hardiness of the trees--as estimated from the behavior of varieties we
knew something of--of the many varieties and races we studied on this
extended trip would make too long a story. On the plains of Silesia,
north of the Carpathian mountains we first began to be intensely
interested in the cherry question. Here the cherry is the almost
universal tree for planting along division lines and the public
highways. As far as the eye could reach over the plains when passing
over the railways, the cherry tree indicated the location of the
highways and the division of estates. As we passed the highways running
at right angles with the track we could get a glimpse down the avenues
to a point on the plain where the lines seem to meet, and we were told
that unbroken lines along the highways were often found thirty to fifty
miles in length.
As a rule these street and division trees are of a race wholly unknown
in this country excepting a few trees of the Ostheim in Iowa and
Minnesota. They are classed in the books as Griottes with colored juice
and long, slender, drooping branches. The trees are smaller than our
English Morello with low stems, and neat round tops. While some other
races are hardy on this plain as far north as Warsaw in Poland and
Russia the Griottes are grown for three main reasons. (1) The trees are
deep rooted and so small in size that they do little shading of the
street or cultivated fields. (2) They rarely fail to bear full crops as
the fruit buds are hardier and the fruit buds expand later than the
Kentish and the other and more upright forms of the Morello. (3) The
fruit is less acid and richer in grape sugar than the Kentish forms
making it more valuable for dessert, culinary use, and above all for
making the celebrated "Kirsch wasser" which here takes the place of
wine. Some of the thin twigged Griottes with dark skins and colored
juice are as large in size as our Morello and nearly or quite as sweet.
That they will prove hardy and fruitful with us we can hardly doubt as
they grow on the dry plains of Northeast Europe where the Kentish forms
utterly fail. Why have they not been introduced? I once asked this
question of Mr. George Ellwanger, of Rochester, N.Y. He replied that in
the early days of their nursery some varieties of the Weichel type were
introduced in their collection. But the Eastern demand ran in the line
of the Heart cherries and the Dukes, and if sour cherries were wanted
for pies the Kentish forms with uncolored juice seemed to be preferred.
I suspect the difficulty of propagation and the inferior look of the
little thin twigged trees in the nursery had something to do with the
ignorance of our people of the merits of this hardy and fruitful race.
In the trying climate of the Swabian Alps, the Tyrol, and the east plain
of Silesia, Hungary, Poland, and South Russia, the trees are on their
own roots mainly, and the sprouts are used for propagation. When small
they are placed in the nursery with the tops and roots cut back in the
form of root-grafts. For the use of methodic growers and or planting on
private grounds where sprouts are not wanted the trees are budded or
inarched on Prunus Padus.
How will we propagate this valuable race of the cherry? The scions are
too small for profitable grafting, and budding on our Morello seedlings
hardly answers, as the slow-growing top favors sprouting from the root.
Perhaps we shall find that our bird cherry (Prunus Pennsylvanica) is
best suited for our use. The question of propagation of this race is
important, as the cherries grown in immense quantities in the Province
of Vladimir, one hundred and fifty miles east of Moscow, and in all the
provinces of the upper Volga are of this thin twigged race. Beyond all
doubt it is the coming cherry for universal use in Central and Northern
Iowa, and even in Dakota and the far Northwest. Yet it is not the only
race of the cherry which will thrive on our prairies and prove
longer-lived, more fruitful, and far better in quality than any we now
have.
* * * * *
On the grounds of the Pomological Institute, at Proskau, Silesia, we saw
many varieties of the Amarelle and Spanish cherries that will bear more
summer heat, an aridity of air, and a lower summer temperature than our
Richmonds or English Morello. In leaf and habit of growth these Amarells
of Austria and South Russia are much like our Carnalion, but some of the
varieties bear large fruit, as nearly sweet as is desirable for dessert
use. The race known as Spanish bears sweet fruit, much like our tall
growing Hearts and Bigarreaus, but the leaves are smaller, firmer, and
thicker, and the habit of the tree is nearly as low and spreading as
that of the Amarells. In Austria we are told that the original stock of
these round-topped, sweet cherries came from Spain, but as we went east
to Orel, Veronish, and Saratov we met varieties of this race on the
grounds of amateurs and proprietors who told us that the race was
indigenous to Bokara and other parts of Central Asia. While these
varieties are hardier than the Richmond the trees are lightly protected
with straw during the winter for protection of the fruit buds, when
paying crops are secured. North of Orel the Griottes alone are grown on
the bush plan, with from three to six stems springing up from the crown.
