Part 44

When you first set out your plants, go over them and examine them closely and see that everything is right. Then remember that the first sign of a good fall bearing variety is to see it throw out fruit stalks. You can cut these off, so that the stub of the fruit stem will show that it has sent up a flower stalk. You can see the stub. In this way in a small patch you can easily keep track of them. If some plants do not throw out fruit stems, mark them so you can tell them, and if they pass the season without trying to fruit, you must refrain from setting out any of the runners that appear, or there is liability of trouble. Let such plants alone for another year's trial. Then if they do no better, dig them up and destroy them. Once in a while they prove to be all right, but often they are worthless.

Learn to tell a variety by a careful examination of the plant at different times during the season. Fix the general color of the leaf in your mind, its shape and size. Notice whether the fruit stems are long or short, whether the blossoms are above the leaves, in plain sight, or are hidden below. Are there many fruit buds to the stalk, or but few? Are the blossoms pistillate or staminate? Are the petals large or small? Are the stamens long or short? Are the anthers well or poorly formed? They should be plump and well filled before they are ready to open.

Is the receptacle on which the pistils sit well formed and capable of being developed into a perfect berry, or do they look ungainly in shape? Are the petals pure white or slightly crimson? Are there many runners, or few, or none? Do the new runners bear blossoms and fruit? If so, when do they commence to bud and bloom? When do the berries begin to ripen? Notice the size and shape of the fruit, also the color. You can tell much from the taste of the berry. No two varieties taste exactly alike. Some are real sweet and some kinds real sour. Then there are all grades between.

The perfume, or fragrance, of the fruit of the common strawberry when fully ripened under proper conditions of sunlight and moisture has long been esteemed and highly appreciated by mankind in general, and in this respect the fall-bearing strawberry varies greatly. The most of the varieties excel all common kinds as to perfume and that delicate strawberry flavor which nearly everybody loves so well. Once in a while a musk-scented variety is developed, like the Milo on our grounds, which as yet has never been sent out. By paying close attention to these things you can soon learn to distinguish many varieties at any time during the growing season.

In 1898 Mr. Cooper found his seedling which he called the Pan American. From that small beginning there are now many varieties, perhaps thousands, that excel the parent plant, and perhaps a hundred varieties of great value. Some varieties have very superior merit. I will mention a few: Progressive, Peerless, Advance, Danville, Forward, Prince, Will, Milo, Nathaniel, 480, and there are others which might be mentioned. Good reports have reached me of kinds produced at your Horticultural Experiment farm by Prof. Haralson, but I have never tried them. My private opinion is that several kinds I have not mentioned will very soon take a back seat, as the saying is. The best varieties are bound to come to the front.

The best advertisement one can have is the ability to ship thousands of quarts during the whole autumn. This season we shipped 22,565 quarts, mostly sold in pint boxes. They netted us from 12-1/2 to 18 cents per pint. At home we kept them on the market during the whole season at 15 cents per quart. We lost as many as 5,000 quarts by violent storms during the season. It was a fair season for growing plants, but there was too much water to grow the best of fruit.

Heredity in Gladioli.

G. D. BLACK, GLADIOLUS SPECIALIST, INDEPENDENCE, IA.

(SO. MINN. HORT. SOCIETY.)

As heredity is a comparatively new word, it may be well to define it at the beginning of this paper. Webster says "It is the transmission of mental or physical characteristics or qualities from parent to offspring, the tendency of an organism to reproduce the characteristics of the progenitor."

Most of the species of gladioli are native in the temperate zone of Southern Africa, where they have grown for so long a time that they will reproduce themselves in a marked degree from seeds.

Some have grown in the moist soils of the valleys for so many generations that they have become adapted to these conditions and will not thrive on the elevated plateaus and mountain slopes. Those which are native in the higher and cooler altitudes will not grow well in the lower lands.

A species or variety becomes acclimated when it is grown in one locality for several successive generations, because it is one of nature's laws that it takes on new characteristics that improve it for existence there. These characters are changing more or less during each generation on account of environment.

We can not aid nature in strengthening and improving the desirable qualities unless we follow nature's laws. By crossing two varieties that have certain desirable characters in common we may be able to make these characteristics more dominant.

Much of the crossbreeding of the gladiolus has been done in such an unscientific manner that it is surprising that so much improvement has been made. This improvement is mostly the result of extra care and cultivation, and the selection of the best each generation. In order to retain the benefit of any extra care and cultivation it has to pass on as a heritage to the succeeding generation and is there incorporated among its characteristics. Each generation should be an advance toward the desired ideal.

There is no doubt in my mind that the ruffling and doubling of the petals in flowers that have been under cultivation for several generations is caused by the extra feeding and care that they have received.

