THE HOME ACRE

E. P. ROE

CONTENTS

 CHAPTER I TREE-PLANTING

 CHAPTER II FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS

 CHAPTER III THE GARDEN

 CHAPTER IV THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD

 CHAPTER V THE RASPBERRY

 CHAPTER VI THE CURRANT

 CHAPTER VII STRAWBERRIES

CHAPTER VIII THE KITCHEN-GARDEN

 CHAPTER IX THE KITCHEN-GARDEN (Concluded)

CHAPTER I

TREE-PLANTING

Land hunger is so general that it may be regarded as a naturalcraving. Artificial modes of life, it is true, can destroy it, butit is apt to reassert itself in later generations. To tens ofthousands of bread-winners in cities a country home is the dreamof the future, the crown and reward of their life-toil. Increasingnumbers are taking what would seem to be the wiser course, and arecombining rural pleasures and advantages with their business. Asthe questions of rapid transit are solved, the welfare of childrenwill turn the scale more and more often against the conventionalcity house or flat. A home CAN be created in rented dwellings andapartments; but a home for which we have the deed, a cottagesurrounded by trees, flowers, lawn, and garden, is the refugewhich best satisfies the heart. By means of such a suburban nookwe can keep up our relations with Nature and all her varied andhealth-giving life. The tired man returning from business findsthat his excited brain will not cease to act. He can enjoyrestoring rest in the complete diversion of his thoughts; he canthink of this tree or that plant, and how he can fill to advantageunoccupied spaces with other trees, flowers, and vegetables. Ifthere is a Jersey cow to welcome him with her placid trust, a goodroadster to whinny for an airing, and a flock of chickens toclamor about his feet for their supper, his jangling nerves willbe quieted, in spite of all the bulls and bears of Wall Street. Best of all, he will see that his children have air and space inwhich to grow naturally, healthfully. His fruit-trees will testifyto his wisdom in providing a country home. For instance, he willobserve that if sound plums are left in contact with stung anddecaying specimens, they too will be infected; he will see thattoo close crowding renders the prospect for good fruit doubtful;and, by natural transition of thought, will be glad that his boysand girls are not shut in to the fortuitous associations of hall-way and street. The area of land purchased will depend largely onthe desires and purse of the buyer; but about one acre appears tosatisfy the majority of people. This amount is not so great thatthe business man is burdened with care, nor is its limit so smallthat he is cramped and thwarted by line fences. If he can give tohis bit of Eden but little thought and money, he will find that anacre can be so laid out as to entail comparatively small expensein either the one or the other; if he has the time and taste tomake the land his play-ground as well as that of his children, scope is afforded for an almost infinite variety of pleasinglabors and interesting experiments. When we come to co-work withNature, all we do has some of the characteristics of anexperiment. The labor of the year is a game of skill, into whichalso enter the fascinating elements of apparent chance. What atree, a flower, or vegetable bed will give, depends chiefly uponus; yet all the vicissitudes of dew, rain, frost, and sun, havetheir part in the result. We play the game with Nature, and shewill usually let us win if we are not careless, ignorant, orstupid. She keeps up our zest by never permitting the game to beplayed twice under the same conditions. We can no more carry onour garden this season precisely as we did last year than acaptain can sail his ship exactly as he did on the precedingvoyage. A country home makes even the weather interesting; and therise and fall of the mercury is watched with scarcely lesssolicitude than the mutations of the market. 

In this chapter and in those which may ensue I merely hope to makesome useful suggestions and give practical advice--the result ofexperience, my own and others'--which the reader may carry out andmodify according to his judgment. 

We will suppose that an acre has been bought; that it iscomparatively level, with nothing of especial value upon it--inbrief, that the home and its surroundings are still to be created. 

It is not within my design to treat of the dwelling, itsarchitecture, etc. , but we shall have something to say further onin regard to its location. Before purchasing, the most carefulinvestigations should be made as to the healthfulness of theregion and the opportunities for thorough drainage. Having boughtthe acre, the question of removing all undue accumulations ofwater on or beneath the surface should be attended to at first. The dry appearance of the soil during much of the year may bemisleading. It should be remembered that there are equinoctialstorms and melting snows. Superabundant moisture at every periodshould have channels of immediate escape, for moisture in excessis an injury to plant as well as to family life; while thoroughlyand quickly drained land endures drought far better than thatwhich is rendered heavy and sour by water stagnating beneath thesurface. Tile-drains are usually the cheapest and most effective;but if there are stones and rocks upon the place, they can beutilized and disposed of at the same time by their burial inditches--and they should be covered so deeply that a plow, although sunk to the beam, can pass over them. Tiles or the top ofa stone drain should be at least two feet below the surface. Ifthe ground of the acre is underlaid with a porous subsoil, thereis usually an adequate natural drainage. 

Making haste slowly is often the quickest way to desired results. It is the usual method to erect the dwelling first, and afterwardto subdue and enrich the ground gradually. This in many instancesmay prove the best course; but when it is practicable, I shouldadvise that building be deferred until the land (with theexception of the spaces to be occupied with the house and barn)can be covered with a heavy dressing of barnyard manure, and thatthis be plowed under in the autumn. Such general enriching of thesoil may seem a waste in view of the carriage-drive and walks yetto be laid out; but this will not prove true. It should beremembered that while certain parts of the place are to be keptbare of surface-vegetation, they nevertheless will form a portionof the root-pasturage of the shade and fruit trees. The land, also, can be more evenly and deeply plowed before obstructions areplaced upon it, and roots, pestiferous weeds, and stones removedwith greatest economy. Moreover, the good initial enriching iscapital, hoarded in the soil, to start with. On many new places Ihave seen trees and plants beginning a feeble and uncertain life, barely existing rather than growing, because their roots found thesoil like a table with dishes but without food. If the fertilizeris plowed under in the autumn, again mixed with the soil by asecond plowing in the spring, it will be decomposed and ready forimmediate use by every rootlet in contact with it. Now, as farmerssay, the "land is in good heart, " and it will cheer its owner'sheart to see the growth promptly made by whatever is properlyplanted. Instead of losing time, he has gained years. Suppose theacre to have been bought in September, and treated as I haveindicated, it is ready for a generous reception of plants andtrees the following spring. 

Possibly at the time of purchase the acre may be covered withcoarse grass, weeds, or undergrowth of some kind. In this case, after the initial plowing, the cultivation for a season of somesuch crop as corn or potatoes may be of great advantage inclearing the land, and the proceeds of the crop would partiallymeet expenses. If the aim is merely to subdue and clean the landas quickly as possible, nothing is better than buckwheat, sownthickly and plowed under just as it comes into blossom. It is thenature of this rampart-growing grain to kill out everything elseand leave the soil light and mellow. If the ground is encumberedwith many stones and rocks, the question of clearing it is morecomplicated. They can be used, and often sold to advantage, forbuilding purposes. In some instances I have seen laboring-menclear the most unpromising plots of ground by burying all rocksand stones deeply beneath the surface--men, too, who had no othertime for the task except the brief hours before and after theirdaily toil. 

I shall give no distinct plan for laying out the ground. The tasteof the owner, or more probably that of his wife, will now comeinto play. Their ideas also will be modified by many localcircumstances--as, for instance, the undulations of the land, ifthere are any; proximity to neighbors, etc. If little besidesshade and lawn is desired, this fact will have a controllinginfluence; if, on the other hand, the proprietor wishes to makehis acre as productive as possible, the house will be built nearerthe street, wider open space will be left for the garden, andfruit-trees will predominate over those grown merely for shade andbeauty. There are few who would care to follow a plan which manyothers had adopted. Indeed, it would be the natural wish ofpersons of taste to impart something of their own individuality totheir rural home; and the effort to do this would afford muchagreeable occupation. Plates giving the elevation and arrangementof country homes can be studied by the evening lamp; visits toplaces noted for their beauty, simplicity, and good taste willafford motives for many a breezy drive; while useful suggestionsfrom what had been accomplished by others may repay for anextended journey. Such observations and study will cost littlemore than an agreeable expenditure of time; and surely a home isworth careful thought. It then truly becomes YOUR home--somethingthat you have evolved with loving effort. Dear thoughts of wifeand children enter into its very materiality; walks are plannedwith a loving consciousness of the feet which are to tread them, and trees planted with prophetic vision of the groups that willgather beneath the shade. This could scarcely be true if the acrewere turned over to architect, builders, and landscape-gardeners, with an agreement that you should have possession at a specifiedtime. 

We will suppose that it is early spring, that the ground hasreceived its second plowing, and that the carriage-drive and themain walks have been marked out on paper, or, better still, on acarefully considered map. There is now so much to do that one isalmost bewildered; and the old saying, "Rome was not built in aday, " is a good thing to remember. An orderly succession of laborwill bring beauty and comfort in good time, especially ifessential or foundation labors are first well performed. Fewthings will prove more satisfactory than dry, hard, smoothcarriage-roads and walks. These, with their curves, can becarefully staked out, the surface-earth between the stakes to thedepth of four or five inches carted to the rear of the place nearthe stable, or the place where the stable is to be. Of the valueof this surface-soil we shall speak presently, and will merelyremark in passing that it is amply worth the trouble of saving. Its removal leaves the beds of the driveway and walks depressedseveral inches below the surrounding surface. Fill these shallowexcavations with little stones, the larger in the bottom, thesmaller on top, and cover all with gravel. You now have roads andwalks that will be dry and hard even in oozy March, and you canstroll about your place the moment the heaviest shower is over. The greater first cost will be more than made good by the factthat scarcely a weed can start or grow on pathways thus treated. All they will need is an occasional rounding up and smoothing witha rake. 

While this labor is going on you can begin the planting of trees. To this task I would earnestly ask careful attention. Your housecan be built in a summer; but it requires a good part of a centuryto build the best trees into anything like perfection. 

The usual tendency is to plant much too closely. Observe well-developed trees, and see how wide a space they require. There isnaturally an eager wish for shade as soon as possible, and adesire to banish from surroundings an aspect of bareness. Thesepurposes can, it is true, often be accomplished by setting outmore trees at first than could mature, and by taking out one andanother from time to time when they begin to interfere with eachother's growth. One symmetrical, noble tree, however, is certainlyworth more than a dozen distorted, misshapen specimens. If givenspace, every kind of tree and shrub will develop its ownindividuality; and herein lies one of their greatest charms. Ifthe oak typifies manhood, the drooping elm is equally suggestiveof feminine grace, while the sugar-maple, prodigal of its richjuices, tasselled bloom, and winged seeds, reminds us ofwholesome, cheerful natures. Even when dying, its foliage takes onthe earliest and richest hues of autumn. 

The trees about our door become in a sense our companions. Theyappeal to the eye, fancy, and feelings of different peopledifferently. Therefore I shall leave the choice of arborealassociates to those who are to plant them--a choice best guided byobservation of trees. Why should you not plant those you like thebest, those which are the most congenial?

A few suggestions, however, may be useful. I would advise thereader not to be in too great haste to fill up his grounds. Whilethere are trees to which his choice reverts almost instantly, there are probably many other beautiful varieties with which he isnot acquainted. If he has kept space for the planting of somethingnew every spring and fall, he has done much to preserve his zestin his rural surroundings, and to give a pleasing direction to hissummer observation. He is ever on the alert to discover trees andshrubs that satisfy his taste. 

During the preparation of this book I visited the grounds of Mr. A. S. Fuller, at Kidgewood, N. J. , and for an hour or two I brokethe tenth commandment in spite of myself. I was surrounded bytrees from almost every portion of the northern temperate zone, from Oregon to Japan; and in Mr. Fuller I had a guide whosesympathy with his arboreal pets was only equalled by his knowledgeof their characteristics. All who love trees should possess hisbook entitled "Practical Forestry. " If it could only be put intothe hands of law-makers, and they compelled to learn much of itscontents by heart, they would cease to be more or less conscioustraitors to their country in allowing the destruction of forests. They might avert the verdict of the future, and prevent posterityfrom denouncing the irreparable wrong which is now permitted withimpunity. The Arnolds of to-day are those who have the power tosave the trees, yet fail to do so. 

Japan appears to be doing as much to adorn our lawns and gardensas our drawing-rooms; and from this and other foreign lands muchthat is beautiful or curious is coming annually to our shores. Atthe same time I was convinced of the wisdom of Mr. Fuller'sappreciation of our native trees. In few instances should we haveto go far from home to find nearly all that we wanted in beautifulvariety--maples, dogwoods, scarlet and chestnut oaks, the liquid-amber, the whitewood or tulip-tree, white birch, and horn-beam, orthe hop-tree; not to speak of the evergreens and shrubs indigenousto our forests. Perhaps it is not generally known that thepersimmon, so well remembered by old campaigners in Virginia, willgrow readily in this latitude. There are forests of this treearound Paterson, N. J. , and it has been known to endure twenty-seven degrees below zero. It is a handsome tree at any season, andits fruit in November caused much straggling from our line ofmarch in the South. Then there is our clean-boled, graceful beech, whose smooth white bark has received so many tender confidences. In the neighborhood of a village you will rarely find one of thesetrees whereon is not linked the names of lovers that have satbeneath the shade. Indeed I have found mementoes of trysts orrambles deep in the forest of which the faithful beech has keptthe record until the lovers were old or dead. On an immense oldbeech in Tennessee there is an inscription which, while itsuggests a hug, presents to the fancy an experience remote from alover's embrace. It reads, "D. Boone cilled bar on tree. "

There is one objection to the beech which also lies against thewhite oak--it does not drop its leaves within the space of a fewautumn days. The bleached foliage is falling all winter long, thusgiving the ground near an untidy aspect. With some, the questionof absolute neatness is paramount; with others, leaves are cleandirt, and their rustle in the wind does not cease to be music evenafter they have fallen. 

Speaking of native trees and shrubs, we shall do well to use oureyes carefully during our summer walks and drives; for if we do, we can scarcely fail to fall in love with types and varietiesgrowing wild. They will thrive just as well on the acre ifproperly removed. In a sense they bring the forest with them, andopen vistas at our door deep into the heart of Nature. The tree isnot only a thing of beauty in itself, but it represents to thefancy all its wild haunts the world over. 

In gratifying our taste for native trees we need not confineourselves to those indigenous to our own locality. From thenurseries we can obtain specimens that beautify other regions ofour broad land; as, for instance, the Kentucky yellow-wood, thepapaw, the Judas-tree, and, in the latitude of New Jersey andsouthward, the holly. 

In many instances the purchaser of the acre may find a lastingpleasure in developing a specialty. He may desire to gather abouthim all the drooping or weeping trees that will grow in hislatitude, or he may choose to turn his acre largely into a nut-orchard, and delight his children with a harvest which they willgather with all the zest of the frisky red squirrel. If one couldsucceed in obtaining a bearing tree of Hale's paper-shell hickory-nut, he would have a prize indeed. Increasing attention is givento the growing of nut-trees in our large nurseries, and therewould be no difficulty in obtaining a supply. 

In passing from this subject of choice in deciduous trees andshrubs, I would suggest, in addition to visits to woods and copse, to the well-ornamented places of men who have long gratified afine taste in this respect, that the reader also make time to seeoccasionally a nursery like that of S. B. Parsons & Co. , atFlushing, N. Y. There is no teaching like that of the eyes; and theamateur who would do a bit of landscape-gardening about his ownhome learns what he would like and what he can do by seeing shrubsand trees in their various stages of growth and beauty. 

I shall treat the subject of evergreens at the close of thischapter. 

As a rule, I have not much sympathy with the effort to set outlarge trees in the hope of obtaining shade more quickly. The treeshave to be trimmed up and cut back so greatly that their symmetryis often destroyed. They are also apt to be checked in theirgrowth so seriously by such removal that a slender sapling, planted at the same time, overtakes and passes them. I prefer ayoung tree, straight-stemmed, healthy, and typical of its speciesor variety. Then we may watch its rapid natural development as wewould that of a child. Still, when large trees can be removed inwinter with a great ball of frozen earth that insures thepreservation of the fibrous roots, much time can be saved. Itshould ever be remembered that prompt, rapid growth of thetransplanted tree depends on two things--plenty of small fibrousroots, and a fertile soil to receive them. It usually happens thatthe purchaser employs a local citizen to aid in putting his groundin order. In every rural neighborhood there are smart men--"smart"is the proper adjective; for they are neither sagacious nortrustworthy, and there is ever a dismal hiatus between theirpromises and performance. Such men lie in wait for newcomers, totake advantage of their inexperience and necessary absence. Theywill assure their confiding employers that they are beyondlearning anything new in the planting of trees--which is true, ina sinister sense. They will leave roots exposed to sun and wind--in brief, pay no more attention to them than a baby-farmer wouldbestow on an infant's appetite; and then, when convenient, thrustthem into a hole scarcely large enough for a post. They expect toreceive their money long before the dishonest character of theirwork can be discovered. The number of trees which this class ofmen have dwarfed or killed outright would make a forest. Theresult of a well-meaning yet ignorant man's work might be equallyunsatisfactory. Therefore, the purchaser of the acre should knowhow a tree should be planted, and see to it himself; or he shouldby careful inquiry select a man for the task who could bringtestimonials from those to whom he had rendered like services inthe past. 

The hole destined to receive a shade or fruit tree should be atleast three feet in diameter and two feet deep. It then should bepartially filled with good surface soil, upon which the treeshould stand, so that its roots could extend naturally accordingto their original growth. Good fine loam should be sifted throughand over them, and they should not be permitted to come in contactwith decaying matter or coarse, unfermented manure. The treeshould be set as deeply in the soil as it stood when first takenup. As the earth is thrown gently through and over the roots itshould be packed lightly against them with the foot, and water, should the season be rather dry and warm, poured in from time totime to settle the fine soil about them. The surface should belevelled at last with a slight dip toward the tree, so that springand summer rains may be retained directly about the roots. Then amulch of coarse manure is helpful, for it keeps the surface moist, and its richness will reach the roots gradually in a diluted form. A mulch of straw, leaves, or coarse hay is better than none atall. After being planted, three stout stakes should be insertedfirmly in the earth at the three points of a triangle, the treebeing its centre. Then by a rope of straw or some soft materialthe tree should be braced firmly between the protecting stakes, and thus it is kept from being whipped around by the wind. Shouldperiods of drought ensue during the growing season, it would bewell to rake the mulch one side, and saturate the ground aroundthe young tree with an abundance of water, and the mulch afterwardspread as before. Such watering is often essential, and it shouldbe thorough. Unskilled persons usually do more harm than good bytheir half-way measures in this respect. 

Speaking of trees, it may so happen that the acre is already inforest. Then, indeed, there should be careful discrimination inthe use of the axe. It may be said that a fine tree is in the wayof the dwelling. Perhaps the proposed dwelling is in the way ofthe tree. In England the work of "groving, " or thinning out trees, is carried to the perfection of a fine art. One shudders at thehavoc which might be made by a stolid laborer. Indeed, to nearlyall who could be employed in preparing a wooded acre forhabitation, a tree would be looked upon as little more than somuch cord-wood or lumber. 

If I had a wooded acre I should study the trees most carefullybefore coming to any decision as to the situation of the dwellingand out-buildings. Having removed those obviously unworthy toremain, I should put in the axe very thoughtfully among the finerspecimens, remembering that I should be under the soil beforeNature could build others like them. 

In the fitting up of this planet as the home of mankind it wouldappear that the Creator regarded the coniferae, or evergreenfamily, as well worthy of attention; for almost from the first, according to geologists, this family records on the rocky tabletsof the earth its appearance, large and varied development, and itsadaptation to each change in climate and condition of the globe'ssurface during the countless ages of preparation. Surely, therefore, he who is evolving a home on one acre of the earth'sarea cannot neglect a genus of trees that has been so signallyhonored. Evergreens will speedily banish the sense of newness fromhis grounds; for by putting them about his door he has added thelink which connects his acre with the earliest geological recordof tree-planting. Then, like Diedrich Knickerbocker, who felt thathe must trace the province of New York back to the origin of theuniverse, he can look upon his coniferae and feel that his latestwork is in accord with one of the earliest laws of creation. Iimagine, however, that my readers' choice of evergreens will bedetermined chiefly by the fact that they are always beautiful, areeasily managed, and that by means of them beautiful effects can becreated within comparatively small space. On Mr. Fuller's grounds Isaw what might be fittingly termed a small parterre of dwarfevergreens, some of which were twenty-five years old. 

Numbers of this family might be described as evergreen and gold;for part of the perennial foliage shades off from the deepestgreen to bright golden hues. Among the group of this variety, Japanese in origin, Mr. Fuller showed me a "sporting" specimen, which, from some obscure and remarkable impulse, appeared bent onproducing a new and distinct type. One of the branches was quitedifferent from all the others on the tree. It was pressed down andlayered in the soil beneath; when lo! a new tree was produced, setout beside its parent, whom it soon surpassed in size, beauty, andgeneral vigor. Although still maintaining its green and goldenhues, it was so distinct that no one would dream that it was but a"sport" from the adjacent dwarf and modest tree. Indeed, itreminded one of Beatrix Esmond beside her gentle and retiringmother. If it should not in the future emulate in caprice the fairsubject of comparison, it may eventually become one of the best-known ornaments of our lawns. At present it appears nowiseinclined to hide its golden light under a bushel. 

What I have said about forming the acquaintance of deciduous treesand shrubs before planting to any great extent, applies with evengreater force to the evergreen, family. There is a large andbeautiful variety from which to choose, and I would suggest thatthe choice be made chiefly from the dwarf-growing kinds, since thespace of one acre is too limited for much indulgence in. Norwayspruces, the firs, or pines. An hour with a note-book spent ingrounds like those of Mr. Fuller would do more in aiding asatisfactory selection than years of reading. Moreover, it shouldbe remembered that many beautiful evergreens, especially those offoreign origin, are but half hardy. The amateur may find thatafter an exceptionally severe winter some lovely specimen, whichhas grown to fill a large space in his heart, as well as on hisacre, has been killed. There is an ample choice from entirelyhardy varieties for every locality, and these, by careful inquiryof trustworthy nurserymen, should be obtained. 

Moreover, it should be remembered that few evergreens will thrivein a wet, heavy soil. If Nature has not provided thorough drainageby means of a porous subsoil, the work must be done artificially. As a rule, light but not poor soils, and warm exposures, are bestadapted to this genus of trees. 

I think that all authorities agree substantially that spring inour climate is the best time for the transplanting of evergreens;but they differ between early and advanced spring. The late Mr. A. J. Downing preferred early spring; that is, as soon as the frostis out, and the ground dry enough to crumble freely. Mr. A. S. Fuller indorses this opinion. Mr. Josiah Hoopes, author of avaluable work entitled "The Book of Evergreens, " advises thattransplanting be deferred to later spring, when the young treesare just beginning their season's growth; and this view has theapproval of the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder and Mr. S. B. Parsons, Jr. , Superintendent of City Parks. Abundant success is undoubtedlyachieved at both seasons; but should a hot, dry period ensue afterthe later planting--early May, for instance--only abundantwatering and diligent mulching will save the trees. 

It should be carefully remembered that the evergreen families donot possess the vitality of deciduous trees, and are more easilyinjured or killed by removal. The roots of the former are moresensitive to exposure to dry air and to sunlight; and much morecertainty of life and growth is secured if the transfer can beaccomplished in cloudy or rainy weather. The roots should never bepermitted to become dry, and it is well also to sprinkle thefoliage at the time of planting. Moreover, do not permit carelessworkmen to save a few minutes in the digging of the trees. Everyfibrous root that can be preserved intact is a promise of life andvigor. If a nurseryman should send me an assortment of evergreenswith only the large woody roots left, I should refuse to receivethe trees. 

What I have said in opposition to the transplanting of large treesapplies with greater force to evergreens. Mr. Hoopes writes: "Anerror into which many unpracticed planters frequently fall is thatof planting large trees; and it is one which we consider opposedto sound common-sense. We are aware that the owner of every newplace is anxious to produce what is usually known as an immediateeffect, and therefore he proceeds to plant large evergreens, covering his grounds with great unsightly trees. In almost everycase of this kind the lower limbs are apt to die, and thus greatlydisfigure the symmetry of the trees. Young, healthy plants, whencarefully taken up and as properly replanted, are never subject tothis disfigurement, and are almost certain to form handsomespecimens. "

Any one who has seen the beautiful pyramids, cones, and mounds ofgreen into which so many varieties develop, if permitted to growaccording to the laws of their being, should not be induced topurchase old and large trees which nurserymen are often anxious topart with before they become utterly unsalable. 

When the evergreens reach the acre, plant them with the same careand on the same general principles indicated for other trees. Letthe soil be mellow and good. Mulch at once, and water abundantlythe first summer during dry periods. Be sure that the trees arenot set any deeper in the ground than they stood before removal. If the soil of the acre is heavy or poor, go to the roadside orsome old pasture and find rich light soil with which to fill inaround the roots. If no soil can be found without a largeproportion of clay, the addition of a little sand, thoroughlymixed through it, is beneficial. The hole should be ample in size, so that the roots can be spread out according to their naturalbent. If the ground after planting needs enriching, spread thefertilizer around the trees, not against them, and on the surfaceonly. Never put manure on or very near the roots. 

Fine young seedling evergreens can often be found in the woods orfields, and may be had for the asking, or for a trifling sum. Digthem so as to save all the roots possible. Never permit these tobecome dry till they are safe in your own grounds. Aim to startthe little trees under the same conditions in which you found themin Nature. If taken from a shady spot, they should be shaded for aseason or two, until they become accustomed to sunlight. This caneasily be accomplished by four crotched stakes supporting a lightscaffolding, on which is placed during the hot months a fewevergreen boughs. 

Very pretty and useful purposes can often be served by theemployment of certain kinds of evergreens as hedges. I do not likethe arbitrary and stiff divisions of a small place which I haveoften seen. They take away the sense of roominess, and destroy thepossibility of pretty little vistas; but when used judiciously asscreens they combine much beauty with utility. As part of linefences they are often eminently satisfactory, shutting out pryingeyes and inclosing the home within walls of living green. Thestrong-growing pines and Norway spruce are better adapted to largeestates than to the area of an acre. Therefore we would advise theemployment of the American arbor vitae and of hemlock. The hedgeof the latter evergreen on Mr. Fuller's place formed one of themost beautiful and symmetrical walls I have ever seen. It was sosmooth, even, and impervious that in the distance it appeared likesolid emerald. 

The ground should be thoroughly prepared for a hedge by deepplowing or by digging; the trees should be small, young, of evenheight and size, and they should be planted carefully in line, according to the directions already given for a single specimen;the ground on each side mulched and kept moist during the firstsummer. In the autumn, rake the mulch away and top-dress the soilon both sides for the space of two or three feet outward from thestems with well-decayed manure. This protects the roots andensures a vigorous growth the coming season. Allow no weeds oreven grass to encroach on the young hedge until it is strong andestablished. For the first year no trimming will be necessarybeyond cutting back an occasional branch or top that is growingstronger than the others; and this should be done in earlyOctober. During the second season the plants should grow much morestrongly; and now the shears are needed in summer. Some branchesand top shoots will push far beyond the others. They should be cutback evenly, and in accordance with the shape the hedge is totake. The pyramidal form appears to me to be the one most inharmony with Nature. In October, the hedge should receive itsfinal shearing for the year; and if there is an apparentdeficiency of vigor, the ground on both sides should receiveanother top-dressing, after removing the summer mulch. As thehedge grows older and stronger, the principal shearing will bedone in early summer, as this checks growth and causes the close, dense interlacing of branches and formation of foliage wherein thebeauty and usefulness of the hedge consist. 

CHAPTER II

FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS

It is a happy proof of our civilization that a dwelling-place, ashelter from sun and storm, does not constitute a home. Even themodest rooms of our mechanics are not furnished with usefularticles merely; ornaments and pictures appear quite asindispensable. Out-of-doors the impulse to beautify is evenstronger; and usually the purchaser's first effort is to make hisplace attractive by means of trees and shrubs that are more thanuseful--they are essential; because the refined tastes of men andwomen to-day demand them. 

In the first chapter I endeavored to satisfy this demand in somedegree, and now will ask the reader's attention to a few practicalsuggestions in regard to several of the fruits which best supplythe family need. We shall find, however, that while Nature isprodigal in supplying what appeals to the palate and satisfieshunger, she is also like a graceful hostess who decks her banquetwith all the beauty that she can possibly bestow upon it. We canimagine that the luscious fruits of the year might have beenproduced in a much more prosaic way. Indeed, we are at a loss todecide which we value the more, the apple-blossoms or the appleswhich follow. Nature is not content with bulk, flavor, andnutriment, but in the fruit itself so deftly pleases the eye withevery trick of color and form that the hues and beauty of theflower are often surpassed. We look at a red-cheeked apple orpurple cluster of grapes hesitatingly, and are loth to mar theexquisite shadings and perfect outlines of the vessel in which therich juices are served. Therefore, in stocking the acre withfruit, the proprietor has not ceased to embellish it; and shouldhe decide that fruit-trees must predominate over those grown forshade and ornament only, he can combine almost as much beauty asutility with his plan. 

All the fruits may be set out both in the spring and the fallseasons; but in our latitude and northward, I should prefer earlyspring for strawberries and peaches. 

By this time we may suppose that the owner of the acre has maturedhis plans, and marked out the spaces designed for the lawn, garden, fruit trees, vines, etc. Fruit trees, like shade trees, are not the growth of a summer. Therefore there is naturaleagerness to have them in the ground as soon as possible, and theycan usually be ordered from the same nursery, and at the same timewith the ornamental stock. I shall speak first of apples, pears, and cherries, and I have been at some pains to secure the opinionsof eminent horticulturists as to the best selections of thesefruits for the home table, not for market. When there is asurplus, however, there will be no difficulty in disposing of thefine varieties named. 

The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, the veteran President of the AmericanPomological Society, writes as follows: "Herewith is the selectionI have made for family use; but I could put in as many more insome of the classes which are just as desirable, or nearly so. These have been made with reference to covering the seasons. Apples--Red Astrakhan, Porter, Gravenstein, Rhode Island Greening, Baldwin, Roxbury Russet, and Sweet Bough for baking. Pears--Clapp's Favorite (to be gathered August 20), Bartlett, Seckel, Sheldon, Beurre Bosc, Buerre d'Anjou, and Vicar of Winkfield forbaking, etc. Cherries--Black Eagle, Black Tartarian, Downer, Windsor, Cumberland, and Red Jacket. "

Mr. Wilder's honored name, like that of the late Charles Downing, is inseparably linked with American fruits, and the country owesthese two men a debt of gratitude which never can be paid fortheir lifelong and intelligent efforts to guide the people wiselyin the choice and culture of the very best varieties. A moment'sthought will convince the reader that I am not giving too muchspace to this matter of selection. We are now dealing withquestions which wide and varied experience can best answer. Menwho give their lives to the cultivation and observation of fruitsin all their myriad varieties acquire a knowledge which is almostinvaluable. We cannot afford to put out trees, to give them goodculture, and wait for years, only to learn that all our care hasbeen bestowed on inferior or second-rate varieties. Life is toobrief. We all feel that the best is good enough for us; and thebest usually costs no more in money or time than do less desirablevarieties. Therefore I seek to give on this important question ofchoice the opinions of some of the highest authorities in theland. 

