174 THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
APRIL, 1916 
appeared with hoes, rakes, seeds, etc. In dif- 
ferent parts of the church grounds the boys set 
out Rose bushes, Iris roots, Peonies, and other 
large plants; but they would have nothing to 
do with the little flower seeds, which were left 
for the girls. They marked off the plowed 
space into squares, planted the seeds, and each 
girl came to tend her own garden whenever it 
was most convenient to her. 
After the seeds were planted the ground was 
watered every evening at sundown. For a 
number of days there was an unusually hot 
spell and one of the teachers went every morn- 
ing and covered the planted ground with news- 
papers (fastened, of course, at the corners with 
stones), to keep the ground from baking and 
the newly started seeds from drying out and 
dying. Some fertilizer was used, and we had 
a really lovely garden up to frost. It was never 
too hot for the children to go to Sunday School 
that summer; the possibility of having their 
flowers used in decorating the church was suf- 
ficient incentive. Flowers were also sent to the 
sick and to the county jail. 
In the fail the boys planted a hundred crocus 
bulbs on each side of the walk from the street 
to the front door of the church, and back of 
the building many of the spring blooming bulbs 
were planted. This year our Sunday School 
garden is to be a dream of loveliness! 
Lexington, N. C. Marian ANDREWS. 
The Squash Vine for Decoration 
O WE not often, in our devotion to the 
spectacular or the unusual, overlook the 
decorative possibilites of some of our commoner 
plants? 
What could have been lovelier in its 
place than the pumpkin vine here pictured, or 
what flower more glorious than its seven-inch 
trumpet of beaten gold? 
Missouri. BENJAMIN C. AUTEN. 
Wanted—A Classified List of Vegetables! 
AM much interested in the vegetable articles 
published in THE GARDEN Macazine. But 
what is needed is a classified list of vegetables 
for the home garden, with a brief description 
and comparison with other varieties in the 
same class, given each year and kept up to date. 
I read in one catalogue that Laxtonian peas 
are sold under names of Pioneer, Blue Bantam, 
Peter Pan, ete. If this is true, we ought to 
know it and not be disappointed if several of 
them are bought for different varieties. 
Kent, Conn. C. H. Perry. 
[An up-to-date list of varieties would be an 
excellent thing; but it is impractical for THE 
GARDEN MAGAZINE to give it because it must 
be too arbitrary. As you probably know, no 
two experts agree (and they are justified in not 
doing so) on what really is the “best” variety 
in the different classes. The requirements for 
different sections of the country—nearby as 
they may be—are just as different as they 
can. be. 
Were we to attempt to publish a classified 
list of vegetables for the home garden, it would 
occupy at least six or eight pages and would 
take the form of a catalogue. Again, in giving 
descriptions and comparisons, these compari- 
sons would practically be the ideas of one man. 
The main difficulty lies in the fact that be- 
tween Maine and California and the Canadian 
border and New Orleans there are more than 
one thousand seedsmen and every one feels that 
he has a perfect right to name any variety any- 
thing he pleases. When you realize that there 
are approximately 400 varieties of lettuce listed 
by American seedsmen, of which nearly 350 
represent synonyms, you will appreciate what 
a task would confront us. We try each year to 
give to our readers the best that we can work 
out or have worked out for us by experts. 
As to your particular inquiry about Peas, if 
Laxtonian resembles Pioneer but Pioneer is bet- 
ter than Laxtonian, and Blue Bantam is better 
than Pioneer, we can safely call Blue Bantam 
the most desirable type of this kind of pea. 
You see, horticulture is not an exact science 
for the simple reason that nature’s forces are 
constantly interfering in either a favorable or 
an unfavorable way with man’s methods. In- 
the case of these three peas, no doubt mankind 
took the slow way of improving by selection, 
when nature took the short cut and produced 
Blue Bantam, beating both Pioneer and [Lax- 
tonian, which were the result of cross fertiliza- 
tion or selection on the part of gardeners. ] 
Plum Borer Feeds on Injured Trees 
A less American plum borer, an insect which 
attacks impartially plum, cherry, peach, 
and apple trees, has been found by investiga- 
tors of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to 
confine itself entirely to those trees which have 
received some previous injury. It is, it is said, 
entirely unable to establish itself upon vigor- 
ous, healthy, uninjured trees and for this rea- 
son, except in occasional cases, is unlikely to 
become a pest of more than ordinary impor- 
tance. It is frequently found, however, on 
apple trees which have suffered from collar 
blight. In order to prevent infestation by the 
American plum borer the precaution of cutting 
away the dead bark and painting the wounde 
area on all injured trees with any non-injurious 
tree paint is advised. After the borer has once 
established itself the cutting-out method is the 
only one that can be followed. When the proper 
conditions are present the plum borer can do 
considerable damage, and it is therefore advis- 
able to take precautions against it. 
