Of the dwarf limas there is a new variety which is destined, I think, to become the leader of the half-dozen other good sorts to be had. That is the Burpee Improved. The name is rather misleading, as it is not an improved strain of the Dreer's or Kumerle bush lima, but a mutation, now thoroughly fixed. The bushes are stronger-growing and much larger than those of the older types, reaching a height of nearly three feet, standing strongly erect; both pods and beans are much larger, and it is a week earlier. Henderson's new Early Giant I have not yet tried, but from the description I should say it is the same type as the above. Of the pole limas, the new Giant-podded is the hardiest—an important point in limas, which are a little delicate in constitution anyway, especially in the seedling stage—and the biggest yielder of any I have grown and just as good in quality—and there is no vegetable much better than well cooked limas. With me, also, it has proved as early as that old standard, Early Leviathan, but this may have been a chance occurrence. Ford's Mammoth is another excellent pole lima of large size. Of the other pole beans, the two that are still my favorites are Kentucky Wonder, or Old Homestead, and Golden Cluster. The former has fat meaty green pods, entirely stringless until nearly mature, and of enormous length. I have measured many over eight and a half inches long—and they are borne in great profusion. Golden Cluster is one of the handsomest beans I know. It is happily named, for the pods, of a beautiful rich golden yellow color, hang in generous clusters and great profusion. In quality it has no superior; it has always been a great favorite with my customers. One need never fear having too many of these, as the dried beans are pure white and splendid for winter use. Last season I tried a new pole bean called Burger's Green-pod Stringless or White-seeded Kentucky Wonder (the dried seeds of the old sort being brown). It did well, but was in so dry a place that I could not tell whether it was an improvement over the standard or not. It is claimed to be earlier.

Beets:—In beets, varieties are almost endless, but I confess that I have found no visible difference in many cases. Edmund's Early and Early Model are good for first crops. The Egyptian strains, though largely used for market, have never been as good in quality with me. For the main crop I like Crimson Globe. In time it is a second early, of remarkably good form, smooth skin and fine quality and color.

Broccoli:—This vegetable is a poorer cousin of the cauliflower (which, by the way, has been termed "only a cabbage with a college education"). It is of little use where cauliflower can be grown, but serves as a substitute in northern sections, as it is more hardy than that vegetable. Early White French is the standard sort.

Brussels sprouts:—This vegetable, in my opinion, is altogether too little grown. It is as easy to grow as fall and winter cabbage, and while the yield is less, the quality is so much superior that for the home garden it certainly should be a favorite. Today (Jan. 19th) we had for dinner sprouts from a few old plants that had been left in transplanting boxes in an open coldframe. These had been out all winter—with no protection, repeatedly freezing and thawing, and, while of course small, they were better in quality than any cabbage you ever ate. Dalkeith is the best dwarf-growing sort. Danish Prize is a new sort, giving a much heavier yield than the older types. I have tried it only one year, but should say it will become the standard variety.

Cabbage:—In cabbages, too, there is an endless mix-up of varieties. The Jersey Wakefield still remains the standard early. But it is at the best but a few days ahead of the flat-headed early sorts which stand much longer without breaking, so that for the home garden a very few heads will do. Glory of Enkhuisen is a new early sort that has become a great favorite. Early Summer and Succession are good to follow these, and Danish Ballhead is the best quality winter cabbage, and unsurpassed for keeping qualities. But for the home garden the Savoy type is, to my mind, far and away the best. It is not in the same class with the ordinary sorts at all. Perfection Drumhead Savoy is the best variety. Of the red cabbages, Mammoth Rock is the standard.

Carrots:—The carrots are more restricted as to number of varieties. Golden Ball is the earliest of them all, but also the smallest yielder. Early Scarlet Horn is the standard early, being a better yielder than the above. The Danvers Half-long is probably grown more than all other kinds together. It grows to a length of about six inches, a very attractive deep orange in color. Where the garden soil is not in excellent condition, and thoroughly fined and pulverized as it should be, the shorter-growing kinds, Ox-heart and Chantenay, will give better satisfaction. If there is any choice in quality, I should award it to Chantenay.

Cauliflower;—There is hardly a seed catalogue which does not contain its own special brand of the very best and earliest cauliflower ever introduced. These are for the most part selected strains of either the old favorite, Henderson's Snowball, or the old Early Dwarf Erfurt. Snowball, and Burpee's Best Early, which resembles it, are the best varieties I have ever grown for spring or autumn. They are more likely to head, and of much finer quality than any of the large late sorts. Where climatic conditions are not favorable to growing cauliflower, and in dry sections, Dry-weather is the most certain to form heads.

Celery:—For the home garden the dwarf-growing, "self-blanching" varieties of celery are much to be preferred. White Plume and Golden Self-blanching are the best. The former is the earliest celery and of excellent quality, but not a good keeper. Recent introductions in celery have proved very real improvements. Perhaps the best of the newer sorts, for home use, is Winter Queen, as it is more readily handled than some of the standard market sorts. In quality it has no superior. When put away for winter properly, it will keep through April.

Corn:—You will have to suit yourself about corn. I have not the temerity to name any best varieties—every seedsman has about half a dozen that are absolutely unequaled. For home use, I have cut my list down to three: Golden Bantam, a dwarf-growing early of extraordinary hardiness—can be planted earlier than any other sort and, while the ears are small and with yellow kernels, it is exceptionally sweet and fine in flavor. This novelty of a few years since, has attained wide popular favor as quickly as any vegetable I know. Seymour's Sweet Orange is a new variety, somewhat similar to Golden Bantam, but later and larger, of equally fine quality. White Evergreen, a perfected strain of Stowell's Evergreen, a standard favorite for years, is the third. It stays tender longer than any other sweet corn I have ever grown.

Cucumbers:—Of cucumbers also there is a long and varied list of names. The old Extra Early White Spine is still the best early; for the main crop, some "perfected" form of White Spine. I myself like the Fordhood Famous, as it is the healthiest strain I ever grew, and has very large fruit that stays green, while being of fine quality. In the last few years the Davis Perfect has won great popularity, and deservedly so. Many seedsmen predict that this is destined to become the leading standard—and where seedsmen agree let us prick up our ears! It has done very well with me, the fruit being the handsomest of any I have grown. If it proves as strong a grower it will replace Fordhood Famous with me.

Egg-plant:—New York Improved Purple is still the standard, but it has been to a large extent replaced by Black Beauty, which has the merit of being ten days earlier and a more handsome fruit. When once tried it will very likely be the only sort grown.

Endive:—This is a substitute for lettuce for which I personally have never cared. It is largely used commercially. Broad-leaved Batavian is a good variety. Giant Fringed is the largest.

Kale:—Kale is a foreigner which has never been very popular in this country. Dwarf Scott Curled is the tenderest and most delicate (or least coarse) in flavor.

Kohlrabi:—This peculiar mongrel should be better known. It looks as though a turnip had started to climb into the cabbage class and stopped half-way. When gathered young, not more than an inch and a half in diameter at the most, they are quite nice and tender. They are of the easiest cultivation. White Vienna is the best.

Leek:—For those who like this sort of thing it is—just the sort of thing they like. American Flag is the best variety, but why it was given the first part of that name, I do not know.

Lettuce:—To cover the lettuces thoroughly would take a chapter by itself. For lack of space, I shall have to mention only a few varieties, although there are many others as good and suited to different purposes. For quality, I put Mignonette at the top of the list, but it makes very small heads. Grand Rapids is the best loose- head sort—fine for under glass, in frames and early outdoors. Last fall from a bench 40 x 4 ft., I sold $36 worth in one crop, besides some used at home. I could not sell winter head lettuce to customers who had once had this sort, so good was its quality. May King and Big Boston are the best outdoor spring and early summer sorts. New York and Deacon are the best solid cabbage-head types for resisting summer heat, and long standing. Of the cos type Paris White is good.

Muskmelon:—The varieties of muskmelon are also without limit. I mention but two—which have given good satisfaction out of a large number tried, in my own experience. Netted Gem (known as Rocky Ford) for a green-fleshed type, and Emerald Gem for salmon-fleshed. There are a number of newer varieties, such as Hoodoo, Miller's Cream, Montreal, Nutmeg, etc., all of excellent quality.

Watermelon:—With me (in Connecticut) the seasons are a little short for this fruit. Cole's Early and Sweetheart have made the best showing. Halbert Honey is the best for quality.

Okra:—In cool sections the Perfected Perkins does best, but it is not quite so good in quality as the southern favorite, White Velvet. The flowers and plants of this vegetable are very ornamental.

Onion:—For some unknown reason, different seedsmen call the same onion by the same name. I have never found any explanation of this, except that a good many onions given different names in the catalogues are really the same thing. At least they grade into each other more than other vegetables. With me Prizetaker is the only sort now grown in quantity, as I have found it to outyield all other yellows, and to be a good keeper. It is a little milder in quality than the American yellows—Danvers and Southport Globe. When started under glass and transplanted out in April, it attains the size and the quality of the large Spanish onions of which it is a descendant. Weathersfield Red is the standard flat red, but not quite so good in quality or for keeping as Southport Red Globe. Of the whites I like best Mammoth Silver-skin. It is ready early and the finest in quality, to my taste, of all the onions, but not a good keeper. Ailsa Craig, a new English sort now listed in several American catalogues, is the best to grow for extra fancy onions, especially for exhibiting; it should be started in February or March under glass.