Mr. A. S. Fuller is not only a well-known horticultural author, but has also had the widest experience in the culture andobservation of fruit. He prefaces his opinion with the followingwords: "How much and how often we horticulturists have beenpuzzled with questions like yours! If we made no progress, werealways of the same mind, and if seasons never changed, thenperhaps there would be little difficulty in deciding which of thevarieties of the different kinds of fruit were really the best. But seasons, our tastes, and even the varieties sometimes change;and our preferences and opinions must vary accordingly. Apples--Early Harvest, Fall Pippins, Spitzenburgh, Rhode Island Greening, Autumn Sweet Bough, and Talman's Sweet. Cherries--Early PurpleGuigne, Bigarreau of Mezel, Black Eagle, Coe's Transparent, Governor Wood, and Belle Magnifique. "

The choice of Mr. E. S. Carmen, editor of the "Rural New Yorker:""Apples--Early Harvest, Gravenstein, Jefferis, Baldwin, Mother, Spitzenburgh. Pears--Seckel, Tyson, Clapp's Favorite, Bartlett, Beurre d'Anjou, and Dana's Hovey. Cherries--Black Tartarian, Coe'sTransparent, Governor Wood, Mezel, Napoleon Bigarreau. "

The authorities appear to differ. And so they would in regard toany locality; but it should be remembered that President Wilderadvises for the latitude of Massachusetts, Messrs. Fuller andCarmen for that of New Jersey. I will give now the selection ofthe eminent horticulturist Mr. P. O. Berckmans for the latitude ofGeorgia: "Cherries (this is not a good cherry-producing region, but I name the following as the best in order of merit)--Buttners, Governor Wood, Belle de Choisy, Early Richmond, and May Duke. Pears (in order of maturity)--Clapp's Favorite, Seckel, Duchesse, Beurre Superfine, Leconte, Winter Nellis, or Glout. Morceau. Apples--Early Harvest, Red June, Carter's Blue, Stevenson'sWinter, Shockley, Buncombe, Carolina Greening. "

He who makes his choice from these selections will not meet withmuch disappointment. I am aware, however, that the enjoyment offruit depends much upon the taste of the individual; and who has abetter right to gratify his taste than the man who buys, sets out, and cares for the trees? Some familiar kind not in favor with thefruit critics, an old variety that has become a dear memory ofboyhood, may be the best one of all for him--perhaps for thereason that it recalls the loved faces that gathered about thewide, quaint fireplace of his childhood's home. 

It is also a well-recognized fact that certain varieties of fruitappear to be peculiarly adapted to certain localities. Because aman has made a good selection on general principles, he need notbe restricted to this choice. He will soon find his trees growinglustily and making large branching heads. Each branch can be madeto produce a different kind of apple or pear, and the kindredvarieties of cherries will succeed on the same tree. For instance, one may be visiting a neighbor who gives him some fruit that isunusually delicious, or that manifest great adaptation to thelocality. As a rule the neighbor will gladly give scions which, grafted upon the trees of the Home Acre, will soon begin to yieldthe coveted variety. This opportunity to grow different kinds offruit on one tree imparts a new and delightful interest to theorchard. The proprietor can always be on the lookout for somethingnew and fine, and the few moments required in grafting or buddingmake it his. The operation is so simple and easy that he can learnto perform it himself, and there are always plenty of adepts inthe rural vicinage to give him his initial lesson. While he willkeep the standard kinds for his main supply, he can gratify histaste and eye with some pretty innovations. I know of an apple-tree which bears over a hundred varieties. A branch, for instance, is producing Yellow Bell-flowers. At a certain point in its growthwhere it has the diameter of a man's thumb it may be grafted withthe Red Baldwin. When the scion has grown for two or three years, its leading shoots can be grafted with the Roxbury Russet, andeventually the terminal bough of this growth with the EarlyHarvest. Thus may be presented the interesting spectacle of onelimb of a tree yielding four very distinct kinds of apples. 

In the limited area of an acre there is usually not very muchrange in soil and locality. The owner must make the best of whathe has bought, and remedy unfavorable conditions, if they exist, by skill. It should be remembered that peaty, cold, damp, spongysoils are unfit for fruit-trees of any kind. We can scarcelyimagine, however, that one would buy land for a home containingmuch soil of this nature. A sandy loam, with a subsoil that driesout so quickly that it can be worked after a heavy rain, is thebest for nearly all the fruit-trees, especially for cherries andpeaches. Therefore in selecting the ground, be sure it is welldrained. 

If the acre has been enriched and plowed twice deeply, as I havealready suggested, little more is necessary in planting than toexcavate a hole large enough to receive the roots spread out intheir natural positions. Should no such thorough and generalpreparation have been made, or if the ground is hard, poor, andstony, the owner will find it to his advantage to dig a good-sizedhole three or four feet across and two deep, filling in and aroundthe tree with fine rich surface soil. If he can obtain somethoroughly decomposed compost or manure, for instance, as thescrapings of a barnyard, or rich black soil from an old pasture, to mix with the earth beneath and around the roots, the goodeffects will be seen speedily; but in no instance should rawmanure from the stable, or anything that must decay beforebecoming plant food, be brought in contact with the roots. Again Irepeat my caution against planting too deeply--one of thecommonest and most fatal errors. Let the tree be set about asdeeply as it stood before removal. If the tree be planted early inspring, as it should be, there will be moisture enough in thesoil; but when planting is delayed until the ground has becomerather dry and warm, a pail of water poured about its roots whenthe hole has been nearly filled will be beneficial. Now that thetree is planted, any kind of coarse manure spread to the depth oftwo or three inches on the surface as a mulch is very useful. Stake at once to protect against the winds. Do not make the commonmistake of planting too closely. Observe the area shaded by fullygrown trees, and you will learn the folly of crowding. Moreover, dense shade about the house is not desirable. There should bespace for plenty of air and sunshine. The fruit from one well-developed tree will often more than supply a family; for ten orfifteen barrels of apples is not an unusual yield. The standardapples should be thirty feet apart. Pears, the dwarfer-growingcherries, plums, etc. , can be grown in the intervening spaces. Inordering from the nurseries insist on straight, shapely, and youngtrees, say three years from the bud. Many trees that are sent outare small enough, but they are old and stunted. Also require thatthere should be an abundance of fibrous and unmutilated roots. 

Because the young trees come from the nursery unpruned, do notleave them in that condition. Before planting, or immediatelyafter, cut back all the branches at least one-half; and where theyare too thick, cut out some altogether. In removal the tree haslost much of its root power, and it is absurd to expect it toprovide for just as much top as before. 

In many books on fruit-culture much space has been given to dwarfpears, apples, and cherries, and trees of this character wereplanted much more largely some years ago than they are at present. The pear is dwarfed by grafting it on the quince; the apple can belimited to a mere garden fruit-tree in size by being grown on aDoucin stock, or even reduced to the size of a bush if compelledto draw its life through the roots of the Paradise. These twonamed stocks, much employed by European nurserymen, are distinctspecies of apples, and reproduce themselves without variation fromthe seed. The cherry is dwarfed by being worked on the Mahaleb--asmall, handsome tree, with glossy, deep-green foliage, muchcultivated abroad as an ornament of lawns. Except in the hands ofpracticed gardeners, trees thus dwarfed are seldom satisfactory, for much skill and care are required in their cultivation. Theirchief advantages consist in the fact that they bear early and takebut little space. Therefore they may be considered worthy ofattention by the purchasers of small places. Those who aredisposed to make pets of their trees and to indulge inhorticultural experiments may derive much pleasure from thesedwarfs, for they can be developed into symmetrical pyramids orgraceful, fruitful shrubs within the limits of a garden border. 

When the seeds of ordinary apples and pears are sown they produceseedlings, or free stocks, and upon these are budded or graftedthe fine varieties which compose our orchards. They are known asstandard trees; they come into bearing more slowly, and eventuallyattain the normal size familiar to us all. Standard cherries areworked on seedlings of the Mazzard, which Barry describes as a"lofty, rapid-growing, pyramidal-headed tree. " I should advise thereader to indulge in the dwarfs very charily, and chiefly as asource of fairly profitable amusement. It is to the standards thathe will look for shade, beauty, and abundance of fruit. 

Since we have been dwelling on the apple, pear, and cherry, thereare certain advantages of continuing the subject in the sameconnection, giving the principles of cultivation and care untilthe trees reach maturity. During the first summer an occasionalwatering may be required in long periods of drought. In manyinstances buds will form and start along the stem of the tree, ornear the roots. These should be rubbed off the moment they aredetected. 

One of our chief aims is to form an evenly balanced, open, symmetrical head; and this can often be accomplished better by alittle watchfulness during the season of growth than at any othertime. If, for instance, two branches start so closely togetherthat one or the other must be removed in the spring pruning, whylet the superfluous one grow at all? It is just so much wastedeffort. By rubbing off the pushing bud or tender shoot thestrength of the tree is thrown into the branches that we wish toremain. Thus the eye and hand of the master become to the youngtree what instruction, counsel, and admonition are to a growingboy, with the difference that the tree is easily and certainlymanaged when taken in time. 

The study of the principles of growth in the young trees can bemade as pleasing as it is profitable, for the readiness with whichthey respond to a guiding hand will soon invest them with almost ahuman interest. A child will not show neglect more certainly thanthey; and if humored and allowed to grow after their own fashion, they will soon prove how essential are restraint and training. Afruit tree is not like one in a forest--a simple, unpervertedproduct of Nature. It is a result of human interference anddevelopment; and we might just as reasonably expect our domesticanimals to take care of themselves as our grafted and buddedtrees. Moreover, they do not comply with their raison d'etre bymerely existing, growing, and propagating their kind. A Bartlettpear-tree, like a Jersey cow, is given place for the sake of itsdelicious product. It is also like the cow in requiring judiciousfeeding and care. 

Trees left to themselves tend to form too much wood, like thegrape-vine. Of course fine fruit is impossible when the head of atree is like a thicket. The growth of unchecked branches followsthe terminal bud, thus producing long naked reaches of wood devoidof fruit spurs. Therefore the need of shortening in, so that sidebranches may be developed. When the reader remembers that everydormant bud in early spring is a possible branch, and that eventhe immature buds at the axil of the leaves in early summer can beforced into immediate growth by pinching back the leading shoot, he will see how entirely the young tree is under his control. These simple facts and principles are worth far more to theintelligent man than any number of arbitrary rules as to pruning. Reason and observation soon guide his hand in summer or his knifein March--the season when trees are usually trimmed. 

Beyond shortening in leading branches and cutting out crossing andinterfering boughs, so as to keep the head symmetrical and open tolight and air, the cherry does not need very much pruning. If withthe lapse of years it becomes necessary to take off large limbsfrom any fruit-tree, the authorities recommend early June as thebest season for the operation. 

It will soon be discovered--quite likely during the first summer--that fruit-trees have enemies, that they need not only cultivationand feeding, but also protection. The pear, apple, and quince areliable to one mysterious disease which it is almost impossible toguard against or cure--the fireblight. Of course there have beeninnumerable preventives and cures recommended, just as we see adozen certain remedies for consumption advertised in any popularjournal; but the disease still remains a disheartening mystery, and is more fatal to the pear than to its kindred fruits. I havehad thrifty young trees, just coming into bearing, suddenly turnblack in both wood and foliage, appearing in the distance as ifscorched by a blast from a furnace. In another instance a largemature tree was attacked, losing in a summer half its boughs. These were cut out, and the remainder of the tree appeared healthyduring the following summer, and bore a good crop of fruit. Thedisease often attacks but a single branch or a small portion of atree. The authorities advise that everything should be cut away atonce below all evidence of infection and burned. Some of my treeshave been attacked and have recovered; others were apparentlyrecovering, but died a year or two later. One could theorize tothe end of a volume about the trouble. I frankly confess that Iknow neither the cause nor the remedy. It seems to me that ourbest resource is to comply with the general conditions of good andhealthy growth. The usual experience is that trees which arefertilized with wood-ashes and a moderate amount of lime and salt, rather than with stimulating manures, escape the disease. If theground is poor, however, and the growth feeble, barnyard manure orits equivalent is needed as a mulch. The apple-blight is anotherkindred and equally obscure disease. No better remedy is knownthan to cut out the infected part at once. 

In coping with insects we can act more intelligently, andtherefore successfully. We can study the characters of ourenemies, and learn their vulnerable points. The black and greenaphides, or plant-lice, are often very troublesome. They appear inimmense numbers on the young and tender shoots of trees, and bysucking their juices check or enfeeble the growth. They are themilch-cows of ants, which are usually found very busy among them. Nature apparently has made ample provision for this pest, for ithas been estimated that "one individual in five generations mightbe the progenitor of six thousand millions. " They are easilydestroyed, however. Mr. Barry, of the firm of Ellwanger & Barry, in his excellent work "The Fruit Garden, " writes as follows: "Ourplan is to prepare a barrel of tobacco juice by steeping stems forseveral days, until the juice is of a dark brown color; we thenmix this with soap-suds. A pail is filled, and the ends of theshoots, where the insects are assembled, are bent down and dippedin the liquid. One dip is enough. Such parts as cannot be dippedare sprinkled liberally with a garden-syringe, and the applicationrepeated from time to time, as long as any of the aphides remain. The liquid may be so strong as to injure the foliage; therefore itis well to test it on one or two subjects before using itextensively. Apply it in the evening. "

The scaly aphis or bark-louse attacks weak, feeble-growing trees, and can usually be removed by scrubbing the bark with thepreparation given above. 

In our region and in many localities the apple-tree borer is avery formidable pest, often destroying a young tree before itspresence is known. I once found a young tree in a distant part ofmy place that I could push over with my finger. In June a brownand white striped beetle deposits its eggs in the bark of theapple-tree near the ground. The larvae when hatched bore their wayinto the wood, and will soon destroy a small tree. They cannot dotheir mischief, however, without giving evidence of theirpresence. Sawdust exudes from the holes by which they entered, andthere should be sufficient watchfulness to discover them beforethey have done much harm. I prefer to cut them out with a sharp, pointed knife, and make sure that they are dead; but a wire thrustinto the hole will usually pierce and kill them. Wood-ashesmounded up against the base of the tree are said to be apreventive. In the fall they can be spread, and they at least makeone of the best of fertilizers. 

The codling-moth, or apple-worm, is another enemy that should befought resolutely, for it destroys millions of bushels of fruit. In the latitude of New York State this moth begins itsdepredations about the middle of June. Whatever may be thought ofthe relation of the apple to the fall of man, this creaturecertainly leads to the speedy fall of the apple. Who has not seenthe ground covered with premature and decaying fruit in July, August, and September? Bach specimen will be found perforated by aworm-hole. The egg has been laid in the calyx of the young apple, where it soon hatches into a small white grub, which burrows intothe core, throwing out behind it a brownish powder. After aboutthree weeks of apple diet it eats its way out, shelters itselfunder the scaly bark of the tree--if allowed to be scaly--or insome other hiding-place, spins a cocoon, and in about three weekscomes out a moth, and is ready to help destroy other apples. Thisinsect probably constitutes one of Nature's methods of preventingtrees from overbearing; but like some people we know, it soexaggerates its mission as to become an insufferable nuisance. Theremedies recommended are that trees should be scraped free of allscales in the spring, and washed with a solution of soft soap. About the 1st of July, wrap bandages of old cloth, carpet, or ragsof any kind around the trunk and larger limbs. The worms willappreciate such excellent cover, and will swarm into these hiding-places to undergo transformation into moths. Therefore the wrapsof rags should often be taken down, thrown into scalding water, dried, and replaced. The fruit as it falls should be picked up atonce and carried to the pigs, and, when practicable, worm-infestedspecimens should be taken from the trees before the worm escapes. 

The canker-worm in those localities where it is destructive can beguarded against by bands of tar-covered canvas around the trees. The moth cannot fly, but crawls up the tree in the late autumn andduring mild spells in winter, but especially throughout the springuntil May. When, the evil-disposed moth meets the 'tarry band hefinds no thoroughfare, and is either caught or compelled to seeksome other arena of mischief. 

We have all seen the flaunting, unsightly abodes of the tentcaterpillar and the foliage-denuded branches about them. Fortunately these are not stealthy enemies, and the owner canscarcely see his acre at all without being aware of theirpresence. He has only to look very early in the morning or late inthe evening to find them all bunched up in their nests. Theseshould be taken down and destroyed. 

Cherry and pear slugs, "small, slimy, dark brown worms, " can bedestroyed by dusting the trees with dry wood ashes or air-slackedlime. 

Field-mice often girdle young trees, especially during the winter, working beneath the snow. Unless heaps of rubbish are left hereand there as shelter for these little pests, one or two good catswill keep the acre free of them. Treading the snow compactlyaround the tree is also practiced. 

Do not let the reader be discouraged by this list of the mostcommon enemies, or by hearing of others. After reading somemedical works we are led to wonder that the human race does notspeedily die out. As a rule, however, with moderate care, most ofus are able to say, "I'm pretty well, I thank you, " and whenailing we do not straightway despair. In spite of all enemies anddrawbacks, fruit is becoming more plentiful every year. If one mancan raise it, so can another. 

Be hospitable to birds, the best of all insect destroyers. Put upplenty of houses for bluebirds and wrens, and treat the littlebrown song-sparrow as one of your stanchest friends. 

A brief word in regard to the quince, and our present list offruits is complete. 

If the quince is cultivated after the common neglectful method, itwould better be relegated to an obscure part of the garden, for, left to itself, it makes a great sprawling bush; properly trained, it becomes a beautiful ornament to the lawn, like the other fruitsthat I have described. Only a little care, with the judicious useof the pruning-shears, is required to develop it into a miniatureand fruitful tree, which can be grown with a natural rounded heador in the form of a pyramid, as the cultivator chooses. It willthrive well on the same soil and under similar treatment accordedto the pear or the apple. Procure from a nursery straight-stemmedplants; set them out about eight feet apart; begin to form thehead three feet from the ground, and keep the stem and roots freefrom all sprouts and suckers. Develop the head just as you wouldthat of an apple-tree, shortening in the branches, and cutting outthose that interfere with each other. Half a dozen trees will soongive an ample supply. The orange and the pear shaped are thevarieties usually recommended. Rea's Mammoth is also highly spokenof. Remember that the quince equally with the apple is subject toinjury from the borer, and the evil should be met as I havealready described. 

There is a natural wish to have as much grass about the dwellingas possible, for nothing is more beautiful. If there are children, they will assuredly petition for lawn-tennis and croquet grounds. I trust that their wishes may be gratified, for children are worthinfinitely more than anything else that can be grown upon theacre. With a little extra care, all the trees of which I havespoken can be grown in the spaces allotted to grass. It is onlynecessary to keep a circle of space six feet in diameter--thetrunk forming the centre--around the tree mellow and free from anyvegetable growth whatever. This gives a chance to fertilize andwork the ground immediately over the roots. Of course vigorousfruit-trees cannot be grown in a thick sod, while peaches andgrapes require the free culture of the garden, as will be shownhereafter. In view, however, of the general wish for grass, I haveadvised on the supposition that all the ornamental trees, most ofthe shrubs, and the four fruits named would be grown on theportions of the acre to be kept in lawn. It may be added here thatplums also will do well under the same conditions, if given goodcare. 

Grass is a product that can be cultivated as truly as the mostdelicate and fastidious of fruits, and I had the lawn is mind whenI urged the generous initial deep plowing and enriching. Nothingthat grows responds more promptly to good treatment than grass;but a fine lawn cannot be created in a season, any more than afine tree. 

We will suppose that the spring plantings of trees have been madewith open spaces reserved for the favorite games. Now the groundcan be prepared for grass-seed, for it need not be trampled overany more. If certain parts have become packed and hard, theyshould be dug or plowed deeply again, then harrowed and rakedperfectly smooth, and all stones, big or little, taken from thesurface. The seed may now be sown, and it should be of thick, fine-growing varieties, such as are employed in Central Park andother pleasure-grounds. Mr. Samuel Parsons, Jr. , Superintendent ofCentral Park, writes me: "The best grass-seeds for ordinary lawnsare a mixture of red-top and Kentucky blue-grass in equal parts, with perhaps a small amount of white clover. On very sandy groundI prefer the Kentucky blue-grass, as it is very hardy and vigorousunder adverse circumstances. " Having sown and raked in the seedvery lightly a great advantage will be gained in passing a lawn-roller over the ground. I have succeeded well in getting a good"catch" of grass by sowing the seed with oats, which were cut andcured as hay as soon as the grain was what is termed "in themilk. " The strong and quickly growing oats make the ground greenin a few days, and shelter the slower maturing grass-roots. Mr. Parsons says, "I prefer to sow the grass-seed alone. " As soon asthe grass begins to grow with some vigor, cut it often, for thistends to thicken it and produce the velvety effect that is sobeautiful. From the very first the lawn will need weeding. Theground contains seeds of strong growing plants, such as dock, plantain, etc. , which should be taken out as fast as they appear. To some the dandelion is a weed; but not to me, unless it takesmore than its share of space, for I always miss these little earthstars when they are absent. They intensify the sunshine shimmeringon the lawn, making one smile involuntarily when seeing them. Moreover, they awaken pleasant memories, for a childhood in whichdandelions had no part is a defective experience. 

In late autumn the fallen leaves should be raked carefully away, as they tend to smother the grass if permitted to lie untilspring. Now comes the chief opportunity of the year, in the formof a liberal top-dressing of manure from the stable. If this isspread evenly and not too thickly in November, and the coarserremains of it are raked off early in April, the results will beastonishing. A deep emerald hue will be imparted to the grass, andthe frequent cuttings required will soon produce a turf thatyields to the foot like a Persian rug. Any one who has walked overthe plain at West Point can understand the value of these regularautumnal top-dressings. If the stable-manure can be composted andleft till thoroughly decayed, fine and friable, all the better. Ifstable-manure can not be obtained, Mr. Parsons recommends Mapes'sfertilizer for lawns. 

CHAPTER III

THE GARDEN

We now approach that part of the acre to which its possessor willprobably give his warmest and most frequent thoughts--the garden. If properly made and conducted, it will yield a revenue which thewealth of the Indies could not purchase; for whoever bought inmarket the flavor of fruit and vegetables raised by one's ownhands or under our own eyes? Sentiment does count. A boy is a boy;but it makes a vast difference whether he is our boy or not. Agarden may soon become a part of the man himself, and he be abetter man for its care. Wholesome are the thoughts and schemes itsuggests; healthful are the blood and muscle resulting from itsproducts and labor therein. Even with the purse of a millionaire, the best of the city's markets is no substitute for a garden; forNature and life are here, and these are not bought and sold. Fromstalls and pedlers' wagons we can buy but dead and dying things. The indolent epicure's enjoyment of game is not the relish of thesportsman who has taken his dinner direct from the woods andwaters. 

I am often told, "It is cheaper to buy fruit and vegetables thanto raise them. " I have nothing to say in reply. There are manycheap things that we can have; experience has proved that one ofthe BEST things to have is a garden, either to work in or to visitdaily when the season permits. We have but one life to live here, and to get the cheapest things out of it is a rather poorambition. 

There are multitudes who can never possess an acre, more or less, and who must obtain Nature's products at second hand. This is notso great a misfortune as to have no desire for her companionship, or wish to work under her direction in dewy mornings and shadowyevenings. We may therefore reasonably suppose that the man who hasexchanged his city shelter for a rural home looks forward to thegarden with the natural, primal instinct, and is eager to make themost of it in all its aspects. Then let us plunge in medias res atonce. 

The ideal soil for a garden is a mellow, sandy loam, underlaidwith a subsoil that is not too open or porous. Such ground istermed "grateful, " and it is not the kind of gratitude which hasbeen defined as "a lively appreciation of favors to come, " whichis true of some other soils. This ideal land remembers pastfavors; it retains the fertilizers with which it has beenenriched, and returns them in the form of good crops until thegift is exhausted; therefore it is a thrifty as well as a gratefulsoil. The owner can bring it up to the highest degree offertility, and keep it there by judicious management. This sandyloam--Nature's blending of sand and clay--is a safe bank. Themanure incorporated with it is a deposit which can be drawnagainst in fruit and vegetables, for it does not leach away anddisappear with one season's rains. 

Light, thin, sandy soil, with a porous or gravelly subsoil, is ofa very different type, and requires different treatment. It is aspendthrift. No matter how much you give it one year, it very soonrequires just so much more. You can enrich it, but you can't keepit rich. Therefore you must manage it as one would take care of aspendthrift, giving what is essential at the time, and in a waythat permits as little waste as possible. I shall explain thistreatment more fully further on. 

In the choice of a garden plot you may be restricted to a stiff, tenacious, heavy clay. Now you have a miser to deal with--a soilthat retains, but in many cases makes no proper use of, what itreceives. Skill and good management, however, can improve anysoil, and coax luxuriant crops from the most unpropitious. 

We will speak first of the ideal soil already mentioned, and hopethat the acre contains an area of it of suitable dimensions for agarden. What should be the first step in this case? Why, to getmore of it. A quarter of an acre can be made equal to half anacre. You can about double the garden, without adding to it aninch of surface, by increasing the depth of good soil. Forinstance, ground has been cultivated to the depth of six or seveninches. Try the experiment of stirring the soil and enriching itone foot downward, or eighteen inches, or even two feet, and seewhat vast differences will result. With every inch you go down, making all friable and fertile, you add just so much more to rootpasturage. When you wish to raise a great deal, increase yourleverage. Roots are your levers; and when they rest against a deepfertile soil they lift into the air and sunshine products that maywell delight the eyes and palate of the most fastidious. Wesuggest that this thorough deepening, pulverization, and enrichingof the soil be done at the start, when the plow can be usedwithout any obstructions. If there are stones, rocks, roots, anything which prevents the treatment which a garden plot shouldreceive, there is a decided advantage in clearing them all out atthe beginning. Last fall I saw a half-acre that was swampy, and soencumbered with stones that one could walk all over it withoutstepping off the rocks. The land was sloping, and thereforecapable of drainage. The proprietor put three men to work on thelower side with picks, shovels, and blasting-tools. They turnedthe soil over to the depth of eighteen inches, taking out everystone larger than a walnut. Eight or ten feet apart deep ditcheswere cut, and the stones, as far as possible, placed in these. Therest were carted away for a heavy wall. You may say it wasexpensive work. So it was; yet so complete a garden spot was madethat I believe it would yield a fair interest in potatoes alone. Irelate this instance to show what can be done. A more forbiddingarea for a garden in its original state could scarcely be found. Enough vegetables and fruit can be raised from it hereafter, withannual fertilizing, to supply a large family, and it will improveevery year under the refining effects of frost, sun, andcultivation. 

It should be remembered that culture does for soil what it doesfor men and women. It mellows, brings it up, and renders itcapable of finer products. Much, indeed, can be done with a crudepiece of land in a single year when treated with the thoroughnessthat has been suggested, and some strong-growing vegetables may beseen at their best during the first season; but the more delicatevegetables thrive better with successive years of cultivation. Nomatter how abundantly the ground may be enriched at first, timeand chemical action are required to transmute the fertilizers intothe best forms of plant-food, and make them a part of the verysoil itself. Plowing or spading, especially if done in lateautumn, exposes the mould to the beneficial action of the air andfrost, and the garden gradually takes on the refined, mellow, fertile character which distinguishes it from the ordinary field. 

In dealing with a thin, sandy soil, one has almost to reverse theprinciples just given. Yet there is no cause for discouragement. Fine results, if not the best, can be secured. In this case thereis scarcely any possibility for a thorough preparation of the soilfrom the start. It can gradually be improved, however, by makinggood its deficiencies, the chief of which is the lack of vegetablemould. If I had such soil I would rake up all the leaves I couldfind, employ them as bedding for my cow and pigs (if I kept any), and spread the compost-heap resulting on the sandy garden. Thesoil is already too light and warm, and it should be our aim toapply fertilizers tending to counteract this defect. A nervous, excitable person should let stimulants alone, and take good, solid, blood-making food. This illustration suggests the propercourse to be taken. Many a time I have seen action the reverse ofthis resulting disastrously. For instance, a man carts on hislight thin soil hot fermenting manure from the horse-stable, andplows it under. Seeds are planted. In the moist, cool, earlyspring they make a great start, feeling the impulse of thepowerful stimulant. There is a hasty and unhealthful growth; butlong before maturity the days grow long and hot, drought comes, and the garden dries up. Therefore every effort should be made tosupply cool manures with staying qualities, such as are furnishedby decayed vegetable matter composted with the cleanings of thecow-stable. We thus learn the value of fallen leaves, muck fromthe swamp, etc. ; and they also bring with them but few seeds ofnoxious vegetation. 

On the other hand, stolid, phlegmatic clay requires the stimulusof manure from the horse-stable. It can be plowed under at once, and left to ferment and decay in the soil. The process ofdecomposition will tend to banish its cold, inert qualities, andmake the ground loose, open, and amenable to the influences offrost, sun, and rain. 

Does the owner of light, warm soils ask, "What, then, shall I dowith my stable-manure, since you have said that it will be aninjury to my garden?" I have not said this--only that it will doharm if applied in its raw, hot, fermenting state. Compost it withleaves, sod, earth, muck, anything that will keep it from burningup with its own heat. If you can obtain no such ingredients, haveit turned over and exposed to the air so often that it will decaywithout passing through a process approaching combustion. When ithas become so thoroughly decomposed as to resemble a fine blackpowder, you have a fertilizer superior to any high-priced patentcompound that can be bought. Further on I will show how it can beused both in this state and also in its crude condition on lightsoils with the best results. 

It is scarcely possible to lay too much stress on this subject offertilizers. The soil of the garden-plot looks inert: so doesheavy machinery; but apply to it the proper motive power, and youhave activity at once. Manure is the motive power to soil, and itshould be applied in a way and degree to secure the best results. To produce some vegetables and fruits much is required; in othergrowths, very little. 

In laying out a garden there are several points to be considered. The proprietor may be more desirous of securing some degree ofbeauty in the arrangement than of obtaining the highest conditionof productiveness. If this be true, he may plan to make down itscentre a wide, gravelled walk, with a grape-arbor here and there, and fruit-trees and flowers in borders on each side of the path. So far from having any objection to this arrangement, I should beinclined to adopt it myself. It would be conducive to frequentvisits to the garden and to lounging in it, especially if there berustic seats under the arbors. I am inclined to favor anythingwhich accords with my theory that the best products of a gardenare neither eaten nor sold. From such a walk down the middle ofthe garden the proprietor can glance at the rows of vegetables andsmall fruits on either side, and daily note their progress. Whathe loses in space and crops he gains in pleasure. 

Nor does he lose much; for if the borders on each side of the pathare planted with grape-vines, peach and plum trees, flowers andshrubs, the very ground he walks on becomes part of their rootpasturage. At the same time it must be admitted that the rootswill also extend with depleting appetites into the land devoted tovegetables. The trees and vines above will, to some extent, castan unwholesome shade. He who has set his heart on the biggestcabbages and best potatoes in town must cultivate them in groundopen to the sky, and unpervaded by any roots except their own. Ifthe general fruitfulness of the garden rather than perfection in afew vegetables is desired, the borders, with their trees, vines, and flowers, will prove no objection. Moreover, when it comes tocompeting in cabbages, potatoes, etc. , the proprietor of the HomeAcre will find that some Irishman, by the aid of his redolent pig-pen, will surpass him. The roots and shade extending from hisborders will not prevent him from growing good vegetables, if notthe largest. 

We will therefore suppose that, as the simplest and mosteconomical arrangement, he has adopted the plan of a walk six feetwide extending through the centre of his garden. As was the casewith the other paths, it will be greatly to his advantage to stakeit out and remove about four inches of the surface-soil, piling itnear the stable to be used for composting purposes or in theearth-closet. The excavation thus made should be filled with smallstones or cinders, and then covered with fine gravel. A walk thatshall be dry at all times is thus secured, and it will be almostwholly free from weeds. In these advantages alone one is repaidfor the extra first cost, and in addition the rich surface soilobtained will double the bulk and value of the fertilizers withwhich it is mixed. 

