HE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



105 



This is evidence of the fruiting proclivities of La France ever- 

 bearing raspberry. About one-sixth actual size 



planted in something. As soon as one vegetable 

 is out another is planted. I keep the green 

 worms from eating my cabbage by sprinkling 

 them while the dew is on, with lime in which I 

 put a little sulphur. Never will I do without a 

 garden again for it has been a great pleasure to 

 me and a great benefit to the whole family. — 

 Mrs. S. E. Bandy, Jacksonville, Ark. 



'Speaking of Raspberries." — The article "Rasp- 

 berries for Where You Live" in the October 

 issue leads me to feel that you might be interested 

 in the new everlasting La France. The history 

 of this variety goes back some twelve years 

 when a wealthy private estate owner imported 

 a collection of fine French raspberries, all of 

 which from a combination of accidents succumbed 

 to the climate. While clearing the old planta- 

 tion, a number of seedlings were discovered, 

 of which this is one. The foliage first drew our 

 attention, it is so large and heavy. Last winter 

 the plant withstood twenty below zero. With its 

 robust constitution it combines a bearing power 

 the like of which I do not recall. Each plant will 

 make several new shoots during the season which 

 will bear fruit the first year. The berries are 

 almost twice the size of other everlasting kinds of 

 fine aroma. The fact that the plant is almost 

 free of thorns should make this raspberry a 

 welcome addition to the home garden. — H. 

 John Scheepers, N. Y. 



— We can vouch for the high quality of the 

 fruit and the large size too, having seen a number 

 of plants in full bearing the second week in Oct- 

 ober. It was noted that the berries were slightly 

 bitter if not dead ripe. — Ed. 



Getting Rid of Mice. — Answering the question 

 3n page 179, May: The field mouse is a hard 

 pest to defeat; as he eats high priced bulbs with 

 impunity the effort is worth whrle. It can be 

 done by the use of strychnine. Three methods 

 are recommended. In one the food is coated 

 with starch or flour paste containing powdered 

 alkaloid of strychnine, in another the food is 

 soaked in a sulphate of strychnine solution, 

 and in the third it is mixed with starch containing 

 the alkaloid and is then compressed into squares 

 of biscuits. Grain soaked in sulphate of strych- 

 nine solution is very bitter and is not recom- 

 mended except when the bait is first soaked in 

 tallow to render it waterproof. A sulphate 

 solution is valuable in preparing baits for rabbits 

 and meadow mice. Starch or flour paste con- 

 taining powdered alkaloid is recommended, be- 

 cause baits coated with these materials can be 

 prepared much more easily than those soaked 

 in sulphate solution, because animals carrying 

 coated baits are often killed simply by the 

 absorption of part of the poison directly into 

 the blood through the mucous membranes of 

 the mouth and cheek pouches, and because the 

 centres of kernels of coated grain remain sweet 

 and are more freely eaten than those made bitter 

 all through by soaking in sulphate solution. 

 To make flour-coated wheat use: wheat, 20 qts., 

 strychnine alkaloid (powdered), \ oz., flour, 

 \ cup, water, 1 qt. Mix the flour with a cup of 



cold water to form a thick, smooth, paste, and 

 then stir in the remaining \\ pints of cold water. 

 Heat to boiling point over a slow fire, stirring 

 constantly. Then remove from the stove, mix in 

 the powdered strychnine alkaloid, and mix with 

 the wheat until every kernel is evenly coated. 

 Spread and dry the preparation, and it may 

 either be used at once or kept indefinitely. — H. 



A Greenhouse Without Fuel. — We have a 

 little greenhouse 8 ft. square and 6 ft. high 

 which supplies us with plenty of blooming plants 

 for our house all winter and provides from 10 

 to 20 dozen Geraniums, Marguerites, Salvias, etc., 

 for summer bedding. This winter it is to supply 

 us with some vegetables too: — lettuce, tomatoes, 

 watercress, grown as Mr. L. Bastin told ab'out 

 in the August Garden Magazine. Though 

 most of our days are sunny we get cold nights, 

 sometimes several nights in succession zero, 

 occasionally io° to 15° below and as many as 

 3 or 4 days without sunshine. Still it has never 

 been necessary to artificially heat this little 

 greenhouse made by excavating in a very steep 

 bank close to our house and facing south. This 

 was lined 6 in. thick with concrete. In the 

 opening or front there is a concrete wall 2 ft. 

 high. All the rest of the front is glass, sloping 

 at an angle of 45 to meet the roof. In the 



In this little greenhouse without any fuel summer bedding 

 plants are carried through the winter 



concrete' floor are tracks running north and 

 south made of \ in. gas pipe. The benches 

 are fixed on a stand with groved pulleys for wheels 

 which run back and forth on these tracks. 

