748 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 15, 
GREENHOUSE WORK IN OCTOBER. 
Preparatory Operations. —In taking up 
the subject of greenhouse work in the 
month of October, it must be remembered 
that there are numerous preparatory op¬ 
erations that should have been completed 
before this time, in order to secure the 
best results, for while we may sometimes 
hurry matters to some extent, and with 
a reasonable degree of profit therefrom, 
yet it is usually more satisfactory in the 
long run to arrange our work with a 
degree of system, and to make our prep¬ 
arations beforehand. It may also be re¬ 
marked at this time that these notes are 
intended to be of such a character as to 
be readily understood by a beginner in 
this most interesting branch of horticul¬ 
ture, and arc therefore likely to cover 
briefly a considerable number of plants 
and operations or methods, rather than a 
few specialties. 
General Suggestions. —The circum¬ 
stances surrounding a greenhouse venture 
have much to do.with the choice of plants 
that may be grown, whether it be for 
profit or for pleasure only, but there is 
one suggestion that may be offered to 
all beginners in greenhouse work, namely, 
that it is unwise to try to grow too great 
a variety of plants in one greenhouse. 
All the common flowering plants do not 
flourish under precisely the same con¬ 
ditions of heat and moisture, and one can- 
rot force roses and grow good geraniums 
in the same atmosphere and temperature, 
nor can we grow Crotons and Verbenas 
under the same treatment, for either one 
or the other will be a failure. There 
is, however, one common foundation from 
which our plant-growing may be said to 
begin, that being the soil, for although 
some slight differences are made in com¬ 
post for different plants, yet the foundation 
soil is practically the same for the majority 
of plants in common cultivation. 
Preparing the Compost. — The best soil 
for greenhouse work in general is formed 
from rotted sod ..preferably from an old 
pasture lot upon which there is a good 
thick growth of grass that is reasonably 
free from weeds. This sod and top soil 
may sometimes be taken off to a depth of 
six inches, it the subsoil be not reached 
before that depth, and should be stacked 
up in a compact pile with about one load 
of first-class short manure from the barn¬ 
yard to five or six loads of the soil, the 
soil and manure being laid up in alternate 
layers until the pile attains a reasonable 
height, our practice being to make a com¬ 
post heap about four feet in height. The 
most satisfactory manure to use in this 
compost heap is about equal proportions 
of horse and cow manure, but all short 
and well-rotted, the addition of bone dust 
or special fertilizers being deferred until 
the soil is brought into use. The prep¬ 
aration of the soil heap is preferably made 
in the early Summer, and if one has the 
time to turn the heap over after the sod 
is fairly well rotted, the manure will be 
more thoroughly mixed through it, and the 
soil less lumpy for future use. 
Staple Plants. —As a matter of course, 
those who venture in the greenhouse line 
commercially are generally interested in 
the four great staples of the cut flower mar¬ 
ket, roses, carnations, violets and Chrys¬ 
anthemums, and as the years roll on there 
are many changes made in the methods 
of growing these flowers, some of the 
greatest advances having been made in the 
production of carnations and Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. Young plants of these are raised 
from cuttings during the Winter and 
Spring (and we shall have something to 
say of the detail of this work as the time 
approaches for that operation), and in the 
case of the carnations are commonly 
planted out in the open ground as soon 
as danger of severe frost is over, the 
young plants being pinched back to pro¬ 
mote a bushy growth and carefully cul¬ 
tivated throughout the season. 