Most species of gladioli in their wild state are small and lacking in beauty. Abnormal or freak varieties should not be selected as the best for breeding, because they are usually the result of a violent cross, and are nearly always weak as propagators and sometimes entirely sterile.

Princeps has a very large flower, but the spike is short and only two or three blooms are open at one time. It was originated by Dr. Van Fleet by crossing Mrs. Beecher and Cruentus. Burbank crossed Princeps and America, and quite a number of the seedlings show the markings of Mrs. Beecher, one of their grandparents, but with shorter spikes. In this cross Princeps transmits the undesirable character of short spikes but leaves out the abnormal size of flower, and the best characters of America are lacking. The parentage of America is very much in doubt, as three prominent gladiolus breeders claim the honor of originating it.

There are many characteristics to be considered when making selections for breeding besides the color and size of the flower. The bulbs of some varieties will stand considerable freezing while other varieties will not. This same characteristic is noticed in the foliage. The severe frost that killed our corn crop on August 30th so impaired Panama, Hiawatha and some others that very few blooms of these varieties opened afterwards. The foliage of some varieties remained green after a temperature of twelve degrees below freezing.

A representative of a Holland bulb growing firm who called on me a few days ago says that Niagara is a very weak grower in Holland and Panama is a very vigorous grower. My experience with these varieties is just the reverse. This seems to show that sometimes the difference in climate may cause certain characters in the plant to act differently--if the Hollander is not mistaken.

A few varieties are sometimes subject to blight and rust. Some are only slightly affected, and many others are entirely blight proof.

There are so many characteristics to be considered by the scientific breeder that it is almost impossible to enumerate them all in this paper.

There is yet a great work to be done in breeding out the undesirable traits and incorporating the improvements which we desire.

Civic Improvement.

MRS. ALBERTSON, PRES. CIVIC IMPROVEMENT LEAGUE, AUSTIN.

This is a subject so broad and so closely connected with "The City Beautiful" one can hardly find a starting point, but we might begin with the one word--civic--which has drawn to itself many minds, much sober thought and from some much hard work.

The fear was widespread that woman would work havoc if she attempted to spell the task, but how needless, for the word civic can be spelled with accuracy from whichever end approached.

What was the beginning of the civic league and the city beautiful? It began at home, where most women's work begins. To have a beautiful home one must have the right kind of house. To have the beautiful house to make the beautiful home the setting must be made to correspond--so after the house, the lawn; after the lawn, the boulevard. Then the work spread. Streets needed cleaning, unsightly billboards had to be removed, perhaps an adjoining vacant lot had a careless owner whose pride needed pricking. So the need of a civic league grew, and now it has become a vital spark in many cities all over the Union. Minnesota has over thirty civic clubs doing specific work. Is it entirely the work for women? No. Is it entirely the work for men? No. It is a work for both. It is a work that is very contagious and a contagion that needs no quarantine.

Civic league work envelopes many lines of improvement. Streets and alleys sometimes need to be reported to the proper committee of the city council; the disposal of rubbish and garbage has confronted many civic societies. There is nothing so conducive to unsanitary conditions and so disfiguring to a beautiful street as glimpses and often broad views of alleys and back yards that have become dump piles and garbage receivers.

Besides the effect on one's love for cleanliness and beauty, it breeds disease--and so public sanitation was added to the civic league work.

In some cities the societies are taking up the work of smoke abatement. I might say that we have a few offending chimneys in our own city beautiful. Every member of the city council should be a member of the civic league, for much more could be done by co-operation. There is great need of the civic improvement league and park board working together, for their aim is one--to make the city beautiful.

The work that gives the most beauty to the city after the good foundation of cleanliness, public sanitation and removal of public nuisances is that done in the parks. I am glad cities are making larger appropriations for parks, and I hope our city will have more in the future, for there are great possibilities of making our city not only a city beautiful, but a most beautiful city. Parks should be well lighted, playgrounds for children are almost a necessity, the river banks should be kept clean--but most of all the natural beauties of a place must be preserved and trees should be planted. Shade is needed as a good background. There is nothing that will enhance a beautiful statue, fountain or other park ornament like a setting of good trees.

If possible to have it there is no more attractive spot in a park than a lily pool. The old idea of laying out parks according to some geometrical pattern is giving way to the development of walk lines of practical use, recognizing both traffic requirements and the desirability of location for numerous park benches. What will lend more charm to a park than a beautiful drive bordered with noble trees leading up to some focal point or opening a way to some particular vista that would otherwise be lost!

The park board should not limit its work to parks alone, but wherever there is a spot, triangle corner or any other kind of available place, there should be planted shrubs or flower beds. They soon become a public pride and cheer many passersby. We have a number of bright spots in our city, beginning in the spring with a beautiful bed of tulips. May another year bring us many more! One forgets the mud and the disagreeable days of spring in watching the bulbs thrust their little pointed noses through the cold earth and the development of the buds until they burst open into a blaze of color, flaunting their gorgeous heads in a farewell to old winter and giving a cheery welcome to the coming summer.

