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Manual of Gardening (Second Edition)

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[Illustration: XX. A simple but effective window-box, containing
geraniums, petunias, verbenas, heliotrope, and vines.]

In the northern states, if planted in the border they will not start
into growth until the ground has become thoroughly warm,--usually after
the middle of June,--making the season before frost too short for their
perfect growth and flower. If any danger of fall frost is feared, they
may be lifted into pots or boxes and taken into the house, when they
will bloom without a check. As with other bulbs, a sandy soil will suit.

Just before frost dig up the bulbs, cut off the tops to within 2 inches
of the apex of the bulb. They may then be placed in shallow boxes and
left out in the sun and air for a week or more, to cure. Each evening,
if the nights are cold, they should be removed to some room where the
temperature will not fall below 40°. When the outer scales have become
dry, the remaining soil may be shaken off and the bulbs stored away in
shallow boxes for the winter. They keep best in a temperature of 45° to
50°. It should never fall below 40°.

The Dwarf Pearl, originating in 1870, has long been popular, and is
still so with many. But others have come to prefer the old, tall kind,
the flowers of which, even if not so large, are perfect in form and seem
to open better.

TULIPS are undoubtedly the most prized of all early spring bulbs.
They are hardy and easy to grow. They also bloom well in winter in a
sunny climate. The garden bed will last several years if well cared for,
but most satisfactory bloom is secured if the old bulbs are taken up
every two or three years and replanted, all the inferior ones being cast
aside. When the stock begins to run out, buy anew. The old stock, if not
entirely spent, may be planted in the shrubbery or perennial borders.

September is the best time for planting tulips, but as the beds are
usually occupied at this time, planting is commonly postponed till
October of November. For garden culture the single early tulips are the
best. There are excellent early double-flowered varieties. Some prefer
the double, as their flowers last longer. Late tulips are gorgeous, but
occupy the beds too long in the spring. While tulips are hardy, they are
benefited by a winter mulch.

In working out design patterns, the utmost care should be used to have
the lines and curves uniform, which is only to be secured by marking out
the design, and careful planting. Formal planting is, however, by no
means necessary for pleasing effects. Borders, lines, and masses of
single colors, or groups of mixed colors which harmonize, are always in
order and pleasing. Clear colors are preferable to neutral tints. As
varieties vary in height and season of blooming, only named varieties
should be ordered if uniform bedding effects are desired. See pp. 286
and 345; Fig. 255.

VIOLET.--While the culture of violets as house-plants rarely proves
successful, there is no reason why a good supply may not be had
elsewhere through the greater part of the winter and the spring months.

A sheltered location being selected, young plants from runners may be
set in August or September. Have the ground fertile and well drained.
These plants will make fine crowns by December, and often will bloom
before weather sufficiently cold to freeze them.

To have flowers through the winter, it will be necessary to afford some
protection. This may best be accomplished by building a frame of boards
large enough to cover the plants, making the frame in the same way as
for a hotbed, 4 to 6 inches higher at the back than the front. Cover the
frame with sash or boards, and as the weather becomes severe, mats or
straw should be placed over and around the frame to protect the plants
from freezing. Whenever the weather will permit, the covering should be
removed and air admitted, but no harm will come if the frames are not
disturbed for several weeks. Much sunlight and a high temperature
through the middle of winter are to be avoided, for if the plants are
stimulated, a shorter period of bloom will result. In April the frame
may be removed, the plants yielding the later part of the crop without
protection.

Violets belong with the "cool" plants of florists. When well hardened
off, considerable frost does not harm them. They should always be kept
stocky. Start a new lot from runner-plants each year. They thrive in a
temperature of 55° to 65°. Pages 190, 206.

WAX-PLANT.--The wax-plant, or hoya, is one of the commonest of
window-garden plants, and yet it is one that house-gardeners usually
have difficulty in flowering. However, it is one of the easiest plants
to manage if a person understands its nature.

It is naturally a summer-blooming plant, and should rest in winter. In
the winter, keep it just alive in a cool and rather dry place. If the
temperature does not go above 50° Fahr., so much the better; neither
should it go much lower. In late winter or spring, the plant is brought
out to warm temperature, given water, and started into growth. The old
flower-stems should not be cut off, since new flowers come from them as
well as from the new wood. When it is brought out to be started into
growth, it may be repotted, sometimes into a size larger pot, but always
with more or less fresh earth. The plant should increase in value each
year. In conservatories, it is sometimes planted out in the ground and
allowed to run over a wall, in which case it will reach a height of
many feet.



