140 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
amounting to $4.25. Of ripe tomatoes, 15 bushels 
were sold at $1 a bushel, $15 ; and of green toma¬ 
toes, 4 bushels at 75 cents, $3. Here 1 should 
mention that a summer freshet had ruined mauy 
of the market gardens, which enabled me to sell at 
cultivated species are both bushy and climbing 
forms; one of the former, Clerodendron Bungei, 
is a favorite garden plant in the southern states, 
where it produces abundant large clusters of 
rose-colored flowers. Among the climbing 1 
The Wild Balsam Apple or Cucumber. 
In November last, Mrs. Rochester, in her 
“ Home Topics,” mentioned the Wild Cucum¬ 
ber, more generally known as the Wild Balsam 
METHOD OF SHARPENING POSTS OR RAILS.- 
Apple, as a desirable climber, and we added to 
her account of it a word of commendation of 
our own. Of late years many exotic ornamen¬ 
tal climbers have been introduced, and while 
some of them may he more showy, none are 
more interesting than this native. Though 
often called Wild Cucumber, it is not much 
like the cucumber; it belongs, however, to the 
same family, but differs in its manner of flower¬ 
ing and in its fruit from the squash, melon, 
cucumber, and other common plants of the 
family. The botanical name is Echinocystia 
lobatci, the generic name being from the Greek 
for hedgehog, and bladder, as its fruit is blad¬ 
dery and prickly, and the specific name has 
reference to the lobes of the leaves. It is found 
from the western part of New England to Mis¬ 
souri, mostly in the northern states. It is an 
annual, climbing 10 or 15 ft. high, by means of 
its long and abundant three-forked tendrils. 
The nearly smooth leaves are 3 to 5 inches 
across, and with five sharp lobes. The flowers 
.are of two kinds in the same plant; the sterile, 
or staminate flowers are in compound clusters, 
often a foot long, from the axils of the leaves ; 
the individual flowers small and white, of six 
narrow petals united at the base, and three 
united stamens. The pistillate or fertile flow¬ 
ers are solitary, or two or three together from 
the same axils. The engraving on the op¬ 
posite page gives a small portion of the plant, 
though much reduced in size. The fruit is 
oval, or nearly globular, and about two inches 
long, and has on its surface numerous weak 
prickles. When ripe, it hursts at the top, the 
rind breaking open irregularly, to liberate the 
seeds, of which there are four large, blackish, 
and about the size of watermelon, seeds, 
though thicker. The seeds are contained in 
pairs in two oblong cells formed of fibres 
woven into a handsome net-work. Like the 
sponge cucumber, the fruit of this in ripening 
becomes very fibrous within, and makes a fine 
object when skeletonized. This is a capital 
plant wherever a quick growing climber is 
needed; in a note to Mrs. R.’s article, we cited 
an instance in which an unsightly wood-pile 
mrs. Thompson’s clerodendron (var. Batfouriana). 
was converted into a bank of verdure; and 
last autumn we were at a charming residence 
near Lake Michigan where the dining-room 
windows were draped with this plant, the light 
in coming through its foliage was modified in 
& pleasing manner. The plant is almost con¬ 
stantly in flower, and 
its fragrance is very 
agreeable; the great 
abundance of tendrils 
and the curious ways 
in which they dispose 
themselves, add to the 
gracefulness of the 
vine, while the fruit 
is ornamental when 
green, and exhibits an 
interesting structure 
when ripe. Though 
it is occasionally seen 
in cultivation, it is 
comparatively little 
known. Were it an 
exotic, and sold at 
five seeds for a dollar, 
it would at once be 
immensely popular, 
but being a native it 
is neglected. In look¬ 
ing through the lead¬ 
ing catalogues to as- 
—{See page 139.) certaia if the seeds 
were generally kept, 
we could find that none of the seedsmen, 
except those in Rochester, offered them. 
Gardening on a Town Lot. 
BY A. B. MITCHELL. 
American Agriculturist : The following is the 
result of my second year’s experience in gardening. 
I am a dry goods merchant, having a town lot, 
120 x 60 feet, half of which is covered by a house 
and out-buildings ; the other half I have cultivated 
out of business hours. The area under cultivation 
is about one-twelfth of an acre. Of the first crop, 
consisting of peas, cauliflowers, cucumbers, and 
cabbages, I sold $5.60 worth. I had the first green 
corn in market, which sold at 25 cents per dozen. 
Of peppers I sold 421 dozen at 10 cents per dozen, 
good prices. The varieties of tomato were the 
Trophy and Champion, both of which I consider 
good, but prefer the Trophy. Egg-plant, Lima- 
beans, pop-corn, and sweet herbs, I raised in abun¬ 
dance for family use, hut did not sell any. As a 
second crop, I put in twelve hundred celery plants 
raised from seed, from which the sales realized 
$45.11. The variety was Sandringham Dwarf 
White ; I consider this variety superior for market 
purposes. The giant vaiety was raised here by 
other parties, hut was left unsold at the groceries 
day after day, while mine was sought for. I banked 
about one-third, and the balance I put in trenches 
about the first of November. The total amount of 
sales to date is $72.96, besides which I have on hand 
about $3 worth of parsnips. I commenced culti¬ 
vating the garden solely to raise vegetables for 
family use. We used of all the vegetables in 
abundance in the family, and gave away largely to 
neighbors; what I sold was the surplus. The 
work was done entirely by myself out of business 
hours. I am only an amateur gardener, and attrib¬ 
ute my success firstly to the American Agriculturist, 
and to Peter Henderson’s “Gardening for Profit,” 
and secondly to thorough cultivation. My motto 
being never to let a weed germinate. I consider the 
garden has saved in vegetables that would have 
been purchased, at the lowest estimate, $40. I 
have on hand parsnips, $3 ; these added to 'cash 
sales ($72.96), make a total amount of $115.96. I 
think I have some reason to be proud of my success.. 
Delphi, Ind., Dec. 27,1875. 
[We receive every now and then accounts of the 
success of persons in gardening upon a small scale,, 
and while we are not able to publish all of them,, 
they are always welcome. The above, giving the 
results of gardening on a very limited area is timely, 
as it may encourage many others. Very few per¬ 
sons have any idea, until they try it, how much, by 
proper management, may be grown upon a small 
piece of land. There is nothing scarcer in villages 
and towns of moderate size than good vegetables, 
and in such places a surplus finds a ready sale, and 
at prices much above those received by those who 
cultivate for the larger markets.— Ed.] 
■---,— ~t m » 
The Clerodendrons. 
The genus Clerodendron is a common one in 
Asia, Africa, and tropical America, and many of 
its species have been brought into cultivation. 
It belongs to the Verbena family, and the plants 
generally have showy flowers. Among the 
