Wh RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1479 
Notes from a Maryland Garden 
I have had a number of letters from the 
readers of Tiie R. N.-Y. in regard to the 
berries of the Elaeagnus, which were sent 
to me from Tennessee for identification. I 
was uncertain as to the species, and as 
the leaves sent with the berries tallied 
with those on a bush of Elaeagnus in my 
garden, the particular species of which I 
did not remember, and I had lost the ad¬ 
dress of the grower who sent the bush 
to me, therefore I concluded that it 
was the American species. E. latifolia. 
But a few days ago 1 received a letter 
from F. E. Boynton of Biltmore, N. C., 
reminding me that he sent my bush in ex¬ 
change for some roots of the Nanticoke 
blackberry. He says that the plaut is 
Elaeagnus umbellata. a Japanese species. 
Mr. Boynton says that his bush is 1G ft. 
in diameter, and fruits heavily, and makes 
excellent jelly. My berries are sweeter 
and smaller than those of E. longipes. 
My bush would have fruited this year but 
for the frost that killed all of our fruit 
blossoms. It was a little thing when re¬ 
ceived several years ago, but is now 4 ft. 
or more across. Mr. Boynton writes that 
he is not growing plants for sale, and 
evidently does not wish to be bothered 
with correspondence. I have taken the 
liberty to use his letter to identify the 
plant for the benefit of correspondents 
who seem to be interested in this fruiting 
family. Mr. Boynton sent me with the 
plant some jelly made from the berries, 
and I remember that it was good. too. 
On December 5 the trains coming down 
from Philadelphia carried three or four 
inches of snow on the tops of the cars. 
We did not mind seeing it on the cars, 
but were glad there was none on our 
ground, for when the northeast storm was 
giving snow up the road, we had a good 
rain. And the Baltimore papers of the 
5th announced that the whole State was 
blanketed with snow. We wrote to the 
editor of one of them that there was nary 
a blanket down here. Since the Novem¬ 
ber rains our grass lias greened up from 
the brown shade it took on in the drought, 
and so far we have not had temperature 
lower than 30 deg., and that only on the 
morning of Armistice Day. A mild Win¬ 
ter will be acceptable to folks who 
have no fruit trees. But we remember 
last Winter, and the unseasonable bloom¬ 
ing of the trees and the loss. Therefore 
we will try to keep comfortable if it gets 
real cold. We have coal and seasoned 
wood under cover, and everything in the 
garden is ready for Winter—the tools and 
the hose put away and Christmas near 
by. So we will keep comfortable and try 
to study the reasons for any failure in 
the past season, and plan for better re¬ 
sults. One thing planned for the coming 
season is the extension of the irrigating 
pipe the whole length of the_garden. This 
will leave an elbow of 50x50 ft. the only 
nart not under irrigation. In that plot 
we can plant sweet potatoes, which stand 
dry weather better than most other veg¬ 
etables. 
One result of the frost and the loss of 
fruits is that the trees have made a fine 
wood growth, in spite of the dry season. 
This will give us a chance for a better 
prop the coming season. In our annual 
tight with the rose chafers I have con¬ 
cluded that for the grapes on trellis it 
win be as well to cover them over with 
Millinet and devote all of our spraying to 
the vines on the arbor. So far the rose 
bugs have won out, but our resources for 
snraying are not exhausted, and we will 
take up the fight again as soon as the 
roses and grapevines bloom. 
Several years ago a Richmond seed 
house urged the Southern fanners to plant 
early Irish potatoes in December to have- 
them out of the way in the Spring. I 
tried them, and found that the greatest 
difficulty is that the potatoes sprouted too 
early and were generally caught by late 
frosts. The killing back of the main stem 
starts a lot of lateral branches, and a 
smaller yield. We find that here we can 
usually plant in late February or early 
March and get the crop as early as by 
planting in December, and the Spring 
planting is done before there is any rush 
of Spring work. w. F. MASSEY. 
Fig Culture in Tennessee 
I have a fig bush in my yard that grows 
its fruit until about half matured, and 
then they drop to the ground. Will you 
give me some help as to how I can stop 
the dropping of the figs? About four 
years ago we brought from Anniston, 
Ala., the root from a very fine bush grow¬ 
ing immense quantities of fruit. The 
root commenced growing at once in a 
clay soil that is not too rich, judging from 
the splendid crop of tomatoes, corn and 
beans that is now being produced close 
to tin; bush. Ample care has been taken 
in the Winter to afford proper protection, 
with the result that the bush does not 
even lose its buds. Other bushes belong¬ 
ing to neighbors, without any protection, 
yield good crops every year. w. il.B. 
Memphis. Tenu. 