CHAPTER IX

THE GROWING OF THE FRUIT PLANTS

Fruits should be counted a regular part of the home premises. There are
few residence plots so small that fruits of some kind cannot be grown.
If there is no opportunity for planting the orchard fruits by themselves
at regular intervals, there are still boundaries to the place, and along
these boundaries and scattered in the border masses, apples, pears, and
other fruits may be planted.

It is not to be expected that fruits will thrive as well in these places
as in well-tilled orchards, but something can be done, and the results
are often very satisfactory. Along a back fence or walk, one may plant a
row or two of currants, gooseberries, or blackberries, or he may make a
trellis of grapes. If there are no trees near the front or back of the
border, the fruit plants may be placed close together in the row and the
greatest development of the tops may be allowed to take place laterally.
If one has a back yard fifty feet on a side, there will be opportunity,
in three borders, for six to eight fruit trees, and bush-fruits between,
without encroaching greatly on the lawn. In such cases, the trees are
planted just inside the boundary line.

A suggestion for the arrangement of a fruit garden of one acre is given
in Fig. 270. Such a plan allows of continuous cultivation in one
direction and facilitates spraying, pruning, and harvesting; and the
intermediate spaces may be used for the growing of annual crops, at
least for a few years.

_Dwarf fruit-trees._

[Illustration: Fig. 270. Plan for a fruit-garden of one acre. From
"Principles of Fruit-growing."]

For very small areas, and for the growing of the finest dessert fruits,
dwarf trees may be grown of apples and pears. The apple is dwarfed when
it is worked on certain small and slow-growing types of apple trees, as
the paradise and doucin stocks. The paradise is the better, if one
desires a very small and productive tree or bush. The doucin makes only
a half-dwarf.

The pear is dwarfed when it is grown on the root of quince. Dwarf pears
may be planted as close as ten feet apart each way, although more room
should be given them if possible. Paradise dwarfs (apples) may be
planted eight or ten feet each way, and doucin twice that distance. All
dwarfs should be kept small by vigorous annual heading-in. If the tree
is making good growth, say one to three feet, a half to two-thirds of
the growth may be taken off in winter. A dwarf apple or pear tree should
be kept within a height of twelve or fifteen feet, and it should not
attain this stature in less than ten or twelve years. A dwarf apple
tree, in full bearing, should average from two pecks to a bushel of
first quality apples, and a dwarf pear should do somewhat more
than this.

If one grows dwarf fruit trees, he should expect to give them extra
attention in pruning and cultivating. Only in very exceptional instances
can the dwarf fruits be expected to equal the free-growing standards in
commercial results. This is particularly true of dwarf apples, which are
practically home-garden plants in this country. This being the case,
only the choice dessert fruits should be attempted on paradise and
doucin roots. For home gardens the paradise will probably give more
satisfaction than the doucin.

If the tree is taken young, it may be trained along a wall or on an
espalier trellis; and in such conditions the fruits should be of extra
quality if the varieties are choice. Plate XXII shows the training of a
dwarf pear on a wall. This tree has been many years in good bearing. In
most parts of the country a southern wall exposure is likely to force
the bloom so early as to invite danger from spring frosts.

_Age and size of trees._

For ordinary planting, it is desirable to choose trees two years from
bud or graft, except in case of the peach, which should be one year old.
Many growers find strong one-year trees preferable. A good size is
about five-eighths of an inch in diameter just above the collar, and
five feet in height, and if they have been well grown, trees of this
size will give as good results as those seven-eighths of an inch, or
more, in diameter, and six or seven feet high. Buy first-class trees of
reliable dealers. It rarely pays to try to save a few cents on a tree,
for quality is likely to be sacrificed.

If properly packed, trees can be shipped long distances and may do as
well as those grown in a home nursery, but it will generally be best to
secure the trees as near home as possible, provided the quality of the
trees and the price are satisfactory. When a large number is to be
purchased, it will be better to send the order direct to some reliable
nursery, or to select the trees in person, than to rely on
tree peddlers.

