858 



HORTICULTURE 



December 1G, 1911 



determine if the border should be made up at once; in 

 a loan-to house a portion can be made each year, but 

 with cross trellises, no provision for this can be made. 

 Proceed as with a vine border until it comes to mix- 

 ing the soil. A peach does not require nearly so rich a 

 soil as the vine, but it must be porous. To every fifteen 

 loads of loam add one of broken bricks (these should be 

 broken into pieces about as large as your fist) and four 

 or five bags of choarcoal. No stimulants will be needed. 

 Mi\ the soil thoroughly and when making it up press it 

 firm. 



.MELONS 



Melons sown December 1st will soon be ready to plant 

 out. and the bed should be prepared for them. Half- 

 decayed loam, with a good percentage of mortar rubble 

 or old plaster broken up small and mixed in with it 

 will be found to suit them all right. A mistake is often 

 made in giving melons too much soil to grow in. A 



surprisingly small quantity is all they require. With 

 this small quantity canker and stem-rot seem to be less 

 prevalent than where they have so much to ramble in. 

 A bed 5 by 16 inches is quite enough for them. Break 

 the loam into fair-sized lumps and make the bed quite 

 firm. A melon seems to enjoy a good hard soil and 

 there is less superfluous growth than when planted in 

 loose soil. A good set seems easier to obtain and the 

 benches drying out quickly will help to improve the 

 flavor of the fruit. After making the foundation of 

 the bed leave little mounds of soil in which to plant the 

 seedlings, two feet apart. 



wfe^C 



^4hrs^ 



White Phloxes 



To emphasize the importance of phloxes in floral out- 

 door displays would mean an attempt to impose on the 

 patience of the intelligent readers of Horticulture. 

 As a matter of fact, the coming into flower of the 

 phloxes is a characteristic feature in the mid-summer as- 

 pect of any modern garden. Without it the total pic- 

 ture would lack in color-brilliancy. We should, at 

 once, miss that certain warmth of tone which only a 

 mass of upright panicles of phloxes can create. World- 

 wide popularity first brought about an overabundance of 

 variety. With the growing refinements of taste in color 

 combinations and the subsequent preference for clear 



to shed some of their blossoms are as a rule not consid- 

 ered very seriously for cutting. Nevertheless during 

 the month of August, with by no means an oversupply 

 of white in the garden, the long-stemmed panicles of the 

 best white varieties in many instances prove quite ac- 

 ceptable. This without doubt further explains their 

 prepondei'ence in public favor. 



In the suffrutieosa class Miss Lingard is still in the 

 lead. Although not a pure white, the pale pinkish eye 

 never detracts from its meriting first rank in the early, 

 flowering whites. Being nearly a perpetual bloomer its 

 glossy foliage, free-flowering habit, and the large size 



Till. ox SUFFKOTICOSA, MlSS LlNGAHD 



tints the discarding of shades of doubtful merit became 

 an urgent necessity for up-to-date growers. It also 

 meant to keep an eye on the size of the individual flower 

 as well as the build of the panicles, not to forget the 

 resistance of foliage to mildew and other diseases. 



According to my observations, the lighter shades at 

 present outclass the darker ones in demand, with pure 

 white leading. White is neutral; that is, it does not 

 clash with any color when coming in contact. Being 

 principally planted for garden display it is a very easy 

 matter to place white phloxes. The standard varieties 

 now possess that noble purity which, for near and dis- 

 tant effects, is of a wonderful strength. 



Phloxes, on account of their habit of soon beginning 



of its masses of conically formed trusses are qualities 

 which speak loud and convincing. 



There are quite a number of pure whites listed within 

 the panieulata section. Of the tall growing ones Frl. 

 von Lassburg and Mrs. Jenkins can be safely recom- 

 mended as the best in cultivation. Of the dwarf-grow- 

 ing ones Diadem, late flowering, and — as a novelty well 

 spoken of here and abroad — Fran Anton Buchner, mid- 

 season, should be considered first. Both are excellent 

 for bordering purposes. ■ 



-^f&jJvcuui -^ot^uy 



Northeast Harbor, Maine. 



