1885.J 
AMERICAN GARDEN. 
We have such a store of good thhicje this 
month that we are obliged to turn out a page 
full of them here as a sort of “ovcrjlow meeting ” 
IMPORTANOE OF THE FARM GARDEN, 
Evoi-y farmer, who over had a Ih st-class 
garden, properly cared lor, knows that it is 
a most important foatnro of the farm. Ho 
is aware of its usefulness ; has doriv.cd 
pleasure and profit from it in very many 
ways; his wife likes it, for it gives her a 
feeling of independence ; his whole familyis 
healthier and happier for it, especially if the 
members themselves contribute somethino- 
to the labor of c.aring for it. Its products 
form the most important item in provision¬ 
ing the family, the most important for the 
health of the household, and at au inappre¬ 
ciably small cost. It furnishes a t all times a 
pleasant topic for observation and conversa¬ 
tion. What more appropriate present for a 
friend than a box or two of choice Strawber¬ 
ries •? Or a dainty basket of extra early Peas 
or Corn? And ho-w pleasant to sit down to 
dinner before a real flue collection of the 
very best varieties of vegetables with the 
satisfaction of having them all growm in one’s 
own garden ? What enjoyment in a quiet 
chat by a cosy fire in the winter about the 
year’s experience in gardening and the 
pleasant planning in the spring with its an¬ 
ticipation ! From first to last the garden is a 
constant source of inspiration and delight if 
conducted as it should be. 
Then, the children will quicker get an in¬ 
sight into the wonders and “mysteries of 
the kingdoms of nature,’’ from a little ex¬ 
perience in gardening, than in ten times as 
much farming, and it is the way now to 
make the children stay on the fai'in by show¬ 
ing fanning in its proper sphere as an en¬ 
nobling, broadening, delightful occupation. 
Give them a live garden paper to encourage 
thought in their work and to make that work 
easier and progressive. Alany a boy has be¬ 
come dissatisfied with the farm because the 
work was monotonous and a drudgery. The 
garden can easily be made a “thing of beauty 
and a joy,” as -well as the most profitable 
part of the farm. 
Perhaps no one appreciates the advantages 
of a well-stocked garden, so much as the 
house-keeper. She knows, when an unex¬ 
pected visitor comes where in a moment she 
can obtain a nice mess of Salads or Beets or 
Sweet Corn ora box of liaspberries or Straw¬ 
berries for dessert. It makes her ■wonder¬ 
fully independent and it is therefore that 
®he appreeiates its value more than the 
“ men folks.” Give the women the say, and 
every farm would have a good garden and 
the husbands themselves would be happier 
for it. How uncomfortable for the men to 
find for dinner nothing but a ijiece of boiled 
®alt pork with old soggy Potatoes, and bread 
und butter! And how different would the 
same pork look were it supplemented by 
Some erisp Lettuce, new Potatoes, a few 
lesh Beets, some nice Cabbage, and, for 
ossert a dish of Raspberries ! It would often 
®ako all the difference between having good 
^ud poor help, it is stock in trade for a 
urmer to be called a good livei', and in no 
can he so easily or cheaply raise his 
ttd of living as by cultivating a garden. 
33 
The 
farmor’s'n,nv.‘.-''"'ri“ , 
the Ini heljicrs and cspeoi.ally for 
.... .. fiurdly bo ovcrcstimated. rr»..n 
importance of a garden for 
overestimated. Hci’e 
vide a ‘""Rfioyui' can pro- 
vnio a pieco of ^ - •* 
‘i-t a trill in Of 
I 1 land ior tlio purpose 
t 1 S.,"', 
«rod.,v •»'»« 
n orni . "’'."'"■■k at night, or i.i tl.e 
fidlv Ti’ '“"^"‘”.V"’”"'clphimchccr- 
fanfliv-Jr"' of fbc 
Um.ly s hvmg the year round when carried 
on .ludiciously. 
M.any a farm liand have I known to sell 
twenty or thirty dollars’ worth of vegetables 
and lriut.s, besides providing their families 
With .all they needed. It will make him and 
us wile and children better contented and 
lie will like his situation. It will keep him 
home evenings and give him a stimulus 
lor thought, when otherwise he might spend 
his spare time at the nearest saloon or store 
talking and hearing foolishness or doing 
w'orsc things. And just here, let me urge 
that the best present to a farm hand is some 
good garden jiapcr, even if he cannot read 
himself, he will bo prompted to have it read 
to him, .and the information thus derived 
will make him not only a happier and more 
contented in.an but also a more "valuable one 
to his employers. S. B. Gkeex. 
RAISING ONIONS. 
