310 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



shake the water oft. Spraying with home mixed Bor- 

 deaux is good practice, and prevention is better than cure. 

 Aphis should be kept under control with Nicotine sprays, 

 and in this connection it might be well to point out that 

 if common table salt is added to the nicotine spray it will 

 go far to help check red spider. Not more than two 

 ounces of salt should be used to a gallon of water. One 

 has only to walk into a carnation house early in the morn- 

 ing after the plants have been sprayed with a salt and 

 nicotine solution and run one's fingers through the plants 

 to understand how it is that salt helps check red spider. 



There is a damp humid feeling about the plants that 

 seems to suit them but which red spider doesn't appre- 

 ciate. 



The growing crops will need some attention. Keep after 

 the cabbage worm on the late cabbage. It may be danger- 

 ous to the consumers to use a poison spray at this time so 

 the next best thing to do is to pick ofif the caterpillars. This 

 is not such a hard task as it may seem. Better feed the 

 cabbage to the chickens than leave them to the mercy 

 of these caterpillars. Potatoes should be dug at any time 

 now choosing the cool, clear weather, as they should be 

 perfectly dry when stored, and don't forget to sow the 

 ground down with r\'e and crimson clover just as soon as 

 the potatoes are all off. Should crimson clover not do 

 in your locality, sweet clover is worth trying, though only 

 in its infancy as a cover crop. 



Roots of celery may be lifted from the open ground 

 and transplanted to frames for a Winter supply. Celery 

 will need attention in the way of blanching. 



Special blanching papers are now on the market, or 

 boards may be used, or one may resort to the old time 

 method of simply earthing it up and blanching it. All 

 diseased leaves should be picked oft and the plants 

 sprayed with Bordeaux mixture before blight puts in an 

 appearance. Prevention is better than cure, so take time 

 by the forelock and spray early. 



It is not too late to make new lawns and renovate old 

 ones with every assurance of success if done as early in 

 the month as possible. Watering newly sown lawns is 

 not good practice. Far better it is to leave them alone 

 until a good rain occurs, for in order to succeed properly 

 the new seeding must have all the conditions that accom- 

 pany rain, such as darkness and dull moisture laden at- 

 mosphere. 



We have made passing mention of the adaptability of 

 bulbs for outdoor culture, but one of their greatest assets 

 is the readiness with which they lend themselves to in- 

 door cultul-e, either in the greenhouse or dwelling. There 

 are two distinct methods under which they can be grown 

 with every assurance of success, either in pots and pans 

 with ordinary garden earth, or in standard bulb glass with 

 water only. The latter method, however, destroys the 

 bulbs for further use as the leaves and flowers use up 

 practically the whole of the old bulbs during their de- 

 velopment. In the case of culture in pots or pans with 

 earth the roots emitted are able to secure some nutriment 

 from the soil which allows the bulbs to hold their own and 

 after forcing may be planted permanently where they will 

 flower more or less in subsequent years, though they are 

 not to be used for forcing two years in succession. 



For forcing in the house plant the bulbs as soon as you 

 can secure them, they may then be placed in a cool cellar 

 after being thoroughly watered, but preferably they 

 should be placed outdoors and covered with ashes or 

 other refuse until they are rooted through which will take 

 from five to six weeks. As soon as a mass of roots show 

 in the bottom of the pots they may be brought into the 

 house for forcing, as one wishes to have them. 



Essentially there is. but little difference in the water 

 culture method. Small glasses holding a single bulb 



may be used, or large bowls may be used holding several 

 bulbs. In the bottom of the bowls place some small clean 

 white pebbles and a little broken charcoal to keep the 

 water sweet. The roots that will develop will cling to 

 the pebbles and give th^i support enough to keep them 

 upright. The glass and'l bowds need to be put away in 

 a cool, dark closet or cellar until they have emitted a 

 mass of roots. It is not necessary to change the water, 

 but keep it filled up to a point level with the bottom of 

 the bulbs. 



While all of the Hyai^nths may be forced in this man- 

 ner yet the Dutch Hyacinth is the one most commonly 

 used. Of the NarcissusV' family the ever popular paper- 

 white N. Grandiflora, is the best, though any of the double 

 or single Jonquil or Polvanthus types may be used. Tu- 

 lips are easy to force, but only the extra early forcing 

 varieties should be selected for the house. May flowering 

 or Darw^in tulips may also be forced in the house, but not 

 to bloom early. It is not safe to start this class of tulips 

 before the middle of February. 



HARDY SPIREAS. 



(Continued from t>agc 307) 

 spirals of showy, rose-colored flowers which appear in 

 July and August. This Spirea is of unique appearance 

 on account of its brown stems thickly furnished with 

 leaves, green above but whitish beneath. This Spirea is 

 widely distributed over the United States. It makes a 

 very pretty Summer hedge or division line. 



Spircca regciiana grows from three to five feet high. 

 Dense panicles of rosy pink flowers are produced in July 

 and furthermore upon its new growth a second crop of 

 flowers usually appears in Autumn. 



Spircra salicifolia. and its varieties latifulia and alba, 

 often called Meadow Sweet, are found in this country 

 growing in the edge of swamps or moist meadows. This 

 species produces terminal panicles of flowers rosy-white 

 or white in July and August. 



From the Pacific Coast we have Spircra ariccfolia. 

 This is a good shrub for shady places. In July it bears 

 panicles of small wdiite flowers with a yellowish green 

 tint. In its Pacific habitat it reaches a height of eight 

 feet, but in the North it is of much lower growth and is 

 benefited by some Winter protection. 



The list of Spireas which we have mentioned is by no 

 means exhaustive but it comprises most of the best for 

 general culture. 



Pruning. The species which belong to the early flow- 

 ering group should be pruned very little ; only the weak 

 shoots should be removed and the stronger shoots after 

 they have finished blooming thinned out sparingly. The 

 late flowering group should be pruned severely as soon 

 as their first flowering is over. 



5*0(7 and Location. Spireas flourish in a moderately 

 fertile soil and prefer a moist but not wet location. 



Propagation. The only flowering Spireas are propa- 

 gated from greenwood cuttings taken during the Sum- 

 mer and placed in sand under glass. The later flowering 

 species are increased from hard wood cuttings taken ofif 

 in Autumn or Winter and placed upright in boxes of 

 sand in a cool cellar. Greenwood cuttings should be 

 ];lanted out in the garden as soon as rooted, and hard 

 wood cuttings the next ^pring. 



''Tust one remedy will' cure every ill in our distracted 

 world today, and that is Christianity. Its practice must be 

 by every individual in all the relations of life — in state- 

 craft, in business, in social relations, in the home, in the 

 secret life and thought. For this transformation we need 

 a new brand of discipleship — the discipleship of the single 

 eye.'' 



