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Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by L. H. Bailey

L >> L. H. Bailey >> Manual of Gardening (Second Edition)




[Illustration: Fig. 174. Budding. The "bud"; the opening to receive it;
the bud tied.]

There are many ways in which the union between cion and stock is made.
Budding may be first discussed. It consists in inserting a bud
underneath the bark of the stock, and the commonest practice is that
which is shown in the illustrations. Budding is mostly performed in
July, August, and early September, when the bark is still loose or in
condition to peel. Twigs are cut from the tree which it is desired to
propagate, and the buds are cut off with a sharp knife, a shield-shaped
bit of bark (with possibly a little wood) being left with them (Fig.
174). The bud is then shoved into a slit made in the stock, and it is
held in place by tying with a soft strand. In two or three weeks the bud
will have "stuck" (that is, it will have grown fast to the stock), and
the strand is cut to prevent its strangling the stock. Ordinarily the
bud does not grow until the following spring, at which time the entire
stock or branch in which the bud is inserted is cut off an inch above
the bud; and the bud thereby receives all the energy of the stock.
Budding is the commonest grafting operation in nurseries. Seeds of
peaches may be sown in spring, and the plants which result will be ready
for budding that same August. The following spring, or a year from the
planting of the seed, the stock is cut off just above the bud (which is
inserted near the ground), and in the fall of that year the tree is
ready for sale; that is, the top is one season old and the root is two
seasons old, but in the trade it is known as a one-year-old tree. In the
South, the peach stock may be budded in June or early July of the year
in which the seed is planted, and the bud grows into a saleable tree the
same year: this is known as June budding. In apples and pears the stock
is usually two years old before it is budded, and the tree is not sold
until the top has grown two or three years. Budding may be performed
also in the spring, in which case the bud will grow the same season.
Budding is always done on young growths, preferably on those not more
than one year old.

[Illustration: Fig. 175. Whip-graft.]

Grafting is the insertion of a small branch (or cion), usually bearing
more than one bud. If grafting is employed on small stocks, it is
customary to employ the whip-graft (Fig. 175). Both stock and cion are
cut across diagonally, and a split made in each, so that one fits into
the other. The graft is tied securely with a string, and then, if it is
above ground, it is also waxed carefully.

In larger limbs or stocks, the common method is to employ the
cleft-graft (Fig. 176). This consists in cutting off the stock,
splitting it, and inserting a wedge-shaped cion in one or both sides of
the split, taking care that the cambium layer of the cion matches that
of the stock. The exposed surfaces are then securely covered with wax.

[Illustration: Fig. 176. Cleft-graft before waxing.]

Grafting is usually performed early in the spring, just before the buds
swell. The cions should have been cut before this time, when they were
perfectly dormant. Cions may be stored in sand in the cellar or in the
ice-house, or they may be buried in the field. The object is to keep
them fresh and dormant until they are wanted.

If it is desired to change the top of an old plum, apple, or pear tree
to some other variety, it is usually accomplished by means of the
cleft-graft. If the tree is very young, budding or whip-grafting may be
employed. On an old top the cions should begin to bear when three to
four years old. All the main limbs should be grafted. It is important to
keep down the suckers or watersprouts from around the grafts, and part
of the remaining top should be cut away each year until the top is
entirely changed over (which will result in two to four years).

A good wax for covering the exposed parts is described in the footnote
on page 145.

_Keeping records of the plantation._

If one has a large and valuable collection of fruit or ornamental
plants, it is desirable that he have some permanent record of them. The
most satisfactory method is to label the plants, and then to make a
chart or map on which the various plants are indicated in their proper
positions. The labels are always liable to be lost and to become
illegible, and they are often misplaced by careless workmen or
mischievous boys.

For vegetables, annuals, and other temporary plants, the best labels
are simple stakes, like that shown in Fig. 177. Garden stakes a foot
long, an inch wide, and three-eighths inch thick may be bought of label
manufacturers for three to five dollars a thousand. These take a soft
pencil very readily, and if the labels are taken up in the fall and
stored in a dry place, they will last two or three years.

