& 
ODDS AND ENDS} 
Why Do Tulips “Break’’? 
WISH I knew. The breaking is not a matter 
of great importance when one grows tulips 
only for the flowers; but, when one is growing 
bulbs under name for the market, it is disas- 
trous. The variegated blooms from some vari- 
eties are very beautiful as individual flowers, 
though they give very poor effect when used in 
bouquets. 
According to Bailey, the Hollanders ascribe | 
the broken forms to offsets, or divisions, from 
the bulbs, which spring from outside the main 
skin of the bulb, instead of being enclosed 
within it. Possibly they are right, though cer- 
tainly not all such offsets break, as I have 
planted them for years without getting such 
results, except from but few of them. Gretchen 
was the only variety which gave me trou- 
ble until this vear, but I had quite a num- 
ber this season from Clara Butt, Kate Green- 
away, Glow, Europe, Baronne de la Tonnaye, 
and White Queen, also two out of four big 
bulbs of Massenet. These two bulbs of Mas- 
senet, mother bulbs, I do not think were varie- 
ated the year before, which would tend, to 
isprove the Dutch theory. 
his “breaking” as it is called, seems some- 
times to be the collecting of all the color into 
streaks of a deepened tint, leaving the rest of 
the petal area white, sometimes to be the sep- 
aration of a “compound’(?) color into its 
elements. The color change is permanent, a 
new variety being formed. The breaks from 
any variety usually resemble one another, 
though I have seen two color-types from the 
same variety. As to the cause of the freak, I 
might suspect overstimulation, or possibly ex- 
cessive moisture in the soil. The moisture 
theory is suggested to me by the fact of the 
trouble being excessive this year, when rainfall 
also was excessive: yet the cause, whatever it 
is, may have operated before the bulbs were 
planted for this season’s growth and blooming. 
Missouri. BENJAMIN C. AUTEN. 
Propagating Chinese Primroses 
Y CHINESE PRIMROSES were a joy to 
my family and friends last winter. Two 
years ago I invested twenty cents in a paper 
of mixed seed ordered from a reliable seed- 
house, and raised about two dozen strong, 
healthy plants. Nearly all of them bloomed the 
first winter, their colors ranging from a deep 
cardinal, through several shades of pink, to 
pure white, and there was one delicate shade of 
savender. The next summer, by taking off and 
rooting shoots, my number of plants was in- 
creased to three dozen. Several of these were 
used as gifts at Christmas, others went to sick 
friends, and some have graced the parlors of 
neighbors at entertainments. They continue 
in bloom for six or eight weeks and even with- 
out blossoms the rich green, finely cut leaves 
make an ornamental plant. They are easily 
eared for, requiring moderate heat, but must 
never be allowed to get dry. In summer they 
must be kept in a shaded place and given plenty 
of water. The offshoots are not difficult to root 
and usually begin to grow within a few days 
after being transferred. Instructions for plant- 
ing come with each paper of seed and are easily 
followed. 
Bon Air, Va. M. E. Hazen. 
Does Platycodon Winter Kill? 
/ ae reading an article in the January 
GARDEN MAGAZINE, on “Does Platycodon 
Really Winter Kill,” by E. 8. Johnson, [ want 
to tell of my plan with these lovely flowers. I 
entirely agree with the writer, that the plants 
are more often killed by “hoe and trowel” than 
by severe weather. Therefore, late in the fall, 
say the last of November or the first of Decem- 
ber, I put a large trowel full of finely sifted 
coal ashes right on the crown of Platycodon 
plants, also the hardy Delphiniums and Pyre- 
thrums. Then, in the spring I know just 
where not to dig. I have lost all my first 
plants of Platycodon by too zealous digging in 
the early spring, as they are very slow to ap- 
pear and when they do they are a green 
purplish-brown color, not unlike the earth. 
Also, the coal ashes will keep away that pest, 
the white grub, which is so fond of Delphin- 
iums. 
