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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 1918 



twigs and smaller branches and usually eats 

 away the interior so completely that the portion 

 containing the pest drops as indicated above. 

 The slender, grayish brown beetle about one 

 half an inch long, appears in midsummer and 

 deposits its eggs during July in the smaller 

 twigs. This insect is not usually very injurious 

 though occasionally trees may be severely 

 pruned and in some instances disfigured, if not 

 damaged by this borer. The most practical 

 method of controlling the pest is by collecting 

 the infested twigs in the fall, spring and early 

 summer and burning them. This will be more 

 effective if operations extend over a considerable 

 area. There is a chance that spraying with 

 arsenate of lead the latter part of July would 

 be of some value in destroying the parent beetles 

 before they have had an opportunity to lay 

 eggs. — E. P. Felt, State Entomologist, Albany, N .Y. 



Unusual Plants for the Spring Garden. — 

 Among the many charming small perennials 

 that bloom with the spring-flowering bulbs, the 

 Epimediums should not be neglected. Single 

 plants bought three years ago are now good- 

 sized clumps although they have had no atten- 

 tion other than that given the entire border. 

 Epimedium alpinum and E. sulfureum are very 

 similar in general appearance, forming loose 

 open clumps about a foot high, with good spikes 

 of pale yellow flowers. E. alpinum blooms much 

 earlier, coming this year about March 20th, 

 while E. sulfureum come usually about April 

 15th. Similar in habit and time of blooming is 

 E. musschianum with dull crimson flowers. 

 Later in development of both leaves and flowers, 

 are both E. niveum and E. lilacinum. These 

 two spread less rapidly, forming tight clumps 

 and holding the white and purplish-rose colored 

 flowers well above the foliage. But even if there 

 were no flowering in any of the varieties the plants 

 would be well worth growing for the beauty of 

 the foliage, as this shows the most charming ten- 

 der pinkish tones as it develops and holds its rich 

 green mature color well into the winter, this year 

 lasting until the end of December. Last spring 

 I saw for the first time, plants of Isopyrum bi- 

 ternatum a plant of similar character as far as 

 the garden aspect is concerned with good spikes 

 of charming white flowers. I am told that it 

 will succeed under the same conditions as the 

 Epimediums require. Together with these 

 should be mentioned the beautiful Vancouveria 

 hexandra from the Pacific coast. This I have not 



grown and know only from a garden in Cam- 

 bridge, Mass., where it has formed a great sheet 

 under the trees with its fine foliage and exquisite 

 white flowers in the early spring. All these 

 plants are of the small-fry of the garden although 

 if they were obtained in sufficient quantity they 

 would make charming ground covers in the open 

 wood or drifts for the front of the semi-shady 

 border. But if one is moved by the charm that 

 is to be discovered only on closer inspection the 

 delicacy and grace of thesesmall plants will delight 

 him at all times of year. — B. Y. Morrison, D. C. 



Combined Coldframe and Hotbed for Home.— 

 I made a vegetable garden last year and because 



Utilizing the heat from the house cellar as an economical way of 

 getting an early spring start 



Fuel for Greenhouses 



In some parts of the country difficulty has 

 already been experienced in securing fuel desired 

 by owners of greenhouses, and in a few instances 

 the local administrator has absolutely refused to 

 deliver any coal for greenhouse purposes. Under 

 date of August 8, the Fuel Administration writes 

 in response to a specific inquiry as follows: 



There is no order of the Fuel Administration prohibiting the de- 

 livery of coal to greenhouses, either private or commercial, the only 

 existing ruling being, that greenhouses should be curtailed to 50 

 per cent, of the average annual fuel consumption of the years 1915, 

 '16 and '17. 



You are doubtless familiar with the priority lists which specify 

 certain industries that are considered essential to the successful 

 prosecution of the war, and required that these be assured their full 

 quota of coal, before the less essential industries are supplied. In 

 the congested districts where the coal supply is short, there must be 

 enough fuel to take care of the more essential and private heating, 

 and have a surplus left for general distribution, and in this case, the 

 greenhouses would have to suffer along with the other less essentials 

 so that the carrying on of the war to a successful termination may not ' 

 be retarded.. There is no intention, however, on the part of the 

 Fuel Administration to discriminate against greenhouses to any 

 greater extent. 



We are further advised, under date of August 

 5th, that the "50% restriction" applies equally 

 "to natural gas and all other forms of fuel." 



of inexperience I floundered around and was suc- 

 cessful to a surprising degree in spite of myself. 

 But while I floundered I kept my ears and eyes 

 open and became convinced that the way to 

 chase the "jinxs" away from any little vege- 

 table plot is to get things going early. I 

 looked around at the improvised hotbeds and 

 coldframes that my friends had put up and 

 from the lot I turned out a little contrivance of 

 my own that is a composite of all the dreams and 

 practical attempts I had heard of and seen. It 

 is a sort of hotbed and coldframe combined. 