[Illustration: Fig. 177. The common stake label.]

For more permanent herbaceous plants, as rhubarb and asparagus, or even
for bushes, a stake that is sawed from clear pine or cypress, eighteen
inches long, three inches wide, and an inch or more thick, affords a
most excellent label. The lower end of the stake is sawed to a point,
and is dipped in coal tar or creosote, or other preservative. The top of
the stake is painted white, and the legend is written with a large and
soft pencil. When the writing becomes illegible or the stake is needed
for other plants, a shaving is taken off the face of the label with a
plane, a fresh coat of paint added, and the label is as good as ever.
These labels are strong enough to withstand shocks from whiffletrees and
tools, and should last ten years.

[Illustration: Fig. 178. A good stake label, with the legend covered.]

Whenever a legend is written with a lead pencil, it is advisable to use
the pencil when the paint (which should be white lead) is still fresh or
soft. Figure 178 shows a very good device for preserving the writing on
the face of the label. A block of wood is secured to the label by means
of a screw, covering the legend completely and protecting it from
the weather.

If more ornamental stake labels are desired, various types can be bought
in the market, or one can be made after the fashion of Fig. 179. This is
a zinc plate that can be painted black, on which the name is written
with white paint. Many persons, however, prefer to paint the zinc white,
and write or stamp the label with black ink or black type. Two strong
wire legs are soldered to the label, and these prevent it from turning
around. These labels are, of course, much more expensive than the
ordinary stake labels, and are usually not so satisfactory, although
more attractive.

[Illustration: Fig. 179. Metal stake label.]

[Illustration: Fig. 180. Zinc tallies.]

[Illustration: Fig. 181. Common zinc tally.]

For labeling trees, various kinds of zinc tallies are in common use, as
shown in Figs. 180 and 181. Fresh zinc takes a lead pencil readily, and
the writing often becomes more legible as it becomes older, and it will
usually remain three or four years. These labels are attached either by
wires, as _a, b,_ Fig. 180, or they are wound about the limb as shown in
_c, d,_ and _e,_ in Fig. 180. The type of zinc label most in use is a
simple strip of zinc, as shown in Fig. 181, wrapped about the limb. The
metal is so flexible that it expands readily with the growth of the
branch. While these zinc labels are durable, they are very inconspicuous
because of their neutral color, and it is often difficult to find them
in dense masses of foliage.

The common wooden label of the nurserymen (Fig. 182) is perhaps as
useful as any for general purposes. If the label has had a light coat of
thin white lead, and the legend has been made with a soft lead pencil,
the writing should remain legible four or five years. Fig. 183 shows
another type of label that is more durable, since the wire is stiff and
large, and is secured around the limb by means of pincers. The large
loop allows the limb to expand, and the stiff wire prevents the
misplacing of the label by winds and workmen. The tally itself is what
is known as the "package label" of the nurserymen, being six inches
long, one and one-fourth inches wide, and costing (painted) less than
one and one-half dollars a thousand. The legend is made with a lead
pencil when the paint is fresh, and sometimes the label is dipped in
thin white lead after the writing is made, so that the paint covers the
writing with a very thin protecting coat. A similar label is shown in
Fig. 184., which has a large wire loop, with a coil, to allow the
expansion of the limb. The tallies of this type are often made of glass,
or porcelain with the name indelibly printed in them. Figure 185. shows
a zinc tally, which is secured to the tree by means of a sharp and
pointed wire driven into the wood. Some prefer to have two arms to this
wire, driving one point on either side of the tree. If galvanized wire
is used, these labels will last for many years.

[Illustration: Fig. 182. A common nursery label.]

[Illustration: Fig. 183. Cornell tree label.]

[Illustration: Fig. 184. Serviceable large-loop tree label.]