Having made the walk, borders five feet wide can be laid out oneach side of it, and the soil in these should be as rich and deepas any other parts of the garden. What shall be planted in theseborders will depend largely on the tastes of the gardener; but, ashas been suggested, there will assuredly be one or more shadowygrape-arbors under which the proprietor can retire to providehorticultural strategy. This brings us to that chef-d'oeuvre ofNature--

The vine. It climbs by its tendrils, and they appear to haveclasped the heart of humanity. Among the best of Heaven's gifts, it has sustained the worst perversions. But we will refrain from atemperance lecture; also from sacred and classical reminiscences. The world is not composed of monks who thought to escapetemptation--and vainly too--in stony cells. To some the purplecluster suggests Bacchanal revelry; to others, sitting under one'sown vine and fig-tree--in brief, a home. The vine is like woman, the inspiration of the best and the worst. 

It may well become one of the dreams of our life to own land, iffor no other reason than that of obtaining the privilege ofplanting vines. As they take root, so will we, and after we haveeaten their delicious fruit, the very thought of leaving our acrewill be repugnant. The literature of the vine would fill alibrary; the literature of love would crowd many libraries. It isnot essential to read everything before we start a little vineyardor go a-courting. 

It is said that about two thousand known and named varieties ofgrapes have been and are being grown in Europe; and all these aresupposed to have been developed from one species (Vitis vinifera), which originally was the wild product of Nature, like thosegrowing in our thickets and forests. One can scarcely suppose thispossible when contemplating a cluster of Tokay or some otherhighly developed variety of the hot-house. Yet the native vine, which began to "yield fruit after his kind, the third day"(whatever may have been the length of that day), may have been, after all, a good starting-point in the process of development. One can hardly believe that the "one cluster of grapes" which theburdened spies, returning from Palestine, bore "between two ofthem upon a staff, " was the result of high scientific culture. Inthat clime, and when the world was young, Nature must have beenmore beneficent than now. It is certain that no such cluster everhung from the native vines of this land; yet it is from our wildspecies, whose fruit the Indians shared with the birds and foxes(when not hanging so high as to be sour), that we have developedthe delicious varieties of our out-door vineyards. For about twocenturies our forefathers kept on planting vines imported fromEurope, only to meet with failure. Nature, that had so abundantlyrewarded their efforts abroad, quietly checkmated them here. Atlast American fruit-growers took the hint, and began developingour native species. Then Nature smiled; and as a lure along thiscorrect path of progress, gave such incentives as the Isabella, the Catawba, and Concord. We are now bewildered by almost as greata choice of varieties from native species as they have abroad; andas an aid to selection I will again give the verdict of some ofthe authorities. 

The choice of the Hon. Norman J. Colman, Commissioner ofAgriculture: "Early Victor, Worden, Martha, Elvira, Cynthiana. "This is for the region of Missouri. For the latitude of NewJersey, A. S. Fuller's selection: "Delaware, Concord, Moore'sEarly, Antoinette (white), Augusta (white), Goethe (amber). " E. S. Carmen: "Moore's Early [you cannot praise this too much. Thequality is merely that of the Concord; but the vines are marvelsof perfect health, the bunches large, the berries of the largestsize. They ripen all at once, and are fully ripe when the Concordbegins to color], Worden, Brighton, Victoria (white), Niagara(white), El Dorado. [This does not thrive everywhere, but thegrapes ripen early--September 1, or before--and the quality isperfection--white. ]" Choice of P. J. Berckman, for the latitude ofGeorgia: "White grapes--Peter Wylie, Triumph, Maxatawny, Scuppernong. Bed grapes--Delaware, Berckman's, Brighton. Black--Concord, Ives. "

As I have over a hundred varieties in bearing, I may venture toexpress an opinion also. I confess that I am very fond of thoseold favorites of our fathers, the Isabella and Catawba. They willnot ripen everywhere in our latitude, yet I seldom fail to securea good crop. In the fall of 1885 we voted the Isabella almostunsurpassed. If one has warm, well-drained soil, or can train avine near the south side of a building, I should advise the trialof this fine old grape. The Iona, Brighton, and Agawam also aregreat favorites with me. We regard the Diana, Wyoming Red, Perkins, and Rogers' hybrids, Lindley, Wilder, and Amenia, asamong the best. The Rebecca, Duchess, Lady Washington, and Purityare fine white grapes. I have not yet tested the Niagara. Yearsago I obtained of Mr. James Ricketts, the prize-taker for seedlinggrapes, two vines of a small wine grape called the Bacchus. To mytaste it is very pleasant after two or three slight frosts. 

Our list of varieties is long enough, and one must be fastidiousindeed who does not find some to suit his taste. In manylocalities the chief question is, What kind CAN I grow? In ourfavored region on the Hudson almost all the out-door grapes willthrive; but as we go north the seasons become too cool and shortfor some kinds, and proceeding south the summers are too long andhot for others. The salt air of the sea-coast is not conducive tovine-culture, and only the most vigorous, like the Concord andMoore's Early, will resist the mildew blight. We must therefore dothe best we can, and that will be very well indeed in mostlocalities. 

Because our list of good grapes is already so long, it does notfollow that we have reached the limit of development by any means. When we remember that almost within a lifetime our fine varietieshave been developed from the wild northern Fox grape (Vitislabrusca), the Summer grape (oestivalis), Frost (cordifolia), weare led to think that perhaps we have scarcely more than crossedthe stile which leads into the path of progress. If I should liveto keep up my little specimen vineyard ten years longer, perhapsthe greater part of the varieties now cultivated will have givenplace to others. The delicious Brighton requires no more spacethan a sour, defective variety; while the proprietor starts withthe best kinds he can obtain, he will find no restraint beyond hisown ignorance or carelessness that will prevent his replacing theBrighton with a variety twice as good when it is developed. Thusvine-planting and grape-tasting stretch away into an alluring andendless vista. 

When such exchanges are made, we do not recommend the grafting ofa new favorite on an old vine. This is a pretty operation when onehas the taste and leisure for it, and a new, high-priced varietycan sometimes be obtained speedily and cheaply in this way. Usually, however, new kinds soon drop down within the means ofalmost any purchaser, and there are advantages in having eachvariety growing upon its own root. Nature yields to the skill ofthe careful gardener, and permits the insertion of one distinctvariety of fruit upon another; but with the vine she does notfavor this method of propagation and change, as in the case ofpears and apples, where the graft forms a close, tenacious unionwith the stock in which it is placed. Mr. Fuller writes: "Onaccount of the peculiar structure of the wood of the vine, alasting union is seldom obtained when grafted above-ground, and isfar from being certain even when grafted below the surface, by theordinary method. " The vine is increased so readily by easy andnatural methods, to be explained hereafter, that he who desiresnothing more than to secure a good supply of grapes for the tablecan dismiss the subject. On the other hand, those who wish toamuse themselves by experimenting with Nature can find abundantenjoyment in not only grafting old vines, but also in raising newseedlings, among which he may obtain a prize which will "astonishthe natives. " Those, however, whose tastes carry them to suchlengths in vine-culture will be sure to purchase exhaustivetreatises on the subject, and will therefore give no heed to thesesimple practical chapters. It is my aim to enable the business manreturning from his city office, or the farmer engrossed with thecare of many acres, to learn in a few moments, from time to time, just what he must do to supply his family abundantly with fruitsand vegetables. 

If one is about to adopt a grape-culture as a calling, common-sense requires that he should locate in some region peculiarlyadapted to the vine. If the possessor of a large farm purposes toput several acres in vineyard, he should also aim to select a soiland exposure best suited to his purpose. Two thousand years agoVirgil wrote, "Nor let thy vineyard bend toward the sun whensetting. " The inference is that the vines should face the east, ifpossible; and from that day to this, eastern and southernexposures have been found the best. Yet climate modifies even thisprinciple. In the South, I should plant my vineyard on a north-western slope, or on the north side of a belt of woods, for thereason that the long, hot days there would cause too rapid anevaporation from the foliage of the vines, and enfeeble, if notkill them. In the limited space of the Home Acre one can use onlysuch land as he has, and plant where he must; but if the favorableexposures indicated exist, it would be well to make the most ofthem. I can mention, however, as encouragement to many, that Isaw, last fall, splendid grapes growing on perfectly level andsandy soil in New Jersey. 

A low-lying, heavy, tenacious clay is undoubtedly the worst groundin which to plant a vine; and yet by thorough drainage, a liberaladmixture of sand, and light fertilizers, it can be made toproduce good grapes of some varieties. A light sandy soil, ifenriched abundantly with well-decayed vegetable and barnyardmanures, gives wider scope in choice of kinds; while on the idealwell-drained sandy loam that we have described, any outdoor grapecan be planted hopefully if the garden is sufficiently removedfrom the seaboard. 

As a general truth it may be stated that any land in a conditionto produce a fine crop of corn and potatoes is ready for the vine. This would be true of the entire garden if the suggestionsheretofore made have been carried out. Therefore the borders whichhave been named are ready to receive the vines, which may beplanted in either spring or fall. I prefer the fall season forseveral reasons. The ground is usually drier then, and crumblesmore finely; the young vine becomes well established and settledin its place by spring, and even forms new roots before thegrowing season begins, and in eight cases out of ten makes astronger growth than follows spring planting; it is workaccomplished when there is usually the greatest leisure. If theground is ready in EARLY spring, I should advise no delay. Ayear's growth is gained by setting out the vines at once. As arule I do not advise late spring planting--that is, after the budshave started on the young vines. They may live, but usually theyscarcely do more, the first year. 

In ordering from a nursery I should ask for vigorous, well-rootedtwo-year-old vines, and I should be almost as well contented withfirst-class one-year-olds. If any one should advertise "extralarge, strong vines, ready to bear at once, " I should have nothingto do with him. That's a nursery trick to get rid of old stock. The first year after the shock of removal a vine should not bepermitted to bear at all; and a young vigorous vine is worth adozen old stunted ones. 

Having procured the vines, keep them in a cool, moist place untilready to plant. Never permit the roots to become dry; and if someof them are long and naked, shorten them to two feet, so as tocause them to throw out side fibrous roots, which are the truefeeders. Excavate holes of ample size, so that all the roots maybe spread out naturally. If you have reason to think the ground isnot very good, two or three quarts of fine bone-dust thoroughlymixed with the soil that is placed on and about the roots willgive a fine send-off. Usually a good mulch of any kind of barnyardmanure placed on the SURFACE after planting will answer allpurposes. Before filling in the hole over the roots, place besidethe vine a stout stake six or seven feet high. This will be allthe support required the first year. Cut back the young vine tothree buds, and after they get well started, let but one grow. Ifthe planting is done in the fall, mound the earth up over thelittle vine at the approach of winter, so as to cover it at leastsix inches below the surface. In spring uncover again as soon ashard frosts are over--say early April in our latitude. Slow-growing varieties, like the Delaware, may be set out six feetapart; strong growers, like the Concord, eight feet. Vines can notbe expected to thrive under the shade of trees, or to fight anunequal battle in ground filled with the roots of other plants. 

Vines may be set out not only in the garden borders, but also inalmost any place where their roots will not be interfered with, and where their foliage will receive plenty of light and air. Howwell I remember the old Isabella vines that clambered on a trellisover the kitchen door at my childhood's home! In this sunnyexposure, and in the reflected heat of the building, the clusterswere always the sweetest and earliest ripe. A ton of grapes may besecured annually by erecting trellises against the sides ofbuildings, walls, and poultry yard, while at the same time thescreening vines furnish grateful shade and no small degree ofbeauty. With a little petting, such scattered vines are oftenenormously productive. An occasional pail of soapsuds gives them adrink which eventually flushes the thickly hanging clusters withexquisite color. People should dismiss from their minds the usualmethod of European cultivation, wherein the vines are tied toshort stakes, and made to produce their fruit near the ground. This method can be employed if we find pleasure in the experiment. At Mr. Fuller's place I saw fine examples of it. Stubby vines withstems thick as one's wrist rose about three feet from the ground, then branched off on every side, like an umbrella, with loads offruit. Only one supporting stake was required. This methodevidently is not adapted to our climate and species of grape, since in that case plenty of keen, practical fruit-growers wouldhave adopted it. I am glad this is true, for the vine-clad hillsof France do not present half so pleasing a spectacle as anAmerican cornfield. The vine is beautiful when grown as a vine, and not as a stub; and well-trained, well-fed vines on the HomeAcre can be developed to almost any length required, shading andhiding with greenery every unsightly object, and hanging theirfinest clusters far beyond the reach of the predatory small boy. 

We may now consider the vines planted and growing vigorously, asthey will in most instances if they have been prepared for andplanted according to the suggestions already given. Now begins theprocess of guiding and assisting Nature. Left to herself, she willgive a superabundance of vine, with sufficient fruit for purposesof propagation and feeding the birds. Our object is to obtain themaximum of fruit from a minimum of vine. The little plant, eventhough grown from a single bud, will sprawl all over everythingnear it in three or four years, if unchecked. Pruning may begineven before midsummer of the first year. The single green shootwill by this time begin to produce what are termed "laterals. " Thecareful cultivator who wishes to throw all the strength and growthinto the main shoot will pinch these laterals back as soon as theyform one leaf. Each lateral will start again from the axil of theleaf that has been left, and having formed another leaf, shouldagain be cut off. By repeating this process during the growingseason you have a strong single cane by fall, reaching probablybeyond the top of the supporting stake. In our latitude I advisethat this single cane--that is, the vine--be cut back to withinfifteen inches of the surface when the leaves have fallen and thewood has well-ripened--say about the middle of November--and thatthe part left be bent over and covered with earth. When I say"bent over, " I do not mean at right angles, so as to admit of thepossibility of its being broken, but gently and judiciously. Icover with earth all my vines, except the Concords and Isabellas, just before hard freezing weather; and even these two hardy kindsI weight down close to the ground. I have never failed to secure acrop from vines so treated. Two men will protect over a hundredvines in a day. 

In early April the young vine is uncovered again; and now the twouppermost buds are allowed to grow and form two strong canes, instead of one, and on this new growth four or five clusters ofgrapes may be permitted to mature if the vine is vigorous. If itis feeble, take off all the fruit, And stimulate the vine intogreater vigor. Our aim is not to obtain half a dozen inferiorclusters as soon as possible, but to produce a vine that willeventually almost supply a family by itself. If several varietieshave been planted, some will be found going ahead rampantly;others will exhibit a feebler growth, which can be hastened andgreatly increased by enriching the surface of the soil around themand by a pail of soap-suds now and then in May or June--but notlater, unless there should be a severe drought. There should be noeffort to produce much growth during the latter part of the summerand early autumn, for then both the wood and roots will beimmature and unripened when frost begins, and thus the vinereceive injury. For this reason it is usually best to applyfertilizers to vines in the fall; for if given in the spring, alate, unhealthful growth is often produced. Throughout allsubsequent years manure must be applied judiciously. You may tellthe hired man to top-dress the ground about the vines, and he willprobably treat all alike; a vine that is already growing sostrongly that it can scarcely be kept within bounds will receiveas much as one that is slow and feeble in its development. This isworse than waste. Each vine should be treated in accordance withits condition and habit of growth. What would be thought of aphysician who ordered a tonic for an entire family, giving as muchto one who might need depleting, as to another who, as countrypeople say, was "puny and ailin'?" With even an assortment of halfa dozen varieties we shall find after the first good start thatsome need a curb, and others a spur. 

Stakes will answer as supports to the vines during the first andsecond seasons; but thereafter trellises or arbors are needed. Thelatter will probably be employed over the central walk of thegarden, and may be constructed after several simple and prettydesigns, which I leave to the taste of the reader. If vines areplanted about buildings, fences, etc. , trellises may be made ofanything preferred--of galvanized wire, slats, or rustic polesfastened to strong, durable supports. If vines are to be trainedscientifically in the open garden, I should recommend thetrellises figured on pages 120 and 142 of Mr. Fuller's work, "TheGrape Culturist. " These, beyond anything I have seen, appear thebest adapted for the following out of a careful system of pruningand training. Such a system Mr. Fuller has thoroughly and lucidlyexplained in the above-named book. 

Unless the reader has had experience, or is willing to give timefor the mastery of this subject, I should advise that he employ anexperienced gardener to prune his vines after the second year. Itis a brief task, but a great deal depends upon it. In selecting aman for the work I should require something more than exaggeratedand personal assurances. In every village there are terriblebutchers of vines and fruit-trees, who have some crude system oftheir own. They are as ignorant of the true science of the subjectas a quack doctor of medicine, and, like the dispenser ofnostrums, they claim to be infallible. Skilful pruning andtraining is really a fine art, which cannot be learned in a day ora year. It is like a surgical operation, requiring but littletime, yet representing much acquired skill and experience. Inalmost every locality there are trustworthy, intelligentgardeners, who will do this work for a small sum until theproprietor has learned the art himself, if so inclined. I shouldalso employ the same man in spring to tie up the vines and trainthem. 

If one is not ambitious to secure the best results attainable, hecan soon learn to perform both the tasks well enough to obtainfairly good fruit in abundance. It should be our constant aim notto permit long, naked reaches of wood, in one part of the vine, and great smothering bunches of fruit and foliage in another part. Of course the roots, stem, and leading arms should be kept freefrom useless shoots and sprouts; but having reached the trellis, the vine should be made to distribute bearing fruit-spurs evenlyover it. Much can be learned about pruning from books and bywatching an expert gardener while giving the annual pruning; butthe true science of trimming a vine is best acquired by watchingbuds develop, by noting what they will do, where they go, and howmuch space they will take up in a single summer. In this way onewill eventually realize how much is wrapped up in theinsignificant little buds, and now great the folly of leaving toomany on the vine. 

In my next chapter I shall treat briefly of the propagation of thegrape, its insect enemies, diseases, etc. ; and also of some otherfruits. 

CHAPTER IV

THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD

He who proposes to plant grape-vines will scarcely fail to takethe sensible course of inspecting the varieties already producingfruit in his locality. From causes often too obscure to be learnedwith certainty, excellent kinds will prove to be well adapted toone locality, and fail in others. If, therefore, when calling on aneighbor during August, September, or October, we are shown a vineproducing fruit abundantly that is suited to our taste, a vinealso which manifests unmistakable vigor, we may be reasonably surethat it belongs to a variety which we should have, especially ifit be growing in a soil and exposure somewhat similar to ourgarden plot. A neighbor worthy of the name will be glad to give usa few cuttings from his vine at the time of its annual pruning;and with, very little trouble we also may soon possess the desiredvariety. When the vine is trimmed, either make yourself or haveyour friend make a few cuttings of sound wood from that season'sgrowth. About eight inches is a good length for these vine-slips, and they should contain at least two buds. Let each slip be cutoff smoothly just under the lowest bud, and extend an inch or twoabove the uppermost bud. If these cuttings are obtained inNovember or December, they may be put into a little box with someof the moist soil of the garden, and buried in the ground belowthe usual frost-line--say a foot or eighteen inches in ourlatitude. The simple object is to keep them in a cool, eventemperature, but not a frosty one. Early in April dig up the box, open a trench in a moist but not wet part of the garden, andinsert the cuttings perpendicularly in the soil, so that the upperbud is covered barely one inch. In filling up the trench, pressthe soil carefully yet firmly about the cuttings, and spread overthe surface just about them a little fine manure. The cuttingsshould be a foot apart from each other in the row. Do not let theground become dry about them at any time during the summer. Byfall these cuttings will probably have thrown out an abundance ofroots, and have made from two to three feet of vine. In this casethey can be taken up and set out where they are to fruit. Possiblybut one or two of them have started vigorously. The backward oneshad better be left to grow another year in the cutting bed. Probably we shall not wish to cultivate more than one or two vinesof the variety; but it is just as easy to start several cuttingsas one, and by this course we guard against failure, and are ableto select the most vigorous plant for our garden. By taking goodcare of the others we soon derive one of the best pleasures whichour acre can afford--that of giving to a friend something whichwill enhance the productiveness of his acre, and add to hisenjoyment for years to come. 

Not only on our neighbor's grounds, but also on our own we shalldiscover that some varieties are unusually vigorous, productive, and well-adapted to our locality; and we may very naturally wishto have more vines of the same sort, especially if the fruit is toour taste. We can either increase this kind by cuttings, as hasbeen described, or we can layer part of the vine that has won ourapproval by well-doing. I shall take the latter course withseveral delicious varieties in my vineyard. Some kinds of grapesdo not root readily as cuttings, but there is little chance offailure in layering. This process is simply the laying down of abranch of a vine in early spring, and covering it lightly withsoil, so that some buds will be beneath the surface, and othersjust at or a little above it. Those beneath will form roots, theothers shoots which by fall should be good vines for planting. Every bud that can reach the air and light will start upward, andthus there may be a thick growth of incipient vines that willcrowd and enfeeble each other. The probabilities are that only twoor three new vines are wanted; therefore all the others should berubbed off at the start, so that the strength of the parent plantand of the new roots that are forming may go into those few shootsdesigned to become eventually a part of our vineyard. If we wishonly one vine, then but one bud should grow from the layer; if twovines, then two buds. The fewer buds that are permitted to grow, the stronger vines they make. 

It must be remembered that this layer, for the greater part of thegrowing season, is drawing its sustenance from the parent plant, to which it is still attached. Therefore the other branches ofthis vine thus called upon for unusual effort should be permittedto fruit but sparingly. We should not injure and enfeeble theoriginal vine in order to get others like it. For this reason weadvise that no more buds be permitted to grow from the layer thanwe actually need ourselves. To injure a good vine and depriveourselves of fruit that we may have plants to give away, is tolove one's neighbor better than one's self--a thing permitted, butnot required. When our vines are pruned, we can make as manycuttings as we choose, either to sell or give away. 

The ground in which a layer is placed should be very rich, and itssurface round the young growing vines always kept moist and freefrom weeds. In the autumn, after the leaves have fallen and thewood is ripe and hard, cut off the layered branch close to thevine, and with a garden-fork gently and carefully lift it, withall its roots and young vines attached, out of the soil. First cutthe young vines back to three or four buds, then separate themfrom the branch from which they grew, being sure to give eachplant plenty of roots, and the roots BACK of the point from whichit grew; that is, those roots nearest the parent plant from whichthe branch was layered. All the old wood of the branch that isnaked, free of roots, should be cut off. The young shoots thusseparated are now independent vines, and may be set out at oncewhere they are to fruit. If you have a variety that does not dowell, or that you do not like, dig it out, enrich the soil, andput one of your favorites in its place. 

We will now consider briefly the diseases and insect enemies ofthe grape. A vine way be doomed to ill-health from its verysituation. Mr. Hussman, a grape-culturist of great experience andwide observation, writes: "Those localities may generally beconsidered safe for the grape in which there are no miasmaticinfluences. Where malaria and fevers prevail, there is no safetyfor the crop, as the vine seems to be as susceptible to suchinfluences as human beings. "

Taking this statement literally, we may well ask, Where, then, cangrapes be grown? According to physicians, malaria has become oneof the most generally diffused products of the country. When a manasserts that it is not in his locality, we feel sure that ifpressed he will admit that it is "round the corner. " Countrypopulations still survive, however, and so does grape-culture. Yetthere are low-lying regions which from defective drainage aredistinctively and, it would almost seem, hopelessly malarial. Insuch localities but few varieties of the vine will thrive, Thepeople who are compelled to live there, or who choose to do so, should experiment until they obtain varieties so hardy andvigorous that they will triumph over everything. The best coursewith grape-diseases is not to have them; in other words, torecognize the fact at once that certain varieties of the grapewill not thrive and be productive of good fruit unless the soiland climate suit them. The proprietor of the Home Acre can usuallylearn by a little inquiry or observation whether grapes thrive inhis locality. If there is much complaint of mildew, grape-rot, andgeneral feebleness of growth, he should seek to plant only themost hardy and vigorous kinds. 

As I have said before, our cultivated grapes are derived fromseveral native species found growing wild, and some now valuedhighly for wine-making are nothing but wild grapes domesticated;as, for instance, Norton's Virginia, belonging to the oestivalisclass. The original plant of this variety was found growing uponan island in the Potomac by Dr. Norton, of Virginia. 

The species from which the greatest number of well-known grapes isobtained is the Vitis labrusca, the common wild or fox grape, found growing in woods and thickets, usually where the ground ismoist, from Canada to the Gulf. The dark purple berries, averagingabout three-quarters of an inch in diameter, ripen in September, and they contain a tough, musky pulp. Yet this "slip ofwilderness" is the parent of the refined Catawba, the deliciousBrighton, and the magnificent white grape Lady Washington--indeed, of all the black, red, and white grapes with which most people arefamiliar. Our earliest grapes, which ripen in August, as well assome of the latest, like the Isabella, come from the labruscaspecies. It is said that the labrusca class will not thrive in theextreme South; and with the exception of the high mountain slopes, this appears reasonable to the student of the vine. It is saidthat but few of this class will endure the long hot summers ofFrance. But there are great differences among the varietiesderived from this native species. For example, the Concord thrivesalmost anywhere, while even here upon the Hudson we can scarcelygrow the Catawba with certainty. It is so good a grape, however, that I persist in making the effort, with varying success; but Ishould not recommend it, or many of its class, for thoselocalities not specially suited to the grape. 

I will now name a few varieties which have proved to be, orpromise to be, the most thrifty and productive whereever grapescan be grown at all the labrusca class: Black--Concord, Wilder, Worden, Amenia, Early Canada, Telegraph or Christine, Moore'sEarly. Red-Wyoming, Goethe, Lindley, Beauty, Brighton, Perkins(pale red), and Agawam. White--Rebecca, Martha, Alien's Hybrid, Lady Pocklington, Prentiss, Lady Washington. These are all finegrapes, and they have succeeded throughout wide areas of country. Any and all are well worth a trial; but if the grower finds thatsome of them are weak and diseased in his grounds, I should advisethat he root them out and replace them with those which thrive. The Niagara is highly praised, and may make good all that isclaimed for it. 

Of the aestivalis class I can recommend the Cynthiana and theHerbemont, or Warren, for the extreme South. Both of them areblack. There are new varieties of this vigorous species whichpromise well. 

The cordifolia species promises to furnish some fine, hardy, andproductive grapes, of which the Amber is an example. The Elvira, apale yellow grape, is highly praised by Mr. Hussman. Although theBacchus is distinctively a wine grape, I have already said thatits flavor, when fully ripe, was agreeable to me. The onlydifficulty in growing it is to keep the ground poor, and use thepruning-knife freely. 

I have enlarged on this point, for I wish to direct the mind ofthe reader to the fact that there are many very hardy grapes. Icongratulate those who, with the taste of a connoisseur, havemerely to sample until they find just the varieties that suitthem, and then to plant these kinds in their genial soil andfavored locality. 

At the same time I should like to prevent others from worryingalong with unsatisfactory varieties, or from reaching theconclusion that they can not grow grapes in their region orgarden. Let them rather admit that they can not raise some kinds, but may others. If a variety were persistently diseased, feeble, and unproductive under good treatment, I should root it out ratherthan continue to nurse and coddle it. 

When mildew and grape-rot first appear, the evil can often beremedied in part by dusting the vines with sulphur, and continuingthe process until the disease is cured, if it ever is. I havenever had occasion to do this, and will not do it. A variety thatoften requires such nursing in this favored locality should bediscarded. 

There is one kind of disease, or feebleness rather, to which weare subject everywhere, and from which few varieties are exempt. It is the same kind of weakness which would be developed in a finesound horse if we drove him until he dropped down every time wetook him out. Cultivated vines are so far removed from theirnatural conditions that they will often bear themselves to death, like a peach-tree. To permit this is a true instance of avariceoverreaching itself; or the evil may result from ignorance orneglect. Close pruning in autumn and thinning out the crowdingclusters soon after they have formed is the remedy. If a vine hadbeen so enfeebled, I should cut it back rigorously, feed it well, and permit it to bear very little fruit, if any, for a year. 

Of insect enemies we have the phylloxera of bad eminence, whichhas so dismayed Europe. The man who could discover and patent anadequate remedy in France might soon rival a Rothschild in hiswealth. The remedy abroad is also ours--to plant varieties whichare phylloxera-proof, or nearly so. Fortunately we have many whichdefy this pestiferous little root-louse, and European vine-growershave been importing them by the million. They are still usedchiefly as stocks on which to graft varieties of the viniferaspecies. In California, grapes of the vinifera or European speciesare generally cultivated; but the phylloxera is at its destructivework among them. The wine-grapes of the future throughout theworld may be developed from the hardy cestivalis and cordifoliaclasses. In many localities, even in this new land, varieties likethe Delaware succumb to this scourge of foreign vineyards. 

The aphis, or plant-louse, sometimes attacks the young, tendershoots of the vine. The moment they appear, take off the shoot, and crush it on a board with the foot. Leaf-rollers, the grape-vine sphinx, and caterpillars in general must be caught by handand killed. Usually they are not very numerous. The horrid littlerose-chafers or rose-bugs are sometimes very destructive. Our bestcourse is to take a basin of water and jar them off into it--theyfall readily--and then scald them to death. We may discover lady-bugs--small red or yellow and black beetles--among our vines, andmany persons, I fear, will destroy them with the rest. We shouldtake off our hats to them and wish them godspeed. In theirdestruction of aphides and thrips they are among our best friends. The camel-cricket is another active destroyer of injuriousinsects. Why do not our schools teach a little practical naturalhistory? Once, when walking in the Catskills, I saw the burlydriver of a stage-load of ladies bound out of his vehicle to killa garter-snake, the pallid women looking on, meanwhile, as if theearth were being rid of some terrible and venomous thing. Theyought to have known that the poor little reptile was as harmlessas one of their own garters, and quite as useful in its way. Everycountry boy and girl should be taught to recognize all our helpersin our incessant fight with insect enemies--a fight which must bemaintained with more organized vigor and intelligence than atpresent, if horticulture is ever to reach its best development. 

Wasps and hornets often swarm about the sweet and early ripevarieties. A wide-mouthed bottle partially filled with molassesand water will entrap and drown great numbers of these uglycustomers. Some of our favorite birds try our patience not alittle. During the early summer I never wearied of watching themusical orioles flashing with their bright hues in and out of thefoliage about the house; but when the early grapes were ripe, theytook pay for their music with the sang-froid of a favorite primadonna. On one occasion I saw three or four alight on a Diana vine, and in five minutes they had spoiled a dozen clusters. If theywould only take a bunch and eat it up clean, one would readilyshare with them, for there would be enough for all; but the daintylittle epicures puncture an indefinite number of berries, merelytaking a sip from each. Then the wasps and bees come along andfinish the clusters. The cardinal, cat-bird, and our unrivalledsongster the wood-thrush, all help themselves in the same wastefulfashion. One can't shoot wood-thrushes. We should almost as soonthink of killing off our Nilssons, Nevadas, and Carys. The onlything to do is to protect the clusters; and this can beaccomplished in several ways. The most expeditious andsatisfactory method is to cover the vines of early grapes withcheap mosquito netting. Another method is to make little bags ofthis netting and inclose each cluster. Last fall, two of mychildren tied up many hundreds of clusters in little paper bags, which can be procured at wholesale for a trifling sum. The twolower corners of the paper bags should be clipped off to permitthe rain to pass freely through them. Clusters ripen better, lastlonger on the vine, and acquire a more exquisite bloom and flavorin this retirement than if exposed to light as well as to birdsand wasps. Not the fruit but the foliage of the grape-vine needsthe sun. 