A Plant Protector 
T’ WAS with considerable interest and enjoy- 
i ment that I read the instructive and enter- 
taining article by H. A. S. Peckham on “Hurry- 
up Devices” in the January issue of THE Gar- 
DEN Macazine. It reminded me of a little 
device which I have used for some years—not 
to “hurry up” growth, but to protect growth 
already made—a plant protector. 
With us, cool nights are quite common until 
the middle of June. To yield the bulk of their 
crop before September frosts, tomatoes should 
be set out early in June. A set-back is a 
serious matter in tomato culture, where the 
seasons are short, and to pie this check in 
growth is the purpose of these little protectors. 
The strongest points in their favor are their 
low cost, durability, ease with which they may 
be made at home, if not procur- 
able in stores, and the efficiency 
with which they serve the purpose 
for which they are intended. They 
come in two sizes—at $1.00 and 
$1.50 per dozen. The material used 
in their making is a heavy oiled 
(waterproof and airtight) card- 
board, folded in cornucopia fashion 
and securely fastened with wire 
staples. Three legs, eight inches 
long, of which three inches extend 
over the paper part, enable the 
gardener to push these protectors 
firmly into the soil. Since these 
are in use only a few weeks each 
spring and possibly a week or two 
in the fall (to protect a few choice 
lettuce heads up to Thanksgiving) 
they will last for years. 
Comparatively few stores handle 
them, but that need not discour- 
age you. Get some heavy paper 
or any kind of flexible material (cardboard, 
roofing, ete:), and twist into cornucopia shape. 
Needle and thread, paper clips, wire, most 
anything may be used to fasten the ends in 
place. The legs may be made of spliced soft 
wood, slipping the spliced end three inches 
over the hood and allowing four to five inches 
to be pushed into the soil. 
It is also ideal for shading newly trans- 
planted seedlings during the day, when the legs 
should not be pushed completely into the soil, 
so as to permit air to freely circulate. 
Greene, N. Y. A. KruHM. 
An Early Start With Onions 
[iene year, early in the spring, when I was 
going over my onions that had been kept for 
winter use, I found many that were commenc- 
ing to sprout and getting soft. These I planted 
early in April, and by the 15th of June had 
onions much farther advanced than those raised 
from sets planted at the same time. The old 
soft onion disappeared entirely and was re- 
viene by a firm white bulb, large and well 
eveloped. 
Long Island. Mary H. Corton. 
New Nut Trees for the Northern Dooryard 
as old man Baldwin had not told any- 
body about that first Baldwin apple tree? 
There would have been no Baldwin apples for 
the rest of us. Fortunately Mr. Baldwin knew 
an opportunity for fun, money, and public 
spirit when he saw it, so he grafted other trees 
from the original one and gave cions to his 
friends. 
The time has now come when we need to find 
dozens and scores of other Mr. Baldwins who 
will tell us about the good wild nut trees of 
America. We now know how to graft them, so 
that the finding of them amounts to something. 
We have most surprising resources in the shape 
of rare nut trees, if we just knew where they 
were. As an example of these unknown re- 
sources, let us cite the recent discovery in In- 
diana of three or four of the finest pecan trees 
in the world! It required searching to find 
these trees from among the thousands of wild 
ones, but it is true that somebody—some boy, 
some hunter, some observant farmer—had his 
eye on nearly all of the extra fine nut trees in 
his neighborhood. He should tell the world 
about them. The way is easy—simply send 
samples of the nuts, with an account of the 
tree, to the secretary of the Northern Nut 
Growers’ Association, Dr. W. OC. Deming, 
Georgetown, Conn. This association is made up 
of a collection of people who love nut trees an 
are interested in them. It wants your help so 
badly that it is offering money for it—$50 for 
a hazel tree of American origin that can com- 
ete with the imported filberts; $10 for a 
Yorthern pecan better than we now have; and 
$20 for other nuts that are found by judges to 
be sufficiently valuable. 
Calosoma Beetle Foe to Gipsy Moth 
HIS beetle, which was introduced into New 
England in order to combat the gipsy 
moth, is declared by the Government entomolo- 
gists to have firmly established itself in its 
new environment. The first of these 
green beetles was sent from Hurope 
in 1905. Between then and 1910 a 
little more than 4,000 of the in- 
sects were shipped to this country. 
They have multiplied and spread 
with extraordinary rapidity and 
are now so abundant that many 
people in New England are fa- 
miliar with their appearance and 
habits. These insects, both as 
beetles and as larvae, consume 
enormous quantities of the gipsy 
moth larvae. They are able to 
climb trees upon which their prey 
are feeding and are most active 
during the periods when the gipsy 
moths are abundant. It is not 
apparently injured by the wilt 
disease which is so prevalent in 
its prey, and neither is it appar- 
ently affected by the sprays used 
to control the gipsy moth. 