[Illustration: Fig. 185. Zinc tree label.]

[Illustration: Fig. 186. Injury by a tight label wire.]

It is very important, when adjusting labels to trees, to be sure that
the wire is not twisted tight against the wood. Figure 186 shows the
injury that is likely to result from label wires. When a tree is
constricted or girdled, it is very liable to be broken off by winds. It
should be a rule to attach the label to a limb of minor importance, so
that if the wire should injure the part, the loss will not be serious.
When the label, Fig. 182, is applied, only the tips of the wire should
be twisted together, leaving a large loop for the expansion of the limb.

_The storing of fruits and vegetables._

The principles involved in the storing of perishable products, as fruits
and vegetables, differ with the different commodities. All the
root-crops, and most fruits, need to be kept in a cool, moist, and
uniform temperature if they are to be preserved a great length of time.
Squashes, sweet-potatoes, and some other things need to be kept in an
intermediate and what might be called a high temperature; and the
atmosphere should be drier than for most other products. The low
temperature has the effect of arresting decomposition and the work of
fungi and bacteria. The moist atmosphere has the effect of preventing
too great evaporation and the consequent shriveling.

[Illustration: Fig. 187. The old-fashioned "outdoor cellar," still a
very useful and convenient storage place.]

In the storing of any commodity, it is very important that the product
is in proper condition for keeping. Discard all specimens that are
bruised or are likely to decay. Much of the decay of fruits and
vegetables in storage is not the fault of the storage process, but is
really the work of diseases with which the materials are infected before
they are put into storage. For example, if potatoes and cabbages are
affected with the rot, it is practically impossible to keep them any
length of time.

Apples, winter pears, and all roots, should be kept at a temperature
somewhat near the freezing point. It should not rise above 40 deg. F. for
best results. Apples can be kept even at one or two degrees below the
freezing point if the temperature is uniform. Cellars in which there are
heaters are likely to be too dry and the temperature too high. In such
places it is well to keep fresh vegetables and fruits in tight
receptacles, and pack the roots in sand or moss in order to prevent
shriveling. In these places, apples usually keep better if headed up in
barrels than if kept on racks or shelves. In moist and cool cellars,
however, it is preferable for the home supply to place them on shelves,
not piling them more than five or six inches deep, for then they can be
sorted over as occasion requires. In case of fruits, be sure that the
specimens are not over-ripe when placed in storage. If apples are
allowed to lie in the sun for a few days before being packed, they will
ripen so much that it is very difficult to keep them.

[Illustration: Fig. 188. Lean-to fruit cellar, covered with earth. The
roof should be of cement or stone slabs. Provide a ventilator.]

Cabbages should be kept at a low and uniform temperature, and water
should be drained away from them. They are stored in many ways in the
field, but success depends so much on the season, particular variety,
ripeness, and the freedom from injuries by fungi and insects, that
uniform results are rarely secured by any one method. The best results
are to be expected when they can be kept in a house built for the
purpose, in which the temperature is uniform and the air fairly moist.
When stored out of doors, they are likely to freeze and thaw
alternately; and if the water runs into the heads, mischief results.
Sometimes they are easily stored by being piled into a conical heap on
well-drained soil and covered with dry straw, and the straw covered with
boards. It does not matter if they are frosted, provided they do not
thaw out frequently. Sometimes cabbages are laid head down in a shallow
furrow plowed in well-drained land, and over them is thrown straw, the
stumps being allowed to project through the cover. It is only in winters
of rather uniform temperature that good results are to be expected from
such methods. These are some of the main considerations involved in the
storing of such things as cabbage; the subject is mentioned again in the
discussion of cabbage in Chapter X.

[Illustration: Fig. 189. A fruit storage house cooled by ice.]