Parsley:—Emerald is a large-growing, beautifully colored and mild-flavored sort, well worthy of adoption.

Parsnip:—This vegetable is especially valuable because it may be had at perfection when other vegetables are scarce. Hollow Crown ("Improved," of course!) is the best.

Peas:—Peas are worse than corn. You will find enough exclamation points in the pea sections of catalogues to train the vines on. If you want to escape brain-fag and still have as good as the best, if not better, plant Gradus (or Prosperity) for early and second early; Boston Unrivaled (an improved form of Telephone) for main crop, and Gradus for autumn. These two peas are good yielders, free growers and of really wonderfully fine quality. They need bushing, but I have never found a variety of decent quality that does not.

Pepper:—Ruby King is the standard, large, red, mild pepper, and as good as any. Chinese Giant is a newer sort, larger but later. The flesh is extremely thick and mild. On account of this quality, it will have a wider range of use than the older sorts.

Pumpkins:—The old Large Cheese, and the newer Quaker Pie, are as prolific, hardy and fine in quality and sweetness as any.

Potato:—Bovee is a good early garden sort, but without the best of culture is very small. Irish Cobbler is a good early white. Green Mountain is a universal favorite for main crop in the East—a sure yielder and heavy-crop potato of excellent quality. Uncle Sam is the best quality potato I ever grew. Baked, they taste almost as rich as chestnuts.

Radish:—I do not care to say much about radishes; I do not like them. They are, however, universal favorites. They come round, half- long, long and tapering; white, red, white-tipped, crimson, rose, yellow-brown and black; and from the size of a button to over a foot long by fifteen inches in circumference—the latter being the new Chinese or Celestial. So you can imagine what a revel of varieties the seedsmen may indulge in. I have tried many—and cut my own list down to two, Rapid-red (probably an improvement of the old standard, Scarlet Button), and Crimson Globe (or Giant), a big, rapid, healthy grower of good quality, and one that does not get "corky." A little land-plaster, or gypsum, worked into the soil at time of planting, will add to both appearance and quality in radishes.

Spinach:—The best variety of spinach is Swiss Chard Beet (see below). If you want the real sort, use Long Season, which will give you cuttings long after other sorts have run to seed. New Zealand will stand more heat than any other sort. Victoria is a newer variety, for which the claim of best quality is made. In my own trial I could not notice very much difference. It has, however, thicker and "savoyed" leaves.

Salsify:—This is, to my taste, the most delicious of all root vegetables. It will not do well in soil not deep and finely pulverized, but a row or two for home use can be had by digging and fining before sowing the seed. It is worth extra work. Mammoth Sandwich is the best variety.

Squash:—Of this fine vegetable there are no better sorts for the home garden than the little Delicata, and Fordhook. Vegetable Marrow is a fine English sort that does well in almost all localities. The best of the newer large-vined sorts is The Delicious. It is of finer quality than the well known Hubbard. For earliest use, try a few plants of White or Yellow Bush Scalloped. They are not so good in quality as either Delicata or Fordhook, which are ready within a week or so later. The latter are also excellent keepers and can be had, by starting plants early and by careful storing, almost from June to June.

Tomato:—If you have a really hated enemy, give him a dozen seed catalogues and ask him to select for you the best four tomatoes. But unless you want to become criminally involved, send his doctor around the next morning. A few years ago I tried over forty kinds. A good many have been introduced since, some of which I have tried. I am prepared to make the following statements: Earliana is the earliest quality tomato, for light warm soils, that I have ever grown; Chalk's Jewel, the earliest for heavier soils (Bonny Best Early resembles it); Matchless is a splendid main-crop sort; Ponderosa is the biggest and best quality—but it likes to split. There is one more sort, which I have tried one year only, so do not accept my opinion as conclusive. It is the result of a cross between Ponderosa and Dwarf Champion—one of the strongest-growing sorts. It is called Dwarf Giant. The fruits are tremendous in size and in quality unsurpassed by any. The vine is very healthy, strong and stocky. I believe this new tomato will become the standard main crop for the home garden. By all means try it. And that is a good deal to say for a novelty in its second year!

Turnip:—The earliest turnip of good quality is the White Milan. There are several others of the white-fleshed sorts, but I have never found them equal in quality for table to the yellow sorts. Of these, Golden Ball (or Orange Jelly) is the best quality. Petrowski is a different and distinct sort, of very early maturity and of especially fine quality. If you have room for but one sort in your home garden, plant this for early, and a month later for main crop.

Do not fail to try some of this year's novelties. Half the fun of gardening is in the experimenting. But when you are testing out the new things in comparison with the old, just take a few plants of the latter and give them the same extra care and attention. Very often the reputation of a novelty is built upon the fact that in growing it on trial the gardener has given it unusual care and the best soil and location at his command. Be fair to the standards—and very often they will surprise you fully as much as the novelties.



CHAPTER XIII

INSECTS AND DISEASES AND METHODS OF FIGHTING THEM

I use the term "methods of fighting" rather than the more usual one, "remedies," because by both experience and study I am more and more convinced that so long as the commercial fields of agriculture remain in the present absolutely unorganized condition, and so long as the gardener—home or otherwise—who cares to be neglectful and thus become a breeder of all sorts of plant pests, is allowed so to do—just so long we can achieve no remedy worth the name. When speaking of a remedy in this connection we very frequently are putting the cart before the horse, and refer to some means of prevention. Prevention is not only the best, but often the only cure. This the gardener should always remember.

This subject of plant enemies has not yet received the attention from scientific investigators which other branches of horticulture have, and it is altogether somewhat complicated.

Before taking up the various insects and diseases the following analysis and list will enable the reader to get a general comprehension of the whole matter.

Plant enemies are of two kinds—(1) insects, and (2) diseases. The former are of two kinds, (a) insects which chew or eat the leaves or fruit; (b) insects which suck the juices therefrom. The diseases also are of two kinds—(a) those which result from the attack of some fungus, or germ; (b) those which attack the whole organism of the plant and are termed "constitutional." Concerning these latter practically nothing is known.

It will be seen at once, of course, that the remedy to be used must depend upon the nature of the enemy to be fought. We can therefore reduce the matter to a simple classification, as follows:

PLANT ENEMIES

Insects Class

Eating a Sucking b

Diseases

Parasitical c Constitutional d

REMEDIES

Mechanical Number Covered boxes........... 1 Collars................. 2 Cards................... 3

Destructive Hand-picking............ 4 Kerosene emulsion....... 5 Whale-oil soap.......... 6 Miscible oils........... 7 Tobacco dust............ 8 Carbolic acid emulsion.. 9 Corrosive sublimate.... 10 Bordeaux mixture....... 11

Poisonous Paris green............ 12 Arsenate of lead....... 13 Hellebore.............. 14

It will be of some assistance, particularly as regards quick reference, to give the following table, which shows at a glance the method of fighting any enemy, the presence of which is known or anticipated.

While this may seem quite a formidable list, in practice many of these pests will not appear, and under ordinary circumstances the following six remedies out of those mentioned will suffice to keep them all in check, if used in time: Covered boxes, hand-picking, kerosene emulsion, tobacco dust, Bordeaux mixture, arsenate of lead.

ENEMY ATTACKING CLASS REMEDY - Aphis (Plant-lice) Cabbage and other plants, b 5,8,6 especially under glass Asparagus-beetle Asparagus a 13, 12 Asparagus rust Asparagus c 11 Black-rot Cabbage and the cabbage d 10 group Borers Squash b 4 Caterpillars Cabbage group a 12, 14, 4 Caterpillars Tomato a 4 Club-root Cabbage group c see text Cucumber-beetle Cucumber and vines a 1, 11, 8 (Striped beetle) Cucumber-wilt Cucumber and vines c 11 Cucumber-blight Cucumber, muskmelon, c 11 cabbage Cut-worm Cabbage, tomato, onion a 2,4,12,13 Flea-beetle Potato, turnip, radish a 11, 5 Potato-beetle Potato and egg-plant a 12, 13, 4 Potato-blight Potato c 11 Potato-scab Potato (tubers) c 10 Root-maggot Radish, onion, cabbage, a 4, 3, 9 melons Squash-bug Squash, pumpkin b 4,8,12,5 White-fly Plants; cucumber, tomato b 6, 5, 8 White-grub Plants a 4

However, that the home gardener may be prepared to meet any contingency, I shall take up in brief detail the plant enemies mentioned and the remedies suggested.

Aphis:—The small, soft green plant-lice. They seldom attack healthy growing plants in the field, but are hard to keep off under glass. If once established it will take several applications to get rid of them. Use kerosene or soap emulsion, or tobacco dust. There are also several trade-marked preparations that are good. Aphine, which may be had of any seed house, has proved very effective in my own work, and it is the pleasantest to use that I have so far found.