Glen Cove, L. I. F. S. Corzs. 
A Home-Made Support for Sweet Peas 
ye strong and durable support for 
Sweet Peas is shown in the accompanying 
illustration, which permits of the free circu- 
lation of light and air on all sides of the plants. 
It is made from a piece of electric welded 
fencing, joined together by cutting the mesh 
half way and folding the ends back upon them- 
selves after passing them around the upright 
of the opposite end. 
This supper can be made for very little and 
will last for several years. It is productive of 
sturdy plants and a profusion of fine blossoms. 
Ottawa, Can. H. B. W. 
173 
Maggots in the Radishes 
AM an amateur gardener with about three 
acres to cultivate. On this I grow shrubs, 
perennial plants, ornamental trees, also fruit 
trees, berry bushes, vegetables, etc. My most 
disappointing crop is radishes; [I can grow 
them all right in my hotbeds but they are a 
failure outdoors, even though I have tried them 
on different kinds of soil and with many kinds 
of fertilizers. The soil is the bottom of an old 
glacial lake—light, very cobbly, with a gravel 
subsoil. I have used barnyard manure, hen 
manure, commercial fertilizers, lime and wood 
ashes—and also no fertilizer—only to have my 
radishes riddled with maggots. I have also met 
with the same failure with onions, although 
successful in growing other vegetables. What 
is it that I should have done that has been 
neglected ? 
Mass. 
GrorGE A. FULLER. 
—IF wE are not mistaken the trouble lies in the 
fact that the soil is suffering from a case of 
“over civilization.” Though you plainly state 
that it is “not too rich,” frequent and contin- 
uous applications of such highly concentrated 
fertilizers as you have used, would make the 
poorest soil a hotbed of fertility. And you 
started with an old lake bed as a basis! 
You should either change your soil or move 
your radish bed (also the onion bed) to a part 
of your three-acre lot where they have never 
grown before. Select the poorest spot if you 
will, sow your seeds, apply wood ashes to the 
onions and fertilizers or well rotted stable 
manure where the radishes are to grow. But 
shun fresh or even partly rotted stable manure, 
for it is in this that the fly breeds which lays 
the eggs of the maggots that subsequently at- 
tack the radishes. 
If there is not a spot in your small garden 
that is free of the larvae of this pest, try a 
remedy that I have frequently recommended to 
backyard gardeners whose soil by years of 
strenuously manuring and fertilizing, has be- 
come “over civilized.” Select a place about 10 
by 10 feet in size, and remove the top soil to 
a depth of six inches. Then from an empty lot 
or nearby field secure a few wheelbarrow loads 
of common, ordinary soil. Spread it evenly, 
sow your radishes and you will undoubtedly 
get good radishes. At the beginning try such 
inds as Rapid Red and Scarlet Globe, and 
after you have determined that there are no 
maggots in the soil, try a few rows of Icicle, 
but shift the rows, even if only a few inches! 
Finally, if it is impossible for you to put 
either of the above suggestions into practice, 
there remains the alternative of fighting the 
pest the best you know how. Kerosene emul- 
sion, sprinkled sparingly between and alongside 
the rows, will kill the maggots. Salt at the 
rate of 2% to 3 bushels to the acre will help 
to counteract its activity. Air-slaked lime and 
wood ashes in any quantity will make living 
unpleasant for the intruder. But, best of all, 
rotate your crops so that any members of the 
cabbage or onion family never occupy the same 
soil two years in succession. 
ApotpH Krum. 
A Sunday School Garden 
OING to Sunday School during the sum- 
mer months had always been the bugbear 
of my childhood; so last year, very early in 
the spring, I began to think if there were not 
some way to make it a pleasure to the young- 
sters who go “this day and time.” I thought 
of the school gardens that are being estab- 
lished everywhere; why not try a Sunday 
School garden? 
A little later I told the young folks about 
the idea and they were delighted. We had a 
man plow up a big place back of the church 
and on the appointed day during the week all 