In Vladimir tens of thousands of acres are covered with these bush
cherry orchards, producing many train loads annually of fruit of
surprising excellence, considering the far northern and inland location
of the plantations.
On the college farm we have some specimens growing of the Ostheim,
Vladimir, double Natte, and other forms of the Griottes, and a few
specimens from Orel and Veronish of the Amarells and the Spanish races.
We have now orders out, of which we have received a part, for perhaps
fifty other varieties from Austria, Poland, and South Russia.
For the present these will be planted in experimental orchard with a
view to noting their behavior in our climate. Until scions are grown
here we can not make much advance in propagation. The work is
necessarily slow, but it can not fail, I think, to finally demonstrate
that so far we have been on the wrong track in attempting to grow
cherries on the prairies of the Northwest.
PRUNINGS.
If turnips or other vegetables to be fed to stock become frosted, place
them in a cool cellar, cover lightly with straw, and let them remain
frozen. If they do not thaw they will be little harmed for feeding.
Snow should not be allowed to accumulate on evergreens. If so, and it
partly thaws and then freezes, it can not be removed, but will catch the
snow and wind, often to the entire destruction of the tree.
A frost proof vegetable house is described as made with walls fifteen
inches thick, double boarded, the space between the boards being filled
with sawdust. The ceiling is also boarded, with about ten inches of
sawdust between the boards.
New England Homestead: The early black cranberry is the popular early
berry on Cape Cod. It escapes the early frosts and so the crop produces
better prices. A larger, lighter and longer berry is the James P.
Howley, which is being introduced in Essex county. The latter variety is
not so early as the former, but bears well, and in the protected bogs
along shore is frequently preferred.
Northwest Farmer: Mr. Edison Gaylord, of Floyd county, Iowa, advocates
setting trees in a leaning posture, to prevent them from being killed by
the combined effects of the wind and sun on their southwest side. Prof.
J.L. Budd, of the Iowa Agricultural College, says, in confirmation of
Mr. Gaylord's view, he saw hundreds of the finer cherry and plum trees
in Russia planted at an angle of forty-five degrees towards the one
o'clock sun. He says that only for a short time will trees thus set have
an awkward appearance.
The most convenient boxes in which to start seeds and cuttings are those
known as "flats" among gardeners. A good size for the kitchen garden in
which to start tomato seeds, etc., or for the ordinary conservatory, is
two feet long, sixteen inches wide, and three inches deep. These shallow
boxes are easy to handle, take up little room, and allow of much better
drainage to the young plants. Salt or soap boxes can be easily cut up
into three or four boxes three inches deep. Neat leather handles on each
end of the box will increase its handiness. The bottom is better if made
of several pieces of board, as the cracks insure good drainage.
James Vick's plan of catching slugs is as follows: "Take some pieces of
slate, or flat stones, or flat pieces of tin, and lay them about in the
garden among the plants, distributing them very liberally; just at
sundown go out and place a teaspoonful of bran on each piece of slate or
tin, and the slugs will soon become aware of it, and begin to gather and
feed on it. In about two hours, when it is dark, go out again with a
lantern and a pail containing salt and water, and pick up each piece on
which the slugs are found feeding, and throw slugs and bran into the
brine, where they instantly die. It is well, also, to go around in the
morning, and many slugs will be found hiding under the pieces of slate,
and can be destroyed in the brine. By following up this method
persistently for a few weeks the garden may be effectually rid of the
nuisance."