Asparagus-beetle:—This pest will give little trouble on cleanly cultivated patches. Thorough work with arsenate of lead (1 to 25) will take care of it.

Black-rot:—This affects the cabbage group, preventing heading, by falling of the leaves. In clean, thoroughly limed soil, with proper rotations, it is not likely to appear. The seed may be soaked, in cases where the disease has appeared previously, for fifteen minutes in a pint of water in which one of the corrosive sublimate tablets which are sold at drug stores is dissolved.

Borers:—This borer is a flattish, white grub, which penetrates the main stem of squash or other vines near the ground and seems to sap the strength of the plant, even when the vines have attained a length of ten feet or more. His presence is first made evident by the wilting of the leaves during the noonday heat. Coal ashes mixed with the manure in the hill, is claimed to be a preventative. Another is to plant some early squash between the hills prepared for the winter crop, and not to plant the latter until as late as possible. The early squash vines, which act as a trap, are pulled and burned.

Last season almost half the vines in one of my pieces were attacked after many of the squashes were large enough to eat. With a little practice I was able to locate the borer's exact position, shown by a spot in the stalk where the flesh was soft, and of a slightly different color. With a thin, sharp knife-blade the vines were carefully slit lengthwise on this spot, the borer extracted and killed and the vines in almost every instance speedily recovered. Another method is to root the vines by heaping moist earth over several of the leaf joints, when the vines have attained sufficient length.

Cabbage-caterpillar:—This small green worm, which hatches upon the leaves and in the forming heads of cabbage and other vegetables of the cabbage group, comes from the eggs laid by the common white or yellow butterfly of early spring. Pick off all that are visible, and spray with kerosene emulsion if the heads have not begun to form. If they have, use hellebore instead. The caterpillar or worm of tomatoes is a large green voracious one. Hand-picking is the only remedy.

Club-root:—This is a parasitical disease attacking the cabbage group, especially in ground where these crops succeed each other. Lime both soil and seed-bed—at least the fall before planting, unless using a special agricultural lime. The crop infested is sometimes carried through by giving a special dressing of nitrate of soda, guano or other quick-acting powerful fertilizer, and hilled high with moist earth, thus giving a special stimulation and encouraging the formation of new roots. While this does not in any way cure the disease, it helps the crop to withstand its attack. When planting again be sure to use crop rotation and to set plants not grown in infested soil.

Cucumber-beetle:—This is the small, black-and-yellow-striped beetle which attacks cucumbers and other vines and, as it multiplies rapidly and does a great deal of damage before the results show, they must be attended to immediately upon appearance. The vine should be protected with screens until they crowd the frames, which should be put in place before the beetles put in an appearance. If the beetles are still in evidence when the vines get so large that the screens must be removed, keep sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Plaster, or fine ashes, sifted on the vines will also keep them off to some extent, by keeping the leaves covered.

Cucumber-wilt:—This condition accompanies the presence of the striped beetle, although supposed not to be directly caused by it. The only remedy is to get rid of the beetles as above, and to collect and burn every wilted leaf or plant.

Cucumber-blight or Mildew is similar to that which attacks muskmelons, the leaves turning yellow, dying in spots and finally drying up altogether. Where there is reason to fear an attack of this disease, or upon the first appearance, spray thoroughly with Bordeaux, 5-5-50, and repeat every ten days or so. The spraying seems to be more effective on cucumbers than on melons.

Cut-worm:—The cut-worm is perhaps the most annoying of all garden pests. Others do more damage, but none is so exasperating. He works at night, attacks the strongest, healthiest plants, and is content simply to cut them off, seldom, apparently, eating much or carrying away any of the severed leaves or stems, although occasionally I have found such bits, especially small onion tops, dragged off and partly into the soil. In small gardens the quickest and best remedy is hand-picking. As the worms work at night they may be found with a lantern; or very early in the morning. In daytime by digging about in the soil wherever a cut is found, and by careful search, they can almost invariably be turned out. As a preventive, and a supplement to hand-picking, a poisoned bait should be used. This is made by mixing bran with water until a "mash" is made, to which is added a dusting of Paris green or arsenate of lead, sprayed on thickly and thoroughly worked through the mass. This is distributed in small amounts—a tablespoonful or so to a place along the row or near each hill or plant—just as they are coming up or set out. Still another method, where only a few plants are put out, is to protect each by a collar of tin or tar paper.

Flea-beetle:—This small, black or striped hard-shelled mite attacks potatoes and young cabbage, radish and turnip plants. It is controlled by spraying with kerosene emulsion or Bordeaux.

Potato-beetle:—The striped Colorado beetle, which invariably finds the potato patch, no matter how small or isolated. Paris green, dry or sprayed, is the standard remedy. Arsenate of lead is now largely used. On small plots hand-picking of old bugs and destruction of eggs (which are laid on under side of leaves) is quick and sure.

Potato-blight:—Both early and late forms of blight are prevented by Bordeaux, 5-5-50, sprayed every two weeks. Begin early— when plants are about six inches high.

Potato-scab:—Plant on new ground; soak the seed in solution prepared as directed under No. 10, which see; allow no treated tubers to touch bags, boxes, bins or soil where untreated ones have been kept.

Root-maggot:—This is a small white grub, often causing serious injury to radishes, onions and the cabbage group. Liming the soil and rotation are the best preventives. Destroy all infested plants, being sure to get the maggots when pulling them up. The remaining plants should be treated with a gill of strong caustic lime water, or solution of muriate of potash poured about the root of each plant, first removing an inch or so of earth. In place of these solutions carbolic acid emulsion is sometimes used; or eight to ten drops of bisulphide of carbon are dropped into a hole made near the roots with the dibber and then covered in. Extra stimulation, as directed for Club-root, will help carry the plants through.

Squash-bug:—This is the large, black, flat "stink-bug," so destructive of squash and the other running vines. Protection with frames, or hand-picking, are the best home garden remedies. The old bugs may be trapped under boards and by early vines. The young bugs, or "sap-sucking nymphs," are the ones that do the real damage. Heavy tobacco dusting, or kerosene emulsion will kill them.

White-Fly:—This is the most troublesome under glass, where it is controlled by fumigation, but occasionally is troublesome on plants and tomato and cucumber vines. The young are scab-like insects and do the real damage. Spray with kerosene emulsion or whale-oil soap.

White-grub or muck-worm:—When lawns are infested the sod must be taken up, the grubs destroyed and new sward made. When the roots of single plants are attacked, dig out, destroy the grubs and, if the plant is not too much injured, reset.

The remedies given in the table above are prepared as follows:

MECHANICAL REMEDIES

1.—Covered boxes:—These are usually made of half-inch stuff, about eight inches high and covered with mosquito netting, wire or "protecting cloth"—the latter having the extra advantage of holding warmth over night.

2.—Collars are made of old cans with the bottoms removed, cardboard or tarred paper, large enough to go over the plant and an inch or so into the ground.

3.—Cards are cut and fitted close around the stem and for an inch or so upon the ground around it, to prevent maggots going down the stem to the root. Not much used.

DESTRUCTIVE REMEDIES

4.—Hand-picking is usually very effective, and if performed as follows, not very disagreeable: Fasten a small tin can securely to a wooden handle and fill one-third full of water and kerosene; make a small wooden paddle, with one straight edge and a rather sharp point; by using this in the right hand and the pan in the left, the bugs may be quickly knocked off. Be sure to destroy all eggs when hand-picking is used.

5.—Kerosene emulsion is used in varying strengths; for method of preparing, see Chapter XVII.

6 and 7.—For use of whale-oil soap and miscible oils, see Chapter XVII.

8.—Tobacco dust:—This article varies greatly. Most sorts are next to worthless, but a few of the brands especially prepared for this work (and sold usually at $3 per hundred pounds, which will last two ordinary home gardens a whole season) are very convenient to use, and effective. Apply with a duster, like that described in Implements.

9.—Carbolic acid emulsion:—1 pint crude acid, 1 lb. soap and 1 gal. water. Dissolve the soap in hot water, add balance of water and pump into an emulsion, as described for kerosene emulsion.

10.—Corrosive sublimate is used to destroy scab on potatoes for seed by dissolving 1 oz. in 7 gals, of water. The same result is obtained by soaking for thirty minutes in a solution of commercial formalin, at the rate of 1 gill to 15 gals. of water.

11.—Bordeaux mixture:—See Chapter XVII.

POISONOUS REMEDIES

12.—Paris green:—This is the standard remedy for eating-bugs and worms. With a modern dusting machine it can be put on dry, early in the morning when the dew is still on. Sometimes it is mixed with plaster. For tender plants easily burned by the pure powder, and where dusting is not convenient, it is mixed with water at the rate of 1 lb. to 50 to 100 gals. and used as a spray. In mixing, make a paste of equal quantities of the powder and quicklime, and then mix thoroughly in the water. It must be kept stirred up when using.

13.—Arsenate of lead:—This has two advantages over Paris green: It will not burn the foliage and it will stay on several times as long. Use from 4 to 10 lbs. in 100 gals. of water; mix well and strain before putting in sprayer. See also Chapter XVII.

