Per 
‘Sarr “=a 
Another Experience With Ismene 
if IS my custom to try each year some new 
plant or bulb, because now and then I find 
something among the seascn’s novelties that is 
really worth while. It was with much inter- 
est, therefore, that I read an account of an 
experience with Ismene, published in the Janu- 
ary, 1916, GARDEN MAGAZINE, because several 
years ago I bought a bulb of Ismene calthina, 
sometimes called Peruvian or Sea Daffodil. I 
had never seen one and did not know what 
the flower would be like. 
The bulb was planted in a pot of light, rich 
soil composed at equal parts of turfy loam, 
leafmold and sand (similar to the soil I use 
for Amaryllis), lightly watered and kept in a 
warm place. The sword-shaped leaves soon 
appeared and the pot was placed in the sun- 
niest window, where the growth was so rapid 
water had to be given freely. In just five weeks 
from Peeeins the first blossoms appeared— 
from three to seven large, pure white, fragrant 
blossoms, borne, like an Amaryllis, on a strong 
stem from twelve to fifteen inches high. The 
individual flower is composed of six narrow, 
reflexed petals, like a Lily, with a Daffodil- 
like trumpet, deeply cut and flaring, with ser- 
rated edges, with a distinct greenish shade in 
the throat. The stamens are very prominent 
and ornamental. Each cluster is a bouquet in 
itself, and lasts a long time both when cut and 
on the plant. The leaves are long, arching and 
strap-shaped. 
After flowering the bulb soon completes its 
growth; the foliage turns yellow and the bulb 
should be gradually dried off. As it is a ten- 
der summer bloomer, the bulbs may be planted 
the first of June in northern New York, after 
all possible danger from frost has passed, and 
treated like a Gladiolus—taken up in the fall 
and stored in a warm place over winter. The 
bulbs muiltiph Tapicly. 
Plattsburg, N. ¥. 
Mrs. E. EK. TRUMBULL. 
Invisible Peony Support 
VERY sightly almost invisible Peony sup- 
port can be made from woven wire fencing. 
So-called woven wire may be had in which the 
wires are welded on to one another. A piece of 
this fencing, cut just high enough and long 
enough to encircle the plant, makes a support 
which, when painted green, is never noticed 
by an observer unless his attention is directed 
to it. :In cutting the fencing the vertical wires 
should be allowed to extend beyond the lowest 
horizontal wire as long as may be, for these 
thrust into the ground, hold the Be ReOLy firmly 
in place. The two vertical wires that meet in 
making the circular enclosure are to be tied 
together with string or wire. . 
uch supports will last for years and in 
rigidity are far ahead of anything else that 
bY sf 
URL ant) oe 4 , 
can be devised. Any woven wire fencing will 
serve, though the above mentioned type makes 
the ieast obtrusive support. 
No. Dakota. C. L. Mixxer. 
Japanese Anemones 
NOTICED in a recent issue of THE GARDEN 
MAGAZINE that the matter of growing Jap- 
anese Anemones successfully was discussed. ne 
I have been much interested in establishing 
some of these beautiful flowers in my garden 
and have attempted them at various times in 
different places and with different soils, without 
success, I would be glad to have you. open the 
matter for discussion in your valued magazine 
as to the exact conditions under which they may 
be grown. It seems to be an established fact 
that to be successful they require a moist, well 
drained soil, not too light or sandy, and some 
protection during the winter. 
Some years ago my interest in these beau- 
tiful flowers was excited by seeing a large vase 
of them at a friend’s house and was told that 
The Peruvian or Sea Daffodil looks like a Lily with a 
Daffodil-like trumpet. Pure white, fragrant 
a neighbor was growing a large bed of them 
that was the envy of the town. This was at 
Cherry Valley, N. Y., in rich loam with lime- 
stone bottom, where they have temperatures of 
25 to 30 degrees below zero, which would indi- 
cate that they are sufficiently hardy for grow- 
ing in any of the northern states. I hope to 
keep at it until I can have success with them 
and would appreciate some general views of 
flower growers. 
Loudonville, N. Y. Epw. W. LEAMING. 
Fall Planting of Gladiolus Bulblets 
N THE spring of 1914 I planted some seed of 
Burpee’s Praecox Gladiolus. Transplanting 
probably accounts for their not blooming the 
first year, as they were expected to do. Some 
of the tops died down before I took up the 
bulblets in the fall. The following summer I 
was surprised to find that the bulblets which 
had been in the ground all winter without any 
special protection came up and bloomed. 
Last summer I planted several hundred bulb- 
lets without a preparatory soaking. We had 
Q45 
four or five weeks of dry weather immediately 
afterward, and but few came up. I am won- 
dering if those that failed to appear last year 
will come up this summer. 
I saved seed from my own flowers—the seed- 
lings and also some named varieties — and 
planted a few of them just after ripening as an 
experiment. Of course, the tiny plantlets did 
not get beyond the babyhood stage, for the seed 
was put in from August 26 to September 18. 
I shall watch for their reappearing this spring 
and if they begin life anew it will set at rest 
my doubts as to the advisability of leaving 
bulblets in the ground through the winter. Full 
grown bulbs may require different treatment. 
I am a newly-fledged Gladiolus enthusiast. 
Their period of bloom is so short that, taking 
the planting and harvesting into account, they 
have never seemed worth while. But then I 
was a stranger to the new varieties and my 
trial of them last summer was enough to con- 
vert me. They will succeed with less care than 
almost anything else one could name; and by 
planting at intervals of ten days or two weeks 
a succession of bloom is assured throughout the 
season. 
Maryland. Saran E. Gipson. 
The Melon Aphid 
HE melon louse is a form of aphid doing 
much damage in some seasons to the musk 
and other melons. It can be successfully held 
in check by spraying the vines immediately 
upon the first appearance of the insect with 
Black Leaf 40, one part in 1,000 parts of water. 
Where there is’ a bad infestation and the 
gvower is doubly anxious to do a thorough job, 
double this strength can be used. It requires 
about 200 gallons of material to spray an 
acre. At this rate it costs $2.50 an acre for 
material when used at 1 to 1,000. 
Penn. HAROLD CLARKE. 
A Comparative Novelty—Citron Melon 
N THE corner of your garden that is being 
devoted this year to “different” things be 
sure to have two or three hills of citron melon 
for preserving this fall. 
Plant the seeds about the same time as you 
would those of watermelon—any time from May 
20th to June Ist—in rich, well drained soil. 
Later on thin them out, leaving but three plants 
to a hill. 
The citron melon is about one-third as large 
as an ordinary sized watermelon, and is almost 
globe-shaped. It is quite free from insect at- 
tacks. The fruit is gathered before frost and 
kept where it is dry and above freezing. In 
preserving, use only the fleshy part next to the 
rind, rejecting the rind. 
New Jersey. M. Roperts CONOVER. 