BEE-KEEPER'S COLUMN.

Conducted by FRANCIS JAGER, Professor of Apiculture, University Farm, St. Paul.

If not already done the beekeeper should at once make his final preparations towards a successful wintering of bees. There are several conditions under which the bees winter well, all of which are more or less understood. The chief of these are a strong colony of young bees, sufficient amount of good stores, and the proper place to keep the bees.

Bees that were queenless late in the fall or bees that had an old queen who stopped laying very early in the season, will have only few and old bees for wintering and will not have vitality enough to survive. Such colonies should be united with some other good colony or if too far gone they should be destroyed. Weak colonies should be united until they are strong enough to occupy and fill when clustered at least six frames.

The best stores to winter bees on is pure honey capped over. Honey dew will kill the bees in winter. If you have any black honey in your hives you had better remove it and replace with white honey. A ten frame hive ready for winter ought to contain from 35 to 40 pounds of honey. A complete hive if put on a scale should weigh not less than from 50 to 60 pounds. The best way to supply food to the bees is to remove the dry combs and insert next to the cluster full combs of honey. Feeding sugar is a dangerous undertaking, and it should not be resorted to unless necessity compels one to do it, and then feeding should be done early in the season to allow the bees to invert the sugar, cap it over and consume such stores which are not capped over before winter. The hives that winter best are those which contain no uncapped honey in the frames.

For the bulk of beekeepers cellar wintering in Minnesota is to be recommended. The things to be looked after in cellar wintering are: first, that the temperature of the cellar does not go much below 45 degrees, at least not for any length of time. Second, that the entrances are kept open and clear of dead bees and are guarded with four to the inch wire screen against mice. Third, that the moisture generated by the bees does not accumulate on the walls and covers of the hives. This is most essential. Moisture absorbing material should be used in place of a wooden cover, for instance flax board or gunnysacks, or a super filled with shavings over a queen excluder. The bees must have free passage over the top of the frames. We wintered the bees at University Farm without loss by using nothing else but the one inch flax board on top of the hive, which kept the hive positively dry all winter.

Your cellar should be dark, should have some ventilation, and the bees should never be disturbed during their winter sleep. By following these recommendations, you will be delighted to find your bees in the spring in a most flourishing condition for next summer's work.

GARDEN HELPS

Conducted by Minnesota Garden Flower Society

Edited by MRS. E. W. GOULD, 2644 Humboldt Avenue So. Minneapolis.

After the frosts have killed the _dahlia_ foliage the tubers should be dug and stored before the cold becomes so great. They may be injured by it.

The stems should be cut to about three or four inches of the roots, using a sharp knife, so as to make a clean cut. To the stems attach the label firmly. Loosen the earth about each clump before attempting to lift it, then run the spade or fork as far under it as possible and pry it gently out. In this way the tubes will not be broken or injured where they join the stem, which is the only place where they can make the next season's growth. Most of the soil will drop off as they dry. Lay the roots so that water will not have a chance to collect in the soft hollow stems, or crown rot may trouble you.

A cool, dry shed is a good place in which to cure the roots. Lay them on boards and turn them occasionally so they will dry evenly.

In a week's time they should be ready to store for winter, the best place being a frost-proof cellar. Unless this is very dry, it is best to have boards raised a few inches above the floor on which to lay them. This will allow a current of air to pass under them. If a damp cellar must be used, air slaked lime sprinkled under the boards will help to keep them dry. Cover them a little with dry sand. The best temperature is 40 degrees.

_Cannas_ can be lifted and stored at once. Cut the stems off short, leaving enough to attach the labels to. They keep best if lifted with as much soil about them as possible. The clumps can be set close together, on boards arranged in the same way as for dahlias. They will stand a slightly warmer temperature than dahlias.

_Tuberous begonias_, unlike dahlias and cannas, should be lifted without cutting the stems. They should be cured in the sun for at least two weeks and during that time turned to dry evenly and kept perfectly dry. A cold frame is a good place in which to do this. When the stems part readily from the bulbs, the latter can be packed in boxes and stored in any dry place where the temperature will not fall below 40 degrees. These are among the tenderest bulbs and should be the first to be lifted.

_Gladioli_ should be lifted with their stems intact, tied in bundles and hung in a dry shed to dry. When thoroughly dry, the stems can be cut off and the bulbs packed in boxes and stored the same as the begonias. They are especially sensitive to heat, and if the air is too dry the bulbs will shrivel and lose much of their vitality.