14.—Hellebore:—A dry, white powder, used in place of Nos. 12 or 13 on vegetables or fruit that is soon to be eaten. For dusting, use 1 lb. hellebore to 5 of plaster or flour. For watering or spraying, at rate of 1 lb. to 12 gals. of water.

PRECAUTIONS

So much for what we can do in actual hand-to-hand, or rather hand-to- mouth, conflict with the enemy. Very few remedies have ever proved entirely successful, especially on crops covering any considerable area. It will be far better, far easier and far more effective to use the following means of precaution against plant pest ravages: First, aim to have soil, food and plants that will produce a rapid, robust growth without check. Such plants are seldom attacked by any plant disease, and the foliage does not seem to be so tempting to eating- insects; besides which, of course, the plants are much better able to withstand their attack if they do come. Second, give clean, frequent culture and keep the soil busy. Do not have old weeds and refuse lying around for insects and eggs to be sheltered by. Burn all leaves, stems and other refuse from plants that have been diseased. Do not let the ground lie idle, but by continuous cropping keep the bugs, caterpillars and eggs constantly rooted out and exposed to their natural enemies. Third, practice crop rotation. This is of special importance where any root disease is developed. Fourth, watch closely and constantly for the first appearance of trouble. The old adages "eternal vigilance is the price of peace," and "a stitch in time saves nine," are nowhere more applicable than to this matter. And last, and of extreme importance, be prepared to act at once. Do not give the enemy an hour's rest after his presence is discovered. In almost every case it is only by having time to multiply, that damage amounting to anything will be done.

If you will keep on hand, ready for instant use, a good hand-sprayer and a modern powder gun, a few covered boxes, tobacco dust, arsenate of lead and materials for kerosene emulsion and Bordeaux mixture, and are not afraid to resort to hand-picking when necessary, you will be able to cope with all the plant enemies you are likely to encounter. The slight expense necessary—considering that the two implements mentioned will last for years with a little care—will pay as handsome a dividend as any garden investment you can make.



CHAPTER XIV

HARVESTING AND STORING

It is a very common thing to allow the garden vegetables not used to rot on the ground, or in it. There is a great deal of unnecessary waste in this respect, for a great many of the things so neglected may just as well be carried into winter, and will pay a very handsome dividend for the slight trouble of gathering and storing them.

A good frost-proof, cool cellar is the best and most convenient place in which to store the surplus product of the home garden. But, lacking this, a room partitioned off in the furnace cellar and well ventilated, or a small empty room, preferably on the north side of the house, that can be kept below forty degrees most of the time, will serve excellently. Or, some of the most bulky vegetables, such as cabbage and the root crops, may be stored in a prepared pit made in the garden itself.

As it is essential that such a pit be properly constructed, I shall describe one with sufficient detail to enable the home gardener readily to construct it. Select a spot where water will not stand. Put the vegetables in a triangular-shaped pile, the base three or four feet wide, and as long as required. Separate the different vegetables in this pile by stakes about two feet higher than the top of the pile, and label them. Then cover with a layer of clean straw or bog hay, and over this four inches of soil, dug up three feet back from the edges of the pile. This work must be done late in the fall, as nearly as one can judge just before lasting freezing begins, and preferably on a cold morning when the ground is just beginning to freeze; the object being to freeze the partly earth covering at once, so that it will not be washed or blown off. The vegetables must be perfectly dry when stored; dig them a week or so previous and keep them in an airy shed. As soon as this first layer of earth is partly frozen, but before it freezes through, put on another thick layer of straw or hay and cover with twelve inches of earth, keeping the pile as steep as possible; a slightly clayey soil, that may be beaten down firmly into shape with a spade, being best. The pile should be made where it will be sheltered from the sun as much as possible, such as on the north side of a building. The disadvantage of the plan is, of course, that the vegetables cannot be got at until the pile is opened up, in early spring, or late if desired. Its two advantages are that the vegetables stored will be kept in better condition than in any cellar, and that cellar or house room will be saved.

For storing small quantities of the roots, such as carrots or beets, they are usually packed in boxes or barrels and covered in with clean sand. Where an upstairs room has to be used, swamp or sphagnum moss may replace the sand. It makes an ideal packing medium, as it is much lighter and cleaner than the sand. In many localities it may be had for the gathering; in others one may get it from a florist.

In storing vegetables of any kind, and by whatever method, see to it that:

(1) They are always clean, dry and sound. The smallest spot or bruise is a danger center, which may spread destruction to the lot.

(2) That the temperature, whatever required—in most cases 33-38 degrees being best—is kept as even as possible.

(3) That the storage place is kept clean, dry (by ventilation when needed) and sweet (by use of whitewash and lime).

(4) That no rats or other rodents are playing havoc with your treasures while you never suspect it.

So many of the vegetables can be kept, for either part or all of the winter, that I shall take them up in order, with brief directions. Many, such as green beans, rhubarb, tomatoes, etc., which cannot be kept in the ordinary ways, may be easily and cheaply canned, and where one has a good cellar, it will certainly pay to get a canning outfit and make use of this method.

Beans:—Almost all the string and snap beans, when dried in the pods, are excellent for cooking. And any pods which have not been gathered in the green state should be picked, as soon as dry (as wet weather is likely to mould or sprout them), and stored in a dry place, or spread on a bench in the sun. They will keep, either shelled or in the dry pods, for winter.

Beets:—In October, before the first hard frosts, take up and store in a cool cellar, in clean, perfectly dry sand, or in pits outside (see Cabbage); do not cut off the long tap roots, nor the tops close enough to cause any "bleeding."

Brussels sprouts:—These are improved by freezing, and may be used from the open garden until December. If wanted later, store them with cabbage, or hang up the stalks in bunches in a cold cellar.

Cabbage:—If only a few heads are to be stored, a cool cellar will do. Even if where they will be slightly frozen, they will not be injured, so long as they do not freeze and thaw repeatedly. They should not be taken in until there is danger of severe freezing, as they will keep better, and a little frost improves the flavor. For storing small quantities outdoors, dig a trench, a foot or so deep, in a well drained spot, wide enough to admit two heads side by side. Pull up the cabbages, without removing either stems or outer leaves, and store side by side, head down, in the bottom of the trench. Now cover over lightly with straw, meadow hay, or any refuse which will keep the dirt from freezing to the cabbages, and then cover over the whole with earth, to the depth of several inches, but allowing the top of the roots to remain exposed, which will facilitate digging them up as required. Do not bury the cabbage until as late as possible before severe freezing, as a spell of warm weather would rot it.

Carrots:—Treat in the same way as beets. They will not be hurt by a slight freezing of the tops, before being dug, but care must be taken not to let the roots become touched by frost.

Celery:—That which is to be used early is blanched outside, by banking, as described in Chapter XI, and as celery will stand a little freezing, will be used directly from the garden. For the portion to be kept over winter, provide boxes about a foot wide, and nearly as deep as the celery is high. Cover the bottoms of these boxes with two or three inches of sand, and wet thoroughly. Upon this stand the celery upright, and packed close together. In taking up the celery for storing in this way, the roots and whatever earth adheres to them are kept on, not cut, as it is bought in the stores. The boxes are then stored in a cellar, or other dark, dry, cold place where the temperature will not go more than five degrees below freezing. The celery will be ready for use after Christmas. If a long succession is wanted, store from the open two or three different times, say at the end of October, first part of November and the latter part of November.

Cucumbers, Melons, Egg-plant:—While there is no way of storing these for any great length of time without recourse to artificial cold, they may be had for some time by storing just before the first frosts in a cool, dark cellar, care being taken in handling the fruits to give them no bruises.

Onions:—If the onions got a good early start in the spring, the tops will begin to die down by the middle of August. As soon as the tops have turned yellow and withered they should be pulled, on the first clear dry day, and laid in windrows (three or four rows in one), but not heaped up. They should be turned over frequently, by hand or with a wooden rake, and removed to a shed or barn floor as soon as dry, where the tops can be cut off. Keep them spread out as much as possible, and give them open ventilation until danger of frost. Then store in a dry place and keep as cool as possible without freezing. A few barrels, with holes knocked in the sides, will do well for a small quantity.

Parsley:—Take up a few plants and keep in a flower-pot or small box, in the kitchen window.

Parsnips:—These will stay in the ground without injury all winter, but part of the crop may be taken up late in the fall and stored with beets, carrots and turnips, to use while the ground is frozen.

Potatoes:—When the vines have died down and the skin of the new potatoes has become somewhat hardened, they can be dug and stored in a cool, dry cellar at once. Be sure to give plenty of ventilation until danger of frost. Keep from the light, as this has the effect of making the potatoes bitter. If there is any sign of rot among the tubers, do not dig them up until it has stopped.

Squash and Pumpkins:—The proper conditions for storing for winter will be indicated by the drying and shrinking of the stem. Cut them from the vines, being careful never to break off the stem, turn over, rub off the dirt and leave the under side exposed to a few days' sunlight. Then carry in a spring wagon, or spring wheelbarrow, covered with old bags or hay to keep from any bruises. Store in the dryest part of the cellar, and if possible where the temperature will not go below forty degrees. Leave them on the vines in the field as late as possible, while escaping frosts.