A correspondent of the Iowa Register advises us as to the proper manner
of performing this operation: "To heel trees in properly, a trench
should be dug on high, dry ground from two and a half to three feet
deep; one side of which should slope from the bottom at an angle of 35
to 45 degrees. The trees should then be set against the sloping side of
the trench and sufficiently apart to allow of fine earth being brought
in close contact with every part of every root. When the roots and
bodies of the trees are carefully covered, the trench should not only be
filled but rounded up so as to form a mound over them. When air spaces
are left among the roots they are liable to mould and rot. And very
frequently, when they have not been buried sufficiently deep, the
outside bark becomes detached from them and will slip off when they are
being taken from the trench."
A correspondent of Gardening Illustrated (England), says this is the way
to make an asparagus bed: Trench the soil at once two spits deep, and
work in stable manure as the work proceeds, or if procurable, seaweed
and plenty of sand, or any gritty substance, such as road scrapings. It
should be left as rough as possible on the surface until April next,
when the young plants will be in the best condition for planting, viz.,
with shoots a few inches long; then draw wide drills, and spread the
roots of the plants out, covering with fine sandy soil, leaving the tips
of the shoots just peeping through the soil, and if mild showery weather
prevails the growth will be rapid. Put some pea-sticks to support the
growth and keep it from suffering by wind waving. Merely keeping from
weeds is all the other attention required until November, when the old
tops may be cut off, and a dressing of rotten manure spread on the
surface of the bed, to be lightly forked in during the following spring.
The Rural New Yorker says as follows: We plant the Cuthbert raspberry
for late, the Hansel for early--both are of a bright red color, and
suitable for market as well as for home use. For a yellow plant the
Caroline. It is hardy and productive, though not of the first quality.
For canning, or for table use, if you like a fruit full of raspberry
flavor though a little tart, Shaffer's Colossal. It is rather dark in
color for market, and perhaps a little soft. For a hardy, early, red
raspberry that is sweet and delicious for home use, plant the Turner.
For a raspberry that is excellent in every way, plant the new Marlboro.
For the earliest and most productive of blackcaps, plant the Souhegan.
For a larger and later blackcap, plant the Gregg. For currants, plant
the Fay's Prolific for red, and the White Grape currant for white. For
grapes, plant the Lady for earliest white, Moore's Early and Worden for
early black. For later, plant the Victoria or Pocklington, for light
colored; the Vergennes, Jefferson. Brighton or Centennial for red, and
the Wilder, Herbert or Barry for black. For strawberries, try the
Cumberland Triumph, Charles Downing, Sharpless, Manchester (pistillate),
Daniel Boone, James Vick, Mount Vernon, Hart's Minnesota, and Kentucky.
You can not select a better list for trial unless by experience you know
already what varieties will succeed best on your land.
FLORICULTURE
Gleanings by an Old Florist.
PROPAGATING HOUSES AND OTHER THINGS.
In the days of our boyhood the propagating house was, in the more
pretentious nurseries, a very sacred place, under lock and key, and some
of its mysteries supposed to be so profound that prying eyes of other
establishments were not welcome.
Bell glasses in those days were thought to be indispensable, and some of
the plants desired to be propagated were found to require months,
sometimes nearly a year, before they could be transferred from the
cutting pots. The hot-water tanks, and other bottom heat appliances of
the present day were then unknown; and these appliances have resulted in
greater simplicity of management. Still we are bound to admit that the
demands here generally embrace a class of plants that, as a rule, are
found to root the most readily, while those that have always been known
to tax the propagator's skill, as the Heaths, New Holland, and others
called hard wooded plants, are but little called for in this market.
At that time nearly everything was placed in pots of almost pure white
sand, surrounded by the ordinary atmosphere of the house; while nowadays
the establishment must be small indeed if it does not contain some place
where the bed is so arranged that the heat at the bottom is from ten to
fifteen degrees above that of the house proper. Here lies the whole
secret as to whether it is a part of a single green-house or a house
devoted exclusively to propagating purposes. For the purpose of being
able at all times to control the temperature of the top, the propagating
house has often a northern exposure, except in the very dead of winter.