_Montbretias_ should be lifted out and stored in the same way as the gladioli.

_Tuberoses_ should be lifted with the stems intact and spread out to dry or hung in a dry place. When thoroughly cured, cut off the stems close to the bulb and store in the same way as gladioli.

_Caladium, or Elephant's Ears_, should be lifted without disturbing the stem or leaves. As the leaves dry they can be removed, but the stem should not be cut near the bulb, as this is the point of growth the following year. They can be stored with the dahlias and cannas and are not apt to shrivel, as the bulb is so large and fleshy.

_Zephyrunthes, summer blooming hyacinths, tritomas, and tigridias_ should be lifted, cured, and stored in the same manner as gladioli.

All of these are subject to rot, so it is well to examine them occasionally. If any rot is found, remove the affected bulbs, and if those remaining appear damp, dust lightly with air-slaked lime. Flowers of sulphur can also be used to dust them with to prevent this trouble. Should the bulbs be getting too dry, cover with sand. In our climate of extremes, it is necessary to examine them at intervals, and be prompt in the use of a remedy if any of these adverse conditions are discovered.

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NOTICE.

The November meeting of the Garden Flower Society will be held in the Minneapolis Park Board greenhouses, thirty-eighth street and Bryant avenue, November 16, 2:30 p.m. Take Monroe and Bryant car. St. Paul members will transfer from the Selby-Lake at Bryant avenue. This will be a chrysanthemum show, and a talk on hardy chrysanthemums will be given.

SECRETARY'S CORNER

MINNESOTA CROP IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION.--Will hold its annual meeting this year at Fairmont on Feb. 21-22-23. The seed growers of Minnesota would be especially interested in this meeting, at which there are to be a number of seed contests, particulars in regard to which are not at hand. They may be secured by addressing the secretary, Prof. C. P. Bull, University Farm, St. Paul, Minn.

THE VEGETABLE GROWERS CONVENTION.--This convention, which is I understand an annual gathering of the vegetable growers of America, was largely attended in Chicago the last week in September. A report received of the meeting indicates an attendance of eight hundred vegetable growers, including two hundred fifty from the vicinity of Chicago. The city entertained them with an inspection trip, throughout Cook County and later a party of them went to Racine and visited the experimental gardens operated by Prof. R. L. Jones, of the Wisconsin University. Perhaps we may have a fuller report of this meeting from some of our Minnesota growers who were in attendance.

THE SOCIAL ELEMENT AT OUR ANNUAL MEETING.--Making the West Hotel the headquarters of the society at the same time that the meeting is held in the building gives an especially good opportunity for renewing and cultivating acquaintance amongst the members in attendance. This was particularly noticeable last year, and without doubt one of the most enjoyable features of the gathering. Placing emphasis upon this, an additional room has been engaged for the coming meeting on the same floor and adjoining the rooms occupied last year, which will be fitted up especially for a reception room where members and their friends may gather and rest as they visit and talk of the many things of interest connected with our society and its work. A suitable sign will direct members to this reception room, and we anticipate that it will be made use of largely.

THE PRIZE WINNER IN THE GARDEN AND CANNING CONTEST.--The Horticultural Society is offering $10.00 to pay railroad fare and traveling expenses to attend the annual meeting of our society by the boy or girl making the best record in the state in the "garden and canning contest" carried on by the Minnesota Extension Division. The successful contestant will tell in his or her way how it was that success was secured in the contest. Besides this prize of $10.00 each of the ten boys or girls scoring next highest in this contest will receive an annual membership for 1917 in the State Horticultural Society. The name of the successful contestant is not yet announced.

DELEGATES FROM SISTER SOCIETIES.--Several delegates have been appointed from horticultural societies in adjoining states, notices of which have reached this office.

Mr. D. E. Bingham, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., is to represent the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. Mr. Bingham has made fruit growing his life work, a man of large experience, whose services are in demand in that state also as an institute lecturer. We shall have an opportunity to profit by his experience at our meeting, as you will note by consulting the program.

Mr. G. D. Black, of Independence, Ia., is to represent the Northeast Iowa Society. Mr. Black has been with us before and he will find many who recall his presence here in previous years. He is to give us on the program his later experience in connection with the growing of the gladioli, a work to which he has given large attention for many years.

From South Dakota is coming the president of that society, Rev. S. A. Hassold, from Kimball, S.D.

Other visitors from Iowa not officially sent to us who have signified an intention to be present are: Chas. F. Gardner, Osage, Ia.; E. M. Reeves, Waverly. Prof. S. A. Beach is also to spend the last two days of the annual meeting with us and his name will be found upon our program on several topics. No professional horticulturist in America is better or more favorably known than Prof. Beach, and our membership who are interested in orcharding should not fail to hear what he has to say on the subjects he presents.