In the storing of all products, especially those which have soft and
green matter, as cabbages, it is well to provide against the heating of
the produce. If the things are buried out of doors, it is important to
put on a very light cover at first so that the heat may escape. Cover
them gradually as the cold weather comes on. This is important with all
vegetables that are placed in pits, as potatoes, beets, and the like. If
covered deeply at once, they are likely to heat and rot. All pits made
out of doors should be on well-drained and preferably sandy land.

When vegetables are wanted at intervals during the winter from pits, it
is well to make compartment pits, each compartment holding a wagon load
or whatever quantity will be likely to be wanted at each time. These
pits are sunk in well-drained land, and between each of the two pits is
left a wall of earth about a foot thick. One pit can then be emptied in
cold weather without interfering with the others.

An outside cellar is better than a house cellar in which there is a
heater, but it is not so handy. If it is near the house, it need not be
inconvenient, however. A house is usually healthier if the cellar is not
used for storage. House cellars used for storage should have a
ventilating shaft.

Some of the principles involved in an ice-cooled storage house are
explained in the diagram, Fig. 189. If the reader desires to make a
careful study of storage and storage structures, he should consult
cyclopedias and special articles.

_The forcing of plants._

There are three general means (aside from greenhouses) of forcing plants
ahead of their season in the early spring--by means of forcing-hills and
hand-boxes, by coldframes, and by hotbeds.

The forcing-hill is an arrangement by means of which a single plant or a
single "hill" of plants may be forced where it permanently stands. This
type of forcing may be applied to perennial plants, as rhubarb and
asparagus, or to annuals, as melons and cucumbers.

In Fig. 190 is illustrated a common method of hastening the growth of
rhubarb in the spring. A box with four removable sides, two of which are
shown in end section in the figure, is placed around the plant in the
fall. The inside of the box is filled with straw or litter, and the
outside is banked thoroughly with any refuse, to prevent the ground from
freezing. When it is desired to start the plants, the covering is
removed from both the inside and outside of the box and hot manure is
piled around the box to its top.

[Illustration: Fig. 190. Forcing-hill for rhubarb.]

If the weather is yet cold, dry light leaves or straw may be placed
inside the box; or a pane or sash of glass may be placed on top of the
box, when it will become a coldframe. Rhubarb, asparagus, sea-kale, and
similar plants may be advanced two or four weeks by means of this method
of forcing. Some gardeners use old barrels or half-barrels in place of
the box. The box, however, is better and handier, and the sides can be
stored for future use.

[Illustration: Fig. 191. Forcing-hill, and the mold or frame for making
it.]

Plants that require a long season in which to mature, and which do not
transplant readily, as melons and cucumbers, may be planted in
forcing-hills in the field. One of these hills is shown in Fig. 191. The
frame or mold is shown at the left. This mold is a box with flaring
sides and no top or bottom, and provided with a handle. This frame is
placed with the small end down at the point where the seeds are to be
planted, and the earth is hilled up about it and firmly packed with the
feet. The mold is then withdrawn, and a pane of glass is laid upon the
top of the mound to concentrate the sun's rays, and to prevent the bank
from washing down with the rains. A clod of earth or a stone may be
placed upon the pane to hold it down. Sometimes a brick is used as a
mold. This type of forcing-hill is not much used, because the bank of
earth is liable to be washed away, and heavy rain coming when the glass
is off will fill the hill with water and drown the plant. However, it
can be used to very good advantage when the gardener can give it close
attention.

[Illustration: Fig. 192. Hand-box.]

A forcing-hill is sometimes made by digging a hole in the ground and
planting the seeds in the bottom of it, placing the pane of glass upon a
slight ridge or mound which is made on the surface of the ground. This
method is less desirable than the other, because the seeds are placed in
the poorest and coldest soil, and the hole is very likely to fill with
water in the early days of spring.

