December, 1917 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



167 



tion of those who have positions to offer is now 

 being made. Bear in mind please the fact that 

 this Association was begun before war was the 

 programme of any but the Central Empires. 

 Was it not "raised up" for just such an emerg- 

 ency as we now confront? Let me say here too 

 that before the name of Hoover had re-echoed 

 through this land, the watchword of the 

 Woman's National Farm and Garden Associa- 

 tion was "Thrift and Beauty." 



Beside our Woman's Land Service, we have 

 a Committee on Markets and a stall of the 

 Association has lately been opened in Jef- 

 ferson Market, New York. 



I should like space in which to give some 

 idea of the variety of occupation of our mem- 

 bers. All sorts and conditions of women be- 

 long to this widespread and democratic or- 

 ganization. From Mrs. Conrad of Indiana who 

 raises the celebrated Poland China hogs with 

 such success, to Mrs. Myrtle Shepherd Francis 

 of Ventura, California, whose strain of Petunia 

 seed is known the world over; from Miss 

 Louise Shelton, whose books on flower-garden- 

 ing are known to so many, to Mrs. Richardson 

 of Iowa whose thousands of acres of alfalfa 

 and whose other thousands of lambs are the 

 envy of those who know them; from Miss 

 Elizabeth White who grows in New Jersey 

 the finest cranberries ever seen, to Dr. Effie 

 Lobdell whose Georgia pecan nuts equal 

 the cranberries, we have an endless variety of 

 producers of food of all kinds, of fruit and of 

 flowers. Also on our lists are numbers of 

 landscape architects. And the value of 

 all these women to the Association is that 

 out of their own successes or failures they 

 stand ready to help the inexperienced. It is 

 an Association of women full of enthusiasm 

 for out of door work, full of that friendliness for 

 each other which is the accompaniment of all 

 work in the open and full of a spirit of patriot- 

 ism because it earnestly believes that women 

 on the land can and will help our country to 

 win this war. Miss Hilda Loines, 600 Lex- 

 ington Avenue, New York, is the General 

 Secretary of the Association; Mrs. B. W. Ros- 

 enstone, 1653 Monadnock Block, Chicago, 

 the Secretary of the Mid-West Branch. 

 Louise Yeomans King, 



Alma, Mich. President. 



Mulching — Successful and Otherwise 



Making the Most of Mulches 



ULCHES are useful as a means of se- 

 curing good crops at minimum time 



>0 -^COMING EVENTS -+- r> 



V5LUB ^SOCIETY NEWe) 



Meetings and Lectures in 

 December 



(following dates are meetings unless otherwise specified) 



Minnesota Garden Flower Society, Annual meeting 

 with State Horticultural Society, by announcement. 



3. New Bedford, Mass., Horticultural Society. 



4. Lake Geneva, Wis., Gardeners' & Foremen's Asso- 



ciation. 

 Garden Club of Pleasantville, N. Y. 



6. Marshfield, Mass., Garden Club. 



7. Pasadena, Cal., Horticultural Society. 



8. Dobbs Ferry, N. Y„ Horticultural Society. 

 10. Park Garden Club, Flushing, L. I. 



Rochester, N. Y., Florist Association. 



New Rochelle, N. Y., Garden Club. 



New York Florists' Club, New York City, N. Y. 

 12. Lenox, Mass., Horticultural Society. 



Nassau Co., Horticultural Society, Glen Cove, L. I. 



Short Hills, N. J., Garden Club, Public Lecture. 

 14. Connecticut Horticultural Society, Wethersfield. 



Westchester, N. Y., and Fairfield, Conn., Horticultural 

 Society. 



18. Lake Geneva, Wis., Gardeners' & Foremen's Asso- 



ciation. 

 Gardeners' and Florists' Club of Boston, Mass. 



19. Rhode Island Horticultural Society, Providence, R. I. 



20. Marshfield, Mass., Garden Club. 



21. Pasadena, Cal., Horticultural Society. 



Dahlia Society of California. San Francisco, Cal. 



22. Dobbs Ferry, N. Y., Horticultural Societv. 

 24. Park Garden Club, Flushing, L. I. 



26. Short Hills, N. J., Garden Club, Public Lecture. 



27. Tarrytown, N. Y., Horticultural Society. 



28. Connecticut Horticultural Society, Wethersfield 



M... ...... -..„,,. 



mulch conserves moisture, checks 

 weed growth, and improves the physical con- 

 ditions of the soil, it in many cases also adds 

 a considerable amount of plant food. 



For garden crops aim to choose a mulch 

 that is well adapted and which can be readily 

 applied. Manure, in some form, is the best 

 source of material for mulching. If fresh 

 horse manure is available, allow it to aerate 

 a few days before applying it to the crops. 

