80 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 1919 



same enemies trouble all three fruits and can be 

 controlled the same way on all of them. 



The pear tree psylla is one of those insects of 

 restricted tastes. Combat it by spraying late 

 this month or early in April as advised in the 

 November issue; then follow this treatment with 

 a nicotine spray — Black Leaf-40 is good — as 

 directed on the package. 



Fruit trees whose main branches and trunk 

 are pierced by many holes about as big as a pin 

 head are not worth saving. The holes are indi- 

 cations of bark beetles which, however, don't 

 attack a tree until it begins to fail from some 

 other cause. 



Tiny holes in the last year's shoots of raspberry, 

 grape, blackberry, etc., are caused by tree crickets, 

 which, unless very numerous are not a pest. 



Hints for the "Victory" Patch 



The following seeds are hardy and 

 should be sown as soon as the 

 ground is workable: asparagus 

 (seed), beets, carrots, corn-salad, 

 cress, endive, kohlrabi, leek, let- 

 tuce, mustard, onion, parsley, 

 parsnip, radish, salsify, spinach and turnip. 

 Of the quick growers, sow a ten to twenty foot 

 row every week until the last of May: that is, 

 plant little and often. 



The first appearance of newly sown crops is 

 the signal for the season s first cultivation. The 

 smaller the weed seedlings the easier it is to kill 

 them. A wooden rake run lightly over the sur- 

 face of all planted ground will greatly lessen the 

 future weed growth and will not destroy enough 

 seedling plants to matter. 



If you plant dwarf peas in double rows twelve 

 inches apart, you can later on plant sweet corn 

 and squash or melons between them to use the 

 space after the vines have been dug under. 



Delay sowing wrinkled peas until there is no 

 danger of their rotting in the over moist soil. 

 But meantime gather brush so you can put it in 

 place at the same time you sow the seed. Might 

 as well get together some bean poles while gather- 

 ing the pea brush. 



Parsley may be sown in a seed bed and later 

 transplanted — this is sometimes desirable be- 

 cause of the long time the seed takes to start. 

 But really the crop prefers to be left in one place; 

 unlike lettuce it does not thrive under trans- 

 planting. 



"Greens" are undeservedly unpopular in the 

 minds of some people who know they are health- 

 ful and wholesome and therefore regard them 

 suspiciously as physic rather than food. If you 

 are free of such prejudice, why not try some of 

 the improved varieties of dandelion in addition 

 to spinach and chard this year? Sow early 

 where the plants are to remain; use the thinnings 

 as soon as they are big enough, leaving the others 

 twelve inches apart for a permanent supply from 

 which to obtain frequent harvests of succulent 

 leaves. 



Potatoes should be planted late this month or 

 early next. Soil preparation for this crop means 

 digging in well rotted manure — but no lime or 

 wood ashes and the addition of a general fertilizer 

 in the drill at planting time. Three feet is a 

 good, safe distance between rows, and dwarf 

 peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, or onion sets 

 may occupy the space between. Fifteen to 

 eighteen inches between hills is necessary unless 

 the ground is unusually rich. 



I'lant a quart oi Jerusalem artichokes in a mod- 

 erately moist corner that you don't expect to 

 need badly. Leave them alone until fall when 

 they will supply you with some brilliant yellow, 

 r ather coarse, daisy-like flowers, and a little 

 later a crop of edible tubers. The small tubers 

 that you \sill certainly overlook in the digging 

 will replant the bed each season for years to come. 



Start new asparagus, rhubarb and horseradish 

 beds by planting roots. The earliest plantings 

 of onion sets can go between the rows. 



Dig parsnips, salsify and whatever Jerusalem 

 artichokes you are going to need for the next 

 few weeks as soon as the frost leaves the ground 

 and store them in slightly moist sand in the cool- 

 est corner of the cellar. This will prevent them 

 from starting into growth and becoming unusable. 

 A heavy mulch applied to part of the space de- 

 voted to these crops while the ground is still fro- 

 zen will delay its thawing and extend the season 

 for these winter vegetables. 