Tomatoes:—Just before the first frosts are likely to begin, pick all of the best of the unripened fruits. Place part of these on clean straw in a coldframe, giving protection, where they will gradually ripen up. Place others, that are fully developed but not ripe, in straw in the cellar. In this way fresh tomatoes may frequently be had as late as Christmas.

Turnip:—These roots, if desired, can be stored as are beets or carrots.

It is hard to retain our interest in a thing when most of its usefulness has gone by. It is for that reason, I suppose, that one sees so many forsaken and weed-grown gardens every autumn, where in the spring everything was neat and clean. But there are two very excellent reasons why the vegetable garden should not be so abandoned—to say nothing of appearances! The first is that many vegetables continue to grow until the heavy frosts come; and the second, that the careless gardener who thus forsakes his post is sowing no end of trouble for himself for the coming year. For weeds left to themselves, even late in the fall, grow in the cool moist weather with astonishing rapidity, and, almost before one realizes it, transform the well kept garden into a ragged wilderness, where the intruders have taken such a strong foothold that they cannot be pulled up without tearing everything else with them. So we let them go—and, left to themselves, they accomplish their purpose in life, and leave upon the ground an evenly distributed supply of plump ripe seeds, which next spring will cause the perennial exclamation, "Mercy, John, where did all these weeds come from?" And John replies, "I don't know; we kept the garden clean last summer. I think there must be weed seeds in the fertilizer."

Do not let up on your fight with weeds, for every good vegetable that is left over can be put to some use. Here and there in the garden will be a strip that has gone by, and as it is now too late to plant, we just let it go. Yet now is the time we should be preparing all such spots for withstanding next summer's drouth! You may remember how strongly was emphasized the necessity for having abundant humus (decayed vegetable matter) in the soil—how it acts like a sponge to retain moisture and keep things growing through the long, dry spells which we seem to be sure of getting every summer. So take thought for next year. Buy a bushel of rye, and as fast as a spot in your garden can be cleaned up, harrow, dig or rake it over, and sow the rye on broadcast. Just enough loose surface dirt to cover it and let it sprout, is all it asks. If the weather is dry, and you can get a small roller, roll it in to ensure better germination. It will come up quickly; it will keep out the weeds which otherwise would be taking possession of the ground; it will grow until the ground is frozen solid and begin again with the first warm spring day; it will keep your garden from washing out in heavy rains, and capture and save from being washed away and wasted a good deal of left-over plant food; it will serve as just so much real manure for your garden; it will improve the mechanical condition of the soil, and it will add the important element of humus to it.

In addition to these things, you will have an attractive and luxuriant garden spot, instead of an unsightly bare one. And in clearing off these patches for rye, beware of waste. If you have hens, or by chance a pig, they will relish old heads of lettuce, old pea-vines, still green after the last picking, and the stumps and outer leaves of cabbage. Even if you have not this means of utilizing your garden's by- products, do not let them go to waste. Put everything into a square pile—old sods, weeds, vegetable tops, refuse, dirt, leaves, lawn sweepings—anything that will rot. Tread this pile down thoroughly; give it a soaking once in a while if within reach of the hose, and two or three turnings with a fork. Next spring when you are looking for every available pound of manure with which to enrich your garden, this compost heap will stand you in good stead.

Burn now your old pea-brush, tomato poles and everything that is not worth keeping over for next year. Do not leave these things lying around to harbor and protect eggs and insects and weed seeds. If any bean-poles, stakes, trellises or supports seem in good enough condition to serve another year, put them under cover now; and see that all your tools are picked up and put in one place, where you can find them and overhaul them next February. As soon as your surplus pole beans have dried in their pods, take up poles and all and store in a dry place. The beans may be taken off later at your leisure.

Be careful to cut down and burn (or put in the compost heap) all weeds around your fences, and the edges of your garden, before they ripen seed.

If the suggestions given are followed, the vegetable garden may be stretched far into the winter. But do not rest at that. Begin to plan now for your next year's garden. Put a pile of dirt where it will not be frozen, or dried out, when you want to use it next February for your early seeds. If you have no hotbed, fix the frames and get the sashes for one now, so it will be ready to hand when the ground is frozen solid and covered with snow next spring. If you have made garden mistakes this year, be planning now to rectify them next—without progress there is no fun in the game. Let next spring find you with your plans all made, your materials all on hand and a fixed resolution to have the best garden you have ever had.



Part Three—Fruits and Berries

CHAPTER XV.

THE VARIETIES OF POME AND STONE FRUITS

Many a home gardener who has succeeded well with vegetables is, for some reason or other, still fearsome about trying his hand at growing his own fruit.

This is all a mistake; the initial expense is very slight (fruit trees will cost but twenty-five to forty cents each, and the berry bushes only about four cents each), and the same amount of care that is demanded by vegetables, if given to fruit, will produce apples, peaches, pears and berries far superior to any that can be bought, especially in flavor.

I know a doctor in New York, a specialist, who has attained prominence in his profession, and who makes a large income; he tells me that there is nothing in the city that hurts him so much as to have to pay out a nickel whenever he wants an apple. His boyhood home was on a Pennsylvania farm, where apples were as free as water, and he cannot get over the idea of their being one of Nature's gracious gifts, any more than he can overcome his hankering for that crisp, juicy, uncloying flavor of a good apple, which is not quite equaled by the taste of any other fruit.

And yet it is not the saving in expense, although that is considerable, that makes the strongest argument for growing one's own fruit. There are three other reasons, each of more importance. First is quality. The commercial grower cannot afford to grow the very finest fruit. Many of the best varieties are not large enough yielders to be available for his use, and he cannot, on a large scale, so prune and care for his trees that the individual fruits receive the greatest possible amount of sunshine and thinning out—the personal care that is required for the very best quality. Second, there is the beauty and the value that well kept fruit trees add to a place, no matter how small it is. An apple tree in full bloom is one of the most beautiful pictures that Nature ever paints; and if, through any train of circumstances, it ever becomes advisable to sell or rent the home, its desirability is greatly enhanced by the few trees necessary to furnish the loveliness of showering blossoms in spring, welcome shade in summer and an abundance of delicious fruits through autumn and winter. Then there is the fun of doing it—of planting and caring for a few young trees, which will reward your labors, in a cumulative way, for many years to come.

But enough of reasons. If the call of the soil is in your veins, if your fingers (and your brain) in the springtime itch to have a part in earth's ever-wonderful renascence, if your lips part at the thought of the white, firm, toothsome flesh of a ripened-on-the-tree red apple— then you must have a home orchard without delay.

And it is not a difficult task. Apples, pears and the stone fruits, fortunately, are not very particular about their soils. They take kindly to anything between a sandy soil so loose as to be almost shifting, and heavy clay. Even these soils can be made available, but of course not without more work. And you need little room to grow all the fruit your family can possibly eat.

Time was, when to speak of an apple tree brought to mind one of those old, moss-barked giants that served as a carriage shed and a summer dining-room, decorated with scythes and rope swings, requiring the services of a forty-foot ladder and a long-handled picker to gather the fruit. That day is gone. In its stead have come the low-headed standard and the dwarf forms. The new types came as new institutions usually do, under protest. The wise said they would never be practical—the trees would not get large enough and teams could not be driven under them. But the facts remained that the low trees are more easily and thoroughly cared for; that they do not take up so much room; that they are less exposed to high winds, and such fruit as does fall is not injured; that the low limbs shelter the roots and conserve moisture; and, above all, that picking can be accomplished much more easily and with less injury to fine, well ripened fruit. The low-headed tree has come to stay.

If your space will allow, the low-headed standards will give you better satisfaction than the dwarfs. They are longer-lived, they are healthier, and they do not require nearly so much intensive culture. On the other hand, the dwarfs may be used where there is little or no room for the standards. If there is no other space available, they may be put in the vegetable or flower garden, and incidentally they are then sure of receiving some of that special care which they need in the way of fertilization and cultivation.

As I have said, any average soil will grow good fruit. A gravelly loam, with a gravel subsoil, is the ideal. Do not think from this, however, that all you have to do is buy a few trees from a nursery agent, stick them in the ground and from your negligence reap the rewards that follow only intelligent industry. The soil is but the raw material which work and care alone can transform, through the medium of the growing tree, into the desired result of a cellar well stored each autumn with fruit.

Fruit trees have one big advantage over vegetables—the ground can be prepared for them while they are growing. If the soil will grow a crop of clover it is already in good shape to furnish the trees with food at once. If not, manure or fertilizers may be applied, and clover or other green crops turned under during the first two or three years of the trees' growth, as will be described later.