With a bright, clear sun above it is almost impossible in the daytime to
keep down the temperature of the house sufficiently to prevent the young
cuttings from wilting, after which disaster is very likely to follow in
their final rooting. Given a top temperature never above 55 or 65
degrees, with a bottom always from 10 to 15 degrees higher, if the
cuttings are in good shape it is a simple matter to root them in from
seven to fifteen days; though the time it takes depends, of course, upon
the plant and condition of the wood. At first efforts used to be
contrived to get this bottom heat by means of the old flue system, with
plenty of material covering the bricks, to break, in part, the dry
burning nature of the heat.
Then hot water came in and furnished what was thought the acme of a
propagator, and tanks of elaborate workmanship, and made of the finest
material down to the commonest wood, were made so a circulation of hot
water was kept up over as large an area as the necessity of the owner
might require.
The results seemed excellent, but lo, every now and again, disastrous
failures would occur. A material would spread all around called by the
florist the cutting bench fungus, that would sweep through his crop like
a plague; all sorts of theories would be given, and numberless articles
appear in the horticultural periodicals of the day on its cause and
cure. Presently it was found that those who did not use a tank of water,
but had inclosed a space to be heated by hot water pipes, did not seem
to suffer so much from the invidious foe. Much moisture was found an
excellent remedy for the enemy, though it might have been its first
cause, as it could be best warded off by dousing with the once praised
hot water tank.
Whether a house is used exclusively or not, the ordinary hot water pipes
are simply inclosed in a brick or wood space, with ventilators that may
be opened to let off part of the confined heat into the house at
pleasure. The front benches used are about two feet six inches to three
feet in width, over, say four 4-inch pipes, up to within eighteen inches
or two feet of the glass. On this is a platform over which three to six
inches of sand is put, and in this bed are placed the cuttings where,
with the differences before mentioned, they are kept as uniform as
possible, and the sand kept decidedly wet. Almost everything we called
soft wooded, or that can be got from the soft wood, even including most
of our hardy shrubs, can be rooted with almost unerring certainty in the
larger establishments by the hundreds of thousands.
As modern ideas demand large propagating, even in the summer, when it is
next to impossible to keep these proportions of top and bottom heat, if
in an ordinary propagating house, such firms as Miller & Hunt, strike
out with another idea to overcome the difficulty. This is none other
than instead of glass, they have a muslin canvas-covered house, in which
they have again pits, where mild bottom heat can be obtained by the use
of spent hops, tan bark, manure, or other material. Of course, it would
be idle to talk of a summer bottom heat of 60 deg., but instead of that,
they get one of about 80 deg., and depend upon a close, uniform, high,
moist temperature to carry out the same results.
With this, rose plants can be and are raised by the hundreds of
thousands from the single eye to a cutting, with a loss of not five per
cent in the aggregate, and often not one per cent. It is very evident
that with new or scarce plants this is an enormous average, as by its
means firms can import the new European plants in the spring, at perhaps
very high rates, start them into immediate, rapid growth, and from half
a dozen plants to work on, maybe in the next spring markets have
hundreds for sale.
This is all new as managed by us old 'uns in former times, but he who
expects to be up with the present day and cater for that class of
patronage, must take the new and not the old way of doing things, or he
will, in the vernacular of the streets, "get left."
As we are on this particular topic, however, and as the amateur window
plant-grower may want to propagate some little stock as well, even if
not on these "high-falutin" ways, it might not be amiss to say that
beyond the methods of "slipping" here and there cuttings in and among
others growing in pots, or, mayhap, in a pot all by themselves, they can
readily root lots of plants in a water and sand bath, which is nothing
more than taking a deep saucer, putting half an inch of sand in the
bottom, filling up the saucer full of water, and keeping it full; stick
your cuttings into this, place right in the sunniest spot of your
window, and they will grow about as certain, many of them, as if treated
by the florist's more portentious method. Likely the reason of all this
is, the water keeps the cuttings from wilting long enough for them to
put forth their efforts for existence in the shape of new roots,
obtained from the stored up material in the cuttings, and as soon as
this is done they become new individual plants, requiring only to be
transferred into a suitable medium of earth to go on as an independent,
but similar existence to the plant from which they were obtained.
EDGAR SANDERS.
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