September, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



79 



its upright growth and long hard spoon- 

 shaped leaves, while the cabbage lettuce 

 has nearly round, closely folded leaves, 

 forming round, flattened heads. Trianon 

 S»lf Folding, Express, and Dwarf White 

 Heart are the best of the Cos type. Of the 

 cabbage lettuces, the earliest are May King, 

 All Season and the new Hard Head Butter; 

 second early, Brittle Ice, New York, Im- 

 proved Hanson, California, Cream Butter 

 or Royal, Deacon and Iceberg are the best 

 for growing in the Southern home and market 

 gardens. A review of the various types of 

 lettuce appeared in The Garden Magazine 

 for July, 1906. 



Georgia. Thomas J. Steed. 



has frozen, top dress the lawn with air-slaked 

 lime at the rate of one bushel to a thousand 

 square feet. If these directions are followed 

 crab grass will have a poor chance another 

 year. 



New Jersey. W. R. S. 



Lawn Enemies Successfully 

 Fought now 



CRAB grass is the worst weed in the 

 lawn. August and September are the 

 best months in which to do successful and 

 lasting work toward its extermination. It 

 has long, procumbent stems which smother 

 all the other grasses. It is an annual, the 

 seeds germinating in June or as soon as the 

 weather gets really warm, and the young 

 plants make a rapid growth and give the lawn 

 a patchy effect. Its flower stems lay so close 

 to the ground that the lawn mower cannot 

 cut them off and these, of course, go to seed 

 in spite of frequent mowing. The first frost 

 of the fall kills crab grass, and a lawn infested 

 with it is filled with brown spots — eyesores 

 which no amount of watering can make 

 green again. 



There is only one successful method of 

 attacking crab grass. Tear the long stalks 

 up to the surface of the lawn with a sharp 

 rake, being careful that every seed stalk is 

 exposed so that the mower will cut it off. In 

 some cases it is necessary to cut it with a 

 grass hook or sickle— it gets nearer to the 

 ground. Do not let the plants seed! If 

 they do, the trouble for the succeeding year is 

 already made. 



This vigorous treatment will leave bare 

 spots on the lawn; these should be forked 

 over and where necessary new soil added, 

 on which sow seed, raking and firming it in 

 the soil. This will germinate at once and 

 make sufficient growth to pass through the 

 winter in good shape. Do not wait until 

 spring or the crab grass will surely overgrow 

 the good grass by July. 



The fall is an excellent time in which to 

 dig out dandelion, dock, plantain, or any 

 other weeds in the lawn. Fill the holes and 

 sow seeds as suggested for crab grass. In 

 November or December, when the ground 



A Good House Plant for a 

 North Window 



WITH its abundance of beautiful glossy 

 leaves, many of which measure seven 

 and one-half inches across, the beefsteak 

 begonia (B. sanguined) is always attractive. 

 The upper surface of the leaf is of a dark 

 green color with heavy ribs of a lighter 

 shade. The under surface is of a rich 

 dark red and this, together with its shape, 

 is no doubt responsible for its common 

 name of "beefsteak." When the plant 

 occupies a low position the mass of leaves 

 in front present their upper or dark green 

 surface, while those in the background show 

 the red under surface with the conspicuous, 

 translucent appearing ribs of pale green. 

 When on a high shelf or in a hanging basket 

 the beauty of the under surface of the leaf 

 is most noticeable. 



The latter part of winter or early spring, 

 stout bloom stems are sent up from which 

 are pendent the flowers of a pale pinkish 

 color. The flowers are smaller and not so 

 striking in appearance as are those of many 

 begonias — but they possess a delicate beauty 

 of their owm. While it is for the leaves that 

 the plant is most admired, it is also beautiful 

 when in bloom. 



, VERY EASILY CARED FOR 



The care of this begonia is simple. It 

 thrives by the north window all the year — 

 but in summer it is just as well to give it a 

 place on a shady porch or in the shade of 

 the house; it must not be exposed to the 

 wind or its leaves will be broken or scarred. 

 In watering it care must be used to avoid 

 getting water on the leaves. The plant is 

 continually sending up new leaves, so those 

 that are marred may be removed and there 

 will still be plenty of leaves. When watered 

 it must be given enough to moisten the soil 

 well but not to make it too soft — then leave 

 it alone until the soil is dry or almost so. The 

 plant in the photograph is a large one, so is 

 given a quart of water at a time, but in winter 

 is watered only every three or four days. I 

 wait until the soil will crumble beneath my 

 fingers, showing that it retains very little 

 moisture. 



For begonias I prefer a soil containing 

 leaf loam such as is found under a hedge or 

 in the timber. But in western Kansas there 

 are no hedges and timber is scarce, so I 

 cannot obtain soil that has been enriched by 

 decaying leaves. Two years ago I repotted 1 

 my beefsteak begonia, the soil used being 

 just ordinary garden loam mixed with a little 

 sand, and it has continued to thrive the same 

 as usual. It is now in an ordinary -sized 

 wooden pail, but next spring it must be 

 repotted in a pail a little larger. Repotting 

 is best done when the soil is dry so the roots 

 of the plant will not be disturbed. 



MAKING NEW PLANTS 



The beefsteak begonia is propagated from 

 cuttings. Just break off a small branch, and 

 after removing all the leaves except one or 

 two small ones at the end, stick the cut- 

 ting into a small pot containing a mixture 

 of soil and sand — then water and treat as 

 you would any ordinary cutting. It is not 

 a plant which affords many cuttings. It 

 is trailing in habit, and the few branches 

 that appear are nearly all needed to send 

 up leaves to round out a large symmetrical 

 plant. 



A beefsteak begonia that has flourished 

 will need the entire space at a window of 

 common width after it has attained the age 

 of two years. 



Kansas. Viola McColm. 



The beefsteak begonia (.Begonia sangumea) is an 

 excellent house plant. During the summer put it 

 outdoors in a shaded place which is protected from 

 heavy winds 



Sweet Pea Supports 



FOR the past two seasons I have used wire 

 netting for training sweet peas, with very 

 unsatisfactory results; this season I have 

 returned to the use of brush as a support. 

 I have just learned from a friend that he has 

 had the same experience and thought the 

 trouble was caused by the heating of the 

 wire by the sun, which burned or dried out 

 the plants. What has been the experience 

 of others with the wire netting and is it to 

 be recommended? 



Ohio. Frank B. Headley. 



[We also tried chicken wire for several years 

 as a support for both sweet peas and green 

 peas, but have gone back to brush as the re- 

 sults are much more satisfactorv. — Editor.] 