The first thing to consider, when you have decided to plant, is the location you will give your trees. Plan to have pears, plums, cherries and peaches, as well as apples. For any of these the soil, of whatever nature, must be well drained. If not naturally, then tile or other artificial drainage must be provided. For only a few trees it would probably answer the purpose to dig out large holes and fill in a foot or eighteen inches at the bottom with small stone, covered with gravel or screened coal-cinders. My own land has a gravelly subsoil and I have not had to drain. Then with the apples, and especially with the peaches, a too-sheltered slope to the south is likely to start the flower buds prematurely in spring, only to result in total crop loss from late frosts. The diagram on the next page suggests an arrangement which may be adapted to individual needs. One may see from it that the apples are placed to the north, where they will to some extent shelter the rest of the grounds; the peaches where they will not be coddled; the pears, which may be had upon quince stock, where they will not shade the vegetable garden; the cherries, which are the most ornamental, where they may lend a decorative effect.

And now, having decided that we can—and will—grow good fruit, and having in mind suggestions that will enable us to go out to-morrow morning and, with an armful of stakes, mark out the locations, the next consideration should be the all-important question of what varieties are most successfully grown on the small place.

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The following selections are made with the home fruit garden, not the commercial orchard, in mind. While they are all "tried and true" sorts, succeeding generally in the northeast, New England and western fruit sections, remember that fruits, as a rule, though not so particular as vegetables about soil, seem much more so about locality. I would suggest, therefore, submitting your list, before buying, to your State Experiment Station. You are taxed for its support; get some direct result from it. There they will be glad to advise you, and are in the best position to help you get started properly. Above all, do not buy from the traveling nursery agent, with his grip full of wonderful lithographs of new and unheard-of novelties. Get the catalogue of several reliable nurseries, take standard varieties about which you know, and buy direct. Several years ago I had the opportunity to go carefully over one of the largest fruit nurseries in the country. Every care and precaution was taken to grow fine, healthy, young trees. The president told me that they sold thousands every year to smaller concerns, to be resold again through field and local agents. Yet they do an enormous retail business themselves, and of course their own customers get the best trees.

The following are listed, as nearly as I can judge, in the order of their popularity, but as many of the best are not valuable commercially, they are little known. Whenever you find a particularly good apple or pear, try to trace it, and add it to your list.

APPLES

Without any question, the apple is far and away the most valuable fruit, both because of its greater scope of usefulness and its longer season—the last of the winter's Russets are still juicy and firm when the first Early Harvests and Red Astrachans are tempting the "young idea" to experiment with colic. Plant but a small proportion of early varieties, for the late ones are better. Out of a dozen trees, I would put in one early, three fall, and the rest winter sorts.

Among the summer apples are several deserving special mention: Yellow Transparent is the earliest. It is an old favorite and one of the most easily grown of all apples. Its color is indicated by the name, and it is a fair eating-apple and a very good cooker. Red Astrachan, another first early, is not quite so good for cooking, but is a delicious eating-apple of good size. An apple of more recent introduction and extremely hardy (hailing first from Russia), and already replacing the above sorts, is Livland (Livland Raspberry). The tree is of good form, very vigorous and healthy. The fruit is ready almost as soon as Yellow Transparent, and is of much better quality for eating. In appearance it is exceptionally handsome, being of good size, regular form and having those beautiful red shades found almost exclusively in the later apples. The flesh is quality is fully up to its appearance. The white, crisp-breaking flesh, most aromatic, deliciously sub-acid, makes it ideal for eating. A neighbor of mine sold $406 worth of fruit from twenty trees to one dealer. For such a splendid apple McIntosh is remarkably hardy and vigorous, succeeding over a very wide territory, and climate severe enough to kill many of the other newer varieties. The Fameuse (widely known as the Snow) is an excellent variety for northern sections. It resembles the McIntosh, which some claim to be derived from it. Fall Pippin, Pound Sweet and Twenty Ounce, are other popular late autumns.

In the winter section, Baldwin, which is too well known to need describing, is the leading commercial variety in many apple districts, and it is a good variety for home growing on account of its hardiness and good cooking and keeping qualities; but for the home orchard, it is far surpassed in quality by several others. In northern sections, down to the corn line, Northern Spy is a great favorite. It is a large, roundish apple, with thin, tender, glossy skin, light to deep carmine over light yellow, and an excellent keeper. In sections to which it is adapted it is a particularly vigorous, compact, upright grower. Jonathan is another splendid sort, with a wider range of conditions favorable for growth. It is, however, not a strong-growing tree and is somewhat uncertain in maturing its fruit, which is a bright, clear red of distinctive flavor. It likes a soil with more clay than do most apples. In the Middle West and Middle South, Grimes (Golden) has made a great local reputation in many sections, although in others it has not done well at all.

The Spitzenberg (Esopus) is very near the top of the list of all late eating-apples, being at its prime about December. It is another handsome yellow-covered red apple, with flesh slightly yellowish, but very good to the taste. The tree, unfortunately, is not a robust grower, being especially weak in its earlier stages, but with good cultivation it will not fail to reward the grower for any extra care it may have required.

These, and the other notable varieties, which there is not room here to describe, make up the following list, from which the planter should select according to locality:

Earliest or Summer:—Early Harvest, Yellow Transparent, Red Astrachan, Benoni (new), Chenango, Sweet Bough, Williams' Favorite, Early Strawberry, Livland Raspberry.

Early Autumn:—Alexander, Duchess, Porter, Gravenstein, McIntosh Red.

Late Autumn:—Jefferies, Fameuse (Snow), Maiden's Blush, Wealthy, Fall Pippin, Pound Sweet, Twenty Ounce, Cox Orange, Hubbardston.

Winter:—Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Northwestern Greening, Jonathan, Northern Spy, Yellow, Swaar, Delicious, Wagener, King, Esopus, Spitzenberg, Yellow Bellflower, Winter Banana, Seek-no-further, Talman Sweet, Roxbury Russett, King David, Stayman's Winesap, Wolf River.

PEARS

Pears are more particular than apples in the matter of being adapted to sections and soils. Submit your list to your State Experiment Station before ordering trees. Many of the standard sorts may be had where a low-growing, spreading tree is desired (for instance, quince-stock pears might be used to change places with the plums). Varieties suitable for this method are listed below. They are given approximately in the order of the ripening:

Wilder: Early August, medium in size, light yellow, excellent quality. Does not rot at the core, as so many early pears are liable to do.

Margaret: Oblong, greenish, yellow to dull red.

Clapp Favorite: Very large, yellow pear. A great bearer and good keeper—where the children cannot get at it.

Howell: A little later than the foregoing; large, bright yellow, strong-growing tree and big bearer.

Duchesse d'Angouleme: Large greenish yellow, sometimes reaching huge size; will average better than three-quarters of a pound. The quality, despite its size, is splendid.

Seckel: Small in size, but renowned for exquisite flavor—being probably the most universally admired of all.

Beurre Superfine: October, medium size, excellent quality.

Bartlett: The best known of all pears, and a universal favorite. Succeeds in nearly all sections.

Anjou: One of the best keepers, and very productive. One of the best in flavor, rich and vinous.

For trees of the standard type the following are worthy of note:

Congress (Souvenir du C.): A very large summer sort. Handsome.

Belle Lucrative: September to October.

Winter Nelis: Medium size, but of excellent quality and the longest keeper.

Kieffer: Very popular for its productiveness, strength of growth and exceptional quality of fruit for canning and preserving. Large fruit, if kept thinned. Should have a place in every home garden.

Josephine de Malines: Not a great yielder but of the very highest quality, being of the finest texture and tempting aroma.

PEACHES

Success with peaches also will depend largely upon getting varieties adapted to climate. The white-fleshed type is the hardiest and best for eating; and the free-stones are for most purposes, especially in the home garden, more desirable than the "clings."

Greensboro is the best early variety. Crawford is a universal favorite and goes well over a wide range of soil and climate. Champion is one of the best quality peaches and exceptionally hardy. Elberta, Ray, and Hague are other excellent sorts. Mayflower is the earliest sort yet introduced.

PLUMS

The available plums are of three classes—the natives, Europeans and Japans; the natives are the longest-lived, hardier in tree and blossom, and heavier bearers.

The best early is Milton; brilliant red, yellow and juicy flesh. Wildgoose and Whitaker are good seconds. Mrs. Cleveland is a later and larger sort, of finer quality. Three late-ripening plums of the finest quality, but not such prolific yielders, are Wayland, Benson and Reed, and where there is room for only a few trees, these will be best. They will need one tree of Newman or Prairie Flower with them to assure setting of the fruit. Of the Europeans, use Reine Claude (the best), Bradshaw or Shropshire. Damson is also good. The Japanese varieties should go on high ground and be thinned, especially during their first years. My first experience with Japanese plums convinced me that I had solved the plum problem; they bore loads of fruit, and were free from disease. That was five years ago. Last spring the last one was cut and burned. Had they been planted at the top of a small hill, instead of at the bottom, as they were, and restricted in their bearing, I know from later experience that they would still be producing fruit. The most satisfactory varieties of the Japanese type are Abundance and Red June. Burbank is also highly recommended,

CHERRIES

Cherries have one advantage over the other fruits—they give quicker returns. But, as far as my experience goes, they are not as long-lived. The sour type is hardier, at least north of New Jersey, than the sweet. It will probably pay to try a few of the new and highly recommended varieties. Of the established sorts Early Richmond is a good early, to be followed by Montmorency and English Morello. Windsor is a good sweet cherry, as are also Black Tartarian, Sox, Wood and Yellow Spanish.

