The Busy Woman s Garden Book 



flower work as the asters- In the stronger colors 

 of crimson, purple and blue it is as effective a 

 flower as one could wish to use for mass planting", 

 while for more refined and delicate beauty no one 

 could ask for anything better than the pure white 

 and dehcate shell pinks of the Ostrich Feather 

 and Late Branching whites. The Comet asters 

 are very artistic, attractive flowers but, unfor- 

 tunately, do not stand up under wet weather — a 

 hard rain reducing them to a dismal, raggy con- 

 dition. Set the wide branching asters at least a 

 foot apart and see that all asters have clean, 

 healthy soil to grow in to avoid the troubles that 

 arise when conditions are unfavorable. A warm, 

 fibrous loam, well enriched with old manure, is 

 best and water should be given freely during dry 

 weather, especially when the buds are forming. 

 The black aster beetle is the only serious foe of 

 the aster and makes its appearance when the 

 flowers are in full bloom, doing an immense 

 amount of damage in a few hours if not destroyed 

 as they eat the petals of the flowers, rendering 

 them very unsightly. The only satisfactory rem- 