 Spread the manure to a depth of four or five 

 inches midway between rows of the crop, 

 gradually thinning it to one or two inches 

 near each row. At this rate of application, 

 35 to 40 tons of manure will be needed per 

 acre. 



In case fresh manures are not available, 

 use rotted manure of any sort or resort to 

 straw, leaves, moss, or lawn clippings. Bear 

 in mind that the latter substances named 

 have little or no value 'as sources of plant 

 food elements. Shavings, excelsior or saw- 

 dust, may be a detriment to the soil if plowed 



Midsummer peas with mulch, which is thickest in the 

 middle of the space between the rows 



under, and any mulch is more or less difficult 

 to remove. 



The time to apply a mulch is as the crop 

 attains enough size to establish itself thor- 

 oughly; and apply the material immediately 

 following a cultivation, if possible, gradually 

 thin the mulch near the rows, since evapora- 

 tion here is less, owing to shade produced by 

 the plants. Moreover, feeding roots of the 

 plants launch out from the rows in search of 

 moisture and plant foods. Avoid placing 

 the material against the plants. Discoloration 

 of the stems is likely to result, while the lower 

 leaves of the plant often turn yellow and drop 

 off. 



A little study of the crop in question will 

 determine whether or not mulching will be 

 worth while. Nothing will be gained through 

 mulching early, quick-maturing crops, as 

 lettuce, radishes and spinach, since sufficient 

 moisture is available for such crops through- 

 out their growing season. Mulches will be 

 found of particular value on asparagus, 

 rhubarb, mid-season and late peas, beans, 

 celery, cucumbers, late cabbage and toma- 

 toes. Use the mulch freely on the crops to 



be wintered over, rhubarb, asparagus and 

 winter spinach. If manure can be had for 

 this purpose, work it into the soil between 

 the rows in the spring. 



Heavy straw mulches will be found a great 

 help in the small fruit plot. Through their 

 use, weeds will be kept down and excessive 

 evaporation will be prevented during the oc- 

 casional drouth of summer. 



Gardeners practicing irrigation will not go 

 amiss by using mulches in connection, es- 

 pecially where the hose method is resorted 

 to. An evenly-applied mulch serves to dis- 

 tribute and conserve the moisture. 



New York. E. L. Kirkpatrick. 



Mulching That Didn't Work 



A PPRECIATINGthe beneficial influence of 

 -^*- most any kind of mulching, I have experi- 

 mented with nearly all sorts of material dur- 

 ing the last ten years. I have finally come 

 to the conclusion that no mulch equals a dust 

 mulch, where the soil is reasonably rich. 



One of the most peculiar experiences I 

 had a few years ago, when, upon the suggestion 

 of a kind neighbor, I used lawn clippings to 

 mulch rows of beans and tomatoes. The 

 clippings were rather long and cured quickly 

 to hay. They did not help but proved a 

 decided nuisance when, after a heavy rain, 

 wheel-hoeing became necessary. As a matter 

 of fact, for a month afterward, they clogged 

 the wheelhoe cutters and teeth and I said 

 "never again." 



There is an additional element of danger 

 in using lawn clippings, even short ones, as a 

 mulch. Unless they dry up quickly they 

 are apt to mildew and infect the soil with 

 acidity. If they are put on thinly, to dry 

 up, they do not act as a mulch. If they are 

 put on thickly, the lower layers will not 

 dry up but fermentation sets in, especially 

 if the weather turns rainy or cloudy. Which- 

 ever way you take it lawn clippings in our 

 part of the world anyhow should be used 

 with discretion and experimented with cauti- 

 ously. 



An Ohio Amateur. 



The Craftsman Woodpecker 



One bird garden maker had as a dominant in- 

 stinct the assistance of his feathered friends. 

 Throughout his preserve heputupmany houses. 

 One day from the centre of his garden he 

 observed two golden-winged woodpeckers, or 

 flickers, fly over the inner hedge and scan with 

 interest a nesting box, resembling a section of 

 a tree stem. Unquestionably they liked its 

 appearance — that is, all but the hole which 

 challenged their criticism. It was too small 

 for their large bodies to slip in and out with 

 ease. The male bird gave a comprehensive 

 glance at his mate and meeting evidently with 

 her approval began to tap with his bill a circle 

 about the hole. As soon as this drafting pro- 

 cess was completed he took to the wing, she 

 following. The builder of the garden conceived 

 the idea of helping these birds. He called a 

 man to bring a stepladder and small keyhole 

 saw and under his direction the hole was made 

 larger through following the marking made by 

 the bird. Scarcely was the work accomplished 

 when the pair flew back again. They looked at 

 the hox, the male ran his bill around the 

 enlarged hole, he looked at his mate and 

 again they flew quickly away. — A. L. 