All the varieties mentioned above are proved sorts. But the lists are being added to constantly, and where there is a novelty strongly recommended by a reliable nurseryman it will often pay to try it out—on a very small scale at first.



CHAPTER XVI

PLANTING: CULTIVATION: FILLER CROPS

As the pedigree and the quality of the stock you plant will have a great deal to do with the success or failure of your adventure in orcharding, even on a very small scale, it is important to get the best trees you can, anywhere, at any price. But do not jump to the conclusion that the most costly trees will be the best. From reliable nurserymen, selling direct by mail, you can get good trees at very reasonable prices.

As a general thing you will succeed best if you have nothing to do with the perennial "tree agent." He may represent a good firm; you may get your trees on time; he may have a novelty as good as the standard sorts; but you are taking three very great chances in assuming so. But, leaving these questions aside, there is no particular reason why you should help pay his traveling expenses and the printing bills for his lithographs ("made from actual photographs" or "painted from nature," of course!) when you can get the best trees to be had, direct from the soil in which they are grown, at the lowest prices, by ordering through the mail. Or, better still, if the nursery is not too far away, take half a day off and select them in person. If you want to help the agent along present him with the amount of his commission, but get your trees direct from some large reliable nursery.

Well grown nursery stock will stand much abuse, but it will not be at all improved by it. Do not let yours stand around in the sun and wind, waiting until you get a chance to set it out. As soon as you get it home from the express office, unpack it and "heel it in," in moist, but not wet, ground; if under a shed, so much the better. Dig out a narrow trench and pack it in as thick as it will go, at an angle of forty-five degrees to the natural position when growing. So stored, it will keep a long time in cold weather, only be careful that no rats, mice, or rabbits reach it.

Do not, however, depend upon this knowledge to the extent of letting all your preparations for planting go until your stock is on hand. Be ready to set it the day it arrives, if possible.

PLANTING

Planting can be done in either spring or fall. As a general rule, north of Philadelphia and St. Louis, spring planting will be best; south of that, fall planting. Where there is apt to be severe freezing, "heaving," caused by the alternate freezing and thawing; injury to the newly set roots from too severe cold; and, in some western sections, "sun-scald" of the bark, are three injuries which may result. If trees are planted in the fall in cold sections, a low mound of earth, six to twelve inches high, should be left during the winter about each, and leveled down in the spring. If set in the spring, where hot, dry weather is apt to follow, they should be thoroughly mulched with litter, straw or coarse manure, to preserve moisture—care being taken, however, against field mice and other rodents.

The trees may either be set in their permanent positions as soon as bought, or grown in "nursery rows" by the purchaser for one or two years after being purchased. In the former case, it will be the best policy to get the strongest, straightest two-year stock you can find, even if they cost ten or fifteen cents apiece more than the "mediums." The former method is the usual one, but the latter has so many advantages that I give it the emphasis of a separate paragraph, and urge every prospective planter to consider it carefully.

In the first place, then, you get your trees a little cheaper. If you purchase for nursery row planting, six-foot to seven-foot two-year-old apple trees, of the standard sorts, should cost you about thirty cents each; one-year "buds," six feet and branched, five to ten cents less. This gain, however, is not an important one—there are four others, each of which makes it worth while to give the method a trial. First, the trees being all together, and in a convenient place, the chances are a hundred to one that you will give them better attention in the way of spraying, pruning and cultivating—all extremely important in the first year's growth. Second, with the year gained for extra preparation of the soil where they are to be placed permanently, you can make conditions just right for them to take hold at once and thrive as they could not do otherwise. Third, the shock of transplanting will be much less than when they are shipped from a distance—they will have made an additional growth of dense, short roots and they will have become acclimated. Fourth, you will not have wasted space and time with any backward black sheep among the lot, as these should be discarded at the second planting. And then there is one further reason, psychological perhaps, but none the less important; you will watch these little trees, which are largely the result of your own labor and care, when set in their permanent positions, much more carefully than you would those direct from the nursery. I know, both from experience and observation, how many thrifty young trees in the home orchard are done to an untimely death by children, careless workmen, and other animals.

So if you can put a twelve-month curb on your impatience, get one-year trees and set them out in a straight row right in your vegetable garden where they will take up very little room. Keep them cultivated just as thoroughly as the rest of your growing things. Melons, or beans, or almost any low-growing vegetable can be grown close beside them.

If you want your garden to pay for your whole lot of fruit trees this season dig up a hole about three feet in diameter wherever a tree is to "go permanently." Cut the sod up fine and work in four or five good forkfuls of well rotted manure, and on these places, when it is warm enough, plant a hill of lima pole-beans-the new sort named Giant-podded Pole Lima is the best I have yet seen. Place a stout pole, eight to ten feet high, firmly in each hole. Good lima beans are always in demand, and bring high prices.

Let us suppose that your trees are at hand, either direct from the nursery or growing in the garden. You have selected, if possible, a moist, gravelly loam on a slope or slight elevation, where it is naturally and perfectly drained. Good soil drainage is imperative. Coarse gravel in the bottom of the planting hole will help out temporarily. If the land is in clover sod, it will have the ideal preparation, especially if you can grow a patch of potatoes or corn on it one year, while your trees are getting further growth. In such land the holes will not have to be prepared. If, however, you are not fortunate enough to be able to devote such a space to fruit trees, and in order to have them at all must place them along your wall or scattered through the grounds, you can still give them an excellent start by enriching the soil in spots beforehand, as suggested above in growing lima beans. In the event of finding even this last way inapplicable to your land, the following method will make success certain: Dig out holes three to six feet in diameter (if the soil is very hard, the larger dimension), and twelve to eighteen inches deep. Mix thoroughly with the excavated soil a good barrowful of the oldest, finest manure you can get, combined with about one-fourth or one-fifth its weight of South Carolina rock (or acid phosphate, if you cannot get the rock). It is a good plan to compost the manure and rock in advance, or use the rock as an absorbent in the stable. Fill in the hole again, leaving room in the center to set the tree without bending or cramping any roots. Where any of these are injured or bruised, cut them off clean at the injured spot with a sharp knife. Shorten any that are long and straggling about one-third to one-half their length. Properly grown stock should not be in any such condition.

Remember that a well planted tree will give more fruit in the first ten years than three trees carelessly put in. Get the tree so that it will be one to three inches deeper in the soil than when growing in the nursery. Work the soil in firmly about the roots with the fingers or a blunt wooden "tamper"; do not be afraid to use your feet. When the roots are well covered, firm the tree in by putting all your weight upon the soil around it. See that it is planted straight, and if the "whip," or small trunk, is not straight stake it, and tie it with rye straw, raffia or strips of old cloth-never string or wire. If the soil is very dry, water the root copiously while planting until the soil is about half filled in, never on the surface, as that is likely to cause a crust to form and keep out the air so necessary to healthy growth.

Prune back the "leader" of the tree-the top above the first lateral branches, about one-half. Peach trees should be cut back more severely. Further information in regard to pruning, and the different needs of the various fruits in regard to this important matter, will be given in the next chapter.

SETTING

Standard apple trees, fully grown, will require thirty to forty-five feet of space between them each way. It takes, however, ten or twelve years after the trees are set before all of this space is needed. A system of "fillers," or inter-planting, has come into use as a result of this, which will give at least one hundred per cent, more fruit for the first ten years. Small-growing standards, standard varieties on dwarf stock, and also peaches, are used for this purpose in commercial orchards. But the principle may be applied with equally good results to the home orchard, or even to the planting of a few scattered trees. The standard dwarfs give good satisfaction as permanent fillers. Where space is very limited, or the fruit must go into the garden, they may be used in place of the standard sorts altogether. The dwarf trees are, as a rule, not so long-lived as the standards, and to do their best, need more care in fertilizing and manuring; but the fruit is just as good; just as much, or more, can be grown on the same area; and the trees come into bearing two to three years sooner. They cost less to begin with and are also easier to care for, in spraying and pruning and in picking the fruit.

CULTIVATION

The home orchard, to give the very finest quality of fruit, must be given careful and thorough cultivation. In the case of scattered trees, where it is not practicable to use a horse, this can be given by working a space four to six feet wide about each tree. Every spring the soil should be loosened up, with the cultivator or fork, as the case may be, and kept stirred during the early part of the summer. Unless the soil is rich, a fertilizer, high in potash and not too high in nitrogen, should be given in the spring. Manure and phosphate rock, as suggested above, is as good as any. In case the foliage is not a deep healthy green, apply a few handfuls of nitrate of soda, working it into the soil just before a rain, around each tree.

About August 1st the cultivation should be discontinued, and some "cover crop" sown. Buckwheat and crimson clover is a good combination; as the former makes a rapid growth it will form, if rolled down just as the apples are ripening, a soft cushion upon which the windfalls may drop without injury, and will furnish enough protection to the crimson clover to carry it through most winters, even in cold climates.

