14 



THE "ILLINOIS WAY" OF BEAUTIFYING THE FARM 



The Illinois Rose for Foundation Planting 



Far better against the house than garden roses. More 

 <x>mpact, freer from insects and diseases, and does well even 

 in poor soil. Flowers July; fruits red until Christmas; stems 

 red all winter; foliage attractive the whole crowing season. 

 Let us plant one Illinois rose in front of every home in Illinois! 



(See Fig. 53.) Let your bushes grow naturally. (See Fig. 54.) 

 They cost less to care for and look better. To learn about 

 pruning, send to Washington for Farmers' Bulletin 181, which 

 is free. 



BOUNDARY PLANTING 



Can't you plant the boundaries of your farmstead in such a 

 way that the same trees and shrubs will do four jobs? First, 

 provide windbreaks; second, screen unsightly objects; third, 

 frame the views from porch and 



living-room; fourth, provide 

 year-round interest and beauty. 



42. The Illinois Rose for Porch Decoration 



This country home has privacy enough without training the roses uo to hide the porch. The object here is to decorate 

 the porch, and this shows what kind of garland you can make with the Illinois or prairie rose (Rosa setigera) The bushes 

 in the foreground are rhododendrons, which are impractical for Illinois, but we can get a unique effect by replacing them 

 with Illinois roses. Let most of them make compact bushes to hide the foundation, and train a few to make garlands. Why 

 not a whole porch, now and then, planted exclusively or chiefly with Illinois roses? 



EVERY TREE WORTH ONE DOLLAR A 

 SQUARE INCH 



The Illinois farmer is often tempted to cut down the big 

 trees in his pasture because they rob his crops of food and 

 moisture. But even if a tree takes $15 a year out of your 

 pockets, is it not worth the money in the enjoyment your 

 family can get out of it, to say nothing of the shade it gives to 

 cattle? The surest way to make your children hate the farm 



is to cut down a century-old 



A Deadly Parallel 



A HEDGE 



A BORDER 



oak which they love. According 

 to the Hartford standard, every 



If so, your property will in- sfcor , seasm 0/ 6eau(y ._ Two weeks Beautiful the year rouna'.-FIowers tree is T>rth $i a square inch 



crease yearly in value far more 

 than if you merely plant a 

 hedge, especially privet. 



Loo 



43. The Illinois Rose for House Walls 



It blooms in July, after most of the Ramblers are cone, 

 and lasts nearly three weeks, opening a few flowers daily. 

 1 he two colors on the same vine are characteristic, th< 



new blossoms being deep rose and the old ones nearly 

 white. This prairie rose (Rosa setigera) offers a permanent 

 and cheap way of covering broad expanses of common- 

 place or ugly wall. To train it simply tack a piece of cloth 

 over each shoot. This will not rot wood, make a house 

 damp, or shelter dozens of sparrows. When the house 

 needs painting you can lay down the stems and replace 

 them without damage. 



of bloom or none, and usually no 

 beauty during winter nearly 

 half the year. 



Little variety. A hedge 

 contains only one 

 kind of plant and 

 ets monotonous. 

 >oks about the 

 same month after 

 month. No new 

 flowers or interest 

 every day. 



Rush work. Has to be 

 trimmed two or three 

 times a year, often 

 when necessary work 

 is crowding. 

 Artificial. Makes a 

 farmhouse contrast 

 painfully with the 

 surrounding coun- 

 try. 



Pretentious. Too 

 often it is merely 

 showy, spectacular, 

 stiff, ' 'done for 

 effect," insincere. 

 Costs more in the end. 

 Privet is cheaper at 

 the start, but grows 

 too fast, and there- 

 fore costs more to 

 maintain. 



from April to October. Brightly 

 colored berries and twigs from 

 October to April. 

 Great variety. Many 

 kinds of shrubs, dif- 

 fering in season of 

 bloom, color and size 

 of flowers, fragrance, 

 height of bush, leaf, 

 autumn color, and 

 fruit. 



Pleasant work. Prune 



a little at a time, 



when the shrubs 



bloom or after not 



before, as a rule. 

 More natural. Makes 



a farmhouse blend 



with the surround- 

 ing country. 



simply for shade and beauty. 



It will pay you to figure the 

 value of the biggest tree in your 



Self-respecting. Makes 

 a farmhouse look 

 like a country home 

 not a feeble imita- 

 tion of the city. 



Costs less in the end. 

 No bill for trimming 

 three times a year for 

 the next fifty years. 

 No failures to re- 

 placewith full-grown 

 plants at fancy prices 



MORAL. Plant informal borders of 

 trees and shrubs at the boundaries 

 oj your property not hedges. 



44. Every Illinoisan Should Know the Illinois Rose 



The Illinois, or prairie rose (Rosa setigera), is a climber 

 with deep rose-colored, single flowers 2' 2 inches across, with 

 4 to ? flowers in a cluster. It blooms late in June or July, a 

 fortnight after garden roses are gone. It is the hardiest and 

 most adaptable of all roses. The bush grows about 6 fee 

 high. How to know it. It is the only climbing rose nativ 

 to America, and the only wild rose that commonly has thre 

 leaflets. But the surest character is in the pistil. Othe 

 wijd roses have separate styles, like your Fingers, but th 

 Illinois rose has the styles grown together into a column, 

 like your fist. Thirty-nine varieties arc in cultivation. 



