1885. 
garden. 
SEASONABLE HINTS. ’ 
As sooii **s •'1'^' ti'ost loaves Uio grouiul 
1111(1 tlio soil boooinoa dry aiul friable, is the 
best, liino I’o'' l>laul'.lii«: froit-trecs, Grape- 
viiK'S, and berry plant.s of all kinds. 'I'liose 
stiirting into {vi-owtb earliest should, natu¬ 
rally, bo planted llr.st, and, wltU propor ])rep- 
iiratioii, tree planting may be. linislied before 
otlier garden work bccotuos lu-essing. 
If the. ground has been plowed ami tlic 
holes inive been dug in the fall or early win¬ 
ter, niueh time may be gained now, and the 
soii will be in more favorable condition than 
if the work were loft until the spring time. 
Ordering Trees should have been done bc- 
/ fore this. To delay ordering 
till the day before it is in¬ 
tended to plant, is sure to 
residt in disappointinenfand 
loss. Trees ordered and re¬ 
ceived early in the season . 
are .almost always of better 
quality than late ones; part¬ 
ly because the best or “reg- 
idar” stock is sold first, and 
principally because the work 
of digging and packing is 
done more carefully before 
the rush of the season, than 
when all is hurry and bustle. 
' Causes of Failure with 
trees which were originally 
of first quality are manifold. 
In digging, too many roots 
may have become iujiu-ed, 
and cut oft'; defective pack¬ 
ing is another cause, but 
more disastrous than all else 
is exposure of the foots to 
air, sun, and avind. A few 
minutes exposure to drying 
winds may make all the dif- 
ereuce betaveen a future 
liealthy, vigorous tree, and a 
sickly or dying one. 
Unpac Ic ing 1 rees. The 
roots of trees should never be 
uncovered for a moment 
longer than is absolutely 
necessaiy. Before unpack¬ 
ing the box or bundle, a 
wide trench should be dug, 
into which each tree as it is 
taken out is to be placed at once, covering 
its roots with fine soil so that .it comes in 
contact with every part of them, as much as 
possible. To throw a few shovels of Iniavy, 
solid soil upon the roots does not do much 
more good than a board, still it is better 
tlian no protectiou at all. 
A tree heeled in properly may rem.ain f or 
weeks until wanted, all summer in fact, 
without injury. 
Pruning Young Trees is easier and more 
advantageously done before than after plant- 
*ug, and most conveniently while the trees 
are heeled in. The better the condition of 
the roots the less pruning of the top is 
uecessary, yet every tree should be cut back 
“t transplanting, not only to give it proper 
®bape, but to increase its vigor. How much 
tc cut off varies according to the condition 
the tree, but on an average one-half to 
81 
aiciy alter planting. 
Plae/c Fnoton Phmi and Clierry trees pro- 
1. CCS n^ sp,eacling 
ho disease a thousand fold. The most ad- 
v.in ago,„„« time for cutting away alllicted 
b'ubs IS ti.erefore before new s|,ores have 
<"iiiC(i. Bnt to do any good tin, work must 
be. done thoroughly by cutting 
liraneii tliat siiows tlie least 
tile destructive Black Knot. 
oil' every 
indi<;ation of 
QtJINOE OULTTOE. 
Of all culinary fruits none is more highly 
prized than the Quince. What housewife 
is there who does not appreciala; this fruit to 
season, as tlie saying is, Apple-sauce, even 
if not abundant enough to preserve by it- 
start near the ground, not over a foot or 
eighteen inches high. Train in tree rather 
than bush form, that is to a single trunk, 
as illustrated on the following pages. After 
planting use coarse manure as a mulch, 
bearing in 'mind the fact of the Quince 
being a gross-feeder. 
A Quinee.-trec in healthy condition will 
produce an abundant crop of fruit and make 
new wood from six to eight feet in height. 
The secret of early bearing is forcing the 
growth, and severe pruning. Judicious 
pruning yearly in the fall or winter is a 
pre-requisite to successful culture. In the 
culture of ,'dl fruits subject to borers, these 
are a great, if not the greatest, cause of 
weakening the vigor of trees; hence make 
an examination in September for them, and 
if found dig them out most thoroughly. 
For general culture the 
Orange or Apple Quince give 
the best satisfaction, yet 
ithere are at the present time 
everal new varieties before 
,the public, some of which 
|seem to deserve extensive 
i trials, but whatever kind you 
purchase, give it a fair 
rchance. The difference in 
the fruit of the same variety, 
even, between ordinary and 
good cuiture, is frequently 
so marked as to render the 
Quince problem in relation 
to varieties not always an 
easy one to determine by the 
grower. J. B. Rogebs. 
self. 
MEECH'S PROLIFIC OUINCE. 
Pi'ecious things, as a rule, are weU 
cared foi-, yet the Quiuce is an .almost imi- 
vensal exception to tliis maxim. AATiy should 
it o-eneraily be planted in situations where no 
other fruit will thrive? A wet position is 
selected for this tree, of all others the le.ast 
able to withstand excessive moisture at its 
roots. Tlie weakest part of the Quince is 
the roots. The fine fibres fill the ground 
with a perfect network, running very close 
to the surface, rendering cultivation, aftei 
a few years, impossible, requiring mulch¬ 
ing as a protection from the smnmersheat 
jind wiiitGi’ S cold* , 
Select for the Quinces a deep, rich, c^l 
soil where the whole surface can be exclu 
sivelv occupied by the tree. The trunk as 
wel/as the roots nee'd careful protectiom 
The afternoon’s sun should be kept from 
Z ^ by causing the branches to 
MEECH'S PBOLmO QHINOE. 
Foremost among the new 
varieties of Quinces alluded 
to above, stands Meech’s 
Prolific, now introduced by 
Hance & Borden, Red Bank, 
N". J. The original tree was 
brought to Vineland, H. J., 
by one of the early settlers 
fi-om Connecticut. In its 
new home it proved so much 
superior to the older kinds in 
cultivation that it attracted 
the attention of Rev. W. W. 
Meeeh, an experienced ama- 
tem- pomologist, through 
whose agency its good qual¬ 
ities became more favorably 
and extensively known. 
The late lamented Cliarles Downing said: 
“It is a promising variety, and if it 
proves as good in other localities, and_ con¬ 
tinues its present good qualities of fair fruit 
and good size, as tliose sent me, it will be an 
acquisition to the Quince family. It wiU 
take some time to decide fully as to all its 
merits in various soils and localities, but 
from what little I have seen of it, I believe 
it will prove woi’thy of general cultivation, 
and I really hope it .will.” 
The introducers consider the variety 
adapted to aU the wants to be supplied by 
its Idnd. “It is remarkable for its great pro¬ 
ductiveness, trees bearing sometimes when 
only two years old, and every year after¬ 
wards with such abundance as to need vig¬ 
orous thinning. The fruit is of a handsome 
Pear shape, smooth-skinned, of a lively or¬ 
ange yellow, and of extra size and flavor.” 
