HERBS 



HERBS 



735 



during the winter, and if 

 mice are present they may 

 'be killed or driven away by 

 placing a few drops of car- 

 bon bisulphide in each hole 

 found. (This is also a good 

 way to rid coldframes of 

 these pests. Plenty of ven- 

 tilation should be given at 

 the time, as the gas evapo- 

 'rated is destructive to vege- 

 tation. As the gas is heav- 

 'ier than air, it sinks for the 

 ; most part down the holes.) 

 If, however, mice are not 

 troublesome, there is no 

 better material for keeping 

 jout cold and shedding water 

 than straw. Nature's plan 

 for plant protection is to use 

 the foliage and stems of the 

 ; plants themselves, the whole 

 ground surface being cov- 

 ered as the weather grows 

 colder with successive coat- 

 ings of snow, which protec- 

 tion again grows lighter as 

 'spring approaches. This is 

 still the ideal winter protec- 

 tion for plants, but snows 

 are likely to disappear in 

 midwinter,and mice are well 

 adapted to live under na- 

 ture's laws. Where mice are 



troublesome a light material may be made by composting 

 ,leaves, manure rakings from lawns, greenhouse waste, 

 'weeds not in fruit as pulled during the season, and the 

 'like. The material should be earthy enough to keep 

 mice out, and loose enough to permit of easy removal in 

 spring. It should also be loose enough not to hold too 

 much water in winter. Sawdust and charcoal are ex- 

 amples of such material. Most of the plants that are 

 largely cultivated need no protection, but all herba- 

 ceous perennials, unless they are evergreen or easily 

 smothered, are benefited by a slight covering to protect 

 the soil from alternate freezing and thawing. When 

 the plants are evergreen a covering to supply shade is 

 often desirable. Other plants, such as Helianthus de- 

 capetalus fl. pi., really need protection, not to exclude 

 frost, but to lessen considerably the severity of the 

 'winter. Still others, as many of the lilies, are best 

 covered to the exclusion of frost. In general, the plants 

 we endeavor to grow which need complete protection 

 have crowns below the surface, and so may be covered 

 with any amount or kind of material. When it is de- 

 sired to thoroughly protect crowns on the soil surface, 

 flats may be first placed over the crowns before adding 

 .the protection. Late 

 .fall plantings should, 

 i in almost all cases, be 

 vj protected to some ex 

 jtent, since plants are 

 I less hardy when poorly 

 ! established in the soil. 

 Propagation of Her- 

 \baceoi(s Perennials. 

 j The methods of propa- 

 1 gation most used are 

 by seed, by plant divi- 

 : sion, and by cuttings. 



Propagation by seed 

 is generally not of use 

 for the perpetuation of 

 horticultural varieties, 

 though to a varied ex- 

 tent with different spe- 

 cies any variety tends 

 to reproduce its varie- 

 ' tal characteristics more 

 perfectly the longer it 

 becomes established as 

 , a variety. However, 

 some of our garden 



47 



1048. 



A rear corner, embellished 

 with weeds. 



1049. A tame-wild corner, Asparagus and Boneset. 



plants have been separated into their present number 

 of varieties or forms mainly by continual propagation 

 by seed and plant selection, and such may be satis- 

 factorily increased by seed. An example might be taken 

 in the hollyhock, although, if a group be left to resow 

 itself, or no seed selection be maintained, it will soon 

 become mainly composed of single-flowered plants by 

 reason of their greater seed production. In general, 

 propagation by seeds is satisfactory for all established 

 species and for such varieties and forms as have been 

 thoroughly established either by nature's slow processes 

 or by man's continual selection. 



Seed-sowing is not, however, always an easy way to 

 increase many of our garden plants, as there are often 

 a few small items necessary to know concerning a 

 species before success can be assured. Seeds of some 

 perennials remain dormant f or alongseason after sowing, 

 and, in general,they are very much slower in starting than 

 annuals. Some require more heat than others to germi- 

 nate, while others require a very cool soil. Many plants 

 brought into cultivation from foreign countries or milder 

 parts of our own land do not produce seed which will 

 remain sound overwinter in the soil, nor do seedlings of 

 all hardy perennials withstand the colder season: for 

 instance, Papaver orientalis, a hardy plant itself, pro- 

 duces a great quantity of seed which germinates readily 

 as it falls, but the seedlings will not survive the winter 

 unprotected. 



A general rule for seed sowing would read: Sow the 

 seed when ripe, and then maintain such conditions of 

 temperature and moisture as the seed would receive in 

 the native habitat of the plant. 



Native American plants not from decidedly milder 

 parts and many foreign species may be easily increased 

 by sowing of seed when ripe in the open ground. 

 Among such might be included rudbeckia, aquilegia, 

 coreopsis, monarda, asters (perennial), delphiniums, 

 digitalis, Dianthus barbatus, and phlox, all of which 

 will bloom the following season. 



Plants generally have one or rarely two particular 

 seasons for blooming, and unless of sufficient size and 

 suitable condition when that season approaches they 

 will wait for its recurrence before showing flowers ; so 

 that by sowing seed early in the spring and giving good 

 cultural attention to the plants, we may expect to flower 

 many plants naturally blooming late in the year, or such 

 as are somewhat floriferous at nearly all seasons : for in- 

 stance, Lobelia cardinalis and other lobelias, many na- 

 tive asters, Gaillardia aristata, Bellis perennis, etc. 