An excellent type of forcing-hill is made by the use of the hand-box, as
shown in Fig. 192. This is a rectangular box, without top or bottom, and
a pane of glass is slipped into a groove at the top. It is really a
miniature coldframe. The earth is banked up slightly about the box, in
order to hold it against winds and to prevent the water from running
into it. If these boxes are made of good lumber and painted, they will
last for many years. Any size of glass may be used which is desired, but
a ten-by-twelve pane is as good as any for general purposes.

After the plants are thoroughly established in these forcing-hills, and
the weather is settled, the protection is wholly removed, and the plants
grow normally in the open.

A very good temporary protection may be given to tender plants by using
four panes of glass, as explained in Fig. 193, the two inner panes being
held together at the top by a block of wood through which four nails are
driven. Plants are more likely to burn in these glass frames than in the
hand-boxes, and such frames are not so well adapted to the protection of
plants in very early spring; but they are often useful for
special purposes.

[Illustration: Fig. 193. Glass forcing-hill.]

In all forcing-hills, as in coldframes and hotbeds, it is exceedingly
important that the plants receive plenty of air on bright days. Plants
that are kept too close become weak or "drawn", and lose the ability to
withstand changes of weather when the protection is removed. Even though
the wind is cold and raw, the plants inside the frames ordinarily will
not suffer if the glass is taken off when the sun is shining.

Coldframes.

A coldframe is nothing more than an enlarged hand-box; that is, instead
of protecting but a single plant or a single hill with a single pane of
glass, the frame is covered with sash, and is large enough to
accommodate many plants.

There are three general purposes for which a coldframe is used: For the
starting of plants early in spring; for receiving partially hardened
plants that have been started earlier in hotbeds and forcing-houses; for
wintering young cabbages, lettuce, and other hardy plants that are sown
in the fall.

Coldframes are ordinarily placed near the buildings, and the plants are
transplanted into the field when settled weather comes. Sometimes,
however, they are made directly in the field where the plants are to
remain, and the frames, and not the plants, are removed. When used for
this latter purpose, the frames are made very cheap by running two rows
of parallel planks through the field at a distance apart of six feet.
The plank on the north is ordinarily ten to twelve inches wide, and that
on the south eight to ten inches. These planks are held in place by
stakes, and the sashes are laid across them. Seeds of radishes, beets,
lettuce, and the like, are then sown beneath the sash, and when settled
weather arrives, the sash and planks are removed and the plants are
growing naturally in the field. Half-hardy plants, as those mentioned,
may be started fully two or three weeks in advance of the normal season
by this means.

[Illustration: Fig. 194. Coldframe against a building. Plants at E; sill
of house at A; basement opening at B.]

One of the simplest types of coldframes is shown in Fig. 194, which is a
lean-to against the foundation of a house. A sill is run just above the
surface of the ground, and the sashes, shown at D, are laid on rafters
which run from this sill to the sill of the house, A. If this frame is
on the south side of the building, plants may be started even as early
as a month before the opening of the season. Such lean-to frames are
sometimes made against greenhouses or warm cellars, and heat is supplied
to them by the opening of a door in the wall, as at B. In frames that
are in such sunny positions as these, it is exceedingly important that
care be taken to remove the sash, or at least to give ample ventilation,
in all sunny days.

[Illustration: Fig. 195. Weather screen, or coldframe, against a
building.]

A different type of lean-to structure is shown in Fig. 195. This may be
either a temporary or permanent building, and it is generally used for
the protection of half-hardy plants that are grown in pots and tubs. It
may be used, however, for the purpose of forwarding pot-plants early in
the spring and for protection of peaches, grapes, oranges, or other
fruits in tubs or boxes. If it is desired merely to protect the plants
through the winter, it is best to have the structure on the north side
of the building, in order that the sun may not force the plants
into activity.

[Illustration: Fig. 196. A pit or coldframe on permanent walls, and a
useful adjunct to a garden. The rear cover is open (_a_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 197. The usual form of coldframe.]

[Illustration: Fig. 198. A strong and durable frame.]