_Pruning._

Having planted the trees, they should be carefully pruned. As a rule,
trees with low heads are desirable. Peaches and dwarf pears should have
the lower branches from 12 to 24 inches above ground, and sweet cherries
and standard pears generally not over 30 inches; plums, sour cherries,
and apples may be somewhat higher, but if properly handled, when started
3 feet from the ground, the tops will not be in the way of the
cultivation of the orchard.

For all except the peach in the northern states, a pyramidal form will
be desirable. To secure this, four or five side branches with three or
four buds each, should be allowed to grow and the center shoot should be
cut off at a height of 10 to 12 inches. After growth has started, the
trees should be occasionally examined and all surplus shoots removed,
thus throwing the full vigor of the plant into those that remain. As a
rule three or four shoots on each branch may be left to advantage. The
following spring the shoots should be cut back one-half and about half
of the branches removed. Care should be taken to avoid crotches, and if
any of the branches cross, so that they are likely to rub, one or the
other should be cut out. This cutting-back and trimming-out should be
continued for two or three years, and in the case of dwarf pear trees
regular heading-back each year should be continued. Although an
occasional heading-back will be of advantage to the trees, apple, plum,
and cherry trees that have been properly pruned while young will not
require so much attention after they come into bearing.

Heavy pruning of the top tends to the production of wood; therefore the
severe pruning of orchard trees, following three or four years of
neglect, sets the trees into heavy wood-bearing, and makes them more
vigorous. Such treatment generally tends away from fruit-bearing. This
heavy pruning is usually necessary in neglected orchards, however, to
bring trees back into shape and to revitalize them; but the best
pruning-treatment of an orchard is to prune it a little every year. It
should be so pruned that the tops of the trees will be open, that no two
limbs will interfere with each other, and so that the fruit itself will
not be so abundant as to overload the tree.

In general, it is best to prune orchard trees late in winter or early in
spring. It is sometimes better, however, to leave peaches and other
tender fruits until after the buds have swollen, or even after the
flowers have fallen, in order that one may determine how much they have
been injured by the winter. Grape vines should be pruned in winter or
not later (in New York) than the first of March. If pruned later than
this, they may bleed. The above remarks will apply to other trees as
well as to fruits.

_Thinning the fruit._

If the best size and quality of fruit are desired, care must be taken to
see that the plant does not overbear.

Thinning of fruit has four general uses: to cause the remaining fruit to
grow larger; to increase the chances of annual crops; to save the
vitality of the tree; to enable one to combat insects and diseases by
destroying the injured fruit.

The thinning is nearly always performed soon after the fruit is
thoroughly set. It is then possible to determine which of the fruits are
likely to persist. Peaches are usually thinned when they are the size of
one's thumb. If thinned before this time, they are so small that it is
difficult to pick them off; and it is not so easy to see the work of the
curculio and thereby to select the injured fruits. Similar remarks apply
to other fruits. The general tendency is, even with those who thin their
fruits, not to thin enough. It is usually safer to take off what would
seem to be too many than not to take off enough. The remaining specimens
are better. Varieties that tend to overbear profit very greatly by
thinning. This is notably the case with many Japanese plums, which, if
not thinned, are very inferior.

Thinning may also be accomplished by pruning. Cutting off the fruit-buds
will have the effect of removing the fruit. In the case of tender
fruits, as peaches, however, it may not be advisable to thin very
heavily by means of pruning, since the fruit may be still further
thinned by the remaining days of winter, by late spring frost, or by the
leaf-curl or other disease. However, the proper pruning of a peach tree
in winter is, in part, a thinning of the fruit. The peach is borne on
the wood of the previous season's growth. The best fruits are to be
expected the strongest and heaviest growth. It is the practice of
peach-growers to remove all the weak and immature wood from the inside
of the tree. This has the effect of thinning out the inferior fruit and
allowing the energy of the tree to be expended on the remainder.

Apples are rarely thinned; but, in many cases, thinning can be done with
profit.

_Washing and scrubbing the trees._

The washing of orchard trees is an old practice. It usually results in
making a tree more vigorous. One reason is that it destroys insects and
fungi that lodge underneath the bark; but probably the chief reason is
that it softens the bark and allows the trunk to expand. It is possible,
also, that the potash from the soap or lye eventually passes into the
ground and affords some plant-food. Trees are ordinarily washed with
soap suds or with a lye solution. The material is usually applied with
an old broom or a stiff brush. The scrubbing of the tree is perhaps
nearly or quite as beneficial as the application of the wash itself.