Few of the early grapes will keep long after being taken from thevine; but some of the later ones can be preserved well into thewinter by putting them in small boxes and storing them where thetemperature is cool, even, and dry. Some of the wine-grapes, likeNorton's Virginia, will keep under these conditions almost likewinter apples. One October day I took a stone pot of the largestsize and put in first a layer of Isabella grapes, then a doublethickness of straw paper, then alternate layers of grapes andpaper, until the pot was full. A cloth was next pasted over thestone cover, so as to make the pot water-tight. The pot was thenburied on a dry knoll below the reach of frost, and dug up againon New Year's Day. The grapes looked and tasted as if they hadjust been picked from the vine. 

For the mysteries of hybridizing and raising new seedlings, grafting, hot-house and cold grapery culture, the reader must lookin more extended works than this, and to writers who have hadexperience in these matters. 

We shall next consider three fruits which upon the Home Acre maybe regarded as forming a natural group-peaches, plums, andraspberries, if any one expresses surprise that the last-namedfruit should be given this relationship, I have merely to replythat the raspberry thrives in the partial shade produced by suchsmall trees as the peach and plum. Where there is need of economyof space it is well to take advantage of this fact, for but fewproducts of the garden give any satisfaction when contending withroots below and shade above. 

We have taken it for granted that some grape-vines would beplanted in the two borders extending through the centre of thegarden, also that there would be spaces left which might be filledwith peach and plum trees and small flowering shrubs. If there isto be a good-sized poultry-yard upon the acre, we should advisethat plums be planted in that; but we will speak of this fruitlater, and now give our attention to that fruit which to the tasteof many is unrivalled--the peach. 

With the exception of the strawberry, it is perhaps the only fruitfor which I prefer spring planting. At the same time, I should nothesitate to set out the trees in autumn. The ground should begood, but not too highly fertilized. I prefer young trees but oneyear old from the bud. If set out in the fall, I should mound upthe earth eighteen inches about them, to protect the roots andstem, and to keep the tree firmly in the soil. With thisprecaution, I am not sure but that fall planting has the greateradvantage, except when the climate is very severe and subject togreat alternations. Plant with the same care and on the sameprinciples which have been already described. If a careful systemof pruning is to be adopted, the trees may be set out twelve feetapart; but if they are to be left to grow at will, which I regretto say is the usual practice, they should be planted fifteen feetfrom each other. 

There are many good reasons why the common orchard culture of thepeach should not be adopted in the garden. There is no fruit moreneglected and ill-treated than the beautiful and delicious peach. The trees are very cheap, usually costing but a few cents each;they are bought by the thousand from careless dealers, plantedwith scarcely the attention given to a cabbage-plant, and toooften allowed to bear themselves to death. The land, trees, andcultivation cost so little that one good crop is expected toremunerate for all outlay. If more crops are obtained, there is somuch clear gain. Under this slovenly treatment there is, ofcourse, rapid deterioration in the stamina of the peach. Pits andbuds are taken from enfeebled trees for the purpose ofpropagation, and so tendencies to disease are perpetuated andenhanced. Little wonder that, the fatal malady, the "yellows, " hasblighted so many hopes! I honestly believe that millions of treeshave been sold in which this disease existed from the bud. If finepeaches were bred and propagated with something of the same carethat is bestowed on blooded stock, the results would soon beproportionate. Gardeners abroad often give more care to one treethan hundreds receive here. Because the peach has grown so easilyin our climate, we have imposed on its good-nature beyond thelimits of endurance, and consequently it is not easy to get sound, healthful trees that will bear year after year under the best oftreatment, as they did with our fathers with no care at all. Ishould look to men who had made a reputation for sending outsound, healthful stock grown under their own eyes from pits andwood which they know to be free from disease. Do not try to save afew pennies on the first cost of trees, for the probabilities arethat such economy will result in little more than the "yellows. "

In large orchards, cultivated by horse-power, the stems of thetrees are usually from four to six feet high; but in the gardenthis length of stem is not necessary, and the trees can be grownas dwarf standards, with stems beginning to branch two feet fromthe ground. A little study of the habit of growth in the peachwill show that, to obtain the best results, the pruning-shears arealmost as essential as in the case of the grape-vine. More than inany other fruit-tree, the sap tends strongly toward the ends ofthe shoots. Left to Nature, only the terminal buds of these willgrow from year to year; the other buds lower down on the shootsfail and drop off. Thus we soon have long naked reaches ofunproductive wood, or sucker-like sprouts starting from the bark, which are worse than useless. Our first aim should be to form around, open, symmetrical head, shortening in the shoots at leastone-half each year, and cutting out crossing and interlacingbranches. For instance, if we decide to grow our trees as dwarfstandards, we shall cut back the stems at a point two feet fromthe ground the first spring after planting, and let but three budsgrow, to make the first three or leading branches. The followingspring we shall cut back the shoots that have formed, so as tomake six leading branches. Thereafter we shall continue to cut outand back so as to maintain an open head for the free circulationof air and light. 

To learn the importance of rigorous and careful pruning, observethe shoots of a vigorous peach-tree, say three or four years old. These shoots or sprays are long and slender, lined with fruit-buds. You will often find two fruit-buds together, with a leaf-budbetween them. If the fruit-buds have been uninjured by the winter, they will nearly all form peaches, far more than the slender spraycan support or mature. The sap will tend to give the most supportto all growth at the end of the spray or branch. The probableresult will be that you will have a score, more or less, ofpeaches that are little beyond skin and stones. By midsummer thebrittle sprays will break, or the limbs split down at thecrotches. You may have myriads of peaches, but none fit for marketor table. Thousands of baskets are sent to New York annually thatdo not pay the expenses of freight, commission, etc. ; while theorchards from which they come are practically ruined. I had twosmall trees from which, one autumn, I sold ten dollars' worth offruit. They yielded more profit than is often obtained from ahundred trees. 

Now, in the light of these facts, realize the advantages securedby cutting back the shoots or sprays so as to leave but three orfour fruit-buds on each. The tree can probably mature these budsinto large, beautiful peaches, and still maintain its vigor. Bythis shortening-in process you have less tree, but more fruit. Thegrowth is directed and kept within proper limits, and the treepreserved for future usefulness. Thus the peach-trees of thegarden will not only furnish some of the most delicious morsels ofthe year, but also a very agreeable and light phase of labor. Theycan be made pets which will amply repay all kindness; and theattentions they most appreciate, strange to say, are cutting andpinching. The pruning-shears in March and early April can cut awayforming burdens which could not be borne, and pinching back duringthe summer can maintain beauty and symmetry in growth. When theproprietor of the Home Acre has learned from experience to do thiswork judiciously, his trees, like the grape-vines, will affordmany hours of agreeable and healthful recreation. If he regards itas labor, one great, melting, luscious peach will repay him. Asmall apple, pear, or strawberry usually has the flavor of a largeone; but a peach to be had in perfection must be fully matured toits limit of growth on a healthful tree. 

Let no one imagine that the shortening in of shoots recommendedconsists of cutting the young sprays evenly all round the trees asone would shear a hedge. It more nearly resembles the pruning ofthe vine; for the peach, like the vine, bears its fruit only onthe young wood of the previous summer's growth. The aim should beto have this young bearing wood distributed evenly over the tree, as should be true of a grape-vine. When the trees are kept low, asdwarf standards, the fruit is more within reach, and less liableto be blown off by high winds. Gradually, however, if the treesprove healthful, they will get high enough up in the world. 

Notwithstanding the rigorous pruning recommended, the trees willoften overload themselves; and thinning out the young peaches whenas large as hickory nuts is almost imperative if we would securegood fruit. Men of experience say that when a tree has set toomuch fruit, if two-thirds of it are taken off while little, theremaining third will measure and weigh more than would the entirecrop, and bring three times as much money. In flavor and beautythe gain will certainly be more than double. 

Throughout its entire growth and fruiting life the peach-treeneeds good cultivation, and also a good but not overstimulatedsoil. Well-decayed compost from the cow-stable is probably thebest barnyard fertilizer. Wood-ashes are peculiarly agreeable tothe constitution of this tree, and tend to maintain it in healthand bearing long after others not so treated are dead. I shouldadvise that half a peck be worked in lightly every spring aroundeach tree as far as the branches extend. When enriching the groundabout a tree, never heap the fertilizer round the trunk, butspread it evenly from the stem outward as far as the branchesreach, remembering that the head above is the measure of the rootextension below. Air-slacked lime is also useful to the peach insmall quantities; and so, no doubt, would be a little salt fromtime to time. Bone-meal is highly recommended. 

Like other fruit-trees, the peach does not thrive on low, wetground, and the fruit-buds are much more apt to be winter-killedin such localities. A light, warm soil is regarded as the mostfavorable. 

Of course we can grow this fruit on espaliers, as they do abroad;but there are few localities where any advantage is to be derivedfrom this course. In our latitude I much prefer cool northernexposures, for the reason that the fruitbuds are kept dormantduring warm spells in winter, and so late in spring that theyescape injury from frost. Alternate freezing and thawing is moreharmful than steady cold. The buds are seldom safe, however, atany time when the mercury sinks ten or fifteen degrees below zero. 

As we have intimated, abuse of the peach-tree has developed afatal disease, known as the "yellows. " It manifests itself inyellow, sickly foliage, numerous and feeble sprouts along thelarger limbs and trunk, and small miserable fruit, ripeningprematurely. I can almost taste the yellows in much of the fruitbought in market. Some regard the disease as very contagious;others do not. It is best to be on the safe side. If a tree isaffected generally, dig it out by the roots and burn it at once;if only a branch shows evidence of the malady, cut it off wellback, and commit it to the flames. The only remedy is to propagatefrom trees in sound health and vigor. 

Like the apple, the peach-tree is everywhere subject to injuryfrom a borer, named "exitiosa, or the destructive. " The eggs fromwhich these little pests are hatched are laid by the moth duringthe summer upon the stem of the tree very near the root; the grubsbore through the outer bark, and devour the inner bark and sap-wood. Fortunately they soon reveal their evil work by thecastings, and by the gum which exudes from the hole by which theyentered. They can not do much harm, unless a tree is neglected; inthis case, however, they will soon enfeeble, and probably destroyit. When once within a tree, borers must be cut out with a sharp-pointed knife, carefully yet thoroughly. The wounds from the knifemay be severe, but the ceaseless gnawing of the grub is fatal. Ifthe tree has been lacerated to some extent, a plaster of moistenedclay or cow-manure makes a good salve. Keeping the borers out ofthe tree is far better than taking them out; and this can beeffected by wrapping the stem at the ground--two inches below thesurface, and five above--with strong hardware or sheathing paper. If this is tied tightly about the tree, the moth cannot lay itseggs upon the stem. A neighbor of mine has used this protectionnot only on the peach, but also on the apple, with almost completesuccess. Of course the pests will try to find their way under it, and it would be well to take off the wrapper occasionally andexamine the trees. The paper must also be renewed before it is sofar decayed as to be valueless. It should be remembered also thatthe borer will attack the trees from the first year of life to theend. 

In order to insure an unfailing supply of this delicious fruit, Ishould advise that a few trees be set out every spring. The laborand expense are scarcely greater than that bestowed upon a cabbagepatch, and the reward is more satisfactory. 

For this latitude the following choice of varieties will prove, Ithink, a good one: Early Alexander, Early Elvers, Princess ofWales, Brandywine, Old Mixon Free, Stump the World, Picquet'sLate, Crawford's Late, Mary's Choice, White Free Heath, Salway, and Lord Palmerston. 

If the soil of one's garden is stiff, cold, adhesive clay, thepeach would succeed much better budded or grafted on plum-stocks. Some of the finest fruit I have ever seen was from seedlings, thetrees having been grown from pits of unusually good peaches. Whilethe autumn planting of pits lightly in the soil and permitting themto develop into bearing trees is a pleasing and often profitableamusement, there is no great probability that the result will bedesirable. We hear of the occasional prizes won in this way, butnot of the many failures. 

By easy transition we pass to the kindred fruit the plum, whichdoes not generally receive the attention it deserves. If one has asoil suited to it--a heavy clay or loam--it can usually be grownvery easily. The fruit is so grateful to the taste and useful tothe housekeeper that it should be given a fair trial, either inthe garden borders or wherever a tree can be planted so as tosecure plenty of light and air. The young trees may be one or twoyears old from the bud; I should prefer the former, if vigorous. Never be induced to purchase old trees by promises of speedyfruit. It is quite possible you may never get any fruit at allfrom them worth mentioning. I should allow a space of from ten tofifteen feet between the trees when they are planted together, andI should cut them back so that they would begin to branch at twofeet from the ground. Long, naked stems are subject to the gum-disease. 

In the place of general advice in regard to this fruit I shall givethe experience of Mr. T. S. Force, of Newburgh, who exhibitedseventy varieties at the last annual Orange County fair. 

His plum-orchard is a large poultry-yard, containing half an acre, of which the ground is a good loam, resting on a heavy claysubsoil. He bought trees but one year from the bud, set them outin autumn, and cut them back so that they began to form theirheads at two feet from the ground. He prefers starting with strongyoung plants of this age, and he did not permit them to bear forthe first three years, his primal aim being to develop a healthy, vigorous tree with a round, symmetrical head. During this periodthe ground about them was kept mellow by good cultivation, and, being rich enough to start with, received no fertilizers. It ishis belief that over-fertilization tends to cause the disease sowell known as the "black knot, " which has destroyed many orchardsin this vicinity. If the garden has been enriched as I havedirected, the soil will probably need little, if anything, fromthe stables, and certainly will not if the trees are grown in apoultry-yard. During this growing and forming period Mr. Forcegave careful attention to pruning. Budded trees are not evensymmetrical growers, but tend to send up a few very strong shootsthat rob the rest of the tree of sustenance. Of course these mustbe cut well back in early spring, or we have long, naked reachesof wood and a deformed tree. It is far better, however, not to letthese rampant shoots grow to maturity, but to pinch them back inearly summer, thus causing them to throw out side-branches. Bysummer pinching and rubbing off of tender shoots a tree can bemade to grow in any shape we desire. When the trees receive nosummer pruning, Mr. Force advises that the branches be shortenedin at least one half in the spring, while some shoots are cut backeven more rigorously. At the age of four or five years, accordingto the vigor of the trees, he permits them to bear. Nowcultivation ceases, and the ground is left to grow hard, but notweedy or grassy, beneath the boughs. Every spring, just as theblossoms are falling, he spreads evenly under the branches fourquarts of salt. While the trees thrive and grow fruitful with thisfertilizer, the curculio, or plum-weevil, does not appear to findit at all to its taste. As a result of his methods, Mr. Force hasgrown large and profitable crops, and his trees in the main arekept healthy and vigorous. His remedy for the black knot is to cutoff and burn the small boughs and twigs affected. If the diseaseappears in the side of a limb or in the stem, he cuts out alltrace of it, and paints the wound with a wash of gum shellac andalcohol. 

Trees load so heavily that the plums rest against one another. Youwill often find in moist warm weather decaying specimens. Theseshould be removed at once, that the infection may not spread. 

In cutting out the interfering boughs, do not take off the sharp-pointed spurs which are forming along the branches, for on theseare slowly maturing the fruit-buds. In this case, as in others, the careful observer, after he has acquired a few sound principlesof action to start with, is taught more by the tree itself thanfrom any other source. 

Mr. Force recommends the following ten varieties, named in theorder of ripening: Canada; Orleans, a red-cheeked plum;McLaughlin, greenish, with pink cheek; Bradshaw, large red, withlilac bloom; Smith's Orleans, purple; Green Gage; Bleeker's Gage, golden yellow; Prune d'Agen, purple; Coe's Golden Drop; andShropshire Damson for preserves. 

If we are restricted to very light soils, we shall probably haveto grow some of the native varieties, of the Canada and Wild-Goosetype. In regard to both this fruit and peaches we should be guidedin our selection by information respecting varieties peculiarlysuited to the region. 

The next chapter will treat of small fruits, beginning with theraspberry. 

CHAPTER V

THE RASPBERRY

The wide and favorable consideration given to small fruits clearlymarks one of the changes in the world's history. This change mayseem trifling indeed to the dignified chroniclers of kings andqueens and others of high descent--great descent, it may be added, remembering the moral depths attained; but to those who care forthe welfare of the people, it is a mutation of no slight interest. I am glad to think, as has been shown in a recent novel, thatLucrezia Borgia was not so black as she has been painted; yet inthe early days of June and July, when strawberries and raspberriesare ripening, I fancy that most of us can dismiss her and her kinfrom mind as we observe Nature's alchemy in our gardens. When wethink of the luscious, health-imparting fruits which will gracemillions of tables, and remember that until recent years they wereconspicuous only by their absence, we may not slightingly estimatea great change for the better. Once these fruits were wildingswhich the vast majority of our forefathers shared sparingly withthe birds. Often still, unless we are careful, our share will besmall indeed; for the unperverted taste of the birds discoveredfrom the first what men have been so slow to learn--that the ruby-like berries are the gems best worth seeking. The world iscertainly progressing toward physical redemption when even theIrish laborer abridges his cabbage-patch for the sake of smallfruits--food which a dainty Ariel could not despise. 

We have said that raspberries thrive in partial shade; andtherefore some advice in regard to them naturally follows ourconsideration of trees. Because the raspberry is not so exactingas are many other products of the garden, it does not follow thatit should be marked out for neglect. As it is treated on manyplaces, the only wonder is that even the bushes survive. Like manywho try to do their best in adversity, it makes the most of whatpeople term "a chance to get ahead. "

Moreover, the raspberry is perhaps as often injured by mistakenkindness as by neglect. If we can imagine it speaking for itself, it would say: "It is not much that I want, but in the name ofcommon-sense and nature give me just what I do want; then you maypick at me to your heart's content. "

The first need of the raspberry is a well-drained but not a verydry, light soil. Yet such is its adaptability that certainvarieties can be grown on any land which will produce a burdock ora mullien-stalk. In fact, this question of variety chieflydetermines our chances of success and the nature of our treatmentof the fruit. The reader, at the start, should be enabled todistinguish the three classes of raspberries grown in thiscountry. 

As was true of grapes, our fathers first endeavored to supplytheir gardens from foreign nurseries, neglecting the wild specieswith which our woods and roadsides abounded. The raspberry ofEurope (Rubus idaeus) has been developed, and in many instancesenfeebled, by ages of cultivation. Nevertheless, few other fruitshave shown equal power to adapt themselves to our soil andclimate, and we have obtained from foreign sources many valuablekinds--as, for instance, the Antwerp, which for weeks togetherannually taxed the carrying power of Hudson River steamers. Inquality these foreign kinds have never been surpassed; but almostinvariably they have proved tender and fastidious, thriving wellin some localities, and failing utterly (except under the mostskilful care) in others. The frosts of the North killed them inwinter, and Southern suns shrivelled their foliage in summer. Therefore they were not raspberries for the million, but for thosewho resided in favored regions, and were willing to bestow uponthem much care and high culture. 

Eventually another process began, taking place either by chance orunder the skilful manipulation of the gardener--that ofhybridizing, or crossing these foreign varieties with our hardiernative species. The best results have been attained morefrequently, I think, by chance; that is, the bees, which get morehoney from the raspberry than from most other plants, carried thepollen from a native flower to the blossom of the garden exotic. The seeds of the fruit eventually produced were endowed withcharacteristics of both the foreign and native strains. Occasionally these seeds fell where they had a chance to grow, andso produced a fortuitous seedling plant which soon matured into abearing bush, differing from, both of its parents, and notinfrequently surpassing both in good qualities. Some onehorticulturally inclined having observed the unusually fine fruiton the chance plant, and believing that it is a good plan to helpthe fittest to survive, marked the bush, and in the autumntransferred it to his garden. It speedily propagated itself bysuckers, or young sprouts from the roots, and he had plants tosell or give away. Such, I believe, was the history of theCuthbert--named after the gentleman who found it, and now probablythe favorite raspberry of America. 

Thus fortuitously, or by the skill of the gardener, the foreignand our native species were crossed, and a new and hardier classof varieties obtained. The large size and richness in flavor ofthe European berry has been bred into and combined with oursmaller and more insipid indigenous fruit. By this process thearea of successful raspberry culture has been extended almostindefinitely. 

Within recent years a third step forward has been taken. Somelocalities and soils were so unsuited to the raspberry that novariety containing even a small percentage of the foreign elementcould thrive. This fact led fruit-growers to give still closerattention to our native species. Wild bushes were found here andthere which gave fruit of such good quality and in such largequantities that they were deemed well worthy of cultivation. Manyof these wild specimens accepted cultivation gratefully, andshowed such marked improvement that they were heralded over theland as of wonderful and surpassing value. Some of these pure, unmixed varieties of our native species (Rubus strigosus) haveobtained a wide celebrity; as, for instance, the Brandywine, Highland Hardy, and, best of all, the Turner. It should bedistinctly understood, however, that, with the exception of thelast-named kind, these native varieties are decidedly inferior tomost of the foreign berries and their hybrids or crosses, like theCuthbert and Marlboro. Thousands have been misled by their praise, and have planted them when they might just as easily have grownfar better kinds. I suppose that many wealthy persons in thelatitudes of New York and Boston have told their gardeners (ormore probably were told by them): "We do not wish any of thosewild kinds. Brinckle's Orange, Franconia, and the Antwerp are goodenough for us. " So they should be, for they are the best; but theyare all foreign varieties, and scarcely will live at all, muchless be productive, in wide areas of the country. 

I trust that this preliminary discussion in regard to redraspberries will prepare the way for the advice to follow, andenable the proprietor of the Home Acre to act intelligently. Sensible men do not like to be told, "You cannot do this, and mustnot do that"--in other words, to be met the moment they step intotheir gardens by the arbitrary dictum of A, B, or C. They wish tounite with Nature in producing certain results. Understanding hersimple laws, they work hopefully, confidently; and they cannot beimposed upon by those who either wittingly or unwittingly give badadvice. Having explained the natural principles on which I base mydirections, I can expect the reader to follow each step with theprospect of success and enjoyment much enhanced. 

The question first arising is, What shall we plant? As before, Ishall give the selection of eminent authorities, then suggest tothe reader the restrictions under which he should make a choicefor his own peculiar soil and climate. 

Dr. F. M. Hexamer, the well-known editor of a leadinghorticultural journal, is recognized throughout the land as havingfew, if any, superiors in recent and practical acquaintance withsmall fruits. The following is his selection: "Cuthbert, Turner, and Marlboro. " The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder's choice: "Brinckle'sOrange, Franconia, Cuthbert, Herstine, Shaffer. " The Hon. NormanJ. Colman, Commissioner of Agriculture: "Turner, Marlboro, Cuthbert. " P. J. Berckmans, of Georgia: "Cuthbert, Hansel, LostRubies, Imperial Red. " A. S. Fuller: "Turner, Cuthbert, Hansel. "

In analyzing this list we find three distinctly foreign kindsnamed: the Orange, Franconia, and Herstine. If the last is notwholly of foreign origin, the element of our native species entersinto it so slightly that it will not endure winters in ourlatitude, or the summer sun of the South. For excellence, however, it is unsurpassed. 

In the Cuthbert, Marlboro, and Lost Rubies we have hybrids of theforeign and our native species, forming the second class referredto; in the Turner and Hansel, examples of our native speciesunmixed. To each of these classes might be added a score of othervarieties which have been more or less popular, but they wouldserve only to distract the reader's attention. I have tested fortyor fifty kinds side by side at one time, only to be shown thatfour or five varieties would answer all practical purposes. I canassure the reader, however, that it will be scarcely possible tofind a soil or climate where some of these approved sorts will notthrive abundantly and at slight outlay. 

Throughout southern New England, along the bank of the Hudson, andwestward, almost any raspberry can be grown with proper treatment. There are exceptions, which are somewhat curious. For instance, the famous Hudson River Antwerp, which until within a very fewyears has been one of the great crops of the State, has never beengrown successfully to any extent except on the west bank of theriver, and within the limited area of Kingston on the north andCornwall on the south. The Franconia, another foreign sort, hasproved itself adapted to more extended conditions of soil andclimate. 

I have grown successfully nearly every well-known raspberry, andperhaps I can best give the instruction I desire to convey bydescribing the methods finally adopted after many years ofobservation, reading, and experience. I will speak of the classfirst named, belonging to the foreign species, of which I havetested many varieties. I expect to set out this year rows ofBrinckle's Orange, Franconia, Hudson River Antwerp, and others. For this class I should make the ground very rich, deep, andmellow. I should prefer to set out the plants in the autumn--fromthe middle of October to the tenth of November; if not then, inearly spring--the earlier the better--while the buds are dormant. I should have the rows four feet apart; and if the plants were tobe grown among the smaller fruit-trees, I should maintain adistance from them of at least seven feet. I should use only youngplants, those of the previous summer's growth, and set them in theground about as deeply as they stood when taken up--say three orfour inches of earth above the point from which the rootsbranched. I should put two well-rooted plants in each hill, andthis would make the hills four feet apart each way. By "hills" Ido not mean elevations of ground. This should be kept levelthroughout all future cultivation. I should cut back the canes orstems of the plants to six inches. Thousands of plants are lost orput back in their growth by leaving two or three feet of the canesto grow the first year. Never do this. The little fruit gainedthus prematurely always entails a hundred-fold of loss. Having setout the plants, I should next scatter over and about them one ortwo shovelfuls of old compost or decayed manure of some kind. Ifthe plants had been set out in the fall, I should mound the earthover them before freezing weather, so that there should be atleast four inches of soil over the tops of the stems. This littlemound of earth over the plants or hill would protect against allinjury from frost. In the spring I should remove these mounds ofearth so as to leave the ground perfectly level on all sides, andthe shortened canes projecting, as at first, six inches above thesurface. During the remainder of the spring and summer the soilbetween the plants chiefly requires to be kept open, mellow, andfree from weeds. In using the hoe, be careful not to cut off theyoung raspberry sprouts, on which the future crop depends. Do notbe disappointed if the growth seems feeble the first year, forthese foreign kinds are often slow in starting. In November, before there is any danger of the ground freezing, I should cutback the young canes at least one-third of their length, bend themgently down, and cover them with earth to the depth of four orfive inches. It must be distinctly remembered that very few of theforeign kinds would endure our winter unprotected. Every autumnthey must be covered as I have directed. Is any one aghast at thislabor? Nonsense! Antwerps are covered by the acre along theHudson. A man and a boy would cover in an hour all that are neededfor a garden. 

After the first year the foreign varieties, like all others, willsend up too many sprouts, or suckers. Unless new plants arewanted, these should be treated as weeds, and only from three tofive young canes be left to grow in each hill. This is a veryimportant point, for too often the raspberry-patch is neglecteduntil it is a mass of tangled bushes. Keep this simple principlein mind: there is a given amount of root-power; if this cannot beexpended in making young sprouts all over the ground, it goes toproduce a few strong fruit-bearing canes in the hill. In otherwords, you restrict the whole force of the plant to the precisework required--the giving of berries. As the original plants growolder, they will show a constantly decreasing tendency to throw upnew shoots, but as long as they continue to grow, let only thosesurvive which are designed to bear the following season. 

The canes of cultivated raspberries are biennial. A young and inmost varieties a fruitless cane is produced in one season; itbears in July the second year, and then its usefulness is over. Itwill continue to live in a half-dying way until fall, but it is auseless and unsightly life. I know that it is contended by somethat the foliage on the old canes aids in nourishing the plants;but I think that, under all ordinary circumstances, the leaves onthe young growth are abundantly sufficient. By removing the oldcanes after they have borne their fruit, an aspect of neatness isimparted, which would be conspicuously absent were they left. Every autumn, before laying the canes down, I should shorten themin one-third. The remaining two-thirds will give more fruit byactual measurement, and the berries will be finer and larger, thanif the canes were left intact. From first to last the soil aboutthe foreign varieties should be maintained in a high degree offertility and mellowness. Of manures from the barnyard, that fromthe cow-stable is the best; wood-ashes, bone-dust, and decayedleaves also are excellent fertilizers. During all this period thepartial shade of small trees will be beneficial rather thanotherwise, for it should be remembered that sheltered localitiesare the natural habitat of the raspberry. 

By a little inquiry the reader can learn whether varieties of theforeign class are grown successfully in his vicinity. If they are, he can raise them also by following the directions which have beengiven. Brinckle's Orange--a buff-colored berry--is certainly oneof the most beautiful, delicate, and delicious fruits inexistence, and is well worth all the care it requires in theregions where it will grow; while the Franconia and others shouldnever be permitted to die out by fruit connoisseurs. If the soilof your garden is light and sandy, or if you live much south ofNew York, I should not advise their trial. They may be grown farto the north, however. I am told that tender varieties of fruitsthat can be covered thrive even better in Canada than with us. There deep snow protects the land, and in spring and autumn theydo not have long periods when the bare earth is alternatelyfreezing and thawing. 

In the second class of raspberries, the crosses between theforeign and native species, we now have such fine varieties thatno one has much cause for regret if he can raise them; and Iscarcely see how he can help raising them if he has sufficientenergy to set out a few plants and keep them free from weeds andsuperabundant suckers. Take the Cuthbert, for instance; you mayset it out almost anywhere, and in almost any latitude except thatof the extreme Southern States. But you must reverse theconditions required for the foreign kinds. If the ground is veryrich, the canes will threaten to grow out of sight. I advise thatthis strong-growing sort be planted in rows five feet apart. Anyordinary soil is good enough for the Cuthbert to start in, and theplants will need only a moderate degree of fertilizing as theybegin to lose a little of their first vigor. Of course, if theground is unusually light and poor, it should be enriched andmaintained in a fair degree of fertility. The point I wish to makeis that this variety will thrive where most others would starve;but there is plenty of land on which anything will starve. TheCuthbert is a large, late berry, which continues long in bearing, and is deserving of a place in every garden. I have grown it formany years, and have never given it any protection whatever. Occasionally there comes a winter which kills the canes to theground. I should perhaps explain to the reader here that even inthe case of the tender foreign kinds it is only the canes that arekilled by the frost; the roots below the surface are uninjured, and throw up vigorous sprouts the following spring. The Cuthbertis so nearly hardy that we let it take its chances, and probablyin eight winters out of ten it would stand unharmed. Its hardinessis greatly enhanced when grown on well-drained soils. 

It now has a companion berry in the Marlboro--a variety butrecently introduced, and therefore not thoroughly tested as yet. Its promise, however, is very fine, and it has secured the strongyet qualified approval of the best fruit critics. It requiresricher soil and better treatment than the Cuthbert, and it remainsto be seen whether it is equally hardy. It is well worth winterprotection if it is not. It is not a suitable berry for the homegarden if no other is grown, for the reason that it matures itsentire crop within a brief time, and thus would give a family buta short season of raspberries. Cultivated in connection with theCuthbert, it would be admirable, for it is very early, and wouldproduce its fruit before the Cuthberts were ripe. Unitedly the twovarieties would give a family six weeks of raspberries. There arescores of other kinds in this class, and some are very goodindeed, well worth a place in an amateur's collection; but the twoalready named are sufficient to supply a family with excellentfruit. 