Carnations. —Under the old system 
these carnations were allowed to remain 
outdoors until the middle of September or 
sometimes the beginning of October, and 
were then lifted and replanted either on 
benches or on solid beds in the green¬ 
house, but the practice of the most suc¬ 
cessful growers of the present day is to 
lift the plants about the first or second 
week of August and after planting them 
in the greenhouse to give a slight shading 
of clay wash on the glass in order to pro¬ 
tect the plants from the sun for a short 
time until they begin to root in the new 
soil. Some growers have even gone fur¬ 
ther than this in not planting the young 
stock outdoors at all, and after removing 
the old plants from the greenhouse and 
giving the interior of the house a thorough 
cleaning and whitewashing, have refilled 
the benches with new soil and planted the 
young stock at once in its permanent posi¬ 
tion. Rut taking for granted that the 
carnations have already been planted in 
the greenhouse, there is at the present time 
but little labor required upon them, be¬ 
yond careful watering that the soil may 
not become soddtned, not sprinkling them 
over every day regardless of the weather, 
but rather watering them when the soil 
appears reasonably dry, and doing it in the 
early part of the day, so that the foliage 
will dry off before the night. Then the 
surface of the soil should be stirred with a 
weeder frequently, though not stirred too 
dpeply, for some of the roots are liable 
to be near to the surface. Plenty of fresh 
air should be admitted every day, and also 
during the night until the weather be¬ 
comes too frosty, and in most portions of 
the Middle States but little artificial heat 
will be needed before the middle or latter 
part of this month. But in ventilating 
greenhouses at this season one should al¬ 
ways observe the direction of the wind, 
and open those ventilators that do not 
face the wind, thus avoiding a direct 
draught upon the plants. 
Roses that are planted for Winter 
blooming require a little fire heat at night, 
usually before October t. otherwise too 
much moisture collects upon the foliage 
during the night and such a condition 
favors black spot and other fungoid 
troubles. Rut be sure to have a ther¬ 
mometer in the rose house, for a reason¬ 
ably regular temperature of 58 to 60 de¬ 
grees at night must be maintained to en¬ 
sure a proper growth. The weeding, 
removal of dead leaves, and tying of the 
shoots of the roses to stakes or wires so 
as to produce straight-stemmed flowers are 
among the details of culture that should 
be attended to at this time. Great care 
in ventilation is necessary in the rose 
house, the ventilators being opened a little 
at a time as the temperature rises with 
the sun heat, keeping the temperature 
down to 75 or 80 degrees if possible with¬ 
out exposing the plants to a cold wind. 
The Chrysanthemums are forming 
their buds rapidly at this time, and whether 
they are planted out on benches or grown 
in pots will be helped by some liquid 
manure about twice a week, for these 
plants are great feeders and can absorb 
quite a quantity of fertilizer. A bushel 
of cow manure placed in an old fertilize! 
bag securely tied, and put in a large barrel 
of water, will produce a good solution to 
use for watering pot plants, and may be 
varied at intervals with a less quantity, 
say half a bushel, of poudrette to the same 
quantity of water. Tt must also be remem¬ 
bered that the Chrysanthemums will need 
staking and tying, else the weight of the 
flowers will pull them down, and that dis¬ 
budding must be freely practiced if one de¬ 
sires large flowers. 
Lilies. —Then the Easter lily bulbs 
should be potted just as soon as they are 
received, for they have already been out 
of the ground for several weeks, and are 
not benefited by it either. If the bulbs 
are large ones, say seven to nine inches 
in circumference they will need to be put 
into six-inch pots, planting them deep 
enough to cover the bulb with fully one 
inch of soil. Then stand the pots out¬ 
doors, covering them with some long, 
strawy manure in a thin coating, or even 
a cover of soil, and then lay some sashes 
over them to prevent them from getting 
too much rain, leaving them out until tin* 
frosts are quite sharp, for by this means 
we get the roots to start before the top 
growth begins. There is a great deal 
more that ought to be said about the 
various bulbs that should be potted during 
this month, but some of it must be de¬ 
ferred, and in closing T can only throw 
out just a hint about lifting a few plants . 
of geraniums. Salvias, Abutilons, Alter- 
nanthera and various other bedding plants 
for stock, and to remind the reader that 
the Cannas and Dahlias may remain in 
the ground until the tops are mostly 
killed by the frost. w. H. taplin. 
middle of May or the first of June, reach 
well above the top of the girdle, and then 
if 1 had cut them off and joined them into 
the bark at the top of the girdle the sap 
would have been carried over the break 
and the trees would have come out all 
right. 1 am not going to girdle any this 
Fall for the purpose of trying the ex¬ 
periment, but if the mice ever fix any 
more for me I shall test it in that way, 
and I feel sure I will save them. I am 
thinking this Fall of taking tarred paper 
and tying it around the trunks of the 
trees to keep the mice from them. It 
would be cheap and I think they would 
not gnaw through the tar. T have about 
300 trees and I lost about 40 last Winter. 