It is customary to wash trees late in spring or early in summer, and
again in the fall, with the idea that such washing destroys the eggs and
the young of borers. It no doubt will destroy borers if they are just
getting a start, but it will not keep away the insects that lay the
eggs, and will not destroy the borers that have found their way beneath
the bark. It is perhaps quite as well to wash the trees very early in
the spring, when they are starting into growth.

It is an old practice to wash trees with strong lye when they are
affected with the oyster-shell bark louse. The modern method of treating
these pests, however, is to spray with some kerosene or oil compound
when the young growth is starting, for at that time the young insects
are migrating to the new wood and they are very easily destroyed.

The whitewashing of the trunks of trees tends also to relieve them of
insects and fungi; and it is probable that in hot and dry regions the
white covering affords protection from climate.

_Gathering and keeping fruit._

Nearly all fruits should be gathered as soon as they will readily part
from the stems on which they are borne. With many perishable fruits the
proper time for gathering will be determined largely by the distance
they are to be shipped. With the exception of winter varieties of apples
and pears and a few kinds of grapes, it is best to dispose of fruit soon
after it is gathered, unless it is kept for family use.

If for winter use, the fruit should at once be placed in the cellar or
fruit house in which it is to be stored, and there kept as near the
freezing point as possible. There will be less danger of shriveling if
the fruit is placed at once in closed barrels or other tight packages,
but if proper ventilation is provided, it may be kept in bins with
little loss. Even though no ice is used, it will be possible to maintain
a fairly low temperature by opening the windows at night when the
outside atmosphere is colder than that inside the building, and closing
them during the day as the outer air becomes warmer.

Fruit should be handled with great care at all times, for if the cells
become broken by rough handling, the keeping qualities will be greatly
injured. The illustrations (Figs. 187-189) show three types of fruit
storage houses.

Apples and winter pears may be packed in sand or leaves in the cellar
(in boxes) and thereby be kept from shriveling.

ALMOND.--The almond tree is seldom seen in the eastern states, but
now and then one will be found in a yard and not bearing. The failure to
bear may be due to frost injury or lack of pollination.

The almond is about as hardy as the peach, but it blooms so early in the
spring that it is little grown east of the Pacific slope. It is an
interesting ornamental tree, and its early bloom is a merit when the
fruit is not desired. The almonds commonly sold by nurserymen in the
east are hard-shell varieties, and the nuts are not good enough for
commerce. The almond fruit is a drupe, like the peach, but the flesh is
thin and hard and the pit is the "almond" of commerce. Culture as
for peach.

The "flowering almonds" are bushes of different species from the
fruit-bearing tree. They are usually grafted on plum, and the stock is
likely to throw up suckers and cause trouble.

APPLES thrive over a wider range of territory and under more
varied conditions than any other tree fruit. This means that they are
easy to grow. In fact they are so easy to grow that they are usually
neglected.

Apples do best on a strong, sandy loam soil, or a light clay loam. While
a soil very rich in organic matter is not desirable, good results cannot
be secured unless it contains a fair amount of vegetable matter. A
clover sod is particularly desirable for this as well as for
other fruits.

For a commercial orchard, most varieties should be from 35 to 40 feet
apart; but the slow-growing and long-lived sorts may be at 40 feet, and,
halfway between in both directions, some of the short-lived,
early-bearing varieties may be placed, to be removed after they begin to
crowd. In home grounds the trees may be placed somewhat closer than 35
to 40 feet, especially if they are planted on the boundaries, so that
the limbs may project freely in one direction.

It is ordinarily advisable, especially in the humid climates east of the
Great Lakes, to have the body of the tree 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 feet long. The
limbs should be trimmed up to this point when the tree is set. From
three to five main branches may be left to form the framework of the
top. These should be shortened back one-fourth or one-half when the tree
is set. (Figs. 142-145) Subsequent pruning should keep the top of the
tree open and maintain it in more or less symmetrical form. West of the
Great Lakes, particularly on the plains and in the semi-arid regions,
the top may be started much nearer the ground.