Of the third class of red raspberries, representing our purenative species, I should recommend only one variety--the Turner;and that is so good that it deserves a place in every collection. It certainly is a remarkable raspberry, and has an unusualhistory, which I have given in my work "Success with SmallFruits. " I doubt whether there is a hardier raspberry in America--one that can be grown so far to the north, and, what is still morein its favor, so far to the south. In the latter region it isknown as the Southern Thornless. The fact that it is almost whollywithout spines is a good quality; but it is only one among manyothers. The Turner requires no winter protection whatever, willgrow on almost any soil in existence, and in almost any climate. It yields abundantly medium-sized berries of good flavor. Thefruit begins to ripen early, and lasts throughout a somewhatextended season. It will probably give more berries, with morecertainty and less trouble, than any other variety. Even its faultleans to virtue's side. Set out a single plant, leave it toNature, and in time it will cover the place with Turnerraspberries; and yet it will do this in a quiet, unobtrusive way, for it is not a rampant, ugly grower. While it will persist inliving under almost any circumstances, I have found no varietythat responded more gratefully to good treatment. This consistssimply in three things: (1) rigorous restriction of the suckers tofour or five canes in the hill; (2) keeping the soil clean andmellow about the bearing plants; (3) making this soil rich. Itsdwarf habit of growth, unlike that of the Cuthbert, enables one tostimulate it with any kind of manure. By this course the size ofthe bushes is greatly increased, and enormous crops can beobtained. 

I prefer to set out all raspberries in the fall, although as amatter of convenience I often perform the task in the earlyspring. I do not believe in late spring planting, except as onetakes up a young sprout, two or three inches high, and sets it outas one would a tomato-plant. By this course time is often saved. When it is our wish to increase the quality and quantity of thefruit, I should advise that the canes of all varieties be cut backone-third of their length. A little observation will teach us thereason for this. Permit a long cane to bear throughout its naturallength, and you will note that many buds near the ground remaindormant or make a feeble growth. The sap, following a general lawof nature, pushes to the extremities, and is, moreover, too muchdiffused. Cut away one-third, and all the buds start withredoubled vigor, while more and larger fruit is the result. If, however, earliness in ripening is the chief consideration, as itoften is, especially with the market-gardener, leave the canesunpruned, and the fruit ripens a few days sooner. 

In purveying for the home table, white raspberries offer theattractions of variety and beauty. In the case of Brinckle'sOrange, its exquisite flavor is the chief consideration; but thisfastidious foreign berry is practically beyond the reach, of themajority. There is, however, an excellent variety, the Caroline, which is almost as hardy as the Turner, and more easily grown. Itwould seem that Nature designed every one to have it (if we maysay IT of Caroline), for not only does it sucker freely like thered raspberries, but the tips of the canes also bend over, takeroot, and form new plants. The one thing that Caroline needs isrepression, the curb; she is too intense. 

I am inclined to think, however, that she has had her day, even asan attendant on royalty, for a new variety, claiming the high-sounding title of Golden Queen, has mysteriously appeared. I saymysteriously, for it is difficult to account for her origin. Mr. Ezra Stokes, a fruit-grower of New Jersey, had a field of twelveacres planted with Cuthbert raspberries. In this field he found abush producing white berries. In brief, he found an Albino of theCuthbert. Of the causes of her existence he knows nothing. All wecan say, I suppose, is that the variation was produced by someunknown impulse of Nature. Deriving her claims from such a source, she certainly has a better title to royalty than most of hersister queens, who, according to history, have been commonplacewomen, suggesting anything but nature. With the exception of thePhiladelphians, perhaps, we as a people will not stand on thequestion of ancestry, and shall be more inclined to see how she"queens it. "

Of course the enthusiastic discoverer and disseminators of thisvariety claim that it is not only like the Cuthbert, but farbetter. Let us try it and see; if it is as good, we may well becontent, and can grace our tables with beautiful fruit. 

There is another American species of raspberry (Rubusoccidentalis) that is almost as dear to memory as the wildstrawberry--the thimble-berry, or black-cap. I confess that thewild flavor of this fruit is more to my taste than that of anyother raspberry. Apparently its seeds have been sown broadcastover the continent, for it is found almost everywhere, and therehave been few children in America whose lips have not been stainedby the dark purple juice of its fruit. Seeds dropped in neglectedpastures, by fence and roadsides, and along the edges of theforest, produce new varieties which do not propagate themselves bysuckers like red raspberries, but in a manner quite distinct. Theyoung purple canes bend over and take root in the soil duringAugust, September, and October. At the extreme end of the tip fromwhich the roots descend a bud is formed, which remains dormantuntil the following spring. Therefore the young plant we set outis a more or less thick mass of roots, a green bud, and usually abit of the old parent cane, which is of no further service exceptas a handle and a mark indicating the location of the plant. Afterthe ground has been prepared as one would for corn or potatoes, itshould be levelled, a line stretched for the row, and the plantsset four feet apart in the row. Sink the roots as straight down aspossible, and let the bud point upward, covering it lightly withmerely one or two inches of soil. Press the ground firmly againstthe roots, but not on the bud. The soil just over this should befine and mellow, so that the young shoot can push through easily, which it will soon do if the plants are in good condition. Exceptin the extreme South, spring is by far the best time for planting, and it should be done early, while the buds are dormant. Afterthese begin to grow, keep the ground mellow and free from weeds. The first effort of the young plant will be to propagate itself. It will sprawl over the ground if left to its wild impulses, andwill not make an upright bearing bush. On this account put a stakedown by the young sprout, and as it grows keep it tied up and awayfrom the ground. When the side-branches are eight or ten incheslong, pinch them back, thus throwing the chief strength into thecentral cane. By keeping all the branches pinched back you formthe plant into an erect, sturdy bush that will load itself withberries the following year. No fruit will be borne the firstseason. The young canes of the second year will incline to be moresturdy and erect in their growth; but this tendency can be greatlyenhanced by clipping the long slender branches which are thrownout on every side. As soon as the old canes are through bearing, they should be cut out and burned or composted with other refusefrom the garden. Black-caps may be planted on any soil that is nottoo dry. When the plant suffers from drought, the fruit consistsof little else than seeds. To escape this defect I prefer to putthe black-caps in a moist location; and it is one of the fewfruits that will thrive in a cold, wet soil. One can set outplants here and there in out-of-the-way corners, and they often dobetter than those in the garden. Indeed, unless a place is kept upvery neatly, many such bushes will be found growing wild, andproducing excellent fruit. 

The question may arise in some minds, Why buy plants? Why not getthem from the woods and fields, or let Nature provide bushes forus where she will? When Nature produces a bush on my place whereit is not in the way, I let it grow, and pick the fruit in myrambles; but the supply would be precarious indeed for a family. By all means get plants from the woods if you have marked a bushthat produces unusually fine fruit. It is by just this course thatthe finest varieties have been obtained. If you go a-berrying, youmay light on something finer than has yet been discovered; but itis not very probable. Meanwhile, for a dollar you can get all theplants you want of the two or three best varieties that have yetbeen discovered, from Maine to California. After testing a greatmany kinds, I should recommend the Souhegan for early, and theMammoth Cluster and Gregg for late. A clean, mellow soil in goodcondition, frequent pinchings back of the canes in summer, or arigorous use of the pruning-shears in spring, are all that isrequired to secure an abundant crop from year to year. Thisspecies may also be grown among trees. I advise that every kindand description of raspberries be kept tied to stakes or a wiretrellis. The wood ripens better, the fruit is cleaner and richerfrom exposure to air and sunshine, and the garden is far neaterthan if the canes are sprawling at will. I know that allhorticulturists advise that the plants be pinched back sothoroughly as to form self-supporting bushes; but I have yet tosee the careful fruit-grower who did this, or the bushes that somethunder-gusts would not prostrate into the mud with all theirprecious burden, were they not well supported. Why take the riskto save a two-penny stake?

If, just before the fruit begins to ripen, a mulch of leaves, cutgrass, or any litter that will cover the ground slightly, isplaced under and around the bushes, it may save a great deal offruit from being spoiled. The raspberry season is also the hourand opportunity for thunder-showers, whose great slanting dropsoften splash the soil to surprising distances. Sugar-and-cream-coated, not mud-coated, berries, if you please. 

In my remarks on raspberries I have not named many varieties, andhave rather laid stress on the principles which may guide thereader in his present and future selections of kinds. Sufficientin number and variety to meet the NEEDS of every family have beenmentioned. The amateur may gratify his taste by testing othersorts described in nurserymen's catalogues. Moreover, every yearor two some new variety will be heralded throughout the land. Thereader has merely to keep in mind the three classes of raspberriesdescribed and their characteristics, in order to make anintelligent choice from old and new candidates for favor. 

It should also be remembered that the raspberry is a Northernfruit. I am often asked in effect, What raspberries do yourecommend for the Gulf States? I suppose my best reply would be, What oranges do you think best adapted to New York? Most of theforeign kinds falter and fail in New Jersey and SouthernPennsylvania; the Cuthbert and its class can be grown much furthersouth, while the Turner and the black-caps thrive almost toFlorida. 

Raspberries, especially those of our native species, arecomparatively free from disease. Foreign varieties and theirhybrids are sometimes afflicted with the curl-leaf. The foliagecrimps up, the canes are dwarfed, and the whole plant has a sicklyand often yellow appearance. The only remedy is to dig up theplant, root and branch, and burn it. 

A disease termed the "rust" not infrequently attacks old andpoorly nourished black-cap bushes. The leaves take on an ochreouscolor, and the plant is seen to be failing. Extirpate it asdirected above. If many bushes are affected, I advise that thewhole patch be rooted up, and healthy plants set out elsewhere. 

It is a well-known law of Nature that plants of nearly all kindsappear to exhaust from the soil in time the ingredients peculiarlyacceptable to them. Skill can do much toward maintaining theneedful supply; but the best and easiest plan is not to grow anyof the small fruits too long in any one locality. By setting outnew plants on different ground, far better results are attainedwith much less trouble. 

CHAPTER VI

THE CURRANT

Who that has ever lived in the country does not remember the oldstraggling currant-bushes that disputed their existence withgrass, docks, and other coarse-growing weeds along some ancientfence? Many also can recall the weary task of gathering a quart ortwo of the diminutive fruit for pies, and the endless pickingrequired to obtain enough for the annual jelly-making. Nor is thiscondition of affairs a thing of the past. Drive through the landwhere you will in early July, and you will see farmers mowinground the venerable Red Dutch currants "to give the women-folks achance at 'em. " The average farmer still bestows upon this fruitabout as much attention as the aborigines gave to their patches ofmaize. This seems very absurd when we remember the important placeheld in the domestic economy by the currant, and how greatly itimproves under decent treatment. If it demanded the attentionwhich a cabbage-plant requires, it would be given; but the currantbelongs to that small class of creatures which permit themselvesto be used when wanted, and snubbed, neglected, and imposed uponat other times. It is known that the bushes will manage to exist, and do the Very best they can, no matter how badly treated; andaverage human nature has ever taken advantage of such traits, toits continuous loss. 

The patience of the currant is due perhaps to its origin, for itgrows wild round the northern hemisphere, its chief haunts beingthe dim, cold, damp woods of the high latitudes. You may tame, modify, and vastly change anything possessing life; but originaltraits are scarcely ever wholly eradicated. Therefore the naturalhabitat and primal qualities of the currant indicate the truelines of development, its capabilities and limitations. It isessentially a northern fruit, requiring coolness, moisture, andalluvial soils. It begins to falter and look homesick even in NewJersey; and one has not to go far down the Atlantic coast to passbeyond the range of its successful culture. I do not see why itshould not thrive much further south on the northern slopes of themountains. From Philadelphia northward, however, except on lightdry soils and in sunny exposures, there is no reason why it shouldnot give ample returns for the attention it requires. 

I shall not lay stress on the old, well-known uses to which thisfruit is put, but I do think its value is but half appreciated. People rush round in July in search of health: let me recommendthe currant cure. If any one is languid, depressed in spirits, inclined to headaches, and generally "out of sorts, " let himfinish his breakfast daily for a month with a dish of freshlypicked currants. He will soon, almost doubt his own identity, andmay even begin to think that he is becoming a good man. He will bemore gallant to his wife, kinder to his children, friendlier tohis neighbors, and more open-handed to every good cause. Work willsoon seem play, and play fun. In brief, the truth of the ancientpun will be verified, that "the power to live a good life dependslargely upon the LIVER. " Out upon the nonsense of taking medicineand nostrums during the currant-season! Let it be taught attheological seminaries that the currant is a "means of grace. " Itis a corrective; and that is what average humanity most needs. 

The currant, like the raspberry, is willing to keep shady; butonly because it is modest. It is one of the fruits that thrivebetter among trees than in too dry and sunny exposures. Therefore, in economizing space on the Home Acre it may be grown amongsmaller trees, or, better still, on the northern or eastern sideof a wall or hedge. But shade is not essential, except as we gosouth; then the requisites of moisture and shelter from theburning rays of the sun should be complied with as far aspossible. In giving this and kindred fruits partial shade, theyshould not be compelled to contend to any extent with the roots oftrees. This will ever prove an unequal contest. No fruit canthrive in dense shade, or find sustenance among the voraciousroots of a tree. 

Select, therefore, if possible, heavy, deep, moist, yet well-drained soil, and do not fear to make and keep it very rich. Ifyou are restricted to sandy or gravelly soils, correct theirdefects with compost, decayed leaves and sods, muck, manure fromthe cow-stable, and other fertilizers with staying rather thanstimulating qualities. Either by plowing or forking, deepen aswell as enrich the soil. It is then ready for the plants, whichmay be set out either in the fall or in early spring. I prefer theautumn--any time after the leaves have fallen; but spring answersalmost as well, while buds are dormant, or partially so. It shouldbe remembered that the currant starts very early, and is in fullfoliage before some persons are fairly wakened to gardeninterests. It would, in this case, be better to wait untilOctober, unless the plants can be obtained from a neighbor on acloudy day; then they should be cut back two-thirds of theirlength before being removed, and the transfer made as quickly aspossible. Under any circumstances, take off half of the wood fromthe plants bought. This need not be thrown away. Every cutting ofyoung wood six inches long will make a new plant in a singleseason. All that is needful is to keep the wood moist until readyto put it in the ground, or, better still, a cool, damp place inthe garden can be selected at once, and the cuttings sunk two-thirds of their length into the ground, and the soil pressed firmaround them. By fall they will have a good supply of roots, and bythe following autumn be ready to be set out wherever you wish themto fruit. 

Currant-bushes may be planted five feet apart each way, and at thesame distance, if they are to line a fence. They should be sunk afew inches deeper in the soil than they stood before, and thelocality be such as to admit of good culture. The soil shouldnever be permitted to become hard, weedy, or grass-grown. As arule, I prefer two-year-old plants, while those of one year'sgrowth answer nearly as well, if vigorous. If in haste for fruit, it may be well to get three-year-old plants, unless they have beendwarfed and enfeebled by neglect. Subsequent culture consistschiefly in keeping the soil clean, mellow, rich, and thereforemoist. I have named the best fertilizers for the currant; but ifthe product of the horse-stable is employed, use it first as amulch. It will thus gradually reach the roots. Otherwise it is toostimulating, and produces a rampant growth of wood rather thanfruit. 

Under any circumstances this tendency to produce an undue amountof wood must be repressed almost as rigorously as in the grape-vine. The secret of successful currant-culture is richnessbeneath, and restriction above. English gardeners are said to haveas complete and minute systems of pruning and training currants asthe grape; but we do not seem to have patience for such detail. Nor do I regard it as necessary. Our object is an abundant supplyof excellent fruit; and this result can be obtained at asurprisingly small outlay of time and money, if they are expendedjudiciously. 

The art of trimming a currant-bush, like that of pruning a grape-vine, is best learned by observation and experience. One can giveprinciples rather than lay down rules. Like the vine, the curranttends to choke itself with a superabundance of wood, which soonbecomes more or less barren. This is truer of some varieties thanof others; but in all instances the judicious use of the pruning-knife doubles the yield. In view of the supposition that theleading shoot and all the branches were shortened in one-half whenthe plant was set out, I will suggest that early in June it willbe observed that much more wood is forming than can be permittedto remain. There are weak, crowding shoots which never can be ofany use. If these are cut out at this time, the sap which would goto mature them will be directed into the valuable parts of theforming bush. Summer pruning prevents misspent force, and it maybe kept up with great advantage from year to year. This is rarelydone, however; therefore early in spring the bushes must receive agood annual pruning, and the long shoots and branches be cut wellback, so as to prevent naked reaches of wood. Observe a veryproductive bush, and you will see that there are many pointsabounding in little side-branches. It is upon these that the fruitis chiefly borne. A bush left to itself is soon a mass of long, slender, almost naked stalks, with a little fruit at the ends. Theideal bush is stocky, open, well branched, admitting light, air, and sun in every part. There is no crowding and smothering of thefruit by the foliage. But few clusters are borne on very youngwood, and when this grows old and black, the clusters are small. Therefore new wood should always be coming on and kept well cutback, so as to form joints and side-branches; and as other partsgrow old and feeble they should be cut out. Observation andexperience will teach the gardener more than all the rules thatcould be written, for he will perceive that he must prune eachbush according to its own individuality. 

For practical purposes the bush form is the best in which to growcurrants; but they can easily be made to form pretty little treeswith tops shaped like an umbrella, or any other form we desire. For instance, I found, one autumn, a shoot about three feet long. I rubbed off all the buds except the terminal one and three orfour just beneath it, then sunk the lower end of the shoot sixinches into the soil, and tied the part above the ground to ashort stake. The following spring the lower end took root, and thefew buds at the top developed into a small bushy head. Clumps ofminiature currant-trees would make as pretty an ornament for thegarden border as one would wish to see. It should be rememberedthat there is a currant as well as an apple borer; but the pestsare not very numerous or destructive, and such little trees mayeasily be grown by the hundred. 

Clean culture has one disadvantage which must be guarded against. If the ground under bushes is loose, heavy rains will sometimes sosplash up the soil as to muddy the greater part of the fruit. Ionce suffered serious loss in this way, and deserved it; for alittle grass mown from the lawn, or any other litter spread underand around the bushes just before the fruit ripened, would haveprevented it. It will require but a very few minutes to insure aclean crop. 

I imagine that if these pages are ever read, and such advice as Ican give is followed, it will be more often by the mistress thanthe master of the Home Acre. I address him, but quite as often Imean her; and just at this point I am able to give "the powerbehind the throne" a useful hint. Miss Alcott, in her immortal"Little Women, " has given an instance of what dire results mayfollow if the "jelly won't jell. " Let me hasten to insure domesticpeace by telling my fair reader (who will also be, if the jellyturns out of the tumblers tremulous yet firm, a gentle reader)that if she will have the currants picked just as soon as they arefully ripe, and before they have been drenched by a heavy rain, she will find that the jelly will "jell. " It is overripe, water-soaked currants that break up families and demolish householdgods. Let me also add another fact, as true as it is strange, thatwhite currants make red jelly; therefore give the pearly fruitample space in the garden. 

In passing to the consideration of varieties, it is quite naturalin this connection to mention the white sorts first. I know thatpeople are not yet sufficiently educated to demand white currantsof their grocers; but the home garden is as much beyond thegrocer's stall as the home is better than a boarding-house. Thereis no reason why free people in the country should be slaves toconventionalities, prejudices, and traditions. If white currantsARE sweeter, more delicious and beautiful than the red, why, sothey are. Therefore let us plant them abundantly. 

If there is to be a queen among the currants, the White Grape isentitled to the crown. When placed upon the table, the dishappears heaped with translucent pearls. The sharp acid of the redvarieties is absent, and you feel that if you could live upon themfor a time, your blood would grow pure, if not "blue. "

The bush producing this exquisite fruit is like an uncouth-lookingpoet who gives beauty from an inner life, but disappoints inexternals. It is low-branching and unshapely, and must be forcedinto good form--the bush, not the poet--by the pruning-knife. Ifthis is done judiciously, no other variety will bear moreprofusely or present a fairer object on a July day. 

The White Dutch has the well-known characteristics in growth ofthe common Red Dutch currant, and is inferior only to the WhiteGrape in size. The fruit is equally transparent, beautiful, mild, and agreeable in flavor, while the bush is enormously productive, and shapely in form, if properly trained and fertilized. 

While the white currants are such favorites, I do not undervaluethe red. Indeed, were I restricted to one variety, it should bethe old Dutch Red of our fathers, or, more properly, of ourgrandmothers. For general house uses I do not think it has yetbeen surpassed. It is not so mild in flavor as the whitevarieties, but there is a richness and sprightliness in its acidthat are grateful indeed on a sultry day. Mingled with the whiteberries, it makes a beautiful dish, while it has all the culinaryqualities which the housekeeper can desire. If the bush isrigorously pruned and generously enriched, it is unsurpassed inproductiveness, and the fruit approaches very nearly to the Cherrycurrant in size. 

I do not recommend the last-named kind for the home garden, unlesslarge, showy fruit counts for more than flavor. The acid of theCherry currant, unless very ripe, is harsh and watery. At best itnever acquires an agreeable mildness, to my taste. The bushes alsoare not so certainly productive, and usually require skilfulpruning and constant fertilizing to be profitable. For the market, which demands size above all things, the Cherry is the kind togrow; but in the home garden flavor and productiveness are themore important qualities. Fay's Prolific is a new sort that hasbeen very highly praised. 

The Victoria is an excellent late variety, which, if planted in asheltered place, prolongs the currant-season well into the autumn. Spurious kinds are sold under this name. The true Victoriaproduces a pale-red fruit with tapering clusters or racemes ofberries. This variety, with the three others recommended, givesthe family two red and two white kinds--all that are needed. Thosewho are fond of black currants can, at almost any nursery, procurethe Black Naples and Lee's Prolific. Either variety will answerall practical purposes. I confess they are not at all to my taste. 

From the currant we pass on naturally to the gooseberry, for inorigin and requirements it is very similar. Both belong to theRibes family of plants, and they are to be cultivated on the samegeneral principles. What I have written in regard to partialshade, cool, sheltered localities, rich, heavy soils, goodculture, and especially rigorous pruning, applies with evengreater force to this fruit, especially if we endeavor to raisethe foreign varieties, in cultivating this fruit it is even moreimportant than was true of raspberries that the reader shoulddistinguish between the native and foreign species. The latter areso inclined to mildew in almost every locality that there israrely any certainty of satisfactory fruit. The same evil pursuesthe seedling children of the foreign sorts, and I have never seena hybrid or cross between the English and native species that waswith any certainty free from a brown disfiguring rust wholly orpartially enveloping the berries. Here and there the fruit in somegardens will escape year after year; again, on places not faraway, the blighting mildew is sure to appear before the berriesare fully grown. Nevertheless, the foreign varieties are so finethat it is well to give them a fair trial. The three kinds whichappear best adapted to our climate are Crown Bob, Roaring Lion, and Whitesmith. A new large variety, named Industry, is now beingintroduced, and if half of what is claimed for it is true, it isworth a place in all gardens. 

In order to be certain of clean, fair gooseberries every year, wemust turn to our native species, which has already given usseveral good varieties. The Downing is the largest and best, andthe Houghton the hardiest, most productive and easily raised. Whenwe remember the superb fruit which English gardeners havedeveloped from wild kinds inferior to ours, we can well understandthat the true American gooseberries are yet to be developed. In mywork "Success with Small Fruits" those who are interested in thisfruit will find much fuller treatment than is warranted in thepresent essay. 

Not only do currants and gooseberries require similar treatmentand cultivation, but they also have a common enemy that must bevigilantly guarded against, or the bushes will be defoliated inmany localities almost before its existence is known. After anabsence of a few days I have found some of my bushes stripped ofevery leaf. When this happens, the fruit is comparativelyworthless. Foliage is as necessary to a plant as are lungs to aman. It is not essential that I should go into the natural historyof the currant worm and moth. Having once seen the yellowish-greencaterpillars at their destructive work, the reader's thoughts willnot revert to the science of entomology, but will at once becomebloody and implacable. I hasten to suggest the means of rescue andvengeance. The moment these worms appear, be on your guard, forthey usually spread like fire in stubble. Procure of your druggistwhite hellebore, scald and mix a tablespoonful in a bowl of hotwater, and then pour it in a full watering-can. This gives you aninfusion of about a tablespoonful to an ordinary pail of water atits ordinary summer temperature. Sprinkle the infected bushes withthis as often as there is a worm to be seen. I have never failedin destroying the pests by this course. It should be remembered, however, that new eggs are often hatched out daily. You may killevery worm to-day, yet find plenty on the morrow. Vigilance, however, will soon so check the evil that your currants are safe;and if every one would fight the pests, they would eventually bealmost exterminated. The trouble is that, while you do your duty, your next-door neighbor may grow nothing on his bushes butcurrant-worms. Thus the evil is continued, and even increased, inspite of all that you can do; but by a little vigilance and theuse of hellebore you can always save YOUR currants. I have kept mybushes green, luxuriant, and loaded with fruit when, at a shortdistance, the patches of careless neighbors were rendered utterlyworthless. Our laws but half protect the birds, the bestinsecticides, and there is no law to prevent a man from allowinghis acres to be the breeding-place of every pest prevailing. 

There are three species of the currant-borer, and their presenceis indicated by yellow foliage and shrivelling fruit. The onlyremedy is to cut out and burn the affected stems. These pests arenot often sufficiently numerous to do much harm. 

I earnestly urge that virulent poisons like Paris green, Londonpurple, etc. , never be used on fruit or edible vegetables. Therecannot be safety in this course. I never heard of any one that wasinjured by white hellebore, used as I have directed; and I havefound that if the worms were kept off until the fruit began toripen, the danger was practically over. If I had to use helleboreafter the fruit was fit to use, I should first kill the worms, andthen cleanse the bushes thoroughly by spraying them with cleanwater. 

In treating the two remaining small fruits, blackberries andstrawberries, we pass wholly out of the shade and away from trees. Sunshine and open ground are now required. Another importantdifference can also be mentioned, reversing former experience. America is the home of these fruits. The wild species of theblackberry abroad has never, as far as I can learn, been developedinto varieties worthy of cultivation; and before importations fromNorth and South America began, the only strawberry of Europe wasthe Alpine, with its slight variations, and the musky Hautbois. 

I do not know whether any of our fine varieties of blackberriesare cultivated abroad, but I am perfectly certain that they areworthy of the slight attention required to raise them inperfection here. 

Like the blackcaps, all our best varieties are the spontaneousproducts of Nature, first discovered growing wild, and transferredto the garden. The blackberry is a fruit that takes kindly tocultivation, and improves under it. 

The proper treatment is management rather than cultivation andstimulation. It requires a sunny exposure and a light, warm soil, yet not so dry as to prevent the fruit from maturing into juicyberries. If possible, set the blackberries off by themselves, forit is hard to prevent the strong roots from travelling all overthe garden. The blackberry likes a rich, moist, mellow soil, and, finding it, some varieties will give you canes sixteen feet high. You do not want rank, thorny brambles, however, but berries. Therefore the blackberry should be put where it can do no harm, and, by a little judicious repression, a great deal of good. Agravelly or sandy knoll, with a chance to mow all round the patch, is the best place. The blackberry needs a deep, loose soil ratherthan a rich one. Then the roots will luxuriate to unknown depths, the wood ripen thoroughly, and the fruit be correspondinglyabundant. 

Let the rows be six feet apart; set out the plants in the fall, ifpossible, or EARLY spring; put two plants in the hills, which maybe four feet apart. If the ground is very poor, give the youngplants a shovelful of old compost, decayed leaves, etc. Anyfertilizer will answer, so that it is spread just over the rootsto give the plants a good send-off. 

As a rule, complete success in blackberry culture consists in alittle judicious work performed in May, June, and July. Theplants, having been set out as I have advised in the case ofraspberries, throw up the first season strong green shoots. Whenthese shoots are three feet high, pinch off the top, so as to stopupward growth. The result of this is that branches start on everyside, and the plant forms a low, stocky, self-supporting bush, which will be loaded with fruit the following season. 

The second year the plants in the hill will send up strongercanes, and there will be plenty of sprouts or suckers in theintervening spaces. When very young, these useless sprouts can bepulled out with the least possible trouble. Left to mature, theymake a thorny wilderness which will cause bleeding hands and faceswhen attacked, and add largely to the family mending. That which achild could do as play when the suckers were just coming throughthe ground, is now a formidable task for any man. In early summeryou can with the utmost ease keep every useless blackberry sproutfrom growing. More canes, also, will usually start from the hillthan are needed. Leave but three strong shoots, and this yearpinch them back as soon as they are four feet high, thus producingthree stocky, well-branched bushes, which in sheltered places willbe self-supporting. Should there be the slightest danger of theirbreaking down with their load of fruit, tie them to stakes by allmeans. I do not believe in that kind of economy which tries tosave a penny at the risk of a dollar. 

I believe that better and larger fruit is always secured byshortening in the side branches one-third of their length inspring. Fine varieties like the Kittatinny are not entirely hardyin all localities. The snow will protect the lower branches, andthe upper ones can usually be kept uninjured by throwing over themsome very light litter, like old pea or bean vines, etc. --nothingheavy enough to break them down. As soon as the old canes arethrough bearing, they should be cut out. If the blackberry patchhas been left to its own wild will, there is nothing left for usbut to attack it, well-gloved, in April, with the pruning-shears, and cut out everything except three or four young canes in thehill. These will probably be tall, slender, and branchless, therefore comparatively unproductive. In order to have any fruitat all, we must shorten them one-third, and tie them to stakes. Itthus may be clearly seen that with blackberries "a stitch in time"saves almost ninety-nine. Keep out coarse weeds and grass, andgive fertilizers only when the plants show signs of feebleness andlack of nutrition. 

A rust similar to that which attacks the black-cap is almost theonly disease we have to contend with. The remedy is the same--extirpation of the plant, root and branch. 

After testing a great many kinds, I recommend the three followingvarieties, ripening in succession for the family--the EarlyHarvest, Snyder, and Kittatinny. These all produce rich, high-flavored berries, and, under the treatment suggested, will provehardy in nearly all localities. This fruit is not ripe as soon asit is black, and it is rarely left on the bushes until the hardcore in the centre is mellowed by complete maturity. I have foundthat berries picked in the evening and stood in a cool place werein excellent condition for breakfast. To have them in perfection, however, they must be so ripe as to drop into the basket at theslightest touch; then, as Donald Mitchell says, they are "bloatedbubbles of forest honey. "

I fancy the reader is as impatient to reach the strawberry as I ammyself. "Doubtless God could have made a better berry"--but Iforbear. This saying has been quoted by the greater part of thehuman race, and attributed to nearly every prominent man, fromAdam to Mr. Beecher. There are said to be unfortunates whom thestrawberry poisons. The majority of us feel as if we could attainMethuselah's age if we had nothing worse to contend with. Praisingthe strawberry is like "painting the lily;" therefore let us giveour attention at once to the essential details of its successfulculture. 