There is some mistake in regard to the 
(yigin of your fig bush. If it came from 
the root of a bush that bears and ripens 
its fruit it would be like its parent. But 
from your description it acts just as all 
seedlings from the dried figs act. The 
seed of the dried figs grows readily and 
volunteer plants come frequently. I have 
raised hundreds of them experimentally, 
but never had one to hold its fruit. The 
so-called Smyrna figs need the little wasp, 
the Blastophaga, to pollinate its flowers. 
This wasp lives on the wild Capri fig. 
The wasp and the Capri fig have been in¬ 
troduced in California and they are pro¬ 
ducing the drying figs. You had as well 
dig out your plaut and plant one of the 
self-fertilizing varieties. The most com¬ 
mon in the South is the Brown Turkey, 
but the hardiest, and. in my opinion, the 
best, is the Celestial, a little brown fig' 
that is eaten skin and all as soon as ripe. 
This and the Brown Turkey stand the 
Winter in Raleigh. N. C., without any 
protection. I had at one time at the 
North Carolina Experiment Station 55 
named varieties of figs, gathered from all 
over the Mediterranean region. Some of 
these soon disappeared, being only suited 
to orange climate conditions. The best 
and hardiest were White Marseilles. 
Crosse Vert and Violette de Bordeaux. 
The little Celestial is eaten commonly in 
Raleigh with cream for the morning or 
evening meal. Doree Narbus was sent to 
me as the hardiest fig by the Department 
of Agriculture. I found it inferior to 
Celestial. You can get the Celestial from 
nurseries in Florida or South Georgia. 
w. F. M. 
Chrysanthemum Culture 
I am trying to raise high-class Chry¬ 
santhemums. but for some reason I do 
not succeed in producing the large flowers 
.that I see on hothouse plants (am grow¬ 
ing for my own amusement only). Will 
you tell me how to do so, the best double 
variety, soil, pruning, fertilizers (com¬ 
mercial or other), propagating and pot¬ 
ting. for best and largest flowers? Also 
diseases, if any. and watering. 
Kawkawlin, Mich. c. J. M. 
• The inquirer does not fell us under 
what conditions the Chrysanthemums are 
grown, but the inference is that they are 
pot-grown plants in a greenhouse. The 
large specimen flowers are produced by 
disbudding, but treatment varies with dif¬ 
ferent varieties. The stock plants from 
which cuttings' are made are carried over 
Winter in a resting condition; some 
growers keep them in frames with a 
single line of pipe to provide steam in 
excessively cold weather. If you have a 
small greenhouse you can store the pots 
under the benches. It. is a good plan to 
dust the stock plants well with lime, which 
will discourage insect attack. In Feb¬ 
ruary. the lime may be syringed off and 
the plants started into active growth. As 
soon as the new shoots are G in. high 
cuttings may be made. The cuttings are 
2 in. to 3 in. long, with a few of the 
lower leaves stripped off. They are set 
in clear sand, with bottom peat. As 
soon as rooted they are potted in 2 1 / 4-in. 
pots, and repotted in larger sizes as 
needed. Want of room, lack of water 
and light, and a close atmosphere are all 
detrimental to Chrysanthemums. Desir¬ 
able soil is a good loam, such as would 
be suitable for corn. This should be en¬ 
riched with well-rotted cow manure and 
bonemeal. -There should be ample drain¬ 
age in the pot. Disbudding of early sorts 
may begin about the middle of July, 
later ones in August and September. If 
the crown bud (the first to form on the 
top of a shoot) is removed, it is followed 
by a cluster of terminal buds, or a second 
crown bud. Most of the best blooms are 
from second crown or terminal, buds; the 
first crown bud tends to be inferior in 
color. The buds are best removed with 
thumb and finger, usually in morning or 
evening, when the growth is more brittle. 
When the cluster of terminal buds forms 
one of these is selected and left, the re¬ 
mainder pinched out if only one flower is 
desired on the shoot. 
Among diseases affecting Chrysanthe¬ 
mums are damping-off in the propagating 
bed. rust, leaf-spot and loaf-blight. Any 
diseased leaves should be removed and 
burned. Where these troubles exist, care 
should be taken in watering not to wet 
the foliage, as moisture, standing on the 
leaves allows new infections. 
Among large-flowered sorts the follow¬ 
ing are standard : White—Eady Car¬ 
michael. Merza. William Turner. Mrs. 
Jerome Jones. Timothy Eaton. Yellow— 
Golden Wedding. Golden Chadwick. F. 
8. Vail is. Major Bonnaffon.. Pink—Lady 
TTopetoun. Mrs. C. IT. Totty. William 
Duekham. Wells’ T.ate Pink. Maud Dean. 
Red and bronze—Mrs. O. IT. Kahn. .T. 
W. Molvneux, Rockett’s Crimson, George 
W. Childs. 
The following list of large-flowered 
sorts was recently given by a well-known 
grower as especially desirable commer- 
ciallv : Yellow — Golden Glow. Cran- 
fordia. Yellow Early Frost. Chrysolora. 
White—Early Frost. Alice Day. O’Conto. 
