24 
porch, or in the greenhouse, blooming con- 
tinuously for weeks. As a basket plant 
there is none to equal it. The flowers are 
blue, amethyst, white, or mixtures of these, 
and are produced in profusion. Individually 
they are flat, saucer like, three inches across 
witha very short throat. The plants are 
good for house decoration either as single 
specimens or for banking on mantels or 
in open fireplaces, etc., keepingin good con- 
dition in the house for a month or more, if 
kept well watered. Achimenes can be had 
in bloom six to eight months, from April on, 
by starting tubers in succession from ayy 
February to the end of April. 
The tubers are most easily started i in flats 
or pans covered only a half inch with” ‘soil, 
and grown on in a warm greenhouse (a tem- 
perature of 60 degrees at night). 
The bést soil is a mixture of light, ay 
soil, leaf mold and a liberal supply of well de- 
composed cow or sheep manure and enough 
of sharp sand to keep the soil quite porous. 
Do not press it down tightly. 
Give plenty of water and light, but shade 
from bright sun. After the plants are two 
inches high, they may be transferred to their 
blooming receptacles. The points of the 
shoots are pinched out to induce breaking 
below. Water should be given at all times 
when growing and flowering; therefore, good 
drainage and a free soil are essential. Pots 
should be drained one-third their depth. 
Staking will hardly be needed if air is given 
in sufficient quantities to keep growth sturdy. 
For hanging specimens get some 12-inch 
wire or orchid baskets and line them with 
moss, or other coarse material that will keep 
the soil in the basket until the plants have 
taken possession of the soil. Put the plants 
into a light soil and about two inches apart 
on the surface and on the four sides of the 
basket. Red spider and thrips will trouble. 
Spray overhead in fair weather for the for- 
mer; fumigate lightly to keep down thrips. 
Do this when the foliage is dry or it will burn. 
Give weak manure water twice a week when 
the plants commence to: flower. 
After flowering, the plants may be put 
under light, airy benches outdoors in frames, 
etc., if the temperature is 50 degrees or over. 
Many growers make a mistake by not giving 
water enough at this time. I find they want 
lots of water for some time after the flowering 
period, and in fact, they must not be allowed 
to dry up until very late in the falb, as the 
tubers continue to grow long after the foli- 
age is gone. If dried off too soon, small 
bulbs will be the result and these become 
still smaller the following year and so on, 
until there is nothing left. When thoroughly 
ripened, place the pots on their sides in 
a rose house temperature (50 degrees and 
dry). 
Achimenes can be struck from cuttings 
easily by taking two inches of the tops when 
the plants are several inches high. They 
will root from any part of the stem, and also 
from the leaf stem. They can be raised 
easily from seed and scales and cones, the 
latter being carefully rubbed off and sowed 
in pans like seed. 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
The following are among the best vari- 
eties for pot or basket work: Admiration, 
deep rose, white throat spotted with carmine; 
Ambrose Verschaffelt, white, dark centre; 
Hybrida, deep mauve; Mauve Queen, large, 
mauve, brown eye; Dazzle, flowers small, 
brilliant scarlet, pale yellow eye, very pretty 
and free; Gibsonii, flowers very large, clear 
mauve;  Grandiflora, rose; Eclipse, rich 
orange-scarlet spotted’ with carmine, ex- 
tremely -floriferous with a good habit; 
Longiflora, flowers large, blue; Rose Queen, 
flowers rose; Grandis, flowers deep violet, 
yellow eye; Madame A. Verschaffelt, a very 
attractive variety, large flowers pure white 
ground, heavily veined with purple. Admir- 
ation and Hybrida are the best for baskets. 
ENEMIES 
Weevils and Wireworms in Seeds 
Bees and peas are frequently destroyed 
in the spring by the seed corn maggot. 
The seeds germinate but the young plants 
look pinched and rusty, stop growing and 
the growing point dries up, and dies. Close 
examination shows that the cotyledons have 
been punctured and are wormy, and the stem, 
just above the roots, is also punctured, and 
sometimes entirely eaten off. This is the 
work of the seed corn maggot (Pegomya 
jusciceps), which, because it has recently 
become quite a pest within beans, is com- 
monly called the bean fly. The fly is also 
f-und in seeds of cabbage, turnip, radish, 
onion, beet and in seed potatoes...’ 
Occasionally, wireworms do: injury to 
sprouting beans and peas, especially if they 
are planted in ground that has recently 
been in grasses or corn. As the maggots 
work under ground, direct applications of 
insecticides are expensive and unsatisfactory. 
Prevention is better than remedy. A very 
common method is to put a thin layer of 
sand which has been soaked with kerosene 
(one cupful to a pailful of sand) about the 
base of the plants. This will prevent the 
parent, which is a fly, from laying her eggs 
in the plant and will also kill any maggots. 
A carbolized form of kerosene emulsi i 
also very effective. To make: ‘ 
Dissolve one-half pound of soap ( 
oil soap is best) in a gallon of boiling water. 
When the soap is dissolved, remove the kettle 
some distance from the fire and add two 
gallons of kerosene and two quarts of crude 
carbolic acid. Thoroughly mix the whole; 
the easiest way to do this is by means of a 
force pump. Before applying to the plants, 
dilute from thirty-five to fifty times. 
” 
FEBRUARY, 1908 
Peas all Summer in Colorado 
HILE the North and East are still in 
the grasp of winter we in Colorado 
are busy preparing our gardens. 
The first of February, the soil that in No- 
vember or December was turned over with 
a plow is again turned and after being raked 
smooth is ready for planting, and an early 
planting of peas is made, the smooth 
varieties are used (such as the Alaska, 
Scorcher, First and Best, American Wonder, 
and Bliss Everbearing). ‘These varieties 
are planted at the same time, and Alaska 
is the first ready for use; Scorcher comes 
next. The former is the best early all-pur- 
pose pea, but the pods of the Scorcher are 
larger, yielding a trifle more peas, and of 
finer flavor. 
For succession plant these varieties at 
intervals of ten days until the midde of 
March, after which sow wrinkled varieties 
as they yield better during July and August. 
I make the rows six inches wide with a 
hoe or small shovel plow and sow the peas 
in the furrow, as nearly as possible one inch 
apart, thus making a broad row. The vines, 
being thus close together, support each other 
until a short time before picking and thus 
save the labor of staking or tying up. 
I leave a space of about eighteen inches 
between the rows and can thus cultivate 
with a horse if necessary. Stirring the ground 
twice is sufficient to keep the weeds down 
until after the vines are pulled; the soil never 
becomes hard if the ground is thoroughly 
disintegrated during the winter. 
The first of March I plant MHorsford 
Market Garden (one of the best wrinkled 
varieties) which is ready for use as soon as 
the earlier kinds, planted March 15th, are 
gone. By the r5th of the month, Marrow- 
fat, Dwarf Telephone, and Stratagem may 
be planted. ‘These varieties are later than 
the Horsford and by planting them at the 
same time, they will be ready for use as soon 
as the Horsfords are gone. 
These late varieties, especially the Hors- 
ford, may be planted all summer at inter- 
vals of ten days and will produce good crops 
until the late fall frosts. Lightly cover all 
summer plantings but draw the dirt up to 
the vines as soon as they come up so that 
they may withstand the hot weather. 
I never irrigate my early peas until a few 
days before they are ready for use, as water 
applied during the vine-growing period de- 
lays maturity. 
Colorado. 
Lro G. Mann. 