1 have been setting them for 20 years, a 
few every year, and I lost them of all 
ages, but of the 40 which were killed 
not one died which stood in grass land 
and was mulched. I believe in the 
mulching and have good reasons for my 
belief, which I may give your readers 
later. z. c. b. 
Waterbury, Conn. 
R. N.-Y.—We thought we made it clear 
that bridge-grafting is the only sure way 
to save a girdled tree. This consists in 
grafting over the wound by inserting the 
ends of a scion in the live wood both 
below and above, or by joining a sucker 
as you mention. We have seen some fine 
trees that were saved in this way after 
being completely girdled. From our ex¬ 
perience we doubt if the “plaster” method 
will save any tree that has been gnawed 
completely around. It may do so when 
some little bark is left. 
The Fitzgerald Peach.- Seeing in The 
It. N.-Y., page 703, an article on (lie Fitzger¬ 
ald peach being an early bearer, I have over 
100 trees six years pianted, and have not had 
25 peaches so far from tlie whole, and do not 
see that they are any hardier than the Craw¬ 
fords. Fruit does not average above me¬ 
dium : being so few, I expected large peaches. 
What I have seen at the fairs are no larger. 
It comes at a time when Elbertas are plenty, 
and would not sell very well on that account. 
I have Satsuma plums that are larger. Al¬ 
most all peaches hear quite a few three years 
after being set out : I have some trees right 
by the side of (hem that paid in three years 
more than double the price, and would' like 
to hear from others who have them in num¬ 
bers. The Niagara peach some are booming. 
Will some one give us an everyday account 
of its bearing in the Eastern States? We 
grow fine peaches on these hills. g. d. 
Tolland, Conn. 
Garbage in a Sii.o. — I have a heavy crop 
of cabbage on the ground and a prospective 
low price for same. I would like to know 
how best to store and keep it during the Win¬ 
ter. as I keep a Winter dairy and make but¬ 
ter. Would it keep cut into a silo the same 
as corn? Has the plan ever been tried? If 
so and proved a failure, would like to know 
why. a. J. 
llornellsville, N. Y. 
WE CAN DIG AND SHIP AT ONCE 
SEN ATO R DUNLOP 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS, 
25o. per doz. prepaid; 75c. per 100 by express. Also 
KANSAS RASPBERRY TRANSPLANTS, 
75 cents per dozen prepaid; $2.00 per 100 by express- 
FRUIT TREES. 
A Large Assortment of the Finest Quality 
of Fruit, Shade and Ornamental Trees, 
at very Low Prices. We make a Specialty 
of dealing Direct with the Farmers. 
Write for Price List. 
CALL’S NURSERIES, Perry, O. 
STIiRAPE VINES 
69 Varieties Aluo Small Fruits, Tree*, Ac. Best root¬ 
ed stock. Genuine, cheap. 2 sample vines malted for 10c. 
Descriptive price-list free. LEWIS ROESCH, FREDONIA,N.Y. 
GRAPEVINES 
Cnrranta, Gooseberries, Black¬ 
berries, Raspberries, Straw¬ 
berries. Price List FREE. 
Send So (tamp for illustrated descriptive catalog. , 
T. S. HUBBARD CO. Fredonia, H. V. 
PECAN.TREES AND,NUTS 
seedlingtrees.n.2 &3 
years old.) TheG. M. Bacon Pecan Co. (Inc.) Hewitt,Ga 
PAI IPflRWIA DDIVCT -Two to three feet, 3 to 4 
OAUrUnniA rnlVCI. feet., well branched. Fine 
stock; low rates. Samuel C. DeCou, Moorestown, N. J. 
KEVITT’S PLANTS 
GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME. Atbenia, N. ,T. 
30,000 APPLE TREES, 
Two and t hree years old for sale at reasonable prices. 
Good healthy trees and best varieties. Send to 
EllWAKD BACON for price-list, Dansville, N. Y. 
K FRUIT BOOK 
"shows in NATURAL COLORS and 
accurately describes 216 varieties of 
fruit. Send for onr liberal terms of distri¬ 
bution to planters.— Stark Bro’s, Louisiana, Mo. 
TREES TREES TREES 
400,000 Apple, 300,000 Peach, 
50,000 Pear, 40,000 Sour Cherry, 
40,000 Japan Plums. 