 In the border between the walk and the 

 house foundation I dug out a place outside 

 my cellar windows and built a sort of min- 

 iature greenhouse. I partitioned it in the 

 centre and from one window in the cellar I 

 can work on my hotbed and from the other 

 I have easy entrance to the part that serves as a 

 coldframe. The sash were hinged at the top 

 and while not of proper size they answered. 

 The advantage of such an arrangement must 

 be obvious. Early in the spring with the least 

 difficulty I can start my vegetables going and do 

 the necessary work of shifting from the hotbed 

 to the coldframe regardless of weather con- 

 ditions, as it is but a matter of going from one 

 window to the other and carrying the little 

 plants. With the aid of small boxes I have 

 been able to handle surprisingly large numbers of 

 plants and next year I intend to extend my area of 

 glass along these same lines. In the summer 

 the whole affair can be stored away. — James 

 Peranet. 



Can to the Limit. — How much fruit and how 

 many vegetables can be prepared without over- 

 stepping the regulations governing the use of 

 sugar or the conservation of food? In response 

 to a question, John R. Munn, chief of the Canned 

 Goods Division, United States Food Administra- 

 tion, said: "The Food Administration urges the 

 canning of foodstuffs in the home to the limit 

 of home consumption. If it is desirable to put 

 up more than one year's supply, the Food Ad- 

 ministration can have no objection, but cautions 

 the canner that there may be spoilage and loss if 

 the preserved foods have to be held over a long 

 period. It is not economical to have the idea of 

 disposing of any surplus through commercial 

 channels, but the Food Administration does 

 urge in the season of production the pre- 

 serving of as much food as possible for home 

 consumption." 



War Gardens Work for the Fourth Loan patricia king 



Till, man-of-the-hour, to "Uncle Sam's" 

 way of thinking, is the war gardener who 

 utilizes nature's gifts of soil, sunshine 

 and rain to produce food and money to 

 help win the- war. I lis patriotism is measured by 

 doing, not talking, for he renders a double service 

 to America in this critical period of the war. 

 I he war gardener solves the problem of food sup- 

 ply by putting Ins shoulder to the plow; he saves 

 money for the Liberty Loan by cutting down the 

 family expense account and investing money 

 : in Government bonds. 

 Every peck of potatoes, every head of cabbage 

 01 lettuce; every bunch of beets, asparagus, or 

 onions; every quart of peas or beans, raised in 

 the war garden in the backyard or in the vacant 

 lor across the way means that much food added 

 "> the season's production. It means a con- 

 servation of less perishable food-stuffs — wheat, 

 and fats saved, by substitution of these 

 bles for shipment to our Allies and our 

 armies abroad. It means a large supply of gar- 

 den truck in the markets, which, in turn, means 

 r puces. 



Money raised by the Liberty Loan would be 

 useless to keep our armies nourished if the food 

 supply in America did not meet demands. War, 

 after all, is a matter of brawn and muscle. The 

 strength of our men depends, ultimately, not 

 upon how much money is in the Treasury, but 

 upon how much food is in the country's larder. 

 America must have money to purchase food, 

 clothing and munitions, if the war is to be won, 

 but before food can be bought, it must be raised. 

 The war gardener must fill the gap left in the na- 

 tion's farming forces by the men who have gone 

 into active service. 



Every home in America should have its war 

 garden and draw upon it for supplies. A ten- 

 cent investment in vegetable seeds, take beans 

 for instance, should net a return of from four to 

 six times that amount in money. The amateur 

 gardener who spends his evenings in the fresh air 

 planting, weeding or hilling up, instead of stay- 

 ing in-doors, reading or playing pool, sheuld be 

 able to raise four or five "messes" of beans from 

 this one planting, worth sixty or seventy cents. 

 Making a small allowance for insect-powder or 



fertilizer, there is still thirty or forty cents real- 

 ized on the ten-cent investment for the Liberty 

 Loan fund. The children of the family could 

 by turning their attention to gardening add to 

 this patriotic fund. 



The Fourth Liberty Loan must pay for main- 

 tenance of General Pershing's million men in 

 France and must mobilize, equip and transport 

 a new army to Europe. Twice as much money 

 as called for in previous loans, must be saved to 

 meet these increased demands upon the nation's 

 resources. The war garden service is more vital 

 than ever before. Now is the time for the ama- 

 teur-gardener to turn his plot of ground to ad- 

 vantage for the Liberty Loan. He must do his 

 share of this war work, and interest his neighbors 

 in the necessary service of relieving the demand 

 upon the nation's food supplies and of saving 

 money for bond subscriptions. Uncle Sam 

 counts upon his growing army of home-farmers 

 for the heads of cabbage and the pecks of potatoes 

 that are conserving his army rations. Every effort 

 counts in this great business of war. The nation 

 needs every man's service as well as his money. 



