78 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 1907 



the spring it supplies the needed humus in 

 abundance and at the same time greatly 

 improves the physical condition of the soil. 

 Furthermore, the decay of this vegetable 

 matter encourages bacterial growth which 

 materially adds to plant growth. 



"It is very questionable if crimson clover 

 alone will furnish a garden with all the 

 requirements of plant life. No doubt crops 

 would be benefited in a degree, but if crimson 

 Clover were supplemented with chemical 

 fertilizers the crops would certainly be more 

 bountiful. There is no question on this 

 score ; else successful market gardeners 

 would not add hundreds of dollars to their 

 fixed expenses each year for chemical fer- 

 tilizers." 



New Jersey A. C. Austin. 



[Everything depends upon the conditions. 

 Where continuous close cropping is necessary, 

 we would heartily endorse the rye system. 

 It must always be remembered that there is a 

 difference between garden practice and field 

 practice, and the cultivator must adopt or 

 adapt another man's procedure to suit his 

 own conditions. Soils differ, too, in their re- 

 quirements in a variety of ways — Editor.] 



Testing Soil with Litmus Paper 



AN ACID soil often refuses to grow a 

 good crop, especially of hay, for in- 

 stance, and the only recourse is to counteract 

 this sourness. For all-around purposes a 

 neutral soil is far the best. To determine 

 whether your soil is acid and needs to be 

 rectified by an addition of lime, get some 

 strips of blue litmus paper from the druggist; 

 it costs but a few cents. Now take a fair 

 sample of the soil and mix with sufficient 

 water to make it the consistency of thin 

 mortar. Imbed a strip of the paper in this 

 and allow it to remain for half an hour; then 

 withdraw carefully and rinse it. If the 

 paper has turned a decided pink, it is safe 

 to assume that an application of lime will 

 be beneficial. 



Several forms of lime are used to correct 

 soil acidity. Ground limestone is the slowest 

 and mildest form; air-slaked lime comes next 

 in respect to these points; stone lime (burned) 

 and fresh slaked or hydrated are the quickest 

 and strongest in action. 



The common objections to lime do not 

 hold on well-manured ground and you are 

 safe in applying considerable quantities. 

 One to two thousand pounds may be used 

 per acre of fresh-slaked lime when broad- 

 casted on plowed ground and well worked 

 in with a disc harrow. This must be done at 

 least two weeks before any other manure or 

 fertilizer is applied, or any seeds sown, 

 as it prevents germination. Apply as early as 

 possible in the spring. 



A common practice in Pennsylvania is to 

 distribute stone lime in the fall in small piles, 

 covering with soil and spreading in the spring 

 when it has slaked. Do not plow lime under 

 in a mass; always distribute on the surface 

 and harrow in. There is little danger from 

 excessive application where there is plenty 

 of organic matter in the soil. 



Pennsvlvania. F. E. Bonsteel. 



The Southerner's Reminder 



THE best pansies are those grown from 

 seed sown in September. They will 

 begin to flower about the middle of October 

 and will continue in flower throughout the 

 winter if given a light covering of straw in 

 the very cold weather; or if planted in boxes, 

 they can be taken into the house. The 

 newest large-flowered sorts are the best to 

 grow, and while the seeds cost a little more 

 than those of the old sorts, they will repay 

 the extra cost many times with larger, better 

 flowers. 



Sow a few nasturtiums for winter house 

 plants. Do this outdoors and take the young 

 plants into the house when frost threatens. 

 Sow now, for late fall flowers, seeds of China 

 aster, sweet alyssum, petunia, pansy, Chinese 

 pink and candytuft. These will come into 

 bloom about the middle of October. If 

 seeds of sweet peas are sown early in Sep- 

 tember, the plants will come into bloom 

 early in November and will continue to 

 bloom nearly all winter. The flowers will 

 withstand heavy frosts without injury. 



Sow grass seed now! The soil must first 

 be made loose and fine before sowing the 

 seeds and enriched by an addition of about 

 300 pounds of Peruvian guano per acre. 

 Sow three to four bushels of seed to the acre. 



Sow beets, carrots, parsnip and salsify; 

 these vegetables will then be ready for use 

 during November and December. Early 

 cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce and leek may 

 also be sown now for winter use. 



If sown now early bush beans will be ready 

 for use about the middle of October. Fresh 

 beans at that late time are most desirable 

 for home use. 



Early September is the best time for sowing 

 turnips, but it is too late to sow seeds of 

 rutabagas. Turnips need a much shorter 

 season and cooler weather in which to grow 

 than do the rutabagas. Turnips sown too 

 early, or in the hottest weather, become pithy 

 and bitter instead of sweet and firm- Early 

 varieties sown now will be ready for use 

 about the first of November. The best 

 varieties for growing in the Southern States 

 are Early White Milan, Early White Dutch 

 Strap-leaved, Early Red, Red Top White 

 Globe, Long White or Cowhorn, White 

 Globe Strap-leaved, Yellow-amber Globe 

 and Yellow Aberdeen. 



Sow crimson clover and rye for fall and 

 winter pastures. If the land for these crops 

 is not already rich it must be made so by the 

 addition of ten or fifteen tons per acre of well- 

 rotted manure, and the soil should be broken 



about eighteen inches deep. Sow broadcast 

 one bushel of rye per acre and fifteen pounds 

 of crimson clover. This may be sown broad- 

 cast or in drills. 



Dwarf Essex rape may be sown now for 

 fall and winter hog pasture. Sow the seeds 

 in drills two feet apart and at the rate of four 

 pounds per acre; it will be ready to pasture 

 in five or six weeks. 



In many sections, the hay crop will now be 

 ready for the harvesting. Much care 

 should be exercised in harvesting this crop 

 to save as much as possible of this high- 

 priced feed. 



Keep the cotton picked as fast as it opens, 

 so as to have as little open in the field as 

 possible when the September east gale comes. 

 The heavy rains and high winds do much 

 damage to cotton that is open in the field; 

 it is dirt and stain that ruins the cotton staple 

 and not the trash. 



Georgia. Thomas J. Steed. 



Lettuce All Winter 



FROM seed sown at any time during 

 September to November we can have 

 lettuce, in the South, for fall and winter use, 

 as the plants can remain in open ground 

 during the winter with little injur}'. For 

 spring and early summer use, sow seed from 

 February to May. The early varieties of 

 lettuce require about fifty days from sowing 

 the seed to maturity of good-sized heads, 

 while the late sorts require from sixty to 

 seventy days. It is very hard indeed to get 

 lettuce to head well during the hot summer 



In the South lettuce grows very rapidly. This head 

 was grown in less than fifty days from seed 



months, and it is still more difficult to get the 

 seed to come up. 



Lettuce succeeds best when grown in a 

 rich, sandy loam that has been given a dress- 

 ing of well-rotted manure several weeks 

 before sowing the seed. If manure is not 

 available, use commercial fertilizer. 



Sow the seeds thinly in drills which are 

 twelve to twenty-four inches apart and cover 

 about one-fourth of an inch deep. When 

 the young plants have four or six leaves, 

 thin the plants to four or six inches apart. 

 The weeds must be kept down and the soil 

 kept loose by giving it frequent cultivation. 



There are two types of lettuce which 

 succeed well here in the South — the cabbage 

 and Cos. The Cos lettuce is distinguished by 