In addition to the filler crops, where the ground is to be cultivated by horse, potatoes may be grown between the rows of trees; or fine hills of melons or squash may be grown around scattered trees, thus, incidentally, saving a great deal of space in the vegetable garden. Or why not grow a few extra fancy strawberries in the well cultivated spots about these trees? Neither they nor the trees want the ground too rich, especially in nitrogen, and conditions suiting the one would be just right for the others.

It may seem to the beginner that fruit-growing, with all these things to keep in mind, is a difficult task. But it is not. I think I am perfectly safe in saying that the rewards from nothing else he can plant and care for are as certain, and surely none are more satisfactory. If you cannot persuade yourself to try fruit on any larger plan, at least order half a dozen dwarf trees (they will cost about twenty cents apiece, and can be had by mail). They will prove about the best paying investment you ever made.



CHAPTER XVII

PRUNING, SPRAYING, HARVESTING

The day has gone, probably forever, when setting out fruit trees and giving them occasional cultivation, "plowing up the orchard" once in several years, would produce fruit. Apples and pears and peaches have occupied no preferred position against the general invasion of the realm of horticulture by insect and fungous enemies. The fruits have, indeed, suffered more than most plants. Nevertheless there is this encouraging fact: that, though the fruits may have been severely attacked, the means we now have of fighting fruit-tree enemies, if thoroughly used, as a rule are more certain of accomplishing their purpose, and keeping the enemies completely at bay, than are similar weapons in any other line of horticultural work.

With fruit trees, as with vegetables and flowers, the most important precaution to be taken against insects and disease is to have them in a healthy, thriving, growing condition. It is a part of Nature's law of the survival of the fittest that any backward or weakling plant or tree seems to fall first prey to the ravages of destructive forces.

For these reasons the double necessity of maintaining at all times good fertilization and thorough cultivation will be seen. In addition to these two factors, careful attention in the matter of pruning is essential in keeping the trees in a healthy, robust condition. As explained in a previous chapter, the trees should be started right by pruning the first season to the open-head or vase shape, which furnishes the maximum of light and air to all parts of the tree. Three or four main branches should form the basis of the head, care being taken not to have them start from directly opposite points on the trunk, thus forming a crotch and leaving the tree liable to splitting from winds or excessive crops. If the tree is once started right, further pruning will give little trouble. Cut out limbs which cross, or are likely to rub against each other, or that are too close together; and also any that are broken, decayed, or injured in any way. For trees thus given proper attention from the start, a short jackknife will be the only pruning instrument required.

The case of the old orchard is more difficult. Cutting out too many of the old, large limbs at one time is sure to give a severe shock to the vitality of the tree. A better plan is, first, to cut off close all suckers and all small new-growth limbs, except a few of the most promising, which may be left to be developed into large limbs; and then as these new limbs grow on, gradually to cut out, using a fine-tooth saw and painting the exposed surfaces, the surplus old wood. Apples will need more pruning than the other fruits. Pears and cherries need the least; cutting back the ends of limbs enough to keep the trees in good form, with the removal of an occasional branch for the purpose of letting in light and air, is all the pruning they will require. Of course trees growing on rich ground, and well cultivated, will require more cutting back than those growing under poorer conditions. A further purpose of pruning is to effect indirectly a thinning of the fruit, so that what is grown will be larger and more valuable, and also that the trees may not become exhausted by a few exceptionally heavy crops. On trees that have been neglected and growing slowly the bark sometimes becomes hard and set. In such cases it will prove beneficial to scrape the bark and give a wash applied with an old broom. Whitewash is good for this purpose, but soda or lye answers the same purpose and is less disagreeably conspicuous. Slitting the bark of trunks and the largest limbs is sometimes resorted to, care being taken to cut through the bark only; but such practice is objectionable because it leaves ready access to some forms of fungous disease and to borers.

Where extra fine specimens of fruit are desired, thinning is practiced. It helps also to prevent the tree from being overtaxed by excessive crops. But where pruning is thoroughly done this trouble is usually avoided. Peaches and Japan plums are especially benefited by thinning, as they have a great tendency to overbear. The spread of fruit diseases, especially rot in the fruit itself, is also to some extent checked.

Of fruit-tree enemies there are some large sorts which may do great damage in short order—rabbits and field mice. They may be kept away by mechanical protection, such as wire, or by heaping the earth up to a height of twelve inches about the tree trunk. Or they may be caught with poisoned baits, such as boiled grain in which a little Rough on Rats or similar poison has been mixed. The former method for the small home garden is little trouble, safer to Fido and Tabby, and the most reliable in effect.

Insects and scale diseases are not so easily managed; and that brings us to the question of spraying and of sprays.

For large orchards the spray must, of course, be applied with powerful and expensive machinery. For the small fruit garden a much simpler and very moderate priced apparatus may be acquired. The most practical of these is the brass-tank compressed-air sprayer, with extension rod and mist-spray nozzle. Or one of the knapsack sprayers may be used. Either of these will be of great assistance not only with the fruit trees, but everywhere in the garden. With care they will last a good many years. Whatever type you get, be sure to get a brass machine; as cheaper ones, made of other metal, quickly corrode from contact with the strong poisons used.

APPLE ENEMIES

The insects most commonly attacking the apple are the codlin-moth, tent-caterpillar, canker-worm and borer. The codlin-moth lays its eggs on the fruit about the time of the falling of the blossoms, and the larvae when hatched eat into the young fruit and cause the ordinary wormy apples and pears. Owing to these facts, it is too late to reach the trouble by spraying after the calyx closes on the growing fruit. Keep close watch and spray immediately upon the fall of the blossoms, and repeat the spraying a week or so (not more than two) later. For spray use Paris green at the rate of 1 lb., or arsenate of lead (paste or powder, less of the latter: see accompanying directions) at the rate of 4 lbs. to 100 gallons of water, being careful to have a thorough mixture. During July, tie strips of burlap or old bags around the trunks, and every week or so destroy all caterpillars caught in these traps. The tent-caterpillar may be destroyed while in the egg state, as these are plainly visible around the smaller twigs in circular, brownish masses. (See illustration.) Upon hatching, also, the nests are obtrusively visible and may be wiped out with a swab of old bag, or burned with a kerosene torch. Be sure to apply this treatment before the caterpillar begins to leave the nest. The treatment recommended for codlin-moths is also effective for the tent-caterpillar.

The canker-worm is another leaf-feeding enemy, and can be taken care of by the Paris green or arsenate spray.

The railroad-worm, a small white maggot which eats a small path in all directions through the ripening fruit, cannot be reached by spraying, as he starts life inside the fruit; but where good clean tillage is practiced and no fallen fruit is left to lie and decay under the trees, he is not apt to give much trouble.

The borer's presence is indicated by the dead, withered appearance of the bark, beneath which he is at work, and also by small amounts of sawdust where he entered. Dig him out with a sharp pocket-knife, or kill him inside with a piece of wire.

The most troublesome disease of the apple, especially in wet seasons, is the apple-scab, which disfigures the fruit, both in size and in appearance, as it causes blotches and distortions. Spray with Bordeaux mixture, 5-5-50, or 3-3-50 (see formulas below) three times: just before the blossoms open, just as they fall, and ten days to two weeks after they fall. The second spraying is considered the most important.

The San Jos scale is of course really an insect, though in appearance it seems a disease. It is much more injurious than the untrained fruit grower would suppose, because indirectly so. It is very tiny, being round in outline, with a raised center, and only the size of a small pinhead. Where it has once obtained a good hold it multiplies very rapidly, makes a scaly formation or crust on the branches, and causes small red-edged spots on the fruit (see illustration). For trees once infested, spray thoroughly both in fall, after the leaves drop, and again in spring, before growth begins. Use lime-sulphur wash, or miscible oil, one part to ten of water, thoroughly mixed.

CHERRY ENEMIES

Sour cherries are more easily grown than the sweet varieties, and are less subject to the attacks of fruit enemies. Sweet cherries are troubled by the curculio, or fruit-worm, which attacks also peaches and plums. Cherries and plums may be sprayed, when most of the blossoms are off, with a strong arsenate of lead solution, 5 to 8 lbs. to 100 gals. water. In addition to this treatment, where the worms have once got a start, the beetles may be destroyed by spreading a sheet around and beneath the tree, and every day or so shaking or jarring them off into it, as described below.

PEACH ENEMIES

Do not spray peaches. For the curculio, within a few days after the flowers are off, take a large sheet of some cheap material to use as a catcher. For large orchards there is a contrivance of this sort, mounted on a wheelbarrow frame, but for the home orchard a couple of sheets laid upon the ground, or one with a slit from one side to the center, will answer. If four short, sharp-pointed stakes are fastened to the corners, and three or four stout hooks and eyes are placed to reunite the slit after the sheet is placed about the tree, the work can be more thoroughly done, especially on uneven ground. After the sheet is placed, with a stout club or mallet, padded with a heavy sack or something similar to prevent injury to the bark, give a few sharp blows, well up from the ground. This work should be done on a cloudy day, or early in the morning—the colder the better—as the beetles are then inactive. If a considerable number of beetles are caught the operation should be repeated every two or three days. Continue until the beetles disappear.