144 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



November, 1914 



Grass Under Beech Trees 



It seems to be impossible to make grass grow under 

 beech trees. Would it be practical to break up the poor 

 sod with some shrubbery which I could fertilize? — B. 

 K. C, New Jersey. 



— It will be impossible for you to get shrubs to grow 

 under the beech trees any more than grass. The reason 

 being that the trees take all the moisture out of the 

 ground, and, if you put fertilizers in the ground it will 

 only make the trees grow more rapidly. The only 

 thing to do is to plant the shrubs at some distance from 

 the trees and in this way hide their bases. No one to 

 our knowledge has ever yet succeeded in growing plants 

 or grass close up under beech trees. 



Ammonia on Plants 



Is the use of ammonia beneficial in growing flowers 

 and plants; and if so, kindly give me information as to 

 its proper application, etc. — E. B., New Jersey. 

 — Ammonia is valuable as a source of nitrogen, and it 

 is the ammonia in stable manure that is immediately 

 available as plant food. It is difficult to use ammonia 

 as a fertilizer; on account of its highly volatile char- 

 acter it becomes lost in the air and only a small propor- 

 tion of it is made use of by the plant. It is better to 

 use it in one of the fixed salts such as the muriate or 

 sulphate or in nitrate of soda. If ammonia is used 

 in the ordinary aqueous solution it might be applied 

 at the rate of one teaspoonful to a gallon of water and 

 used in the ordinary watering process, say once or 

 twice a week. Such a fertilizer, however, is only to be 

 used on plants in actually growing condition and not 

 toward the end of the season when the plants are ripen- 

 ing their growth. 



Where to Buy Burbank's Creations 



Does any nursery firm in the East handle most or all 

 of Luther Burbank's plant creations? Also, where 

 can I get the Gold plum, one of Burbank's productions? 

 — H. P. S., Wash., D. C. 



— We do not know of any eastern nurseryman handling 

 the Luther Burbank productions. With the exception 

 of a few things which have passed into the general trade 

 and can be obtained of any nurseryman, the purchaser 

 has to deal with the Luther Burbank Co., San Francisco, 

 and the Fancher Creek Nursery at Fresno, Cal. The 

 greater number of the Burbank introductions are not 

 seemingly well adapted to the conditions in the East. 

 Of course, there are exceptions, such as certain plums, 

 the Shasta daisy, etc. The Gold plum was purchased 

 from Burbank by the Stark Brothers Nurseries & Or- 

 chards Co., Louisiana, Missouri, and was catalogued 

 and put on the market by them in 1894. 



Mice Destroying Bulbs 



Every winter and spring mice destroy my hyacinth 

 and tulip bulbs. Is there not something I can use 

 to prevent this, or to poison the mice? — W. G., Long 

 Island. 



— No way has yet been discovered to prevent mice 

 from eating hyacinth and tulip bulbs. If the bulbs 

 are planted deeply enough in the ground the danger of 

 the bulbs being destroyed by mice will be greatly les- 

 sened. Of course, this is assuming that the bulbs will 

 be planted out of doors in the garden. 



Improving an Old Lawn 



What is the best treatment for improving my lawn 

 without tearing up and reseeding? Shall I scatter 

 plenty of seed on the old sod, together with a liberal 

 supply of the advertized Dried Horse Manure and 

 either Calcium or Alphano Humus? — E. E. B., L. I. 

 ■ — You can improve your lawn without tearing up and 

 reseeding it if it had sufficiently good soil to start with. 

 Very frequently spring renewal is done in this way: 



The lawn is gone over with a sharp toothed iron rake 

 and severely scratched, even though some of the grass 

 is torn up by the roots. A top dressing of good soil is 

 then scattered over the plot and grass seed scattered 

 over this at the rate of about two bushels to the acre. 

 After this the lawn must be rolled so as to bring the 

 seed and the soil into close contact. The humus asked 

 about is an excellent material and can be used as a top 

 dressing over lawns at almost any time of the year. 

 This might be mixed with the dried horse manure to 

 advantage as a winter mulch. There would be no par- 

 ticular gain in reseeding in November as the young grass 

 would not grow much during the winter, and if it is done 

 a little later the seed will remain dormant all winter and 

 be ready to grow in the spring. Constant top dressing, 

 plenty of humus, reseeding and plenty of rolling and 

 water will keep any lawn in condition. 



Rhododendrons and Azaleas in Shade 



Will rhododendrons and azaleas grow under the 

 branches of Norway spruce? — G. T. F., Mass. 

 — We would not consideritwisetoplantrhododendrons 

 or azaleas under the branches of Norway spruce. They 

 will grow in company with spruce but the dense shade 

 of an evergreen tree is fatal to any shrub under it. 

 The plants you name will grow on the fringes of hem- 

 lock plantations but only in places where they can get 

 the sun for a part of each day. 



Fertilizing Iris 



For best results, how should Japanese and German 

 iris be fertilized? — R. D. H., Mass. 

