for February, l')21 



461 



Peppers can be treated as the former, thou^t;h being- 

 hardier they may be planted earlier in poorer soil. Feed 

 them well, and after the fniit is set, stake and cultivate. 



Tomatoes should be sown indoors and potted on into 

 three-, four- and six-inch pots. If the weather is settled 

 by the fifteenth of May, they may be planted out of doors, 

 but watch carefully for frost at night. Set out the plants 

 two feet apart and three feet between the lines. Stake 

 well and keep them tied up all season. Cut out all super- 

 fluous branches and if necessary thin the fruit. 



Okra and martynia may be sown outdoors in lines three 

 feet apart. Thin out the former to fifteen inches apart and 

 the latter to about three feet. Alartynia is good for pick- 

 ling, and okra makes an excellent flavoring for soup. 



Endive is grown almost like lettuce, but does best in the 

 Fall. Tie the leaves together before maturity, so as to 

 blanch like celery. Lay them out on boards ten days 

 before they are required for table use, as they blanch 

 specially well if the foliage is dry. A list of salads 

 that are favorites in the garden is alwavs welcome; 



curled cress, water cress, chicory, mustard and radish. 



Some herbs are always desirable in every garden and 

 can be raised with ordinary care ; perennials as balm, 

 catnip, lavender, fennel, mint, sage and thyme ; annuals 

 as anise, sweet basil, sunmier savory and dill. 



Experience is always the best teacher, and no definite 

 rules can be laid down. There should be always plenty 

 of good tools on hand that will assist the gardener in 

 doing his work well. Have a supply of the many insecti- 

 cides that are required in fighting the numerous enemies 

 of plant life, and see that all spraying apparatus is always 

 in first-class working order. Never have the vegetable 

 garden empty or idle from one season to another. In 

 the Fall when crops have been harvested, dig the ground 

 up and sow it with clover, rye or mustard. Turn this 

 down in the early Spring for it makes a most excellent 

 jilant feeder. An old adage, ''Dig deep and manure well" 

 is as true today as it ever was. 



As said before — Use plenty ol forethouglu. |:ilan before 

 the seasdn and all thriiugh it. 



Silene (Catchfty) 



RICHARD ROTHE 



o 



trainin 

 mates 



the genus SUcnc, belonging to the order Caryo- 



phillccc there are quite a number of biennial and 



perennial species which readers of a European 



g will recall as being very handsome garden in- 



Silcnc pcndnla and pcudula coiiipacta raised from 



spicuuus by the size of its bright rosy petals is Silene 

 Elisabetlicc inhabiting the slopes of southern Tyrol and 

 the northern part of Italy. Under cultivation the single 

 flower averages 1^ inch in diameter. It thrives well in 

 English rock-gardens while on the European continent, 

 north of the Alps, it calls for a sunny sheltered position 

 and careful Winter protection. Unfortunately in our 

 middle Atlantic climate this beautiful species proves 

 delicate and commercially unsatisfactory. According to 

 my experience the most valuable for American rock- 

 gardens is the Autumn Catchfly, Silciie Sclmfta. With 

 the species alpestris it shares the quality of being per- 

 fectly hardy. The appearance of a plantation of the 





SII.K.XE SLIL\IT.\ 



seed sow^i during mid-Summer and grown in the same 

 manner as Myosotis alpestris or Bellis percnnis were freely- 

 used for Spring bedding. Their dense cushion-like foliage 

 appeared nearly covered with attractive white or pink 

 flowers which made a beautiful showing during ^lav 

 and June. I always doubted as to whether those bien- 

 nial si>ecies could be grown equally well in our climate, 

 liut two years ago I saw a bed of Silene pendula coin- 

 pacta in Rosemont, Pa., and the grower assured me there 

 had been no trouble whatever in attaining good results. 



Of the hardy perennial kinds the Cushion Pink, SUcnc 

 acaulis, a native of the mountainous districts of the north- 

 ern part of Central lunope and the I'.ritish Islands and 

 Silene alpestris, a denizen of the Austrian Alps, arc both 

 valuable subjects for open sunny positions in rock-gar- 

 dens. The flowers of the former are pink, rarelv white ; 

 ^vl-lik■ those of 5. alpestris appear in white onl\-. Con- 



Si i.kxi: .\i.pi\.\ 



latter during .May and June when adorned with its white- 

 blossoms is exceeding- graceful, while in .August and 

 .September Silene Scliafta with its dis]-)lav of bright rose 

 pink flowers ]iroves outright indispensable in adding- color 

 lo the aspect of our rockeries. 



-\11 the perennial species may be raised from seeds 

 sown in Spring or propagated by cuttings and division. 

 For Winter protection a light leaf-covering or a good 

 nuflching with old nianure is a necessitv. 