Crystal Gem. Pink—TTnaka. Pacific 
Supreme. Mrs. MacNeice, Chieftain. 
Bronze—Tints of Gold, Bronze Unaka, 
October Herald. 
“The English Smartweed” 
On page 853 you state that there is a 
chance for some “wise men to develop an 
ornamental smartweed. * * *” Since 
my earliest remembrance my father has 
annually allowed to grow in his garden 
a few plants of what he calls the English 
smartweed. As I have never happened to 
see it elsewhere, I am curious to know if 
it is at all common in any section. This 
plant, on good soil, will attain a height 
of G to 8 ft., with broad leaves similar 
to the tobacco, 8 or 10 in. long. These 
plants beat- a profusion of typical smart- 
weed flowers, so far as shape is con¬ 
cerned. but of a brighter red color. Idle 
curiosity prompts me to write concerning 
this plant, or weed, which, in a way, I 
have always admired; why I do not know, 
unless it is because as a boy I surmised 
my father took a fancy to it. I never 
heard him mention the plant, but the fact 
that it is the only weed I ever saw reach 
any size in his garden, and because he 
always carefully tends a few scattering 
plants that come up here and there, has 
led me to think he admires it, though liis 
flower garden contains a profusion of the 
choicest of the usual as well as the more 
rare kinds of plants. J. E. prtckett. 
Georgia. 
Securing Marigold Seed 
I am trying to perfect a strain of 
French marigolds. They have very large 
size, beautiful coloring and are very full. 
I had about 50 plants, some single, some 
small flowered, and of these, mixed in 
with the others, and each one in a differ¬ 
ent situation and different soil. I had 
three plants that bore these perfect flow¬ 
ers. They were all watered fairly well, 
fertilized once or twice, but did not run 
to leaf. On the contrary, they were loaded 
with flowers, about 150 to a plant, more 
or less, but I could not get one ripe seed 
from the perfect ones. The others had just 
as many flowers, though smaller, and were 
grown under the same conditions, but 
ripened seed. With the perfect ones they 
apparently ripen seed, dry up. but when 
I examine them the seeds are thin, white 
and absolutely immature. I have grown 
some of my stock in other States through 
the courtesy of friends, so they are some 
of them from fresh soil. What can I do 
to make them ripen? Will acid phos¬ 
phate help? Can you give me the names 
of some books on seed growing? I have 
read Bailey’s Plant Breeding, and found 
it of great use, but would like to read 
others. These marigolds received special 
mention at a recent show. h. m. 
New York. 
To grow fine double marigold seed suc¬ 
cessfully. a few single-flowered plants 
should be left in the bed to supply pollen. 
Where large areas of this popular old 
flower are grown commercially, the plants 
are gone over carefully as soon as they 
come into flower. No matter how perfect 
the strain may be. a number of single- 
flowered plants will be found. One of 
these is allowed to remain at intervals 
of three or four yards in each row. the 
balance being removed, but no seed is 
taken from these single-flowered plants; 
in fact, some growers remove them from 
the patch towards the end of the season 
so that there may be no chance of any 
being inadvertently picked for seed. The 
most perfect double-flowered plants give 
very little seed, especially in your State; 
it seeds much better in cool locations. 
Pull the plants up and hang in a cool 
place until the flower heads are thor¬ 
oughly dry. The seed can then be readily 
secured. The seed from double-flowered 
marigolds is usually much thinner than 
those from single flowers. I would sug¬ 
gest that you procure “Mendelism.” by 
R. C. Punnett. and “The Fundamentals 
of Plant Breeding,” by John M. Coulter. 
G. W. K. 
Grafting the Pear on Thorn 
The reply to the question of Mrs. E. 
M. II.. on page 1353. is a little indefinite, 
but gives the general impression that the 
grafting of the pear on the thorn would 
be nearly, if not entirely, impossible. In 
The R. N.-Y. for April 17. 1915. is an 
illustration of a pear tree in bloom on a 
thorn stem. There are frequent other 
references that might be cited in horti¬ 
cultural literature of this having been 
done. While botanical relationships may 
be taken as a general guide as to grafting 
possibilities, they are not the only deter¬ 
mining factor. Thus, the pear can be 
grafted on the thorn and on the mountain 
ash. which belong to different genera, 
while the common cherry cannot be 
grafted or budded on the wild cherry (P. 
serotina), which belongs to the same 
genus. Some French investigators found 
that the ease with which different varie¬ 
ties of apples intergrafted depended upon 
their density of the wood, those of similar 
density uniting the most readily. This 
probably accounts for the fact that the 
pear and apple, though of the same spe¬ 
cies, do not readily intergraft. I was 
told by one fruit grower that he prong- 
gated his pears on thorn. lie is the only 
one of whom I heard who used this graft 
in any way except as a novelty. 
PAUL THAYER, 
Ohio Agricultural Experiment tation. 
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