As we have intimated before, this fruit as we find it in ourgardens, even though we raise foreign kinds, came originally fromAmerica. The two great species, Fragaria chilensis, found on thePacific slope from Oregon to Chili, and Fragaria virginiana, growing wild in all parts of North America east of the RockyMountains, are the sources of all the fine varieties that havebeen named and cultivated. The Alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca), which grows wild throughout the northern hemisphere, does notappear capable of much variation and development undercultivation. Its seeds, sown under all possible conditions, reproduce the parent plant. Foreign gardeners eventually learned, however, that seeds of the Chili and Virginia strawberry producednew varieties which were often much better than their parents. Astime passed, and more attention was drawn to this subject, superbvarieties were originated abroad, many of them acquiring a widecelebrity. In this case, as has been true of nearly all otherfruits, our nursery-men and fruit-growers first looked to Europefor improved varieties. Horticulturists were slow to learn that inour own native species were the possibilities of the best success. The Chili strawberry, brought directly from the Pacific coast tothe East, is not at home in our climate, and is still moreunfitted to contend with it after generations of culture inEurope. Even our hardier Virginia strawberry, coming back to usfrom England after many years of high stimulation in a moist, mildclimate, is unequal to the harsher conditions of life here. Theyare like native Americans who have lived and been pampered abroadso long that they find this country "quite too rude, you know--beastly climate. " Therefore, in the choice varieties, and indeveloping new ones, the nearer we can keep to vigorous strains ofour own hardy Virginia species the better. From it have proceededand will continue to come the finest kinds that can be grown eastof the Rockies. Nevertheless, what was said of foreign raspberriesis almost equally true of European strawberries like the Triomphede Gand and Jucunda, and hybrids like the Wilder. In localitieswhere they can be grown, their beauty and fine flavor repay forthe high culture and careful winter protection required. But theycan scarcely be made to thrive on light soils or very far to thesouth. 

So many varieties are offered for sale that the question of choiceis a bewildering one. I have therefore sought to meet it, asbefore, by giving the advice of those whose opinions are wellentitled to respect. 

Dr. Hexamer, who has had great and varied experience, writes asfollows: "A neighbor of mine who has for years bought nearly everynew strawberry when first introduced, has settled on the Duchessand Cumberland as the only varieties he will grow in the future, and thinks it not worth while to seek for something better. Confined to two varieties, a more satisfactory selection couldscarcely be made. But you want six or seven, either being, Ithink, about the right number for the home garden. I will givethem in the order of desirability according to my judgment--Cumberland, Charles Downing, Duchess, Mount Vernon, Warren, Sharpless, Jewell. "

The selection which places the Cumberland Triumph at the head ofthe list is but another proof how kinds differ under variedconditions. On my place this highly praised sort is but moderatelyproductive and not high-flavored, although the fruit is very largeand handsome. I regard the list, however, as a most excellent onefor most localities. 

The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder's choice for the latitude ofMassachusetts: "Charles Downing, Wilder, Hervey Davis, Sharpless, Cumberland, Kentucky. Jewell is very promising. " A. S. Fuller, forlatitude of New York: "Charles Downing, Sharpless, Miner'sProlific, Wilson's Albany, Champion. " P. C. Berckmans, for thelatitude of Georgia: "Wilson, Sharpless, Charles Downing, Triomphede Gand, Glendale. " The Hon. Norman J. Colman's choice forMissouri and the West: "Crescent, Captain Jack, Cumberland, Champion, Hart's Minnesota, Cornelia. "

If I gave a hundred other lists, no two of them probably wouldagree in all respects. Mr. Downing often said to me, "Soil, climate, and locality make greater differences with the strawberrythan with any other fruit. " This is far more true of somevarieties than others. I believe that the excellent kind namedafter Mr. Downing, if given proper treatment, will do well almostanywhere on the continent. It will be noted that it is on all thelists except one. I should place it at the head of gardenstrawberries. It is a kind that will endure much neglect, and itresponds splendidly to generous, sensible treatment. Its deliciousflavor is its chief recommendation, as it should be that of everyberry for the home garden. 

I have tested many hundreds of kinds, and have grown scores andscores that were so praised when first sent out that the novicemight be tempted to dig up and throw away everything except thewonderful novelty pressed upon his attention. There is one quiet, effective way of meeting all this heralding and laudation, andthat is to make trial beds. For instance, I have put out as manyas seventy kinds at nearly the same time, and grown them underprecisely the same conditions. Some of the much-vaunted new-comerswere found to be old varieties re-named; others, although sold athigh prices and asserted to be prodigies, were seen to becomparatively worthless when growing by the side of good oldstandard sorts; the majority never rose above mediocrity underordinary treatment; but now and then one, like the Sharpless, fulfilled the promises made for it. 

In my next chapter I shall venture to recommend those varietieswhich my own experience and observation have shown to be bestadapted to various soils and localities, and shall also seek toprove that proper cultivation has more to do with success thaneven the selection of favored kinds. 

Nor would I seek to dissuade the proprietor of the Home Acre fromtesting the many novelties offered. He will be sure to get a fairreturn in strawberries, and to his interest in his garden will addthe pleasure and anticipation which accompany uncertainexperiment. In brief, he has found an innocent form of gambling, which will injure neither pocket nor morals. In slow-maturingfruits we cannot afford to make mistakes; in strawberries, oneprize out of a dozen blanks repays for everything. 

CHAPTER VII

STRAWBERRIES

There is a very general impression that light, dry, sandy soilsare the best for the strawberry. Just the reverse of this is true. In its desire for moisture it is almost an aquatic plant. Experienced horticulturists have learned to recognize this truth, which the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder has suggested in the followingpiquant manner: "In the first place, the strawberry's chief needis a great deal of water. In the second place, it needs morewater. In the third place, I think I should give it a great dealmore water. "

While emphasizing this truth the reader should at the same time bewarned against land whereon water stands above the surface inwinter and spring, or stagnates beneath the surface at any time. Moisture is essential to the best results; good drainage isequally so. The marvellous crops of strawberries raised inCalifornia under well-directed systems of irrigation should teachus useful lessons. The plants, instead of producing a partiallydeveloped crop within a few brief days, continue in bearingthrough weeks and months. It may often be possible to supplyabundantly on the Home Acre this vital requirement of moisture, and I shall refer to this point further on. 

My first advice in regard to strawberries is to set them outimmediately almost anywhere except upon land so recently in grassthat the sod is still undecayed. This course is better than not tohave the fruit at all, or to wait for it A year withoutstrawberries is a lost year in one serious respect. While there isa wide difference between what plants can do under unfavorableconditions and what they can be made to do when their needs arefully met, they will probably in any event yield a fair supply ofdelicious fruit. Secure this as soon as possible. At the same timeremember that a plant of a good variety is a genius capable ofwonderful development. In ordinary circumstances it is like the"mute, inglorious" poets whose enforced limitations were lamentedby the poet Gray; but when its innate powers and gifts are fullynourished it expands into surprising proportions, sends uphundreds of flowers, which are followed by ruby gems of fruitwhose exquisite flavor is only surpassed by its beauty. No suchconcentrated ambrosia ever graced the feasts of the Olympian gods, for they were restricted to the humble Fragaria vesca, or Alpinespecies. In discovering the New World, Columbus also discoveredthe true strawberry, and died without the knowledge of this resultof his achievement. 

I can imagine the expression on the faces of those who buy the"sour, crude, half-ripe Wilsons, " against which the poet Bryantinveighed so justly. The market is flooded with this fruit becauseit bears transportation about as well as would marbles. Yes, theyare strawberries; choke-pears and Seckels belong to the samespecies. There is truth enough in my exaggeration to warrant theassertion that if we would enjoy the possible strawberry, we mustraise it ourselves, and pick it when fully matured--ready for thetable, and not for market. Then any man's garden can furnishsomething better than was found in Eden. 

Having started a strawberry-patch without loss of time wherever itis handiest, we can now give our attention to the formation of anideal bed. In this instance we must shun the shade of trees above, and their roots beneath. The land should be open to the sky, andthe sun free to practice his alchemy on the fruit the greater partof the day. The most favorable soil is a sandy loam, vergingtoward clay; and it should have been under cultivationsufficiently long to destroy all roots of grass and perennialweeds. Put on the fertilizer with a free hand. If it is barnyardmanure, the rate of sixty tons to the acre is not in excess. Astrawberry plant has a large appetite and excellent digestion. Itprefers decidedly manure from the cow-stable, though that from thehorse-stable answers very well; but it is not advisable toincorporate it with the soil in its raw, unfermented state, andthen to plant immediately. The ground can scarcely be too rich forstrawberries, but it may easily be overheated and stimulated. Infertilizing, ever keep in mind the two great requisites--moistureand coolness. Manure from the horse-stable, therefore, is almostdoubled in value as well as bulk if composted with leaves, muck, or sods, and allowed to decay before being used. 

Next to enriching the soil, the most important step is to deepenit. If a plow is used, sink it to the beam, and run it twice in afurrow. If a lifting subsoil-plow can follow, all the better. Strawberry roots have been traced two feet below the surface. 

If the situation of the plot does not admit the use of a plow, letthe gardener begin at one side and trench the area to at least thedepth of eighteen inches, taking pains to mix the surface, subsoil, and fertilizer evenly and thoroughly. A small plot thustreated will yield as much as one three or four times as large. One of the chief advantages of thus deepening the soil is that theplants are insured against their worst enemy--drought. How often Ihave seen beds in early June languishing for moisture, the fruittrusses lying on the ground, fainting under their burden, and theberries ripening prematurely into little more than diminutivecollections of seeds! When ground has been deepened as I havesaid, the drought must be almost unparalleled to arrest thedevelopment of the fruit. Even in the most favorable seasons, hard, shallow soils give but a brief period of strawberries, thefruit ripens all at once, and although the first berries may be ofgood size, the later ones dwindle until they are scarcely largerthan peas. Be sure to have a deep, mellow soil beneath the plants. 

Such a bed can be made in either spring or fall--indeed, at anytime when the soil is free from frost, and neither too wet nordry. I do not believe in preparing and fertilizing ground during aperiod of drought. 

We will suppose the work has been done in the spring, as early asthe earth was dry enough to crumble freely, and that the surfaceof the bed is smooth, mellow, and ready for the plants. Stretch agarden line down the length of the plot two feet from the outeredge, and set the plants along the line one foot apart from eachother. Let the roots be spread out, not buried in a mat, the earthpressed FIRMLY against them, and the crown of the plant be exactlyeven with the surface of the soil, which should also be pressedclosely around it with the fingers. This may seem minute detail, yet much dismal experience proves it to be essential. I haveemployed scores of men, and the great majority at first wouldeither bury the crowns out of sight, or else leave part of theroots exposed, and the remainder so loose in the soil that a sharpgale would blow the plants away. There is no one so economical oftime as the hired man whose time is paid for. He is ever bent onsaving a minute or half-minute in this kind of work. On oneoccasion I had to reset a good part of an acre on which my men hadsaved time in planting. If I had asked them to save the plants inthe year of '86, they might have "struck. "

The first row having been set out, I advise that the line be movedforward three feet. This would make the rows three feet apart--nottoo far in ground prepared as described, and in view of thesubsequent method of cultivation. The bed may therefore be filledup in this ratio, the plants one foot apart in the row, and therows three feet apart. The next point in my system, for the kindof soil named (for light, sandy soils another plan will beindicated), is to regard each plant as an individual that is to bedeveloped to the utmost. Of course only young plants of theprevious season's growth should be used. If a plant has old, woody, black roots, throw it away. Plants set out in April willbegin to blossom in May. These buds and blossoms should be pickedoff ruthlessly as soon as they appear. Never does avariceoverreach itself more completely than when plants are permitted tobear the same season in which they are set out. The young, half-established plant is drained of its vitality in producing a littleimperfect fruit; yet this is permitted even by farmers who wouldhold up their hands at the idea of harnessing a colt to a plow. 

The plants do not know anything about our purpose in regard tothem. They merely seek to follow the law of Nature to propagatethemselves, first by seeds which, strictly speaking, are thefruit, and then by runners. These slender, tendril-like growthsbegin to appear early in summer, and if left unchecked will matthe ground about the parent with young plants by late autumn. Ifwe wish plants, let them grow by all means; but if fruit is ourobject, why should we let them grow? "Because nearly every oneseems to do it, " would be, perhaps, the most rational answer. Thisis a mistake, for many are beginning to take just the oppositecourse even when growing strawberries by the acre. 

Let us fix our attention on a single plant. It has a certainamount of root pasturage and space in which to grow. Since it isnot permitted to produce an indefinite number of young plants, itbegins to develop itself. The soil is rich, the roots are busy, and there must be an outlet. The original plant cannot formothers, and therefore begins to produce fruit-crowns for thecoming year. All the sap, all the increasing power of root andfoliage, are directed to preparation for fruit. In brief, we havegot the plant in traces; it is pulling in the direction we wish, it will eventually deliver a load of berries which would surprisethose who trust simply to Nature unguided. 

Some one may object that this is a troublesome and expensive wayof growing strawberries. Do not the facts in the case prove thereverse? A plant restricted to a single root can be hoed andworked around like a hill of corn or a currant-bush. Withcomparatively little trouble the ground between the rows can bekept clean and mellow. Under the common system, which allows therunners to interlace and mat the ground, you soon have an almostendless amount of hand-weeding to do, and even this fails if whiteclover, sorrel, and certain grasses once get a start. The system Iadvocate forbids neglect; the runners must be clipped off as fastas they appear, and they continue to grow from June till frost;but the actual labor of the year is reduced to a minimum. A littleboy or girl could keep a large bed clipped by the occasional useof a shears or knife before breakfast; and if the ground betweenthe plants is free of runners, it can be hoed over in an hour. Considering, therefore, merely the trouble and expense, thesingle-plant system has the facts in its favor. But our object isnot to grow strawberry plants with the least trouble, but to havestrawberries of the largest and finest quality. 

In addition to ease and thoroughness of cultivation, there areother important advantages. The single narrow row of plants ismore easily protected against winter's frosts. Light, strawymanure from the horse-stable serves well for this purpose; but itshould be light and free from heat. I have seen beds destroyed bytoo heavy a covering of chunky, rank manure. It is not our purposeto keep the beds and plants from freezing, but from alternatelyfreezing and thawing. If snow fell on the bed in December andlasted till April, no other protection would be needed. Nature inthis latitude has no sympathy for the careless man. During thewinter of 1885, in January, and again in February and March, theground was bare, unprotected plants were badly frozen, and in manyinstances lifted partly out of the ground by midday thawing andnight freezing. The only safe course is to cover the rowsthoroughly, but not heavily, early in December. If then lightstable-manure is not at hand, leaves, old bean-vines, or any dryrefuse from the garden not containing injurious seeds will answer. Do not employ asparagus-tops, which contain seed. Of course wewant this vegetable, but not in the strawberry bed. Like somepersons out of their proper sphere, asparagus may easily become anuisance; and it will dispossess other growths of their rights andplaces as serenely as a Knight of Labor. The proper balance mustbe kept in the garden as well as in society; and therefore it isimportant to cover our plants with something that will notspeedily become a usurper. Let it be a settled point, then, thatthe narrow rows must be covered thoroughly out of sight with somelight material which will not rest with smothering weight on theplants or leave among them injurious seeds. Light stable-manure isoften objected to for the reason that employing it is like sowingthe ground with grass-seed. If the plants had been allowed to growin matted beds, I would not use this material for a wintercovering, unless it had been allowed to heat sufficiently todestroy the grass and clover seed contained in it. I have seenmatted beds protected with stable-manure that were fit to mow byJune, the plants and fruit having been over run with grass. Nosuch result need follow if the plants are cultivated in a singleline, for then the manure can be raked off in early spring--firstof April in our latitude--and the ground cultivated. There is agreat advantage in employing light manure if the system I advocateis followed, for the melting snows and rains carry the richness ofthe fertilizer to the roots, and winter protection serves a doublepurpose. 

We will now consider the proper management for the second year, when a full crop should be yielded. I know that many authoritiesfrown upon cultivation during the second spring, before plantsbear their fruit. I can not agree with this view, except in regardto very light soils, and look upon it as a relic of the old theorythat sandy land was the best for strawberries. Take the soil underconsideration, a sandy loam, for instance. After the frost is out, the earth settled, and the winter covering raked off, the soilunder the spring sun grows hard, and by June is almost as solid asa roadbed. Every one knows that land in such condition sufferstenfold more severely from drought than if it were light andmellow from cultivation. Perennial weeds that sprouted late in thefall or early spring get a start, and by fruiting-time arerampant. I do advocate EARLY spring cultivation, and by it Ialmost double my crop, while at the same time maintaining amastery over the weeds. 

As soon as the severe frosts are over, in April, I rake thecoarsest of the stable-manure from the plants, leaving the finerand decayed portions as a fertilizer. Then, when the ground is dryenough to work, I have a man weed out the rows, and if there arevacant spaces, fill in the rows with young plants. The man thenforks the ground lightly between the rows, and stirs the surfacemerely among the plants. Thus all the hard, sodden surface isloosened or scarified, and opened to the reception of air andlight, dew and rain. The man is charged emphatically that in thiscultivation he must not lift the plants or disturb the roots toany extent. If I find a plant with its hold upon the groundloosened, I know there has been careless work. Before diggingalong the row the fork is sunk beside the plants to prevent thesoil from lifting in cakes, and the plants with them. In brief, pains are taken that the plants should be just as firm in the soilafter cultivation as before. Let the reader carefully observe thatthis work is done EARLY in April, while the plants arecomparatively DORMANT. Most emphatically it should not be done inMay, after the blossoms begin to appear. If the bed has beenneglected till that time, the SURFACE MERELY can be cultivatedwith a hoe. When the plants have approached so near to thefruiting, the roots must not be disturbed at all. EARLYcultivation gives time for new roots to grow, and stimulates suchgrowth. Where the rows are sufficiently long, and the groundpermits it, this early loosening of the soil is accomplished witha horse-cultivator better than with a fork, the hoe following andlevelling the soil and taking out all weeds. 

My next step during the second season is to mulch the plants, inorder to keep the fruit clean. Without this mulch the fruit isusually unfit for the table. A dashing shower splashes the berrieswith mud and grit, and the fruit must be washed before it iseaten; and strawberries with their sun-bestowed beauty and flavorwashed away are as ridiculous as is mere noise from musicalinstruments. To be content with such fruit is like valuingpictures by the number of square inches of canvas! In perfecting astrawberry, Nature gives some of her finest touches, and it is notwell to obliterate them with either mud or water. Any light cleanmaterial will keep the fruit clean. I have found spring rakings ofthe lawn--mingled dead grass and leaves--one of the best. Leavesfrom a grove would answer, were it not for their blowing about inan untidy way. Of course there is nothing better than straw forthe strawberry; but this often costs as much as hay. Any cleanlitter that will lie close to the ground and can be pushed upunder the plants will answer. Nor should it be merely under theplants. A man once mulched my rows in such a way that the fruithung over the litter on the soil beyond. A little common-sensewill meet the requirement of keeping the berries well away fromthe loose soil, while at the same time preserving a neat aspect tothe bed. Pine-needles and salt-hay are used where these materialsare abundant. 

Make it a rule to mulch as soon as possible after the plants beginto blossom, and also after a good soaking rain. In this case thelitter keeps the ground moist. If the soil immediately about theplants is covered when dry, the mulch may keep it dry--to thegreat detriment of the forming berries. It is usually best to puton the mulch as soon as the early cultivation is over in April, and then the bed may be left till the fruit is picked. Of courseit may be necessary to pull out some rank-growing weeds from timeto time. If the hired man is left to do the mulching very late inthe season, he will probably cover much of the green fruit andblossoms as well as the ground. 

After the berries have been picked, the remaining treatment of theyear is very simple. Rake out the mulch, cultivate the soil, andkeep the plants free of weeds and runners as during the previousyear. Before hard freezing weather, protect again as before, andgive the plants similar treatment the following spring and summer. Under this system the same plants may be kept in bearing three, four, and five years, according to the variety. Some kindsmaintain their vigor longer than others. After the first year thedisposition to run declines, and with the third year, in mostinstances, deterioration in the plant itself begins. I wouldtherefore advise that under this system a new bed be made, asdescribed, every third year; for, it should be remembered, the newbed is unproductive the first year. This should never be forgottenif one would maintain a continuous supply of berries, otherwise hewill be like those born on the 29th of February, and have onlyoccasional birthdays. 

If the old bed is just where you wish, and has been prepared inthe thorough manner described, it can be renewed in the followingmanner: When the old plants begin to decline in vigor--say thethird or fourth spring--a line of well-decayed compost and manurefrom the cow-stable a foot wide may be spread thickly down betweenthe rows, dug under deeply, and young plants set out just over thefertilizer. The old plants can be treated as has already beendescribed, and as soon as they are through bearing, dug under. This would leave the young plants in full possession of theground, and the cultivation and management for three or more yearswould go on as already directed. This course involves no loss oftime or change of ground for a long periods. If, however, a newbed can be made somewhere else, the plants will thrive better uponit. Unless there are serious objections, a change of ground isalways advantageous; for no matter how lavishly the plot isenriched, the strawberry appears to exhaust certain requiredconstituents in the soil. Continued vigor is better maintained bywood-ashes perhaps than by any other fertilizer, after the soil isonce deepened and enriched, and it may be regarded as one of thevery best tonics for the strawberry plant. Bone-meal is almostequally good. Guano and kindred fertilizers are too stimulating, and have not the staying qualities required. 

As has been intimated before, the strawberry bed may often be solocated on the Home Acre as to permit of irrigation. This does notmean sprinkling and splattering with water, but the continuousmaintenance of abundant moisture during the critical period fromthe time the fruit begins to form until it ripens. Partialwatering during a drought is very injurious; so also would be toofrequent watering. If the ground could be soaked twice a week inthe evening, and then left to the hardening and maturing influenceof the sun and wind, the finest results would be secured. I amsatisfied that in most localities the size of the berries and thenumber of quarts produced might be doubled by judiciousirrigation. 

The system given above applies not only to sandy loam, but also toall varieties of clay, even the most stubborn. In the latterinstance it would be well to employ stable-manure in the initialenriching, for this would tend to lighten and warm the soil. Caremust also be exercised in not working clay when it is too wet ortoo dry. Mulch also plays an important part on heavy clay, for itprevents the soil from baking and cracking. One of the bestmethods of preventing this is to top-dress the ground with stable-manure, and hoe it in from time to time when fighting the weeds. This keeps the surface open and mellow--a vital necessity forvigorous growth. Few plants will thrive when the surface is hardand baked. Nevertheless, if I had to choose between heavy clay andlight sand for strawberries, I should much prefer the clay. On thelast-named soil an abundant winter protection is absolutelynecessary, or else the plants will freeze entirely out of theground. 

The native strain of cultivated strawberries has so much vigor andpower of adaptation that plenty of excellent varieties can begrown on the lightest soil. In this instance, however, we wouldsuggest important modifications in preparation and culture. Thesoil, as has been already shown, must be treated like aspendthrift. Deep plowing or spading should be avoided, as thesubsoil is too loose and leachy already. The initial enriching ofthe bed should be generous, but not lavish. You cannot depositfertilizers for long-continued use. I should prefer to harrow orrake in the manure, leaving it near the surface. The rains willcarry it down fast enough. One of the very best methods is to openfurrows, three feet apart, with a light corn-plow, half fill themwith decayed compost, again run the plow through to mix thefertilizer with the soil, then level the ground, and set out theplants immediately over the manure. They thus get the benefit ofit before it can leach away. The accomplished horticulturist Mr. P. T. Quinn, of Newark, N. J. , has achieved remarkable success bythis plan. 

It is a well-known fact that on light land strawberry plants arenot so long-lived and do not develop, or "stool out, " as it istermed, as on heavier land. In order to secure the largest andbest possible crop, therefore, I should not advise a single lineof plants, but rather a narrow bed of plants, say eighteen incheswide, leaving eighteen inches for a walk. I would not allow thisbed to be matted with an indefinite number of little plantscrowding each other into feeble life, but would leave only thoserunners which had taken root early, and destroy the rest. A plantwhich forms in June and the first weeks in July has time to maturegood-sized fruit-buds before winter, especially if given space inwhich to develop. This, however, would be impossible if therunners were allowed to sod the ground thickly. In principle Iwould carry out the first system, and give each plant space inwhich to grow upon its own root as large as it naturally would ina light soil, and I would have a sufficient number of plants tosupply the deficiency in growth. On good, loamy soil, the foliageof single lines of plants, three feet apart, will grow so large asto touch across the spaces; but this could scarcely be expected onlight soil unless irrigation were combined with great fertility. Nevertheless, a bed with plants standing not too thickly upon itwill give an abundance of superb fruit. 

Strawberries grown in beds may not require so much spring mulchingto keep the fruit clean, but should carefully receive all that isneeded. Winter protection also is not so indispensable as onheavier soils, but it always well repays. A thick bed of plantsshould never be protected by any kind of litter which would leaveseeds of various kinds, for under this system of culture weedsmust be taken out by hand; and this is always slow, back-achingwork. 

When plants are grown in beds it does not pay to continue themafter fruiting the third year. For instance, they are set out inspring, and during the first season they are permitted to make alimited number of runners, and prepare to fruit the followingyear. After the berries are picked the third year, dig the plantsunder, and occupy the ground with something else. On light soils, and where the plants are grown in beds instead of narrow rows, newbeds should be set out every alternate year. 

In order to have an abundant supply of young plants it is onlynecessary to let one end of a row or a small portion of a bed runat will. Then new plants can be set out as desired. 

While more strawberries are planted in spring than at any othertime, certain advantages are secured by summer and fall setting. This is especially true of gardens wherein early crops arematuring, leaving the ground vacant. For instance, there are areasfrom which early peas, beans, or potatoes have been gathered. Suppose such a plot is ready for something else in July or August, the earlier the better. Unless the ground is very dry, a bed canbe prepared as has been described. If the soil is in goodcondition, rich and deep, it can be dug thoroughly, and the plantsset out at once in the cool of the evening, or just before ashower. During the hot season a great advantage is secured if theplants are set immediately after the ground is prepared, and whilethe surface is still moist. It is unfortunate if ground is madeready and then permitted to dry out before planting takes place, for watering, no matter how thorough, has not so good an influencein starting new growth as the natural moisture of the soil. Itwould be better, therefore, to dig the ground late in theafternoon, and set out the plants the same evening. Watering, however, should never be dispensed with during warm weather, unless there is a certainty of rain; and even then it does noharm. 

Suppose one wishes to set a new bed in July. If he hasstrawberries growing on his place, his course would be to let someof his favorite varieties make new runners as early as possible. These should be well-rooted young plants by the middle of themonth. After the new ground is prepared, these can be taken up, with a ball of earth attached to their roots, and carriedcarefully to their new starting-place. If they are removed sogently as not to shake off the earth from the roots, they will notknow that they have been moved, but continue to thrive withoutwilting a leaf. If such transplanting is done immediately after asoaking rain, the soil will cling to the roots so tenaciously asto ensure a transfer that will not cause any check of growth. Butit is not necessary to wait for rain. At five in the afternoonsoak with water the ground in which the young plants are standing, and by six o'clock you can take up the plants with their rootsincased in clinging earth, just as successfully as after a rain. Plants thus transferred, and watered after being set out, will notwilt, although the thermometer is in the nineties the followingday. If young plants are scarce, take up the strongest and best-rooted ones, and leave the runner attached; set out such plantswith their balls of earth four feet apart in the row, and with alump of earth fasten down the runners along the line. Within amonth these runners will fill up the new rows as closely asdesirable. Then all propagation in the new bed should be checked, and the plants compelled to develop for fruiting in the comingseason. In this latitude a plant thus transferred in July orAugust will bear a very good crop the following June, and theberries will probably be larger than in the following years. Thistendency to produce very large fruit is characteristic of youngplants set out in summer. It thus may be seen that plants set inspring can not produce a good crop of fruit under about fourteenmonths, while others, set in summer, will yield in nine or tenmonths. I have set out many acres in summer and early autumn withthe most satisfactory results. Thereafter the plants were treatedin precisely the same manner as those set in spring. 

If the plants must be bought and transported from a distanceduring hot weather, I should not advise the purchase of any exceptthose grown in pots. Nurserymen have made us familiar with pot-grown plants, for we fill our flowerbeds with them. In like mannerstrawberry plants are grown and sold. Little pots, three inchesacross at the top, are sunk in the earth along a strawberry row, and the runners so fastened down that they take root in thesepots. In about two weeks the young plant will fill a pot withroots. It may then be severed from the parent, and transportedalmost any distance, like a verbena. Usually the ball of earth androots is separated from the pot, and is then wrapped in paperbefore being packed in the shallow box employed for shippingpurposes. A nurseryman once distributed in a summer throughout thecountry a hundred thousand plants of one variety grown in thismanner. The earth encasing the roots sustained the plants duringtransportation and after setting sufficiently to prevent any lossworth mentioning. This method of the plant-grower can easily beemployed on the Home Acre. Pots filled with earth may be sunkalong the strawberry rows in the garden, the runners made to rootin them, and from them transferred to any part of the gardenwherein we propose to make a new bed. It is only a neater and morecertain way of removing young plants with a ball of earth from theopen bed. 

Some have adopted this system in raising strawberries for market. They prepare very rich beds, fill them with pot-grown plants inJune or July, take from these plants one crop the following June, then plow them under. As a rule, however, such plants cannot bebought in quantities before August or September. 

As we go south, September, October, or November, according tolowness of latitude, are the favorite months for planting. I havehad excellent success on the Hudson in late autumn planting. Mymethod has been to cover the young plants, just before the groundfroze, with two or three inches of clean earth, and then to rakeit off again early in April. The roots of such plants becomethoroughly established during the winter, and start with doublevigor. Plants set out in LATE autumn do best on light, dry soils. On heavy soils they will be frozen out unless well covered. Theyshould not be allowed to bear the following season. A late-setplant cannot before winter in our climate become strong and sturdyenough to produce much fruit the following season. I make it arule not to permit plants set out after the first of October tobear fruit until a year from the following June. 

In setting out plants, the principle of sex should be remembered. The majority of our favorite varieties are bisexual; that is, theblossoms are furnished with both stamens and pistils. A varietywith this organization, as the Sharpless, for instance, will bearalone with no other kind near it. But if one set out a bed ofChampions--another fine variety--well apart from any staminatekind, it would blossom profusely, but produce no fruit. When I wasa boy, Hovey's Seedling was the great strawberry of the day, andmarvellous stories were told of the productiveness of the plantsand the size of the berries. How well I remember thedisappointment and wrath of people who bought the plants at a highprice, and set them out with no staminate varieties near tofertilize the pistillate blossoms. Expectations were raised to thehighest pitch by profuse blossoming in May, but not a berry couldbe found the ensuing June. The vigorous plants were only amockery, and the people who sold them were berated as humbugs. To-day the most highly praised strawberry is the Jewell. Theoriginator, Mr. P. M. Augur, writes me that "plants set two feetby eighteen inches apart, August 1, 1884, in June, 1885, completely covered the ground, touching both ways, and averagedlittle over a quart to the plant for the centre patch. " Allrunners were kept off, in accordance with the system advocated inthis paper. "At Boston a silver medal was awarded to this varietyas the best new strawberry introduced within five years. " Peoplereading such laudation--well deserved, I believe--might concludethe best is good enough for us, and send for enough Jewell plantsto set out a bed. If they set no others near it, their experiencewould be similar to that which I witnessed in the case of Hovey'sSeedling thirty odd years ago. The blossom of the Jewell containspistils only, and will produce no fruit unless a staminate varietyis planted near. I have never considered this an objection againsta variety; for why should any one wish to raise only one varietyof strawberry? All danger of barrenness in pistillate kinds isremoved absolutely by planting staminate sorts in the same bed. Innurserymen's catalogues pistillate varieties are marked "P. , " andthe purchaser has merely to set out the plants within a few feetof some perfect flowering kind to secure abundant fruit. 

