The Practical Garden-Book Part 3

Erysimum Arkansanum.

Eschscholtzias, in several varieties.

Gaillardia picta.

Gilia Achilleaefolia.

Gilia capitata.

Gilia laciniata.

Gilia tricolor.

Iberis affinis.

Lavatera alba.

Matthiolas or Stocks.

nothera rosea.

nothera Lamarckiana.

nothera Drummondii.

Phlox Drummondii.

Podolepis affinis.

Podolepis chrysantha.

Salvia coccinea.

Salvia farinacea.

Salvia Horminum.

Verbenas.

Vicia Gerardii.

Virginian Stocks.

Viscaria elegans.

Viscaria oculata.

Viscaria cli-rosa.

ANTIRRHINUM. See _Snapdragon_.

APPLE, the "King of Fruits," thrives over a wider range of territory and under more varied conditions than any other tree fruit. This means that it is easy to grow. In fact, it is so easy to grow that it usually is neglected; and people wonder why the trees do not bear.

The selection of varieties of Apples for home use is, to a large extent, a personal matter; and no one may say what to plant. A variety that is successfully grown in one section may prove disappointing in another.

One should study the locality in which he wishes to plant and choose those varieties which are the most successfully grown there,--choosing from amongst the successful kinds those which he likes best and which seem best to meet the purposes for which he is to grow them. When the selection is made, the trees should be procured from a near-by nurseryman, if possible, as one is then able to select his own trees, receive them in the shortest time, and plant them before they have become dry.

The land on which an orchard is to be planted should have been in cultivation at least two years previous to setting the trees and be in a fine physical condition. Dig the hole broad and deep enough to take in all the roots left after pruning off the bruised ends caused by digging up the tree, and trim back the branches at least two-thirds, making a smooth cut. Set the trunk in the center of the hole, and sift the fine dirt down through the roots, slightly lifting the tree once or twice in order that the fine soil may settle under the roots, making congenial soil for the new roots to run through. Fill in over the roots, gradually firming the soil above with the feet. When the hole is full, firm the soil around the trunk to prevent whipping by the wind, leaving the surface level. If the trees are set in the fall a slight earthing up to the trunk may be beneficial in certain soils, and if set in a dry spring a mulch of straw or gra.s.s will benefit them. Two- or 3-year-old trees (usually the latter) are the most desirable for planting in home grounds. Commercial orchards are often planted exclusively with 2-year-olds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Spray of Apples]

In orchard cultivation, Apple trees are usually planted 35 to 40 ft.

apart each way. In home grounds they may be placed somewhat closer than this, especially if they are planted upon the boundaries, so that the limbs may project freely in one direction.

It is ordinarily advisable, especially in the humid climates east of the Great Lakes, to have the body of the tree 3 to 4 ft. long. The limbs should be trimmed up to this point when the tree is set. From three to five main branches may be left to form the framework of the top. These should be shortened back one-fourth or one-half when the tree is set.

Subsequent pruning should keep the top of the tree open and maintain it in more or less symmetrical form. See _Pruning_.

In orchard conditions, the trees should be kept in clean culture, especially for the first few years; but this is not always possible in home yards. In lieu of tillage, the sward may be mulched each fall with stable manure, and commercial fertilizer may be applied each fall or spring. If fruit is wanted rather than foliage and shade, care should be taken not to make ground too rich but to keep it in such condition that the tree is making a fairly vigorous growth, with good strong foliage, but is not overgrowing. An Apple tree in full bearing is usually in good condition if the twigs grow from 10 to 18 in. each season. All leaf-eating insects may be kept off by spraying with Paris green. The Appleworm or codlin-moth may be kept in check by spraying with Paris green as soon as the blossoms fall, and again a week or ten days later.

The leaf blight or apple-scab fungus may be kept in check by spraying with Bordeaux mixture just before the flowers open, and again after they fall (see _Spraying_). A close watch should be kept for borers. Whenever the bark appears to be dead or sunken in patches, remove it and search for the cause. A borer will usually be found underneath the bark. About the base of the tree the most serious injury occurs from borers, since the insect which enters there bores into the hard wood. His presence can be determined by the chips which are cast from his burrows. The only remedy is to dig out the larvae. If they have got far into the wood, they can be killed by running a flexible wire into the burrows.

Apple trees should begin to bear when three to five years planted, and at ten years should be bearing good crops. With good treatment, they should continue to bear for thirty or more years. It is cheaper to buy trees from the nursery than to attempt to raise them for oneself.

The dwarf Apples are secured by grafting any variety on the Paradise or Doucin stocks, which are simply small-growing varieties of Apples.

Dwarfs are much used in the Old World. There is no reason why they should not be used for home gardens in this country. They may be planted 8 to 10 ft. apart, and trained in various ways. The body or trunk should not be more than 1 or 2 ft. long. The top should be headed-in each year a third or a half of the annual growth. Dwarfs bear sooner than standards. A dwarf in full bearing should produce from a peck to a bushel of apples. Usually only the finer or dessert variety of Apples should be grown on dwarf trees.