In orchard conditions, the trees should be kept in clean culture,
especially for the first few years; but this is not always possible in
home yards. In lieu of tillage, the sward may be mulched each fall with
stable manure, and commercial fertilizer may be applied each fall or
spring. If fruit is wanted rather than foliage and shade, care should be
taken not to make ground too rich, but to keep it in such condition that
the tree is making a fairly vigorous growth, with good strong foliage,
but is not overgrowing. An apple tree in full bearing is usually in good
condition if the twigs grow 10 to 18 inches each season.

Apple trees should begin to bear when three to five years planted, and
at ten years should be bearing good crops. With good treatment, they
should continue to bear for thirty or more years in the
northeastern states.

[Illustration: XXI. The king of fruits. Newtown as grown in the Pacific
country.]

_Insects and diseases of the apple._

Among the insects most commonly found on the apple tree are the
codlin-moth, canker-worm, and tent-caterpillar. The codlin-moth lays its
egg on the fruit soon after the blossoms fall, and the larvae, on
hatching, eat their way inside. A thorough spraying of the trees with
arsenites within a week after the blossoms fall will do much toward
destroying them; and a second application, in about three weeks, will be
essential. The canker-worm (Fig. 217) and tent-caterpillars feed on the
leaves, and can also be destroyed by means of arsenites. To be effective
against the former, however, the applications must be made soon after
they hatch, and very thoroughly.

A close watch should be kept for borers. Whenever the bark appears to be
dead or sunken in patches, remove it and search for the cause. A borer
will usually be found underneath the bark. About the base of the tree
the most serious injury occurs from borers, since the insect which
enters there bores into the hard wood. His presence can be determined by
the chips that are cast from his burrows. If the trees are well
cultivated and in a thrifty growing condition, the injury will be
greatly reduced. It will be well to wash the trunks and larger branches
with soft soap, thinned with water so that it can be applied with a
brush or broom, during the spring. The addition of an ounce of Paris
green in each five gallons of the wash will be of value. The only real
remedy, however, is to dig the borers out.

The most troublesome disease of the apple is the apple-scab, which
disfigures the fruit as well as lessens its size. It also often does
much harm to the foliage, and thus checks the growth of the trees (Fig.
214). The Baldwin, Fameuse, Northern Spy and Red Canada are particularly
subject to this disease, and it is much more troublesome in moist
seasons than when the weather is dry. The use of fungicides will do much
to lessen the injury from this disease.

_Varieties of apple._

The selection of varieties of apples for home use is, to a large extent,
a personal matter; and no one may say what to plant. A variety that is
successfully grown in one section may prove disappointing in another.
One should study the locality in which he wishes to plant and choose
those varieties which are the most successfully grown there,--choosing
from amongst the successful kinds those which he likes best and which
seem best to meet the purposes for which he is to grow them.

For the northern and eastern states, the following varieties will
generally be found valuable:--

[The varieties marked with (A) are particularly valuable for market
purposes as well as for home use; the others are chiefly desirable for
home use.]

_Early._--Yellow Transparent, Early Harvest, Early Strawberry, Primate,
Dyer, Summer Rose, Early Joe, Red Astrachan, Golden Sweet, Oldenburg,(A)
Summer Pearmain, Williams (Favorite), Chenango, Bough (Sweet), Summer
Queen, Gravenstein,(A) Jefferis, Porter, Maiden Blush.

_Autumn._--Bailey (Sweet), Fameuse,(A) Jersey Sweet, Fall Pippin,
Wealthy,(A) Mother, Twenty Ounce, Magnate.

[Illustration: Fig. 271. The Jonathan.]

_Winter._--Jonathan(A) (Fig. 271), Hubbardston,(A) Grimes,(A) Tompkins
King,(A) Wagener(A) (Fig. 272), Baldwin,(A) Yellow Bellflower, Tolman
(Sweet), Northern Spy,(A) Red Canada,(A) Roxbury, McIntosh,(A) Yellow
Newtown (Plate XXI), Golden Russet, Belmont, Melon, Lady, Rambo, York
Imperial, Pomme Gris, Esopus (Spitzenburgh), Swaar, Peck (Pleasant),
Rhode Island Greening, Sutton, Delicious, Stayman Winesap, Westfield
(Seek-no-further).

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