Another structure that may be used both to carry half-hardy plants over
winter and for starting plants early in spring is shown in Fig. 196. It
is really a miniature greenhouse without heat. It is well adapted for
mild climates. The picture was made from a structure in the coast
region of North Carolina.

[Illustration: Fig. 199. A frame yard.]

The common type of coldframe is shown in Fig. 197. It is twelve feet
long and six feet wide, and is covered with four three-by-six sash. It
is made of ordinary lumber loosely nailed together. If one expects to
use coldframes or hotbeds every year, however, it is advisable to make
the frames of two-inch stuff, well painted, and to join the parts by
bolts and tenons, so that they may be taken apart and stored until
needed for the next year's crop. Figure 198 suggests a method of making
frames so that they may be taken apart.

[Illustration: Fig. 200. Portable coldframe.]

[Illustration: Fig. 201. A larger portable coldframe.]

It is always advisable to place coldframes and hotbeds in a protected
place, and particularly to protect them from cold north winds. Buildings
afford excellent protection, but the sun is sometimes too hot on the
south side of large and light-colored buildings. One of the best means
of protection is to plant a hedge of evergreens, as shown in Fig. 199.
It is always desirable, also to place all the coldframes and hotbeds
close together, for the purpose of economizing time and labor. A regular
area or yard may be set aside for this purpose.

[Illustration: Fig. 202. A commodious portable frame.]

Various small and portable coldframes may be used about the garden for
the protection of tender plants or to start them early in the spring.
Pansies, daisies, and border carnations, for example, may be brought on
very early by setting such frames over them or by planting them under
the frames in the fall. These frames may be of any size desired, and the
sash may be either removable, or, in case of small frames, they may be
hinged at the top. Figs. 200-203 illustrate various types.

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A Stephen King fan has published an 80-page version of the book which novelist Jack Torrance obsessively writes during King's The Shining, where his descent into madness is revealed when his wife discovers that his work consists of just one phrase, endlessly repeated.

Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson in terrifying form in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film, is a frustrated writer who goes with his wife and son to spend the winter in the isolated Overlook Hotel in an attempt to get the novel he has always wanted to write started. But the hotel's grisly past and unquiet ghosts have their way with him, and his wife Wendy eventually finds that the manuscript he has been working on actually only contains the phrase "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", typed over and over again.

Now New York artist Phil Buehler, who describes himself as "a big fan of Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King", has self-published a book credited to Torrance, repeating the phrase throughout but formatting each page differently, using the words to create different shapes from zigzags to spirals.

"The idea has probably been marinating for years, because I loved the movie and the Stephen King book," said Buehler. "I'd just finished my own obsessive art project [and] it was an idea I had over the Christmas holidays."

He said he decided to stick to type and formatting that could have been created on a typewriter, with the first ten pages duplicating shots of Torrance's work from the film. "I thought 'if he continues to get crazier, what would those pages look like?'" he said. "I hit writer's block about 60 pages in, and I had to get to 80 - that went on for about a week." His fiancée, who had neither read the book nor seen the film, became a little concerned about his actions. "I finally showed her the movie, and she realised I wasn't really losing it," said Buehler.

He's included a spoof review from the blog OverThinkingIt.com on the book's back jacket, which compares it to "the best of Beckett" in its "lack of forward momentum", and considers the struggles of the author, "heroically pitting himself against the Sisyphusean sentence". "It's that metatextual struggle of Man vs. Typewriter that gives this book its spellbinding power," the review says. "Some will dismiss it as simplistic; that's like dismissing a Pollack canvas as mere splatters of paint."

So far, Buehler says that around 1,000 people have viewed the book, for sale on Blurb.com for $8.95 in paperback, or $22.95 in hardback, and he's sold "a few" copies, with sales now starting to pick up steam. "A few people have asked me to sign it - they're looking it as a piece of art rather than a funny thing to give to a Kubrick fan," he said. "If you're not a Kubrick or King fan, you might not even get it."

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