Many of the local varieties of Apples are excellent for home use. From the following list of dessert varieties, one can select a good a.s.sortment for the home garden:

_Summer._--Early Joe, Primate, Garden Royal, Summer Pearmain, Early Harvest, Summer Rose, Sweet Bough, Summer Queen, Early Strawberry, Williams Favorite.

_Fall._--Chenango, Dyer, Jefferis, Jersey Sweet, Maiden Blush, Gravenstein, Fall Pippin, Mother (late fall to winter), Twenty Ounce.

_Winter._--Newtown Pippin, Golden Russet, Bellflower, Belmont, King (late fall S. of N. Y.), Grimes Golden, Melon, Hubbardston (Nonesuch), Northern Spy, Jonathan, Fameuse or Snow, Lady, Rambo, Canada Red, York Imperial, Pomme Gris, Esopus Spitzenburg, Swaar, Peck Pleasant, Rhode Island Greening, Tallman Sweet, Sutton Beauty, Wagener, Seek-no-further.

APRICOT. This fruit, usually thought to be too tender for the winters in the lat.i.tude of New York, has proved as hardy as the peach. Given the right conditions as to soil and exposure, it will yield abundant crops, ripening its fruits about three weeks in advance of early peaches. It would seem that more attention should be given to its cultivation. In western New York commercial orchards are now producing crops of as fine fruit as that brought from California. The introduction of the Russian varieties, a few years ago, added to the list several desirable kinds that have proved hardier and a little later in blooming than the old kinds. The fruits of the Russian varieties, while not as large as the other varieties, fully equal many of them in flavor, and they are very productive. The soil for Apricots should be rather dry; especially should the subsoil be such that no water may stand around the roots. The exposure should be to the north or west to r.e.t.a.r.d the blooming period, as the one great drawback to their successful fruiting is the early blooming and subsequent freezing of the flowers or small fruits.

The two serious difficulties in the growing of Apricots are the ravages of the curculio (see _Plum_) and the danger to the flowers from the spring frosts. It is usually almost impossible to secure fruits from one or two isolated Apricot trees, because the curculios will take them all.

It is possible, also, that some of the varieties need cross-pollination.

The Apricot usually thrives best on strong soil; but otherwise the treatment which is given the peach suits the Apricot very well. The Russian varieties bear more profusely and with less care than the old-fas.h.i.+oned and larger kinds. Amongst the best kinds of Apricots are Montgamet, Jackson, Royal, St. Ambroise, Early Golden, Harris, Roman and Moorepark. In the east, Apricots are commonly worked on plums, but they also thrive on the peach.

AQUARIUM. A pleasant adjunct to a living room or conservatory is a large gla.s.s globe or gla.s.s box containing water, in which plants and animals are living and growing. A solid gla.s.s tank or globe is better than a box with gla.s.s sides, because it does not leak, but the box must be used if one wants a large Aquarium. For most persons it is better to buy the Aquarium box than to attempt to make it. Four things are important in making and keeping an Aquarium (according to Miss Rogers, in Cornell Nature-Study Leaflet No. 11):

"(1) The equilibrium between plant and animal life must be secured and maintained. Animals do not thrive in water where no plants are growing.

Nature keeps plants and animals in the same pond, and we must follow her lead. The plants have three valuable functions in the Aquarium. First, they supply food for the herbivorous creatures. Second, they give off a quant.i.ty of oxygen which is necessary to the life of the animals. Third, they take up from the water the poisonous carbonic acid gas which pa.s.ses from the bodies of the animals. Just how the plants do this is another story. (2) The Aquarium must be ventilated. Every little fish, snail and insect wants air. A certain quant.i.ty of air is mixed with the water, and the creatures must breathe that or come to the surface for their supply. How does Mother Nature manage the ventilation of her aquaria, the ponds and streams? The plants furnish part of the air, as we have seen. The open pond, whose surface is ruffled by every pa.s.sing breeze, is constantly being provided with fresh air. A tadpole or a fish can no more live in a long-necked bottle than a boy can live in a chimney. (3) The temperature should be kept between 40 and 50 Fahr. Both nature and experience teach us this. A shady corner is a better place for the Aquarium than a sunny window on a warm day. (4) It is well to choose such animals for the Aquarium as are adapted to life in still water.

Unless one has an arrangement of water pipes to supply a constant flow of water through the Aquarium, it is best not to try to keep creatures that we find in swift streams. Practical experience shows that there are certain dangers to guard against. Perhaps the most serious results come from overstocking. It is better to have too few plants or animals than too many of either. A great deal of light, especially bright sunlight, is not good for the Aquarium. A pond that is not shaded soon becomes green with a thick growth of slime, or algae. This does not look well in an Aquarium, and is apt to take up so much of the plant-food that the other plants are starved out. The plants in the school-room window will shade the Aquarium nicely, just as the trees and shrubs on its banks shade the pond. If we find this slime forming on the light side of our miniature pond we put it in a darker place, shade it heavily so that the light comes in from the top only, and put in a few more snails. These will make quick work of the green slime, for they are fond of it, if we are not."