Best packing, best grading, best prices, best, trees; 
best place to buy orchards. Jobbers supplied. Ourfree 
catalogue ia meaty. No agents. Firm not Impersonal. 
Woodview Nurseries, B. 3, Mu Holly Springs, Pa 
LARGEST PEACH TREE 
GROWERS IN THE SOUTH. 
Write for our new illustrated and 
descriptive catalogue of general 
Nursery Stock. 
CHATTANOOGA NURSERIES 
Chattanooga, Tenn. 
^BERCKMANSco 
CENTBAL MICHIGAN NURSERY. 
Kalamazoo, Mich. 
APPLE BARRELS 
—Buy now and save money 
i Robt. Gillies, Medina,N. Y. 
est ,884. DWYER’S NURSERIES, est , 88 4 
Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Vines, Shrubs and Plants, in all the standard 
and new varieties. Write to us for our free, descriptive, and illustrated catalogue. 
T. J. DWYER & CO., Orange County Nurseries, Cornwall, N. Y. 
TREES AND PLANTS 
Our FREE CATALOGUE wi 1 save vox 
Free from Scale. New and Choice Varieties. 
Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries. 
youemoney. MI£B & SON, Uridgeville, Del. 
TREES 
$7 PER 100. FREIGHT PAID. 
Apples. Pear, Plum, Cherry, Peach and 
Carolina Poplars. Healthy, true to 
name and Fumigated. All kinds of trees and plants at low wholesale prices. 
Catalogue free. RELIANCE NURSERY, Box 10, Geneva, New York. 
TRYING TO SAVE GIRDLED TREES . 
Upon examining my apple trees last 
Spring I discovered four young trees, 
about five years old, completely girdled by 
mice, and I was just upon the point of 
asking through The R. N.-Y. if there was 
any help for them, when some of your 
correspondents answered the very question 
1 was going to ask, savin» that a mixture 
of cow dung and clay plastered around 
them would cause a new bark to grow, 
and that the trees would come out all right. 
Maybe they will—sometimes—but mine are 
goners. They leafed out all right, and for 
some time seemed to be doing well, but 
they made no growth, and finally about the 
first of August the leaves began to turn 
yellow and the trees to look sickly, and 
I removed the “plaster” and examined 
them, finding no trace of any new growth 
of bark. T shall pull them out and set 
new trees in the Spring. T think, however, 
that I have learned something. After I 
bandaged up the trees there was a vigorous 
growth of suckers pushed up all around 
the trees, which 1 thought, of course, I 
must keep cut back, and did so in order 
to force all the growth into the trunk of 
the tree. Now I think if I had let those 
suckers grow they would easily by the 
10,000 Stayman Winesap. 
“Good words for this grand apple.”—Report Pennsylvania Horticultural Association. 
“Have fruited Stayman four years in Monroe County; produced more apples than any other variety.”— 
President H. A. Chase. “Think we have no apple that will yield the amount of fruit that Stayinan does.”— 
Dr. J. H. Funk . Our new Catalog accurately describes all fruits worth planting in Central Atlantic States. 
Tlxo Fattersou TNT virsory Co., Stowartstown, Fa 
HOYT’S NURSERIES NEW ENGLAND 
and no more complete line of “ A 1 ” stock grown in the United States. Fruit Trees, Shade Trees and 
Ornamentals. Write us about your Fail planting—advice based on experience of three generations, free. 
Catalogue for the asking. 
STEPHEN HOYT’S SONS CO., NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT. 
GRIMES SUTTON, R. I. G., JONATHAN. WAGENER and STAYMAN WINESAP APPLES. 
BARTLETT, BOSC, SECKEL and LAWHENCE PEARS. MONTMORENCY 
and WINDSOR CHERRIES. 
This is our select list. You can judge where we stand and what we recommend. NO BEN DAT IS U1 
HERE. Our TREK BKKEDER (Free) gives low prices for Fall orders, and will tell you about the 
safest trees and the best trees that money can buy. Not the oldest, not the largest, but the liEST* 
ROGERS ON THE HILL, The Tree Breeder, DANSVILLE, N. Y. 
DO YOU SHIP APPLES? 
If so, allow us to call your attention to the 
SOUTH SIDE CALIFORNIA APPLE BOX. 
SOUTH SIDE MFG. CO., PETERSBURG, VA. 
