6 THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
FEBRUARY, 1916 
ISMN SS GG GG GG... WW. 
MIGHELLS 
SEED BOOK 
This complete garden 
guide of 240 pages is now ready. 
Not just a catalog—but a helpful book 
on flowers, vegetables, hardy perennials, an- 
nuals, vines and pot-grown roses, and everything 
else which makes garden success easy. 
Thoroughly illustrated, contains many cuts in 
natural colors, Tells fully how and when to plant. 
Describes the Michell plan of furnishing 
Valuable Medals Free 
to Civic Organizations, School Garden Associations, etc., for 
achievement in Horticulture, Agriculture, and Poultry Raising. 
wiles book is FREE—W rite for your copy today 
Michell’s Invincible 
Asters 
The finest of all asters. 
Healthy, robust plants 
producing a profusion of 
perfectly-double, massive, 
_. peony-formed asters, on 
=~ stems 2 feet long. Special 
collection, one package 
each of white, rose-pink, 
lavender, blue and crimson, 
40c. Single packet, any 
color, Ioc. 
WR 
MD—MW*—i—iwouy8&%J 
WBMBMHWiWiWiWiWi«W«W«W«WiWGC, CCGG eM LAIN 
SK Ci 
SN 
S\KQ)WKQWGKQG 
SSQV 
SG 
SKK 
BRM. .\QIiKW'Wiw wwWwini“ioiiW GW Wp  1MTIAA|N 
HENRY F. MICHELL CO. ] 
I) 520 Market St. Philadelphia 
''/Mi WM WM UW  W WWW Wi[ www wMM"$pwwW/D/{{1 A, nuWgWWSAi CW 
Finest Hardy Garden Lilies 
“Plant in Early Spring’ 
Lilium Auratum (Gold Banded Lily) per doz. 
“ec “ 
I offer for the first time a collection 
of the choicest 
Gladiolus Bulbs 
obtainable in this country 
$1.50 
1.50 
1.50 
1.50 
per bulb_ so | 
“¢ “ 50 
Lilium Speciosum Melpomene 
Lilium Rubrum 
Lilium Ss Magnificums 
Lilium Elegans incomparable 
“ 
My handsome and instructive 
catalogue “The Gladiolus” will 
be sent free upon request. 
MARY LOUISE HAWKINS 
LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS 
Lilium atrosanguineum 
The last two varieties are very rare and very choice 
Send 4 
DeKalb Nurseries 
your order with cash to the 
Adolf Muller Norristown, Pa. 
If you wish information about dogs apply to the Readers’ Service 
Money in Cucumber Pickles 
BOUT fifteen years ago a man in Somerset 
County, Maine, a Mr. F. M. Bean, who lives 
about six miles from market decided that a lot of 
pickles were eaten and somebody had to grow the 
cucumbers for them. He decided that he might 
at least try them as a crop and the first year he 
planted about a quarter of an acre. In the fall he 
pickled them in vinegar in half barrels. He tried 
the local market and found that he would have no 
difficulty in disposing of his crop. The first year 
he raised about one hundred bushels, including five 
sizes, and, in adding up his profits, found that they 
paid him ‘better than anything else he had raised 
on the farm. 
Cucumbers for pickles are especially adapted for 
growing in any part of the New England States, 
where the springs are late and the ground is damp. 
They need not be planted until as late as June 15th; 
All that is necessary is to plant early enough so as 
to give the seeds six weeks in which to get their 
growth and avoid the first fall frosts. 
While they will grow in almost any soil, of course, 
the richer the ground the better the crop will be. 
The ground should be plowed, if possible, in the fall 
and then in the spring a top dressing should be put 
on and the ground harrowed thoroughly. Phos- 
phate will answer for fertilizer but it is better to 
have barn dressing. The ground should be har- 
rowed over several times and should lay a few weeks 
and just before planting the cucumbers should be 
harrowed again. 
RETURNS FROM AN ACRE 
It has been found that the average crop of an 
acre of cucumbers in five sizes is about 600 bushels. 
These sizes include the very small ones to those of 
about five inches long. It takes about 800 cucum- 
bers or one and one half bushels of the smaller size 
for what is known as the half-keg. The profit from 
this acre will be about $500. And the cost of the 
crop would be about as follows: 
Plowing! gists isse:o{a! secs (exesereteyetavele ote s)einie ate Oe EE ESO 
Harrowing 2s .iaces eieaven sane ch. he cee ee eee 2.50 
DDKOSSING)  oeecess, 3 <eyeereieeitia, vany> sonia ae ee 
Sowing seed . severe 0 a) 67ey Eee S Oe 1.50 
Hoeing 5.00 
aang ev ery other da ay ‘for : season, eis men 1 @ Sr. 50, 
average .. Pesce . 100.00 
Vinegar, $.14 per gallon Poles cows Fav sie ets 0 eee CS. 
A half-barrel of cucumber pickles sells at whole- 
sale for $4 or $5. It usually takes about six 
weeks to harvest the cucumbers, four men being 
employed every other day. If fertilizer is used 
instead of barn dressing the cost would be more 
than for the dressing, as about a ton of fertilizer 
would be used which would cost about $40. 
SOWING THE SEED 
In sowing the seed no universal method has been 
instituted. Mr. Bean believed that a method 
should be invented to sow the cucumber seeds in 
some other way than by dropping them through 
the fingers. So he took a round pasteboard box 
and cut small holes in the bottom about an inch 
apart. He attached a handle on the inside of the 
box. With the seed in the box he walks along and 
shakes the seed-dropper by turning the handle, 
when the required number of seeds will drop out 
into the hill. With this method Mr. Bean can 
plant his acre in about a day’s time. 
The hills should be about four feet apart and 
the rows about the same distance. The plants 
should be hoed about the same as corn and should 
be gone over about three times in the season. The 
more the piece is hoed the better it will grow, 
especially if it is a dry season. After the seed has 
been dropped it should be covered about the same 
as corn. 
In fifteen years’ experience Mr. Bean has found 
that this crop is worth more to him than any kind 
of fruit growing because it is very seldom that there 
is a season when the crop cannot be raised. If the 
spring should be late, the time for planting can be 
planned; it takes only six weeks to grow the cu- 
cumbers and there is no kind of fruit growing where 
this can be done. With the same amount of labor 
there is more profit. 
Skowhegan, Me. Joun E. Tayior. 