 — We do not generally consider it advisable to use 

 fertilizers on iris on any ordinarily good soil, plain 

 water seemingly giving all that is required when ap- 

 plied in abundance during the growing season up to 

 and immediately following flowering. Some growers 

 use cow manure water on Japan iris, but with ordinarily 

 fertile soil to start with, extra doses of fertilizer are not 

 necessary unless the plant fertility is being washed out 

 through constantly flowing streams of water. If you 

 want a richer soil use good garden loam fertilized with 

 well rotted manure dug in. 



Wood Lice on Chrysanthemums 



My chrysanthemum plants, being in new soil, are 

 infested at the roots with wood lice. I have failed to 

 destroy them with lime water; is there anything else 

 I might use that would not be injurious to the plants? — 

 W. H. A., S. C. 



— We do not think the wood lice will injure your hardy 

 chrysanthemums. You might flood them out with 

 heavy waterings. However, if the plants are kept con- 

 stantly growing, the wood lice will not seriously affect 

 them. If you think it necessary you can lift the plants 

 and place them in a new location. 



Scale on Peach Trees 



I have an Elberta peach tree which is maturing a 

 large first crop, but the tree has scale, and on account 

 of many small bits of gum on the tree I suspect the 

 presence of borers. Is it possible for me to conquer 

 these two troubles? There are also three varieties of 

 lady bugs on the tree; would not this also indicate the 

 presence of borers? What is the most comprehensive 

 and compact book on fruit growing? — E. H. M., Mary- 

 land. 



— The scale is attacked by numerous predaceous and 

 parasitic enemies, which render important service in its 

 control but practicaUy, the combined influences of these 

 several agencies is not sufficient to make up for the 

 enormous reproductive capacity of the pest and its 

 control must be accomplished artificially by spraying. 

 The lady beetles are beneficial insects as their larvae 

 eat up the aphides. The lime-sulphur preparation, 

 which you can buy in concentrated form at seed or 



garden supply stores is the best spray for your purpose. 

 You might spray twice during the summer with a 

 greatly diluted solution, and again during the dormant 

 season — that is, between November and March — with 

 the regular winter strength. The appearance of gum 

 sometimes indicates the presence of borers but if these 

 are present you will also be able to find the openings of 

 their burrows under the masses of gum. Cut these 

 away until the direction of the tunnel can be learned; 

 then run a sharp wire into it until the borer is crushed. 

 To prevent borers from entering the tree next year you 

 might paint the lower half of the trunk early in June 

 with a whale oil soap solution, a strong solution of lime- 

 sulphur or a mixture of pure white lead and raw linseed 

 oil. One of the handiest and most compact fruit- 

 growing books that we have seen is "How to Grow and 

 Market Fruit," published by Harrison's Nurseries, 

 Berlin, Md., price fifty cents. A larger book, but one 

 quite reliable, comprehensive and readable, is "How to 

 Make a Fruit Garden," by S. W. Fletcher, price $2.20 

 postpaid. 



Planting Distances for Dwarf Trees 



How far apart should dwarf pear and apple trees be 

 planted in a small home garden? — E. M., Calif. 

 — The usual distances for planting dwarf apple and 

 pear trees range from ten to fifteen feet, but particular 

 conditions dealing with the soil, the method of pruning, 

 etc., may be sufficient to justify variations even from 

 these. 



Legumes for Green Manure 



What is the best legume that can be planted now in 

 Maryland, to plow under next spring for green manure? 

 — H. B., New York. 



— Or course the length of the growing season in any 

 particular year and in the particular section of Mary- 

 land to which you refer will affect the amount of growth 

 that the cover crop will make in the fall. However, 

 we believe that the following, in the order named, will 

 prove the best green manures for your section : Crimson 

 clover, vetch, sweet clover, soy beans, cow peas. The 

 last two are, of course, annuals and will probably die 

 during the winter. The first three will resume growth 

 next spring until plowed under. 



New Hybrid Iris 



Where can I obtain the new hybrid iris, Edouard 

 Michell, mentioned in the September Garden Maga- 

 zine?— C. S. P., Ohio. 



— To the best of our knowledge, this iris must be ob- 

 tained from abroad, from such people as Barr & Son, 

 London, and R. Wallace & Co., Colchester, England. 

 However, any of the dealers in this country would 

 import this iris for you on order, which would be the 

 most satisfactory way for you, thus avoiding all custom 

 house details, etc. 



Two Peonies Compared 



What are the respective merits of the peonies Eugene 

 Verdier and Eugenie Verdier? — H. G. R., Penna. 

 — Eugene Verdier is often spoken of as one of the few 

 finest of all the varieties of peonies; Eugenie Verdier 

 would, I think, scarcely ever be put so high as that, 

 though it is also a fine sort. My personal preference 

 would be for Eugene Verdier for all purposes. There 

 is another variety sometimes sold for Eugene Verdier 

 which the growers, represented in the American Peony 

 Society, have now pretty well agreed to recognize under 

 the name L'Indispensable, which is probably its correct 

 name. This is a tall-growing kind with very large 

 blooms which sometimes develop magnificently, but 

 are often imperfect owing to a splitting of the bud. 

 Some few growers place this variety very highly, but 

 in my judgment it should not be placed as high as either 

 of those mentioned above. — A. P. Saunders. 



