., had large plantations of this shrub. ( 
It was the most striking feature of the place, both J 
in summer and winter. In its natural state, under- i 
the shadow of large trees, the shrub grows to 
fifteen or twenty feet high, has a straggling j 
habit and the trunk reaches a diameter of six or j 
eight inches. In a congenial soil, which should. j 
have a large portion of peat and sand, or leaf i 
mould and sand, it grows much more compactly, J 
the foliage is more dense, and the flower buds, S 
which form in the latter part of summer, are great- 
ly multiplied. In village lots, where room is j 
scarce, it can be planted in the border near the I 
house, or by the line fence, though, like most '• 
other plants, it needs room and sunlight for pei- ' 
feet development. In its natural habitat it grows \ 
freely from the seed, and young seedlings are 
readily gathered for transplanting to nursery rows- |] 
or to be set in place. There is no special difficulty 
in transplanting or managing the plants, aside from ’ 
the peat and sand which best meet its wants. In 
the wild state it has a tendency to bloom more 
profusely in alternate years. In cultivation, the 
early removal of the very numerous seed pods ^ 
after blossoming will remedy this imperfection. I 
Green-house and Window Plants. j 
It is usually the custom to turn everything out of '' 
the green-house on the approach of warm weather, | 
but with a little care in watering and shading, the 
plants will do much better, and be less liable to in¬ 
jury from insects, and accidents, than if turned 
out. If plants are to be removed, place them 
where they will be sheltered from heavy winds, 
and not be exposed to full sun. They should also- 
be where their condition as to water will be noticed. 
Plants turned out from the pots and planted in 
borders, are seldom worth taking up again at the- 
end of the summer. If will be well to make cut¬ 
tings of such plants and start anew. Fuchsias and 
cactuses for the most part are summer bloomers, ' 
and may be usefully employed in decorating the i 
veranda. They show best when seen from below. 
All repairs in green-houses, glazing, painting,, 
etc., should be made in summer, that the houses-, 
may be all ready long before they will be needed.- 
THE NORTHERNMOST GAR-DEN IN THE UNITED 