As a result of much experience, I will now make some suggestionsas to varieties. In a former paper I have given, the opinions ofothers upon this important subject, and one can follow the adviceof such eminent authorities without misgiving. The earlieststrawberry that I have ever raised, and one of the best flavored, is the Crystal City. It is evidently a wild variety domesticated, and it has the exquisite flavor and perfume of the field-berry. Itrarely fails to give us fruit in May, and my children, with theunerring taste of connoisseurs, follow it up until the last berryis picked. It would run all over the garden unchecked; and thispropensity must be severely curbed to render a bed productive. Keeping earliness and high flavor in view, I would next recommendthe Black Defiance. It is not remarkably productive on many soils, but the fruit is so delicious that it well deserves a place. TheDuchess and Bidwell follow in the order of ripening. On my groundsthey have always made enormous plants, and yielded an abundance ofgood-flavored berries. The Downing is early to medium in theseason of ripening, and should be in every collection. The Indianais said to resemble this kind, and to be an improvement upon it. Miner's Prolific is another kindred berry, and a most excellentone. Among the latest berries I recommend the Sharpless Champion, or Windsor Chief, and Parry. If one wishes to raise a very large, late, showy berry, let him try the Longfellow. The Cornelia issaid to grow very large and ripen late, but I have not yet fruitedit. As I said fifteen or twenty years ago, if I were restricted tobut one variety, I should choose the Triomphe de Gand, a foreignkind, but well adapted to rich, heavy soils. The berries begin toripen early, and last very late. The Memphis Late has always beenthe last to mature on my grounds, and, like the Crystal City, iseither a wild variety, or else but slightly removed. The Wilson isthe great berry of commerce. It is not ripe when it is red, andtherefore is rarely eaten in perfection. Let it get almost blackin its ripeness, and it is one of the richest berries inexistence. With a liberal allowance of sugar and cream, it makes adish much too good for an average king. It is also the bestvariety for preserving. 

It should be remembered that all strawberries, unlike pears, should be allowed to mature fully before being picked. Many avariety is condemned because the fruit is eaten prematurely. Thereis no richer berry in existence than the Windsor Chief, yet thefruit, when merely red, is decidedly disagreeable. 

The reader can now make a selection of kinds which should give himsix weeks of strawberries. At the same time he must be warned thatplants growing in a hard, dry, poor soil, and in matted beds, yield their fruit almost together, no matter how many varietiesmay have been set out. Under such conditions the strawberry seasonis brief indeed. 

While I was writing this paper the chief enemy of the strawberrycame blundering and bumping about my lamp--the May beetle. Thelarva of this insect, the well-known white grub, has an insatiableappetite for strawberry roots, and in some localities and seasonsis very destructive. One year I lost at least one hundred thousandplants by this pest. This beetle does not often lay its egg inwell-cultivated ground, and we may reasonably hope to escape itsravages in a garden. If, when preparing for a bed, many whitegrubs are found in the soil, I should certainly advise thatanother locality be chosen. The only remedy is to dig out thelarvae and kill them. If you find a plant wilting without apparentcause, you may be sure that a grub is feeding on the roots. Thestrawberry plant is comparatively free from insect enemies anddisease, and rarely disappoints any one who gives it a tithe ofthe attention it deserves. 

There are many points in connection with this fruit which, in asmall treatise like this, must be merely touched upon or omittedaltogether. I may refer those who wish to study the subject morethoroughly to my work, "Success with Small Fruits. "

CHAPTER VIII

THE KITCHEN-GARDEN

The garden should be open to the sky, and as far as possibleunshaded by adjacent trees from the morning and afternoon sun. Itis even more essential that the trees be not so near that theirvoracious roots can make their way to the rich loam of the garden. 

Now for the soil. We should naturally suppose that that of Edenwas a deep sandy loam, with not too porous a subsoil. As we havealready seen again and again, such a soil appears to be thelaboratory in which we can assist Nature to develop her bestproducts. But Nature has a profound respect for skill, and whenshe recognizes it, "lends a hand" in securing excellent crops fromalmost drifting sand or stubborn clay. She has even assisted theHollander in wresting from the ocean one of the gardens of theworld. 

We must again dwell on the principles already emphasized, thatsoils must be treated according to their nature. If too damp, theymust be drained; if of the fortunate quality of a sandy loamresting on a clay subsoil, they can be abundantly deepened andenriched from the start, if of a heavy clay, inclined to be coldand wet in spring, and to bake and crack in summer, skill shouldaim to lighten it and remove its inertia; finally, as we haveshown, a light, porous soil should be treated like a spendthrift. All soils, except the last-named, are much the better for beingenriched and deeply plowed or forked in October or November. Thisexposes the mould to the sweetening and mechanical action offrost, and the fertilizers incorporated with it are graduallytransformed into just that condition of plant food which therootlets take up with the greatest ease and rapidity. A lightsoil, on the contrary, should not be worked in autumn, but be leftintact after the crops are taken from it. 

In one respect a light soil and a stiff, heavy one should betreated in the same way, but for different reasons. In the firstinstance, fertilizers should be applied in moderation to thesurface, and rains and the cultivation of the growing cropsdepended upon to carry the richness downward to the roots. Theporous nature of the earth must ever be borne in mind; fertilizerspass through it and disappear, and therefore are applied to thesurface, to delay this process and enable the roots to obtain asmuch nutriment as possible during the passage. Equal and evengreater advantages are secured by a top-dressing of barnyardmanures and composts to the heaviest of clay. The surface of suchsoils, left to Nature, becomes in hot, dry weather like pottery, baking and cracking, shielding from dew and shower, and preventingall circulation of air about the roots. A top-dressing preventsall this, keeps the surface open and mellow, and supplies not onlyfertility, but the mechanical conditions that are essential. 

If we are now ready to begin, let us begin right. I have not muchsympathy with finical, fussy gardening. One of the chieffascinations of gardening is the endless field it affords forskilful sleight of hand, short-cuts, unconventional methods, andexperiments. The true gardener soon ceases to be a man of rules, and becomes one of strategy, of expedients. He is prompt to act atthe right moment. Like the artist, he is ever seeking and actingupon hints from Nature. The man of rules says the first of July isthe time to set out winter cabbage; and out the plants go, thoughthe sky be brazen, and the mercury in the nineties. The gardenerhas his plants ready, and for a few days watches the sky. At lasthe perceives that rain is coming; then he sets out his plants, andNature's watering starts them, unwilted, on their new growth. 

At the same time I protest against careless, slovenly gardening--ground imperfectly prepared, crooked rows, seed half covered, orcovered so deeply that the germs are discouraged long before theyreach light. One of the best aids to success is a small compost-heap composed equally of manure from the horse-stable, the cow-stable, and of leaves. This should be allowed to stand so long, and be cut down and turned so often, that it becomes like a fineblack powder, and is much the better for being kept under shelterfrom sun and rain. 

All who hope to have a permanent garden will naturally think firstof asparagus--one of the vegetables that have bee a longest incultivation, and one which is justly among the most valued. It wascultivated hundreds of years before the Christian era, and is to-day growing in popular esteem among civilized peoples. 

In the matter of preparation I shall take issue with many of theauthorities. I have read and known of instances whereinextraordinary expense and pains have been bestowed upon theasparagus-bed. The soil has been dug out to the depth of two ormore feet, the bottom paved, and the homely, hardy roots, accustomed to roughing it the world over, set out and tended witha care which, if given to a potato, would make it open its eyes. There are few more hardy or widely distributed species ofvegetables than asparagus. It is "a native of the sea-coasts ofvarious countries of Europe and Asia. " According to Loudon, it isabundant on the sandy steppes in the interior of Russia. InSouthern Russia and Poland the horses and cows feed upon it. Itgrows freely in the fens of Lincolnshire, and is indigenous toCornwall. On the borders of the Euphrates the shoots are soextraordinarily large and vigorous that Thompson thinks it wouldbe to the advantage of gardeners to import roots from that region. These facts may indicate that too much stress may have been laidon its character as a marine plant. Yet it is true that it growsnaturally on the coast of Holland, in the sandy valleys and on thedowns, while off Lizard Point it flourishes naturally on an islandwhere, in gales, the sea breaks over the roots. In this countryalso it has escaped cultivation, and is establishing itself alongour coasts, The truth is that it is a plant endowed with aremarkable power of adaptation to all soils and climates, and doesnot need the extravagant petting often given it. On differentportions of my place chance seeds have fallen, and annuallyproduce almost as fine heads as are cut from the garden. Naturetherefore teaches what experience verifies--that asparagus is oneof the most easily grown and inexpensive vegetables of the garden. From two small beds we have raised during the past eight yearstwice as much as we could use, and at the cost of very littletrouble either in planting or cultivation. 

In my effort to show, from the hardy nature of the asparagusplant, that extravagant preparation is unnecessary, let no oneconclude that I am opposed to a good, thorough preparation thataccords with common-sense. It is not for one year's crop that youare preparing, but for a vegetable that should be productive onthe same ground thirty or forty years. What I said of strawberriesapplies here. A fair yield of fruit may be expected from plantsset out on ordinary corn-ground, but more than double the cropwould be secured from ground generously prepared. 

When I first came to Cornwall, about twelve years ago, Idetermined to have an asparagus bed as soon as possible. Iselected a plot eighty feet long by thirty wide, of sandy loam, sloping to the southwest. It had been used as a garden before, butwas greatly impoverished. I gave it a good top-dressing ofbarnyard manure in the autumn, and plowed it deeply; another top-dressing of fine yard manure and a deep forking in the earlyspring. Then, raking the surface smooth, I set a line along itslength on one side. A man took a spade, sunk its length in thesoil, and pushed it forward strongly. This action made an almostperpendicular wedge-shaped aperture just back of the spade. Theasparagus plant, with its roots spread out fan-shape, was sunk inthis opening to a depth that left the crown of the plant betweenthree and four inches below the surface. Then the spade was drawnout, and the soil left to fall over the crown of the plant. Rapidly repeating this simple process, the whole plot was soon setout. The entire bed was then raked smooth. The rows were threefeet apart, and plants one foot apart in the row. A similar plotcould scarcely have been planted with potatoes more quickly or atless expense, and a good crop of potatoes could not have beenraised on that poor land with less preparation. A few years laterI made another and smaller bed in the same way. The results havebeen entirely satisfactory. I secured my object, and had plenty ofasparagus at slight cost, and have also sold and given away largequantities. A bit of experience is often worth much more thantheory. 

At the same time it is proper that some suggestions should followthis brief record. The asparagus bed should be in well-drainedsoil; for while the plant will grow on wet land, it will startlate, and our aim is to have it early. 

Again, with asparagus as with nearly everything else, the deeperand richer the soil, the larger and more luxuriant the crop. Listen to Thompson, the great English gardener: "If the ground hasbeen drained, trenched, or made good to the depth of THREE feet, as directed for the kitchen-garden generally [!], that depth willsuffice for the growth of asparagus. " We should think so; yet I amfast reaching the conclusion that under most circumstances itwould in the end repay us to secure that depth of rich soilthroughout our gardens, not only for asparagus, but for everythingelse. Few of the hasty, slipshod gardeners of America have anyidea of the results secured by extending root pasturage to thedepth of three feet instead of six or seven inches; soil thusprepared would defy flood and drought, and everything plantedtherein would attain almost perfection, asparagus included. Butwho has not seen little gardens by the roadside in which all theesculents seemed growing together much as they would be blended inthe pot thereafter? Yet from such patches, half snatched frombarrenness, many a hearty, wholesome dinner results. Let us have agarden at once, then improve it indefinitely. 

I will give in brief just what is essential to secure a good andlasting asparagus bed. We can if we choose grow our own plants, and thus be sure of good ones. The seed can be sown in lateOctober or EARLY spring on light, rich soil in rows eighteeninches apart. An ounce of seed will sow fifty feet of drill. Ifthe soil is light, cover the seed one inch deep; if heavy, half aninch; pack the ground lightly, and cover the drill with a gooddusting of that fine compost we spoke of, or any fine manure. Thisgives the young plants a good send-off. By the use of the hoe andhand-weeding keep them scrupulously clean during the growingseason, and when the tops are killed by frost mow them off. Ishould advise sowing two or three seeds to the inch, and then whenthe plants are three inches high, thinning them out so that theystand four inches apart. You thus insure almost the certainty ofgood strong plants by autumn; for plants raised as directed areready to be set out after one season's growth, and by mostgardeners are preferred. 

In most instances good plants can be bought for a small sum fromnurserymen, who usually offer for sale those that are two yearsold. Strong one-year-olds are just as good, but under ordinaryculture are rarely large enough until two years of age. I wouldnot set out three-year-old plants, for they are apt to be stuntedand enfeebled. You can easily calculate how many plants yourequire by remembering that the rows are to be three feet apart, and the plants one foot apart in the row. 

Now, whether you have raised the plants yourself, or have boughtthem, you are ready to put them where they will grow, and yield tothe end of your life probably. Again I substantiate my position byquoting from the well-known gardener and writer, Mr. JosephHarris: "The old directions for planting an asparagus bed werewell calculated to deter any one from making the attempt. I canrecollect the first I made. The labor and manure must have cost atthe rate of a thousand dollars an acre, and, after all was done, no better results were obtained than we now secure at one-tenth ofthe expense. "

If the ground selected for the bed is a well-drained sandy loam, is clean, free from sod, roots, stones, etc. , I would give it atop-dressing of six inches of good barnyard manure, which bytrenching or plowing I would thoroughly mix with the soil to thedepth of at least two feet. If the ground is not free from stones, roots, and sod, I should put on the manure, as directed, in theautumn, and begin on one side of the prospective bed and trench itall over, mingling the fertilizer through the soil. The trenchercan throw out on the surface back of him every stone, root, andweed, so that by the time he is through there is a sufficientspace of ground amply prepared. 

On all soils except a wet, heavy clay I prefer autumn planting. During the latter part of October or early November put in theplants as explained above, or else make a straight trench thatwill give room for the spreading of the roots, and leave thecrowns between three and four inches below the surface. Then levelthe ground, and cover the row with a light mulch of stable-manureas you would strawberries. If more convenient to set out theplants in spring, do so as soon as the ground is dry enough tocrumble freely when worked. In the spring rake off the mulch, andas early as possible fork the ground over lightly, taking painsnot to touch or wound the crowns of the plants. The young, slendershoots will soon appear, and slender enough they will be at first. Keep them free of weeds and let them grow uncut all through thefirst year; mow off the tops in late October, and cover the entirebed with three or four inches of coarse barnyard manure. In springrake off the coarsest of this mulch, from which the rains andmelting snows have been carrying down richness, dig the bed overlightly once (never wounding the roots or crowns of the plants), and then sow salt over the bed till it is barely white. Let thetops grow naturally and uncut the second year, and merely keepclean. Take precisely the same action again in the autumn and thefollowing spring. During the latter part of April and May a few ofthe strongest shoots may be cut for the table. This should be donewith a sharp knife a little below the surface, so that the soilmay heal the wound, and carefully, lest other heads just beneaththe surface be clipped prematurely. Cut from the bed verysparingly, however, the third year, and let vigorous foliage formcorresponding root-power. In the autumn of the third and thespring of the fourth year the treatment is precisely the same. Inthe fourth season, however, the shoots may be used freely to, say, about June 20, after which the plants should be permitted to growunchecked till fall, in order to maintain and increase the root-power. Every year thereafter there should be an abundant top-dressing of manure in the fall, and a careful digging of theground in the early spring. Light, sandy soil, clear of stones, iswell adapted to asparagus, but should be treated on the principlesalready indicated in this work. There should be no attempt, bytrenching, to render a porous subsoil more leaky. It is useless togive the bed a thorough initial enriching. Put on a generous top-dressing every autumn and leave the rains to do their work, andgood crops will result. 

If, on the contrary, a cold, heavy clay must be dealt with, everyeffort should be made to ameliorate it. Work in a large quantityof sand at first, if possible; employ manures from the horse-stable, or other light and exciting fertilizers, and there will beno failure. 

In regard to the use of salt, Mr. Harris writes: "It is a popularnotion that common salt is exceedingly beneficial to asparagus. Ido not know that there is any positive proof of this, but, at anyrate, salt will do no harm, even if applied thick enough to killmany of our common weeds. Salt is usually sown broadcast, at therate of ten bushels to the acre. "

Until recently I have grown asparagus without salt. Hereafter Ishall employ it in sufficient degree to kill all weeds except thestrongest. I shall sow it every spring after the bed is dug untilthe ground is as white as if a flurry of snow had passed over it. I think salt is a good manure for asparagus, and many otherthings. At any rate, we secure a great advantage in keeping ourbeds free of weeds. 

I have written thus fully of asparagus because when a man makes abed as directed he makes it for a lifetime. He can scarcely findanother investment that will yield a larger return. We haveasparagus on our table every day, from the middle of April to July1; and the annual care of the crop is far less than that of acabbage-patch. I do not advise severe cutting, however, after themiddle of June, for this reason: it is well known that the mostpestiferous perennial weed can be killed utterly if never allowedto make foliage. As foliage depends upon the root, so the rootdepends on foliage. The roots of asparagus may therefore begreatly enfeebled by too severe and long-continued cutting. Avarice always overreaches itself. 

In some localities the asparagus beetle destroys wholeplantations. Thompson, the English authority, says: "The larvae, beetles, and eggs are found from June to the end of September. Picking off the larvae and beetles, or shaking them intoreceptacles, appears to be the only remedy. "

Peter Henderson, in his valuable book, "Gardening for Profit, "figures this insect and its larvae accurately, and says: "Wheneverthe eggs or larvae appear, cut and burn the plants as long as anytraces of the insect are seen. This must be done if it destroysevery vestige of vegetation. " He and other authorities speak ofthe advantage of cooping a hen and chickens in the bed. Mostemphatically would I recommend this latter course, for I havetried it with various vegetables. Active broods of little chickenshere and there in the garden are the best of insecticides, and payfor themselves twice over in this service alone. 

We will next speak of the ONION, because it is so hardy that theearlier it is planted in spring the better. Indeed, I have often, with great advantage, sown the seed on light soils the first ofSeptember, and wintered over the young plants in the open ground. Nature evidently intended the onion for humanity in general, forshe has endowed the plant with the power to flourish from thetropics to the coldest limit of the temperate zone. 

While onions are grown in all sorts of careless ways, like othervegetables, it is by far the best plan to select a space for anannual and permanent bed, just as we do for asparagus. Unlike mostother crops, the onion does not require change of ground, butusually does better on the same soil for an indefinite number ofyears. Therefore I would advise that upon the Home Acre the onion, like the asparagus bed, should be made with a view to permanence. 

Not much success can be hoped for on rough, poor land. The onion, like the asparagus bed, should be made and maintained with somecare. If possible, select a light, well-drained, but not dry plot. Make the soil rich, deep, mellow, to the depth of twenty inches, taking out all stones, roots, etc. ; cover the land with at leastsix inches of good strong barnyard manure. This should be done inthe autumn. Sow the ground white with salt, as in the case ofasparagus, and then mingle these fertilizers thoroughly with thesoil, by forking or plowing it at once, leaving the surface asrough as possible, so that the frost can penetrate deeply. Just assoon as the ground is dry enough to work in the spring, fork orplow again, breaking every lump and raking all smooth, so that thesurface is as fine as the soil in a hot-bed. You cannot hope formuch in heavy, lumpy ground. Sow at least three seeds to the inchin a shallow drill one inch deep, and spat the earth firmly overthe seed with the back of a spade or with your hand. In subsequentculture little more is required than keeping the MERE SURFACEstirred with a hoe, and the rows clean of weeds. Onions are notbenefited by deep stirring of the soil, but the surface, from thestart, should be kept clean and scarified an inch or two deepbetween the rows during the growing season. I prefer to have myonions growing at the rate of one or two to every inch of row, forI do not like large bulbs. I think that moderate-sized onions arebetter for the table. Those who value largeness should thin outthe plants to three or four inches apart; but even in the marketthere is less demand for large, coarse onions. When the tops beginto fall over from their own weight, in August or September, leavethem to mature and ripen naturally. When the tops begin to dry up, pull them from the soil, let them dry thoroughly in the sun, andthen spread them thinly in a dry loft till there is danger oftheir freezing. Even there they will keep better, if covereddeeply with straw, hay, etc. , than in a damp cellar. Wherever theair is damp and a little too warm, onions will speedily start togrow again, and soon become worthless. After the crop has beentaken, the ground should be treated as at first--thoroughlyenriched and pulverized late in autumn, and left to lie in a roughstate during the winter, then prepared for planting as early aspossible. I prefer March sowing of the seed to April, and April, by far, to May. In England they try to plant in February. Indeed, as I have said, I have had excellent success by sowing the seedearly in September on light soils, and letting the plants growduring all the mild days of fall, winter, and early spring. Bythis course we have onions fit for the table and market thefollowing May. In this latitude they need the protection of alittle coarse litter from December 1 to about the middle of March. Only the very severest frost injures them. Most of us have seenonions, overlooked in the fall gathering, growing vigorously assoon as the thaws began in spring. This fact contains all the hintwe need in wintering over the vegetable in the open ground. If theseed is sown late in September, the plants do not usually acquiresufficient strength in this latitude to resist the frost. It isnecessary, therefore, to secure our main crop by very early springsowings, and it may be said here that after the second thoroughpulverization of the soil in spring, the ground will be in suchgood condition that, if well enriched and stirred late in autumn, it will only need levelling down and smoothing off before thespring sowing. Onions appear to do best on a compact soil, ifrich, deep, and clean. It is the SURFACE merely that needs to bestirred lightly and frequently. 

If young green onions with thin, succulent tops are desired veryearly in spring, it will be an interesting experiment to sow theseed the latter part of August or early in September. Anothermethod is to leave a row of onions in the garden where theyripened. When the autumn rains begin, they will start to growagain. The winter will not harm them, and even in April there willbe a strong growth of green tops. The seed stalk should be pickedoff as soon as it appears in spring, or else the whole strengthwill speedily go to the formation of seed. 

It should be remembered that good onions can not be produced veryfar to the south by sowing the small gunpowder-like seed. In ourown and especially in warmer climates a great advantage is securedby employing what are known as "onion sets. " These are produced bysowing the ordinary black seed very thickly on light poor land. Being much crowded, and not having much nutriment, the seeddevelop into little onions from the size of a pea to that of awalnut, the smaller the better, if they are solid and plump. These, pressed or sunk, about three inches apart, into rich gardensoil about an inch deep, just as soon as the frost is out, makefine bulbs by the middle of June. For instance, we had in ourgarden plenty of onions three inches in diameter from these littlesets, while the seed, sown at the same time, will not yield goodbulbs before August. There is but little need of raising thesesets, for it is rather difficult to keep them in good conditionover the winter. Any seedsman will furnish them, and they areusually on sale at country stores. Three or four quarts, if ingood condition, will supply a family abundantly, and leave many tobe used dry during the autumn. Insist on plump little bulbs. Ifyou plant them early, as you should, you will be more apt to getgood sets. Many neglect the planting till the sets are half driedup, or so badly sprouted as to be wellnigh worthless. They usuallycome in the form of white and yellow sets, and I plant an equalnumber of each. 

The chief insect enemies are onion maggots, the larvae of theonion fly. These bore through the outer leaf and down into thebulb, which they soon destroy. I know of no remedy but to pull upthe yellow and sickly plants, and burn them and the peststogether. The free use of salt in the fall, and a light top-dressing of wood-ashes at the time of planting, tend to subduethese insects; but the best course is prevention by deeplycultivating and thoroughly enriching in the fall, leaving theground rough and uneven for the deep action of frost, and bysowing the seed VERY early in spring. I have found that the insectusually attacks late-sown and feeble plants. If the maggot were inmy garden, I should use the little sets only. 

Some special manures have been employed in attaining the greatestsuccess with this vegetable. In England, pigeon-dung and thecleanings of the pigsty are extensively employed. In this countrythe sweepings of the hen-roost are generally recommended. Itshould be remembered that all these are strong agents, and ifbrought in contact with the roots of any vegetable while in acrude, undiluted state, burn like fire, especially in our climate. What can be done in safety in England will not answer under ourvivid sun and in our frequent droughts. These strong fertilizerscould be doubled in value as well as bulk by being composted withsods, leaves, etc. , and then, after having been mixed, allowed todecay thoroughly. Then the compost can be used with greatadvantage as a top-dressing directly over the drills when eithersets or seeds are planted. The spring rains will carry therichness from the surface to the roots, and insure a very vigorousgrowth. When the compost named in the early part of this paper isused, I sow it thickly IN the drill, draw a pointed hoe throughonce more, to mingle the fertilizer with the soil, and thenforthwith sow the seeds or put in the sets one inch deep; and theresult is immediate and vigorous growth. Wood-ashes and bone-dustare excellent fertilizers, and should be sown on the surface onthe row as soon as planted, and gradually worked in by weeding andcultivation during the growing season. Manure from the pigsty, wherein weeds, litter, sods, muck, etc. , have been thrown freelyduring the summer, may be spread broadcast over the onion bed inthe autumn, and worked in deeply, like the product of thebarnyard. The onion bed can scarcely be made too rich as long asthe manure is not applied in its crude, unfermented state at thetime of planting. Then, if the seed is put in very early, it growstoo strongly and quickly for insects to do much damage. 

Varieties. --Thompson in his English work names nineteen varietieswith many synonyms; Henderson offers the seed of thirteenvarieties; Gregory, of seventeen kinds. There is no need of ourbeing confused by this latitude of choice. We find it in the greatmajority of fruits and vegetables offered by nurserymen andseedsmen. Each of the old varieties that have survived the test ofyears has certain good qualities which make it valuable, especially in certain localities. Many of the novelties invegetables, as among fruits, will soon disappear; a few will taketheir place among the standard sorts. In the case of the kitchen, as well as in the fruit, garden, I shall give the opinion of menwho have a celebrity as wide as the continent for actualexperience, and modestly add occasionally some views of my ownwhich are the result of observation. 

As a choice for the home-garden, Mr. Henderson recommends thefollowing varieties of onions: Extra Early Red, Yellow GlobeDanvers, White Portugal or Silver Skin, and Southport YellowGlobe. Mr. Joseph Harris, the well-known and practical author:Yellow Danvers, Extra Early Large Bed, and White Globe. Mr. J. J. H. Gregory: New Queen, Early Yellow Acker, Yellow Danvers, EarlyRed Globe Danvers, Large Red Wethersfield. They all recommendonion sets. The Queen onion is quite distinct. For the home table, where earliness, as well as quality, size and quantity is desired, I think the Queen deserves a place. It is admirably fitted forpickling. I have tried all the varieties named, with good success, and grown some of the largest kinds to six inches in diameter. 

CHAPTER IX

THE KITCHEN-GARDEN (concluded)

In the last chapter I dwelt somewhat at length on two vegetablesfor which thorough and enduring preparation is profitable. Thereis one other very early garden product which requires ourattention during the first warm days of spring--rhubarb; sold insome instances under the name of "wine-plant. " Wine is made fromthe juicy stalks, but it is an unwholesome beverage. The peoplecall rhubarb "pie-plant;" and this term suggests its best and mostcommon use, although when cooked as if it were a fruit, it is verygrateful at a season when we begin to crave the subacid in ourfood. 

Its cultivation is very simple. Those who propose to produce itlargely for market will find it to their advantage to raise thisplant from the seed; but for the Home Acre enough plants can beprocured, at a moderate cost, from almost any nurseryman. In thisinstance, also, thorough preparation of the soil is essential, forthe rhubarb bed, under good care, will last eight or ten years. Arich, deep, clean, warm soil is the chief essential. It belongs tothat class of vegetables known as "gross feeders. " During thefirst year, however, I would apply the fertiliser directly to thehills or plants. These are obtained by dividing the old roots, which may be cut to pieces downward so as to leave a single bud or"eye" surmounting a long tapering portion of root. Each divisionwill make a new, vigorous plant, which should be set out so thatthe bud or crown is three inches below the surface in light soils, and two inches in heavy soils. The plants should be four feetapart each way, and two or three shovelfuls of rich compost workedinto the soil where the plant is to stand. You cannot make theground too rich; only remember that in this, as in all otherinstances, light, fermenting manures should not be brought intoimmediate contact with the roots. Plant in either autumn orspring. In this latitude and southward I should prefer autumn;northward, perhaps spring is the best season. Keep the interveningground clean and mellow, and pull no stalks the first year, unlessit be in the autumn if the plants have become very strong. In thefall, when the foliage has died down, cover the crowns with two orthree shovelfuls of rich manure--any kind will do in thisinstance--and work in a heavy top-dressing all over the groundearly in spring. Unless seed is required, always cut down theseed-stalks as soon as they appear. The best early variety is theLinnaeus. The Victoria is a little later, but much larger, and isthe kind that I have usually grown. 

Radish-seed may be sown one inch deep as soon as the ground is dryenough in spring, and if the vegetable is a favorite, the sowingmay be repeated every two weeks. A common error is to sow the seedtoo thickly. A warm, RICH soil is all that is necessary to securea crop. 

What has been said about radishes applies equally to earlyturnips, with the exception that the plants when three inches highshould be thinned so as to stand four inches apart. The ground forthese vegetables should be very rich, so as to secure a very rapidgrowth; for otherwise they are attacked by a little white wormwhich soon renders them unfit for use. Mr. Harris recommends thefollowing varieties of early radishes, and his selection coincideswith my own experience: Bound Scarlet Turnip, French Breakfast, Rose (olive-shaped), Long Scarlet Short-top. Winter radishes:California Mammoth White, and Chinese Rose. For spring sowing ofturnips, Mr. Henderson recommends Red-top Strap-leaf, and EarlyFlat Dutch. The earlier they are sown the better. 

Beets--a much more valuable vegetable--require similar treatment. The ground should be clean, well pulverized, and very rich. Iprefer to sow the seed the first week in April, unless the soil isfrozen, or very cold and wet. The seed may be sown, however, atany time to the first of July; but earliness is usually our chiefaim. I sow two inches deep and thickly, pressing the soil firmlyover the seed. Let the rows be about fifteen inches apart. Referring to the manure which had been left to decay in asheltered place until it became like fine dry powder, let me sayhere that I have always found it of greater advantage to sow itwith the beet-seed and kindred vegetables. My method is to openthe drill along the garden-line with a sharp-pointed hoe, andscatter the fertilizer in the drill until the soil is quiteblackened by it; then draw the pointed hoe through once more, tomingle the powdery manure with the soil and to make the drill ofan even depth; then sow the seed at once. This thoroughly decayedstable-manure has become the best of plant-food; it warms theground, and carries the germinating seed and young plants withvigor through the first cold, wet weeks. 

In the home garden there are several reasons for sowing beet-seedthickly. Unfavorable weather and insects will be less apt to causea thin, broken stand of plants. In order to produce good roots, however, the plants should be thinned out so as to standeventually three or four inches apart I do not advise very large, coarse roots for the table. For home use I think only threevarieties are essential. The Egyptian Turnip Beet is the best veryearly variety, and can be planted closely, as it has a small top;the Bassano is next in earliness, and requires more room; theEarly Blood Turnip is the best for a general crop and winter use. The beet is a root which deteriorates rapidly from age; Itherefore advise that the seed of the winter supply be sown thelast of June or first of July in our latitude. 

Parsnips should be sown at the same time with early beets and inthe same way, with the exception that the seed should be coveredonly an inch deep. I doubt whether there are any markeddistinctions in variety, and would advise that only the LongSmooth or Hollow-crowned be sown. 

