150 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1917 



The home made bird bath (above) and its makings. House- 

 hold utensil? employed 



Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass. 

 It is to be hoped that nurserymen will soon 

 offer it as a food plant for children and birds. — 

 S. F. H., Mass. 



International Garden Club Journal. — The 

 first number of this new quarterly is quite 

 pretentious, well printed on woodcut paper, 

 and comprises 288 pages. It gives a brief 

 history of the organization itself and des- 

 cribes in detail the grounds and rose gar- 

 dens which are being developed at the Club's 

 headquarters at Bartow, New York City. 

 The rest of the contents consists chiefly of 

 reprints of papers that have been presented 

 to the Royal Horticultural Society of England 

 and are already available in the Journal of 

 that institution; only two of these seven ar- 

 ticles are original. The editor's foreword 

 explains that the publication is offered "as a 

 contribution to the advancement of gardening 

 in America," and also "to reflect gardening 

 as it is practised in America." The only con- 

 tribution in this number which would seem 

 to carry out this purpose is his own (very in- 

 structive article) on " Informal and Wild 

 Gardening." American gardening has suf- 

 fered seriously in the past from having foisted 

 upon it, under the imprint of an American 

 publication office, material which was entirely 

 foreign to domestic conditions; and it seems 

 a pity that an organization evidently able 

 to make a creditable production should start 

 off in a manner implying that there is nothing 

 that can "advance" or "reflect" gardening as 

 it is practised in America. 



Streptosolen Jamescni as a Standard.— 

 Many greenhouse plants are amenable to 

 culture in standard or tree form. These include 

 Geraniums, Fuchsias, Hydrangeas, Lantanas, 

 Heliotropes, Marguerites, Chrysanthemums, 

 Genistas, Buddleias, and last but not least 

 the old Streptosolen Jamesoni. Cuttings 

 root readily and should be potted along as they 

 need it and the plant securely staked, all side 

 growth removed and the top pinched, cut 

 when 24 to 36 inches high. Very nice stand- 

 ards may be had within a year in 7-inch pots, 

 but it takes two or three years to produce 

 strong standards which have stems of suf- 



ficient stoutness to stand erect without stak- 

 ing. These Streptosolens flower in February 

 and March in an ordinary greenhouse, their 

 pendulous shoots carry terminal racemes of 

 rich orange flowers, and the plants are both 

 beautiful and graceful when in bloom. I 

 have used well flowered plants on large dinner 

 tables and nothing could have been more ef- 

 fective. The plants should be rested some- 

 what through the summer and pruned back 

 early in August when any repotting or top 

 dressing can be done. — IV. N. C, Brookline, 

 Mass. 



A Home Made Bird Bath. — We selected our 

 largest galvanized laundry tub as a basis 

 for the outer rim. It measured twenty inches 

 in diameter across the bottom. Then we 

 inverted a shallow wash basin in the -middle 

 of the tub, being sure that it was exactly cen- 

 tred. This was easy, as the bottom of our 

 laundry tub is decorated with a series of ridges 

 in concentric circles. In the centre of the 

 wash basin we had cut a small round hole, just 

 large enough to admit a short piece of water 

 pipe, or rubber hose, anything to provide a 

 means of emptying the bath when in use. 

 We were now ready for the first layer of con- 

 crete. This was mixed in a proportion of 

 about two parts sand to one of cement with 

 water enough to make pretty wet — of easy 

 spreading consistency. Before putting in the 

 concrete we made sure that the tub was stand- 

 ing in an absolutely level position. Then we 

 spread a layer of concrete evenly in the bot- 

 tom of the tub, surrounding the inverted 

 basin, and making the concrete about two 

 inches deep. This was allowed to stand for a 

 day or two, until partially set, but not hard. 

 When it seemed firm enough to bear the sec- 

 ond layer we arranged the form for that pur- 

 pose by inverting a bottomless mackerel keg 

 on the first layer, centring it by careful 

 measurement. Then the surface of the first 

 layer, inside the rim of the mackerel keg, was 

 slightly scratched and roughened — it was 

 not too hard for that — to give the new layer 

 of concrete a better chance of adhering. The 



second layer, mixed in the same proportions 

 as the first, was then spread inside the keg, to 

 a depth of two inches, thus covering the wash 

 basin, and surrounding the piece of upright 

 pipe in the centre. This was allowed to set 

 until perfectly hard and dry. We poured 

 water over it gently, once or twice after it was 

 partially set, that it might not set too dry, 

 and be inclined to crumble. This stood 

 in the form for several days. The bath 

 proper was now complete. It remained to 

 place it on a pedestal, and for this we used a 

 piece of drainage pipe, one with a collar about 

 two inches deep and nine inches across. The 

 pipe was planted in the ground, collar up, and 

 around the bottom we piled some loose rock 

 to steady it and give it a good base line. 

 The bath was removed from its form, first 



"C 



COLLAR OFPIPE 



Section and plan for the simple 

 bird bath shown on the left of this 

 page 





Streptosolen Jamesoni; an old time greenhouse favorite with 

 orange red flowers 



removing the piece of water pipe by twisting 

 it gently, then lifting out the keg, then slipping 

 out the whole structure, by gradually tilting it 

 out of the tub. We set it right side up in the 

 pedestal, loosened the tin basin from the cen- 

 tre leaving a shallow basin of concrete with a 

 hole in the middle, and a four inch rim, or 

 brink all around. A rubber stopper was 

 placed in the escape hole, and the bath was 

 ready to be filled. The drainage pipe pedestal 

 was painted over with a mixture of white 

 concrete paint and cement, about half and 

 half, mixed with water to the consistency of 

 paint. Later on, ivy was planted at the base 

 of the pipe, to twine among the loose rock, 

 and around the column. 



Of course any one will understand that the 

 requisites here mentioned as a form for the 

 bird bath are by no means imperative. We 

 explored our basement and used what we 

 could find. The laundry tub could hardly 

 be excelled as a foundation for the first layer, 

 and was in no way injured; it is still doing 

 duty as a laundry tub. Instead of the wash 

 basin one could substitute a shallow wooden 

 chopping bowl, or any bowl shaped utensil, 

 not too deep, and not more than twelve inches 

 in diameter. The finished bath should have 

 at least a four inch rim around the basin. 

 Instead of the mackerel keg any round form 

 could be used — a cheese box, an old flower 

 tub — just so it is bottomless and somewhat 

 smaller than the laundry tub. — Cleo L. Nettel- 

 roth, Louisille, Ky. 



Hardy Primulas for Unheated Greenhouses. 

 — There are many beautiful hardy spring 

 flowering plants whose flowering season can 

 be advanced several weeks by lifting clumps 

 ere the ground freezes up and planting 

 in even an unheated greenhouse. A few 

 good varieties for this purpose: P. denti- 

 culata and its form Cashmeriana are of the 

 first to bloom, attaining a height of 18 to 24 

 inches. P. frondosa, P. cortusoides, P. 