It is almost impossible to make the soil 
for onions too rich. There are few crops 
that will boar heavier applications of fertil¬ 
izers than this. When practicable, it is best 
to apply only well rotted manure, woi'king 
it into the surface. Yet between a choice of 
a liberal supply of fresh manure and no 
manure, I would prefer a good dressing of 
fresh manure direct from the barn. A 
heavy application of wood ashes is very ben¬ 
eficial if spread in the spring just before or 
just after planting. 
When possible it is best to plow‘the land 
in the fall or some time during the winter so 
as to afford good dr.aiuage and promote its 
drying out as rapidly as possible in the 
spring. Of all crops earliness is most im¬ 
portant with the onion. Therefore at the 
very first opportunity in the spring, just as 
soon as the soil is in good working condi¬ 
tion, and the surface can be made fine and 
'mellow I want to be ready to sow the seed, ''‘g®- » di^kkes stagn.ant water at its roots, 
THE ROSE GERANIDM, 
I am often asked what plant I consider 
best for use in the house or what plant I 
would choose if I could have but one. ' 
I would not like to be restricted to such a 
olioioe, but if I were, I think I should choose 
the Rose Geranium, for several reasons: 
1 st. It is a beautiful plant. It generally 
grows in symmetrical form. Its foliage is 
fine in shape and very abundant, and it is 
not dependent on its flowers for beauty. 
2d. It is so fragrant. Every time you 
touch or stir it, the air is delightfully per¬ 
fumed. A leaf or two in a small bouquet is 
sufficient to furnish fragrance which lasts 
long after the le.af is withered. 
3d. It is so easy of cultivation. The green 
fly seldom gets on it, the red spider never, 
unless the air of the room in which you keep 
it is very dry. It will flourish in rooms 
heated with coal. The gas and dust do not 
injure it as they do most other plants. 
4th. It is a plant which lasts for years. 
A flowering plant generally does not do well 
after it gets to be two or three years old. 
To have many flowers you must start new 
plants. You need not do this with the Rose 
Geranium. I have seen plants six or eight 
years old, quite little trees or shrubs, and 
nothing coidd be finer than such plants are 
for a large window. One such plant is worth 
a dozen small ones, even if the small ones 
are good ones. At any i-ate, it would be to 
me, for I like good-sized plants when well- 
covered with clean, handsome foliage, I 
become attached to a plant which has 
been in the house year after year. It is like a 
friend. 
The best soil for the Rose Geranium is, in 
my opinion, one made up of the fibrous, 
rooty matter scraped from the bottom of old 
sods in fence corners and pastures, well- 
rotted manure from a barn-yard where cows 
are kept and loam, with a generous admix¬ 
ture of sand. I would combine the three 
first in equal parts, <and to enough soil to fill 
an eight-inch pot, I would add a heaping 
handful of shaiq} sand, mixing the soil thor¬ 
oughly. In such a compost the plant will 
grow robustly and rapidly, and be perfectly 
healthy. In heavier soils it will not. In the 
bottom of the pot I would put at least ap 
inch of broken brick, to secure perfect drain- 
Be sure and get good seed, this is a very 
important part of the work. Mark the rows 
at least twelve inches aiiart and take pains 
to have them as straight as possible. 
Onions need to be cultivated when veiy 
young and as the plants at first are very 
small, having them in straight rows aids 
materially in cultiv.ating, on this account I 
prefer a seed-drill. It requires less seed and 
sows more evenly and in a straighter line 
than can bo done by hand. Cover very 
lightly not more than to cover the seed and 
press soil lightly upon seed. ^ 
A fine sharp-toothed rake is a good imple¬ 
ment for early cultivation. Seep the sur¬ 
face as mellow as possible and allow not a 
single weed to grow, 
After the plants have 
made a good start thin out to two tki®® 
inches apart. The first three weeks of 
rowth is When they need most alten ion. 
If they are well cultivated and kept clean 
during this period so that they can make a 
rapid growth from the start, but little culti¬ 
vation will be needed afterwards, 
vation wi ^ shepdebd. 
It is desirable to keep the plant gro'wing 
steadily, except at such times as you allow 
it to rest, which should be once a year. This 
can be done by giving less water, and keep¬ 
ing it in a cool place. Wlien growing ex¬ 
amine the earth in the pot frequently, and 
as soon as the roots have filled the soil and 
formed a network next to the pot, shift to a 
pot a size or two larger, giving fresh soil. 
Syringe frequently to keep off dust. No plant 
can bo ornamental when its leaves are cover¬ 
ed with dust. Syringing tends to preserve 
health. 
The Rose Geranium can be raised very 
easily from cuttings. Inserted in clear sand, 
which is kept toet and warm, not one in 
twenty will fail to root. If you have no use 
for them in the house put them in the garden 
to furnish fragrance and beautiful foliage 
for bouquets. In the fall you can give them 
away to friends, or lift the roots, pack them 
into a box and put them away in the cellar 
until spring, when they can be brought up 
and started into growth again for use in the 
garden. E. E. Rexfobd. 