The carrot is not quite so hardy as the parsnip, and the seed maybe sown a week or two later, or indeed at any time up to themiddle of June. Its culture and treatment are precisely like thoseof the parsnip; but the roots should be gathered and stored beforea severe frost occurs. For home use a short row of the Early Hornwill answer; for the general crop, sow the Long Orange. 

Vegetable-oyster, or salsify, is another root-crop which may betreated precisely like the parsnip, and the seed sown at the sametime. The seed should be sown in a deep, rich, mellow soil, whichis all the better for being prepared in autumn. Plant, as early inApril as possible, in the same manner as described for beets, thinout to four inches apart, and keep the soil clean and mellowthroughout the entire season; for this vegetable grows until theground freezes. There is only one variety. 

The pea is another crop which may be put into the ground as soonas the frost is out--the earlier the better, if the smooth, hardyvarieties are sown. There are so many varieties that the noviceto-day may well be excused for perplexity in choice. Thompson, theEnglish authority, gives forty kinds, and one hundred and forty-eight synonyms. Mr. Gregory recommends the American Wonder, Bliss's Abundance, Bliss's Ever-bearing, McLean's Advancer, Yorkshire Hero, Stratagem, and Champion of England. Mr. Henderson's list includes Henderson's First of All, AmericanWonder, Bliss's Abundance, Champion of England, and Pride of theMarket. Mr. Harris in his catalogue marks first and best, AmericanWonder, and also says, "For the main crop there is nothing betterthan the Champion of England. " My own experience would lead me toplant the Tom Thumb either just before the ground froze in thefall, or as early in March as possible. It is almost perfectlyhardy, and gives me the earliest picking. I should also plantHenderson's First of All as soon as the frost was out, on a warm, well-drained soil. For second crops, American Wonder and PremiumGem; and for the main and most satisfactory crop of all, Championof England. The Champion requires brush as a support, for it growsfrom four to six feet high; but it is well worth the trouble. Iplant the other kinds named because they are much earlier, and sodwarf as to need no brush; they are also productive, and excellentin quality if not left to grow too old. For the dwarf kinds thesoil cannot be too rich, and the warmer the ground and exposure, the earlier the crop. For the tall late sorts the soil may easilybe made too fertile; they should also be planted in cooler, moister, and heavier ground. In the case of the dwarfs I put afertilizer in with the seed as I have already explained. Cover thedwarfs about two and a half inches deep, and the tall late sortsfrom three to four inches according to the nature of the soil. Plant the Champion of England every ten days until the middle ofJune, and thus secure a succession of the best of all. 

We all know how numerous have been the varieties of potatointroduced into this country of late years--many kinds sent out atfirst at the rate of one or more dollars per pound. I amuse myselfby trying several of these novelties (after they become cheap)every year, and one season raised very early crops of excellentpotatoes from the Vanguard and Pearl of Savoy. The Early Rose andEarly Vermont have long been favorites. They resemble each othervery closely. I have had excellent success with the Beauty ofHebron. It is a good plan to learn what varieties succeed well inour own neighborhood, and then to plant chiefly of such kinds; wemay then add to our zest by trying a few novelties. 

Not only much reading on the subject, but also my own observation, and the general law that "like produces like, " lead me to indorsethe practice of planting large tubers cut into sets containing oneor more eyes, or buds. The eye of a potato is a bud from which theplant grows; and the stronger backing it has, the stronger andmore able is the plant to evolve new fine tubers through theaction of its roots and foliage. A small potato has many immaturebuds, which as a rule produce feeble plants. 

The potato will grow on almost any soil; but a dry, rich, sandyloam gives the best, if not the largest, yield. I do not think thepotato can be planted too early after the ground is fit to work. One spring I was able to get in several rows the 15th of March, and I never had a finer yield. I observe that Mr. Harris stronglyindorses this plan. 

Nearly every one has his system of planting. There is no necessityfor explaining these methods. I will briefly give mine, for whatit is worth. I prefer warm, well-drained soils. Plow deeply inautumn, also in spring; harrow and pulverize the ground ascompletely as possible; then open the furrows with the same heavyplow, sinking it to the beam, and going twice in the furrow. This, of course, would make too deep a trench in which to place thesets, but the soil has been deepened and pulverized at leastfourteen inches. A man next goes along with a cart or barrow ofwell-decayed compost (not very raw manure), which is scatteredfreely in the deep furrows; then through these a corn-plow is run, to mingle the fertilizer with the soil. By this course the furrowsare partially filled with loose, friable soil and manure, and theyaverage four or five inches in depth. The sets are planted at onceeight inches apart, the eye turned upward, and the cut part down. The sets are then covered with three or four inches of fine soil, not with sods and stones. When the plants are two or three incheshigh, they receive their first hoeing, which merely levels theground evenly. The next cultivation is performed by both corn-plowand hoe. In the final working I do not permit a sharp-slantingslope from the plants downward, so that the rain is kept fromreaching the roots. There is a broad hilling up, so as to have aslope inward toward the plants, as well as away from them. Thismethod, with the deep, loosened soil beneath the plants, securesagainst drought, while the decayed fertilizers give a strong andimmediate growth. 

Of course we have to fight the potato, or Colorado, beetle duringthe growing season. This we do with Paris green applied in liquidform, a heaping teaspoonful to a pail of water. 

In taking up and storing potatoes a very common error is falleninto. Sometimes even growing tubers are so exposed to sun andlight that they become green. In this condition they are not onlyworthless, but poisonous. If long exposed to light after beingdug, the solanine principle, which exists chiefly in the stems andleaves, is developed in the tubers. The more they are in thelight, the less value they possess, until they become worse thanworthless. They should be dug, if possible, on a dry day, pickedup promptly and carried to a dry, cool, DARK cellar. If stored onfloors of outbuldings, the light should be excluded. Potatoes thatare long exposed to light before the shops of dealers are injured. Barrels, etc. , containing them should be covered; if spread on thebarn-floor, or in places which can not be darkened, throw straw orsome other litter over them. 

There is no occasion to say much about lettuce. It is a vegetablewhich any one can raise who will sow the seed a quarter of an inchdeep. I have sowed the seed in September, wintered the plants overin cold-frames, and by giving a little heat, I had an abundance ofheads to sell in February and March. For ordinary home uses it isnecessary only to sow the seed on a warm, rich spot as soon as thefrost is out, and you will quickly have plenty of tender foliage. This we may begin to thin out as soon as the plants are three orfour inches high, until a foot of space is left between theplants, which, if of a cabbage variety, will speedily make alarge, crisp head. To maintain a supply, sowings can be made everytwo weeks till the middle of August. Hardy plants, which may beset out like cabbages, are to be obtained in March and April fromnurserymen. Henderson recommends the following varieties:Henderson's New York, Black-seeded Simpson, Salamander, and Allthe Year Round. I would also add the Black-seeded Butter Lettuce. 

We have now, as far as our space permits, treated of thosevegetables which should be planted in the home garden as early inspring as possible. It is true the reader will think of othersorts, as cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, etc. To the professionalgardener these are all-the-year-round vegetables. If the amateurbecomes so interested in his garden as to have cold-frames andhot-beds, he will learn from more extended works how to managethese. He will winter over the cabbage and kindred vegetables forhis earliest supply, having first sown the seed in September. I donot take the trouble to do this, and others need not, unless it isa source of enjoyment to them. As soon as the ground is fit towork in spring, I merely write to some trust-worthy dealer inplants and obtain twenty-five very early cabbage, and twenty-fivesecond early, also a hundred early cauliflower. They cost little, and are set out in half an hour as soon as the ground is fit towork in spring. I usually purchase my tomato, late cabbage, andcauliflower, celery and egg-plants, from the same sources. Cabbages and cauliflowers should be set out in RICH warm soils, free from shade, as soon as the frost is out. After that they needonly frequent and clean culture and vigilant watchfulness, or elsemany will fall victims to a dirty brown worm which usually cutsthe stem, and leaves the plant lying on the ground. The worm caneasily be found near the surface the moment it begins its ravages, and the only remedy I know is to catch and kill it at once. Inthis latitude winter cabbage is set out about the fourth of July. I pinch off half the leaves before setting. Good seed, deepplowing or spading, rich soil, and clean culture are usually theonly requisites for success. Experience and consultation of thebooks and catalogues enable me to recommend the Jersey Wakefieldfor first early, and Henderson's Summer Cabbage and Winningstadtas second early. As a late root I ask for nothing better thanPremium Flat Dutch. The Savoy is the best flavored of the cabbagetribe. Henderson recommends the Netted Savoy, which may be treatedlike other late cabbage. 

The cauliflower is ranked among the chief delicacies of thegarden, and requires and repays far more attention than cabbage. Even the early sorts should have a richer, moister soil than isrequired for very early cabbage. I advise two plantings in spring, of first and second early; I also advise that late varieties beset out on RICH ground the last of June. As with cabbage, set outthe plants from two and a half to three feet apart, according tothe size of the variety, from trial I recommend Early Snowball, Half-early Paris, and Large Late Algiers. 

Spinach thrives in a very rich, well-drained, fine, mellow soil. Iprefer a sunny slope; but this is not necessary. Sow the seed fromthe first to the fifteenth of September, so as to give the plantstime to become half grown by winter. Cover the seeds--three to aninch--two inches deep, and pack the ground well over them; let therows be three inches apart. When the plants are three inches high, thin out to three inches apart, and keep the soil clean and mellowabout them. Just before hard freezing weather, scatter about threeinches of straw, old pea-vines, or some light litter over thewhole bed. As soon as the days begin to grow warm in spring, andhard frost ceases, rake this off. The hardy vegetable begins togrow at once, and should be cut for use so as to leave the plantsfinally six inches apart, for as fast as space is given, theplants fill it up. By those who are fond of spinach it may be sownin spring as soon as the frost is out. It quickly runs to seed inhot weather, and thinnings of young beets may take its place wherespace is limited. The Round or Summer is good for fall or springplanting. 

Those who need much instruction in regard to bush-beans shouldremain in the city and raise cats in their paved back yards. Weshall only warn against planting too early--not before the last ofApril in our region. It does not take much frost to destroy theplants, and if the soil is cold and wet, the beans decay insteadof coming up. If one has a warm, sheltered slope, he may beginplanting the middle of April. As a rule, however, bush-beans maybe planted from the first of May till the middle of July, in orderto keep up a succession. Cover the first seed planted one inchdeep; later plantings two inches deep. I think that earliest RedValentine, Black Wax or Butter, Golden Wax, and the late Refugeeare all the varieties needed for the garden. 

The delicious pale Lima bean requires and deserves more attention. I have always succeeded with it, and this has been my method: Itake a warm, rich, but not dry piece of ground, work it deeplyearly in spring, again the first of May, so that the sun's raysmay penetrate and sweeten the ground. About the tenth of May I setthe poles firmly in the ground. Rough cedar-poles, with the stubsof the branches extending a little, are the best. If smooth polesare used, I take a hatchet, and beginning at the butt, I makeshallow, slanting cuts downward, so as to raise the bark a little. These slight raisings of the bark or wood serve as supports to theclambering vines. After the poles are in the ground I make abroad, flat hill of loose soil and a little of the black powderyfertilizer. I then allow the sun to warm and dry the hill a fewdays, and if the weather is fine and warm, I plant the seed aboutthe fifteenth, merely pressing the eye of the bean downward oneinch. If planted lower than this depth, they usually decay. If itis warm and early, the seed may be planted by the fifth of May. After planting, examine the seed often. If the beans are decayinginstead of coming up, plant over again, and repeat this processuntil there are three or four strong plants within three or fourinches of each pole. Let the hills be five feet apart each way, hoe often, and do not tolerate a weed. The Long White Lima andDreer's Improved Lima are the only sorts needed. 

The Indians in their succotash taught us long ago to associatecorn with beans, and they hit upon a dish not surpassed by moderninvention. This delicious vegetable is as easily raised as its"hail-fellow well met, " the bean. We have only to plant it at thesame time in hills from three to four feet apart, and cover theseed two inches deep. I have used the powdery fertilizers andwood-ashes in the hill to great advantage, first mingling theseingredients well with the soil. We make it a point to have sweet-corn for the table from July 1 until the stalks are killed byfrost in October. This is easily managed by planting differentvarieties, and continuing to plant till well into June. Mr. Gregory writes: "For a succession of corn for family use, to beplanted at the same time, I would recommend Marblehead Early, Pratt's, Crosley's, Moore's, Stowell's Evergreen, and EgyptianSweet. " Mr. Harris names with praise the Minnesota as the bestearliest, and Hickox Improved as an exceedingly large and latevariety. Mr. Henderson's list is Henderson Sugar, Hickox Improved, Egyptian, and Stowell's Evergreen. Let me add Burr's Mammoth andSquantum Sugar--a variety in great favor with the Squantum Club, and used by them in their famous clam-bakes. 

The cucumber, if grown in the home garden and used fresh, is notin league with the undertaker. The seed may be planted early inMay, and there are many ways of forcing and hastening the yield. Ihave had cucumbers very early in an ordinary hotbed. Outdoors, Imake hills in warm soil the first of May, mixing a little of myfavorite fertilizer with the soil. After leaving the hill for aday or two to become warm in the sun, I sow the seed in a straightline for fifteen inches, so that the hoe can approach themclosely. The seed is covered an inch deep, and the soil patteddown firmly. It is possible that a cold storm or that insects maymake partial planting over necessary; if so, this is donepromptly. I put twenty seeds in the hill, to insure against loss. For a succession or long-continued crop, plant a few hills in richmoist land about the last of May. The young plants always run agauntlet of insects, and a little striped bug is usually theirmost deadly enemy. These bugs often appear to come suddenly inswarms, and devour everything before you are aware of theirpresence. With great vigilance they may be kept off by hand, fortheir stay is brief. I would advise one trial of a solution ofwhite hellebore, a tablespoonful to a pail of water. Paris green--in solution, of course--kills them; but unless it is very weak, itwill kill or stunt the plants also. My musk and watermelons werewatered by too strong a solution of Paris green this year, andthey never recovered from it. Perhaps the best preventive is toplant so much seed, and to plant over so often, that although theinsects do their worst, plenty of good plants survive. This hasusually been my method. When the striped bug disappears, and theplants are four or five inches high, I thin out to four plants inthe hill. When they come into bearing, pick off all the fruit fitfor use, whether you want it or not. If many are allowed to becomeyellow and go to seed, the growth and productiveness of the vinesare checked. The Early White Spine and Extra Long White Spine areall the varieties needed for the table. For pickling purposesplant the Green Prolific on moist rich land. The other varietiesanswer quite as well, if picked before they are too large. 

The cultivation of the squash is substantially the same as that ofthe cucumber, and it has nearly the same enemies to contend with. Let the hills of the bush sorts be four feet apart each way, andeight feet for the running varieties. The seed is cheap, so useplenty, and plant over from the first to the twenty-fifth of May, until you have three good strong plants to the hill. Three areplenty, so thin out the plants, when six or seven inches high, tothis number, and keep the ground clean and mellow. I usually raisemy running squashes among the corn, giving up one hill to themcompletely every seven or eight feet each way. Early bush sorts:White Bush Scalloped, Yellow Bush Scalloped. The Perfect Gem isgood for both summer and winter, and should be planted on richsoil, six feet apart each way. The Boston Marrow is one of thebest fall sorts; the Hubbard and Marblehead are the best wintervarieties. 

When we come to plant musk-melons we must keep them well away fromthe two above-named vegetables, or else their pollen will mix, producing very disagreeable hybrids. A squash is very good in itsway, and a melon is much better; but if you grow them so near eachother that they become "'alf and 'alf, " you may perhaps find pigsthat will eat them. The more completely the melon-patch is byitself, the better, and the nearer the house the better; for whileit is liable to all the insects and diseases which attack thecucumber, it encounters, when the fruit is mature, a more fatalenemy in the predatory small boy. Choose rich, warm, but not dryground for musk-melons, make the hills six feet apart each way, and treat them like cucumbers, employing an abundance of seed. Assoon as the plants are ready to run, thin out so as to leave onlyfour to fruit. Henderson recommends Montreal Market, Hackensack, and Netted Gem. Gregory: Netted Gem, Boston Pet, Bay View, Sill'sHybrid, Casaba, and Ward's Nectar. He also advocates a remarkablenovelty known as the "Banana. " Harris: Early Christiana andMontreal Market. 

Water-melons should be planted eight feet apart; but if one hasnot a warm, sandy soil, I do not advise their culture. The time ofplanting and management do not vary materially from those of themusk variety. The following kinds will scarcely fail to givesatisfaction where they can be grown: Phinney's Early, BlackSpanish, Mammoth Ironclad, Mountain Sprout, Scaly Bark, and CubanQueen. 

The tomato has a curious history. Native of South America like thepotato, it is said to have been introduced into England as earlyas 1596. Many years elapsed before it was used as food, and thebotanical name given to it was significant of the estimation inwhich it was held by our forefathers. It was called Lycopersicum--a compound term meaning wolf and peach; indicating that, notwithstanding its beauty, it was regarded as a sort of "Dead Seafruit. " The Italians first dared to use it freely; the Frenchfollowed; and after eying it askance as a novelty for unknownyears, John Bull ventured to taste, and having survived, began toeat with increasing gusto. To our grandmothers in this land theruby fruit was given as "love-apples, " which, adorning quaint oldbureaus, were devoured by dreamy eyes long before canningfactories were within the ken of even a Yankee's vision. Now, tomatoes vie with the potato as a general article of food, and onecan scarcely visit a quarter of the globe so remote but he willfind that the tomato-can has been there before him. Culture of thetomato is so easy that one year I had bushels of the finest fruitfrom plants that grew here and there by chance. Skill is requiredonly in producing an early crop; and to secure this end theearlier the plants are started in spring, the better. Those whohave glass will experience no difficulty whatever. The seed may besown in a greenhouse as early as January, and the plants pottedwhen three inches high, transferred to larger pots from time totime as they grow, and by the middle of May put into the openground full of blossoms and immature fruit. Indeed, plants startedearly in the fall will give in a greenhouse a good supply allwinter. Tomatoes also grow readily in hot-beds, cold-frames, orsunny windows. We can usually buy well-forwarded plants from thosewho raise them for sale. If these are set out early in May on asunny slope, they mature rapidly, and give an early yield. Thetomato is very sensitive to frost, and should not be in the openground before danger from it is over. Throughout May we may findplants for sale everywhere. If we desire to try distinct kindswith the least trouble, we can sow the seed about May 1, and inour climate enjoy an abundant yield in September, or before. Inthe cool, humid climate of England the tomato is usually grown enespalier, like the peach, along sunny walls and fences, receivingas careful a summer pruning as the grape-vine. With us it isusually left to sprawl over the ground at will. By training thevines over various kinds of supports, however, they may be made asornamental as they are useful. The ground on which they growshould be only moderately fertile, or else there is too great agrowth of vine at the expense of fruit. This is especially true ifwe desire an early yield, and in this case the warmest, driestsoil is necessary. 

But comparatively a few years ago the tomato consisted of littlemore than a rind, with seeds in the hollow centre. Now, the onlyvarieties worth raising cut as solid as a mellow pear. Thefollowing is Gregory's list of varieties: Livingston's Beauty, Alpha, Acme, Canada Victor, Arlington, General Grant. I will addTrophy and Mikado. If a yellow variety is desired, try GoldenTrophy. 

If the tomato needs warm weather in which to thrive, the egg-plantrequires that both days and nights should be hot. It is an EastIndiaman, and demands curry in the way of temperature before itloses its feeble yellow aspect and takes on the dark green ofvigorous health. My method is simply this: I purchase strongpotted plants between the twentieth of May and the first of June, and set them out in a rich, warm soil. A dozen well-grown plantswill supply a large family with egg-fruit. Of course one can startthe young plants themselves, as in the case of tomatoes; but itshould be remembered that they are much more tender and difficultto raise than is the tomato. Plants from seed sown in the openground would not mature in our latitude, as a rule. The best planis to have the number you need grown for you by those who make ittheir business. Eggplants are choice morsels for the potato-beetle, and they must be watched vigilantly if we would save them. There is no better variety than the New York Improved. 

The pepper is another hot-blooded vegetable that shivers at thesuggestion of frost. It is fitting that it should be a native ofIndia. Its treatment is usually the same as that of the egg-plant. It matures more rapidly, however, and the seed can be sown aboutthe middle of May, half an inch deep, in rows fifteen inchesapart. The soil should be rich and warm. When the plants are wellup, they should be thinned so that they will stand a foot apart inthe row. The usual course, however, is to set out plants whichhave been started under glass, after all danger from frost isover. Henderson recommends New Sweet Spanish and Golden Dawn, TheLarge Bell is a popular sort, and Cherry Red very ornamental. 

From the okra is made the famous gumbo soup, which ever calls tovision a colored aunty presiding over the mysteries of a Southerndinner. If Aunt Dinah, so well known to us from the pages of"Uncle Tom's Cabin, " could have left her receipt for thiscompound, her fame might have lasted as long as that of Mrs. Stowe. The vegetable furnishing this glutinous, nutritious, andwholesome ingredient is as easily raised as any product of thegarden. We have only to sow the seed, from the first to the tenthof May, two inches deep, and let the plants stand from two tothree feet apart each way, in order to have an abundant supply. The new Dwarf Prolific is about the best variety. 

Fall turnips are so easily grown that they require but few words. They are valuable vegetables for utilizing space in the gardenafter early crops, as peas, beans, potatoes, etc. , are removed. The seed of ruta-baga, or Swedish turnips, should be plantedearliest--from the twentieth of June to the tenth of July in ourlatitude. This turnip should be sown in drills two feet apart, andthe plants thinned to eight inches from one another. It is veryhardy, and the roots are close-grained, solid, and equally goodfor the table and the family cow. The Yellow Aberdeen is anotherexcellent variety, which may be sown EARLY in July, and treatedmuch the same as the foregoing. The Yellow Stone can be sown ongood ground until the fifteenth of July in any good garden soil, and the plants thinned to six inches apart. It is perhaps the mostsatisfactory of all the turnip tribe both for table use and stock. The Bed-top Strap-leaf may be sown anywhere until the tenth ofAugust. It is a general custom, in the middle of July, to scattersome seed of this hardy variety among the corn: hoe it in lightly, and there is usually a good crop. Every vacant spot may beutilized by incurring only the slight cost of the seed and thesowing. It may be well, perhaps, to remember the advice of the oldfarmer to his son. He said, "Stub your toe and spill half the seedbefore sowing it; for scattered broadcast it is usually much toothick. " If this proves true, thin out the plants rigorously. Thisturnip is good for table and stock as long as it is solid andcrisp; but it grows pithy toward spring. There are other kindswell worth a trial. 

Perhaps no vegetable is more generally appreciated than celery. Like asparagus, it was once, and is still by some, regarded as aluxury requiring too much skill and labor for the ordinarygardener. This is a mistake. Few vegetables in my garden repay soamply the cost of production. One can raise turnips as a fall cropmuch easier, it is true; but turnips are not celery, any more thanbrass is gold. Think of enjoying this delicious vegetable dailyfrom October till April! When cooked, and served on toast withdrawn butter sauce, it is quite ambrosial. In every garden evolvedbeyond the cabbage and potato phase a goodly space of the bestsoil should be reserved for celery, since it can be set out fromthe first to the twentieth of July in our latitude; it can begrown as the most valuable of the second crops, reoccupying spacemade vacant by early crops. I find it much easier to buy myplants, when ready for them, than to raise them. In every townthere are those who grow them in very large quantities, and, ifproperly packed, quickly transported, and promptly set out in theevening following their reception, and watered abundantly, theyrarely fail. 

There are decided advantages, however, in raising our own plants, especially if midsummer should prove dry and hot, or the plantsmust be long in transit. When they are growing in our own garden, they can be moved with very slight check to their growth. Instarting the seed there is no necessity for hot-bed or cold-frame. It may be put in the ground the first week of April, and the bestplants are thus secured. Much is gained by preparing a warm butnot dry plot of ground in autumn, making it very rich with short, half-decayed stable-manure. This preparation should be begun assoon as possible after the soaking September rains. Havingthoroughly incorporated and mixed evenly in the soil an abundanceof the manure described, leave the ground untouched for threeweeks. The warm fertilizer will cause great numbers of weed-seedsto germinate. When these thrifty pests are a few inches high, digthem under and bring up the bottom soil. The warmth and light willimmediately start a new and vigorous growth of weeds, which inturn should be dug under. If the celery seed bed be made earlyenough, this process can be repeated several times before winter--the oftener the better; for by it the great majority of weed-seedswill be made to germinate, and thus are destroyed. The ground alsobecomes exceedingly rich, mellow, and fine--an essential conditionfor celery seed, which is very small, and germinates slowly. Thisthorough preparation does not involve much labor, for the seed-bedis small, and nothing more is required in spring but to rake theground smooth and fine as soon as the frost is out. The soil hasalready been made mellow, and certainly nothing is gained byturning up the cold earth in the bottom of the bed. Sow the seedat once on the sunwarmed surface. The rows should be nine inchesapart, and about twelve seeds sown to every inch of row. Thedrills should be scarcely an eighth of an inch deep. Indeed, afirm patting with the back of a spade would give covering enough. Since celery germinates so slowly, it is well to drop a lettuce-seed every few inches, to indicate clearly just where the rowsare. Then the ground between the rows can be hoed lightly as soonas the weeds start, also after heavy rains, so as to admit thevivifying sun-rays and air. Of course when the celery plants areclearly outlined, the lettuce should be pulled out. 

If the bed is made in spring, perform the work as early aspossible, making the bed very rich, mellow, and fine. Coarsemanures, cold, poor, lumpy soil, leave scarcely a ghost of achance for success. The plants should be thinned to two inchesfrom one another, and when five inches high, shear them back tothree inches. When they have made another good growth, shear themback again. The plants are thus made stocky. In our latitude I tryto set out celery, whether raised or bought, between the twenty-fifth of June and the fifteenth of July. This latitude enables usto avoid a spell of hot, dry weather. 

There are two distinct classes of celery--the tall-growing sorts, and the dwarf varieties. A few years ago the former class wasgrown generally; trenches were dug, and their bottoms wellenriched to receive the plants. Now the dwarf kinds are provingtheir superiority, by yielding a larger amount of crisp, tenderheart than is found between long coarse stalks of the tall sorts. Dwarf celery requires less labor also, for it can be set on thesurface and much closer together, the rows three feet apart, andthe plants six inches in the row. Dig all the ground thoroughly, then, beginning on one side of the plot, stretch a line along it, and fork under a foot-wide strip of three or four inches ofcompost, not raw manure. By this course the soil where the row isto be is made very rich and mellow. Set out the plants at oncewhile the ground is fresh and moist. If the row is ten feet long, you will want twenty plants; if fifteen, thirty plants; or twoplants to every foot of row. Having set out one row, move the lineforward three feet, and prepare and set out another row inprecisely the same manner. Continue this process until the plotselected is occupied. If the plants have been grown in your owngarden, much is gained by SOAKING the ground round them in theevening, and removing them to the rows in the cool of the morning. This abundant moisture will cause the soil to cling to the rootsif handled gently, and the plants will scarcely know that theyhave been moved. When setting I usually trim off the greater partof the foliage. When all the leaves are left, the roots, notestablished, cannot keep pace with the evaporation. Always keepthe roots moist and unshrivelled, and the heart intact, and theplants are safe. If no rain follows setting immediately, water theplants thoroughly--don't be satisfied with a mere sprinkling ofthe surface--and shade from the hot sun until the plants start togrow. One of the chief requisites in putting out a celery plant, and indeed almost any plant, is to press the soil FIRMLY ROUND, AGAINST, AND OVER THE ROOTS. This excludes the air, and the newrootlets form rapidly. Neither bury the heart nor leave any partof the root exposed. 

Do not be discouraged at the rather slow growth during the hotdays of July and early August. You have only to keep the groundclean and mellow by frequent hoeings until the nights grow coolerand longer, and rains thoroughly moisten the soil. About themiddle of August the plants should be thrifty and spreading, andnow require the first operation, which will make them crisp andwhite or golden for the table. Gather up the stalks and foliage ofeach plant closely in the left hand, and with the right draw upthe earth round it. Let no soil tumble in on the heart to soil orcause decay. Press the soil firmly, so as to keep all the leavesin an upright position. Then with a hoe draw up more soil, untilthe banking process is begun. During September and October theplants will grow rapidly, and in order to blanch them they must beearthed up from time to time, always keeping the stalks close andcompact, with no soil falling in on the developing part. By theend of October the growth is practically made, and only the deepgreen leaves rest on the high embankments. The celery now shouldbe fit for use, and time for winter storing is near. In our regionit is not safe to leave celery unprotected after the tenth ofNovember, for although it is a very hardy plant, it will notendure a frost which produces a strong crust of frozen soil. Ionce lost a fine crop early in November. The frost in one nightpenetrated the soil deeply, and when it thawed out, the celerynever revived. NEVER HANDLE CELERY WHEN IT IS FROZEN. My method ofpreserving this vegetable for winter use is simply this. Duringsome mild, clear day in early November I have a trench ten incheswide dug nearly as deep as the celery is tall. This trench is dugon a warm dry slope, so that by no possibility can water gather init. Then the plants are taken up carefully and stored in thetrench, the roots on the bottom, the plants upright as they grew, and pressed closely together so as to occupy all the space in theexcavation. The foliage rises a little above the surface, which isearthed up about four inches, so that water will be shed on eitherside. Still enough of the leaves are left in the light to permitall the breathing necessary; for plants breathe as truly as we do. As long as the weather keeps mild, this is all that is needed; butthere is no certainty now. A hard black frost may come any night. I advise that an abundance of leaves or straw be gathered near. When a bleak November day promises a black frost at night, scatterthe leaves, etc. , thickly over the trenched celery, and do nottake them off until the mercury rises above freezing-point. If awarm spell sets in, expose the foliage to the air again. But watchyour treasure vigilantly. Winter is near, and soon you must haveenough covering over your trench to keep out the frost--a foot ormore of leaves, straw, or some clean litter. There is nothingbetter than leaves, which cost only the gathering. From now tillApril, when you want a head or more of celery, open the trench atthe lower end, and take out the crisp white or golden heads, andthank the kindly Providence that planted a garden as the bestplace in which to put man, and woman also. 

GARNISHING AND POT HERBS

"There's fennel for you; there's rue for you. " Strange andinvoluntary is the law of association! I can never see thegarnishing and seasoning herbs of the garden without thinking ofthe mad words of distraught Ophelia. I fancy, however, that we areall practical enough to remember the savory soups and dishesrendered far more appetizing than they could otherwise have beenby these aromatic and pungent flavors. I will mention only a fewof the popular sorts. 

The seeds of fennel may be sown in April about three-quarters ofan inch deep, and the plants thinned to fifteen inches apart. Cutoff the seed-stalks to increase the growth of foliage. 

Parsley, like celery seed, germinates slowly, and is sometimesabout a month in making its appearance. The soil should thereforebe made very rich and fine, and the seed sown half an inch deep, as early in spring as possible. When the plants are three incheshigh, thin them to eight inches apart. 

Sweet-basil may be sown in early May, and the plants thinned toone foot apart. The seeds of sweet-marjoram are very minute, andmust be covered very thinly with soil finely pulverized; sow inApril or May, when the ground is in the best condition. Sage iseasily raised from seeds gown an inch deep the latter part ofApril; let the soil be warm and rich; let the plants stand aboutone foot apart in the row. Thyme and summer-savory require aboutthe same treatment as sage. I find that some of the mountain mintsgrowing wild are quite as aromatic and appetizing as many of thesegarden herbs. 

THE END