Club Minutes: Horticultural Society, 1880-1891

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it with green moss and water liberally after the reading of the minutes the poultry was inquired into with the following result

Brooke Grove chickens 10 Falling Green " 7 Rock Spring " 9 Avalon " 30 Rockland " 70 Longwood " 30 White Hall (absent) Fulford " 9 Riverside 0 Alloway 11 Sharon 0 Norwood 20 Hernon 18 Edgewood 0 Total 214

Last April the total was 540 which was 320 more than this month.

As no one had anything new to pro -pose for the improvement of the Society, the President repeated his often expressed wish that each member should bring some con -tribution to the specimen table as it is a most interesting feature of the Society and he also thinks it might be interesting to note the noon temperature of the day of each meet -ing.

H/4/1880 -4-

Questions

1 Would it do to make a temporary hot bed over a bed of Geraniums in the fall and bank manure or sand around it instead of potting and caring for the plants in the house all winter? No one had tried it, and was not considered feasible

2 Has any one rooted rose cuttings in wa ter? Several had succeeded with it Anna Moore had put some in a bottle in water and hung in her pit in the fall and in the Spring they had nice roots. The water was not changed and did not evaporate so as to make it necessary to add more

3 Advice wanted about planting an asparagus bed? Make the bed rich and plant 4 or 5 inches deep, ashes is high -ly recommended and it is consider -ed better to get plants 1 year old than 2 yrs.

4 Which kind is best? Those who have the best beds do not know the name of the variety

5 Will a ”Weeping Willow” which was very much broken in the winter make a good top if cut back? Answered in the affirmative

6 How early will it do to move young rose bushes? As soon as the ground gets warm and mellow.

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7 Have many tried raising onions from the seed? instead of setts? Yes, but the most success ful member has abandoned the plan It is a very good way to raise them and much less expensive than setts

8 What Strawberry beside the ”Wilson” would plant in a new bed? The ”Sharpless” 9 If you do not want climbing roses to grow tall will it do to cut them back and keep them bushy? They do not bloom well so treated 10 Is there any blackberry better than The Kittatinny? No 11 What is the best early corn? Knickerbocker’s ”Surprise” And Minnesota 12 What the earliest pea? Landrect’s Extra Early and a kind from Canada 13 How much gardening has been Done? Three members had planted peas 2 had planted beets 3 onions I had set out a new Asparagus bed and several have made their hot beds 14 What is thought of a new plan for raising grape vines by planting cuttings 4 or 5 feet long in a hole a foot deep and leaving only 2 buds above ground R.R. Moore thinks it will do, as each eye below the surface will make roots and it will probably do as is claimed for it, make a vigorous

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growth by fall.

A new squash, ”the Cocoanut” is recommended as being very good

It was so cold that only a part of the company visited the garden They reported the hot beds very well advanced, cabbage plants large enough to set out, eggplants look ing well. The house plants blooming and looking healthy.

Adjourned to meet next month at Riverside

H/5/1881-2-

Making a sum total of 831 while the record of a year ago gives a total of 1130.

It was next decided that the Sec. should notice the noon temperature of the day of Horticultural meeting; on that day it was 51°.

Annie Brooke of Brooke Grove then read an article on ”Training tomatoes The other reader, Mrs. Warwick Miller, brought an article on raising Heliotropes which she persuaded the Sec. to read for her It may be found in the April ”American Farmer” The best plants are ”Lizzie Cook” a dark variety and ”Snow Wreath” light. Our attention was next drawn to a method of keeping hanging baskets in winter. The method of grafting grapes on cacti next brought up. none knew anything decided on this point.

Questions

1 Is it a good plan to bank earth around peach trees in summers to keep out worms? It will not keep worms away but makes them more get-at-able 2 Can you graft many colors on one Geranium? Nothing known. Mrs. Dr. Magruder will try and report. 3 Shall tomatoes be trained? Mem -bers equally divided, pro. and con.