The aquatic plants of the neighborhood may be kept in the Aquarium,--such things as myriophyllums, charas, eel-gra.s.s, duckmeats or lemnas, cabomba or fish gra.s.s, arrowleafs or sagittaria, and the like; also the parrot's feather, to be bought of florists (a species of myriophyllum). Of animals, there are fishes (particularly minnows), water insects, tadpoles, clams, snails. If the proper balance is maintained between plant and animal life, it will not be necessary to change the water so frequently.

AQUATICS AND BOG PLANTS. Many water plants are easily grown, and make a fine addition to the home garden. The sedges and other bog plants, the cyperus or umbrella plant, the common wild water lily, and in large grounds the nelumbium or Egyptian lotus, all may be grown with ease. For restricted grounds any of these, with the exception of the nelumbium, may be grown in tubs made by sawing an oaken barrel in two, filling each half from one-third to one-half with soil composed of good loam, sand and leaf-mold, setting the plants well into the soil and filling the tubs with water. These tubs should be sunk to the rim in the borders or lawn, both for a good appearance and to prevent too great evaporation.

By a little care in filling with water, these plants may be well grown through the hottest weather. Most of the foreign water lilies are not hardy, but some of them may be grown with ease if the pond is covered in winter.

Native Aquatics may be colonized in streams or ponds. If artificial ponds are to be made, do not get them too deep. A foot or 15 inches is sufficient depth of water to stand above the crowns of the plants; and the greatest depth of water should not be more than 2 ft. for all kinds of water lilies. Half this depth is often sufficient. The soil should be 1 to 2 ft. deep, and very rich. Cow manure may be mixed with rich loam. Roots of hardy water lilies may be planted as soon as the pond is clear of frost, but the tender kinds (which are also to be taken up in the fall) should not be planted till it is time to plant out geraniums. Sink the roots into the mud so that they are just buried, and weight them down with a stone or clod. In cold climates, protect the pond of hardy Aquatics by throwing boards over the pond and covering with hay, straw or evergreen boughs. It is well to supply an additional depth of water as a further protection.

AQUILEGIA. COLUMBINE. These hardy perennials are general favorites for borders and rockwork. Blooming early in the season, they may be said to head the procession of the perennials. The ease with which they may be cultivated, their freedom of bloom, their varied colors and odd shape ent.i.tle them to the front rank among hardy plants. They are propagated by division of the plants in the spring or from seed sown in the fall.

Seedlings may be expected to bloom well the second year. They require a moist, partially sheltered situation, with exposure to the sun. The common wild Columbine (often called "honeysuckle") is easily grown and is very attractive. Clumps of Columbine should stand 12-18 in. apart.

2-3 ft. high.

ARAUCARIA, or NORFOLK ISLAND PINE, is now sold in pots by florists as a window plant. The common species (_A. excelsa_) is most excellent for this purpose, making a symmetrical evergreen subject. It keeps well in a cool window, or on the veranda in the summer. Protect it from direct sunlight, and give plenty of room. If the plant begins to fail, return it to the florist for recuperation.

ARGEMONE. See _p.r.i.c.kly Poppy_.

ARISTOLOCHIA, or DUTCHMAN'S PIPE. A strong, woody twiner with very large, heavy leaves, forming a dense screen and having peculiarly shaped flowers. But one species is considered hardy north, _A. Sipho_. This will grow without special treatment and prove a satisfactory ornamental screen or porch plant. Reaches a height of 20 or 30 ft. Young plants need some protection in cold winters.

ARTICHOKE. A tall, coa.r.s.e perennial of the thistle tribe, producing flower-heads which are edible. When once established, it will last in bearing for a number of years. While this plant is not generally grown in this country, its merit as a supplementary vegetable for salads or cooking is great. It is usually grown from suckers from the root, but a start can be made by sowing the seed. Sow in a border or seed box and transplant to the garden in early summer; and the following year a crop may be had. The parts of the plant used are the flower-heads and the young suckers, the former boiled or eaten raw as a salad. The young shoots may be tied together and blanched, using them like asparagus or Swiss chard. The fleshy scales of the head and the soft "bottom" of the head are the parts used. But few of these plants would be needed for a family, as they produce a number of flower-heads to a plant and a quant.i.ty of suckers. The plants should be set from 2 to 3 ft. apart in the row, the rows being 3 ft. apart. This vegetable is not quite hardy in the north, but a covering of leaves or barnyard litter to the depth of a foot will protect them well. The plant, being a perennial, will continue to yield for a number of years under good cultivation. These plants make no mean decorative subjects, either ma.s.sed or in a mixed border, and from the rarity of their culture are always objects of interest.