 These benches are terraced like wide stair steps, 

 so arranged that when the stand is wheeled 

 forward all the plants are brought near the slop- 

 ing glass front. Each bench has about 12 sq. 

 ft. of surface, making on the three a total of 

 36 sq. ft. Thus almost the whole contents of the 

 greenhouse are easily moved close to the glass 

 front for sunshine and back to the warmed air 

 space at the back at night. The warmth re- 

 ceived from the sun through the glass front during 

 the day is absorbed by and stored in the concrete 

 walls and ceiling which is all back in the hillside 

 like a cave. The concrete in turn gives back 

 this heat to keep the plants warm at night. 

 Last winter I ' kept a thermometer directly 

 under the glass and I have never seen it lower 

 than 42 . Of course this is lower than the air 

 surrounding the plants. We cover the glass with 

 a heavy canvas on cold nights. A piece of stove 

 pipe through the concrete roof serves as a venti- 

 lator. If you want a greenhouse and you live in 

 a sunny climate do not hesitate because of fuel 

 shortage! — K. N. Marriage, Colorado Springs. 



Another Successful Vegetable Garden. — 

 I have just read an article by Mr. R. C. Allen of 

 Morgantown, W. Virginia, in The Garden Mag- 

 azine for October last year, in which he gives re- 

 cord of a garden 60 x 75 which produced #96 worth 

 of vegetables. This spring (February) I burned 

 off" a broom sedge and white clover field, which 

 had not been cultivated for seven years. On one 



portion 50 x 75 ft., I used one load of barnyard 

 manure and #5.68 worth of seeds during the 

 entire season, during which time I sold $21.64 

 worth of vegetables; canned 326 quarts of soup 

 mixture, tomatoes, beets, pickles, and beans 

 at an approximate value of 20 cents a quart 

 or $67.20 for the whole. The vegetables used 

 at home bring the entire amount produced during 

 the season to $155.19, with seeds and fertilizer 

 to be deducted. The garden was plowed and 

 disked by the mill company for whom I work; 

 but every particle of labor of cultivation I did 

 myself when off duty. Three crops were pro- 

 duced during the season. The first was English 

 peas, mustard, onion, kale, lettuce; followed by 

 beans, tomatoes, okra, beets, corn and popcorn. 

 When the popcorn was harvested English peas 

 went in the place. Already the third crop con- 

 sisting of 150 heads of Big Boston lettuce, kale, 

 onions, mustard, is maturing. Two raised 

 beds, 2 x 75 ft., of white mustard and spin- 

 ach, insure late winter and early spring 

 salad. There are intercrops of Danish Ballhead 

 cabbage and brussels sprouts. I have kept a 

 government record book of these. — Linda Cle- 

 ment, Lexington, N. C. 



Oxytropis. — Having received so many helpful 

 suggestions from The Garden Magazine, I 

 venture to offer one or two, and to also ask for 

 more help. A correspondent in the July maga- 

 zine asks where Oxytropis may be obtained. 

 In reply I would say that Dreer of Philadelphia 

 catalogues it. — G. H. S., N. J. 



Fothergilla. — Years ago an attractive shrub 

 known as Fothergilla was not uncommon in 

 gardens. Then it practically disappeared and 

 was not seen for a long time. A few years ago 

 the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain resur- 

 rected this plant and again put it into cultivation. 

 It is to be hoped that they will become common 

 subjects in American gardens as they are highly 

 ornamental. The Fothergillas are related to 

 the Witch Hazels, the foliage having a similar 

 appearance. It also has the Witch Hazel's 

 habit of putting on warm shades of red and orange 

 in the fall, making it a very decorative shrub 

 at that season. The small white flowers grow 

 in terminal clusters which are almost as round as 

 a ball. The plants are upright in growth, sturdy 

 in appearance, and are perfectly hardy. They 

 grow fairly tall, and possess a greater beauty than 

 many of the shrubs more generally seen. — E. I. F. 



Fothergilla major has the best pyramidal habit of all the Dwar£ 

 Alders. Its conspicuous flowers are white 



