158 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



April, 19"0 6 



GEORGE W. GILE 



One of our loving friends. 



Are you having trouble in feeding your baby ? Doea his food disagree 

 with him ? Does he lose in weight ? Does it seem as if he 



never would stop crying? Then Mellin's Food will help your baby 

 and we will prove it, if you will write us just what the trouble is and what 

 you are doing. As soon as your letter reaches us, we will send you a sample 

 of Mellin's Food and a book of helpful directions. We will also write you a 

 personal letter and tell you exactly how to use Mellin's Food for your baby. 

 We have helped thousands of babies and we can help j r ours — if you will let us. 

 M ELL I N 



FOOD COMPANY, 



BOSTON, MASS. 



Buys This Rubber Tire Wagon 



Union Quality. Fully Guaranteed. Best hickory wheels, ^ in. 



Rubber Tire, long distance, dust proof, high arched axles ; oil tempered 

 springs. First quality material and finish. Worth 

 nearly double our Factory Price. We ship for your ex- 

 amination, without a cent in advance, if desired and allow 



30 DAYS FREE TRIAL 



Money refunded on all purchases not satisfactory. You save dealer's 

 profits. We build 150 styles of Vehicles, from $26.50 to $150.00. 50 

 styles Harness, $5. 00 to $60.00. Write to-day for our 200-page Illus- 

 trated Style Book. Free for the asking. 



Growing Quality Potatoes 



THE ideal soil for potatoes, as for most 

 crops, is a sandy loam. If your garden 

 is a wet heavy clay, it ought to be drained. 

 Plow in the fall, if possible, and make wide 

 ridges. In the spring fill the furrows with 

 manure, or use for a plot roox ioo feet: 



Lbs. Cost 



Nitrate of soda, 7 $.35 



Dissolved rock, 8 .16 



Wood ashes, 55 1.10 



70 



$1.61 



UNION BUGGY CO., 32 Saginaw Street, PONTIAC, MICH. 



Once in a long while an enthusiast whose 

 soil is in excellent condition uses too much 

 manure, and his potatoes "run to vine," at 

 the expense of tubers, which need large 

 quantities of potash, but most gardens do 

 not have enough nitrogen — the element 

 that makes for growth, as opposed to flowers 

 and fruit. You may use sulphate of potash 

 for potatoes, but not muriate. 



If you have raised your own potatoes you 

 can afford to use small whole tubers for 

 "seed," but if they are full of eyes they will 

 probably make so many shoots that they will 

 all be weak for the want of sufficient food, 

 therefore some should be cut off, leaving a 

 few strong shoots. Another method is to cut 

 large potatoes to one or more eyes to each 

 piece. There is endless dispute as to which 

 plan is better. 



Plant the potatoes eight or ten inches 

 apart, and cover to a depth of from four to 

 six inches. The temperature and moisture 

 at this depth are more nearly uniform than 

 at a depth of two or three inches. 



Spray the vines at least four times during 

 the season, with a combination of Paris green 

 and Bordeaux mixture. The former is for 

 biting insects; the latter for all fungous dis- 

 eases (rot, scab, blight), and strangely enough 

 it is the only thing that helps to repel the 

 flea beetle, that mean little black insect 

 which jumps ■ like a flea, and riddles the 

 leaves with holes the size of a pin head. 

 Begin spraying before the larva? of the potato 

 beetle appear, and keep the foliage covered 

 with the poison the whole season. 



■\ , KEEPING POTATOES 



In no case should potatoes be kept in the 

 light. They will often become of a greenish 

 color (in which condition they are poisonous) 

 and will also begin to sprout. The best way 

 to keep them is to bury them. Dig a pit and 

 sink your barrel in it, with straw at the 

 bottom for drainage; straw at the top, and 

 then the lid. This will keep them cool 