Try to average less seed than most directions 

 specify. Thinner sowing now saves slow, tedi- 

 ous thinning later and gives the surplus seedlings 

 a chance to get a bit bigger and therefore better 

 for either transplanting or eating. This is es- 

 pecially true with beets; each "seed" is a dried 

 fruit liable to produce several plants. Sow 

 thinly and transplant to fill gaps. 



A seed of an early forcing variety of radish 

 every three or four inches in every row of parsley, 

 salsify, parsnip and other slow-germinating crop, 

 not only marks the row and permits earlier culti- 

 vation than if you waited for the main crop to 

 appear, but also supplies enough early radishes 

 to make special plantings unnecessary. 



Depth to sow? Look on the Planters' Guide 

 elsewhere in this issue (Pages 70 to 75). 



Where a Little Heat Helps a Lot 



In the greenhouse or conservatory 

 (or sunny south window, if you 

 are restricted to that) start Chry- 

 santhemum and Carnations (seed 

 or cuttings) for October blooms; 

 also Primula and Cyclamen (from 

 seed only) for next winter flowers. 



Be sure to thin out any seedlings that are al- 

 ready up in flats sown last month. 



Propagate all sorts of bedding plants, such as 

 Coleus, Begonia, Geranium, etc. Each of these 

 has one method or style of cutting that gives the 

 best results so be sure you are on the right track 

 before going ahead. Bailey's "Nursery Book," 

 or Kains' "Propagation of Plants," will tell you 

 all you need to know about all the methods, and 

 which one to use in any particular case. 



Harden ofF the seedlings that are now growing 

 under glass and that will first be set out. If 

 gradually given more and more air and developed 

 into strong, stocky specimens, the hardiest of 

 them will stand a slight frost without harm, that 

 is borecole, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, 

 cauliflower, celery, kohlrabi, lettuce. 



Keep the heat lovers — tomatoes, squash, egg- 

 plant, peppers, etc., well protected, giving 

 them air only in the middle of the day, when the 

 sun is bright and the danger of chilling them 

 practically negligible. 



Start some hills of corn in paper pots for later 

 transplanting. This is an example of the sort of 

 foresight that makes a successful garden better 

 than those around it. 



As soon as the weather becomes sufficiently 

 settled so that you can replace the glass hotbed 

 sash with cloth sash, take the former out of the 

 way, clean them up, replace any broken or miss- 

 ing lights of glass, and store them away in a safe 

 place for fall use. 



Do you make full use of the hotbeds after the 

 heat of the manure in them has been spent — 

 that is, after they become coldframes? You 

 will find some reminders as to how to make the 

 most of frames in The Garden Magazine, 



I90S» P a K e 30. 



Some forehanded gardeners will have Carna- 

 tion cuttings already rooted and ready for potting; 

 there may also be plants already in pots that 

 need shifting. Don't let these tasks be delayed. 



If you have any space to spare in the green- 

 house benches a few cucumbers can still be 

 started — using one of the special forcing varieties 

 of course. 



Easter is coming! To get flowers at the right 

 time is almost as difficult as keeping a football 

 team in the pink of condition for the big contest 



of the year without letting it get stale. See that 

 the temperature and' moisture conditions are 

 just right, and don't let the plants develop too 

 fast, while, at the same time, don't check them 

 suddenly whatever you do. 



Branches of early flowering shrubs can still be 

 brought in and put in water to brighten up the 

 house. They ought to blossom in four or five 

 weeks at the outside now. 



Bring out into the light any remaining bulbs 

 that have been developing roots in a cool place; 

 perhaps they too will open in time to brighten 

 Easter Sunday. 



An average night temperature of 60 degrees F. 

 is needed by the following plants — look out for 

 them on those occasional days when the weather 

 has relapsed into winter frigidity: Abutilon, 

 Calceolaria, Begonia, Bouvardia, Euphorbia, Sal- 

 via, Heliotrope, Fuchsia, Jasmine, Petunia, 

 Geranium, Dracaena, Palms, Ferns, Auracaria, 

 Pandanus, Asparagus (ornamental), Smilax, 

 Madeira-vine, Lobelia, Oxalis, Mesembryan- 

 themum, Saxifrage, Tradescantia, Selaginella. 



GETTING THE FLOWER ROOTS TO WORK 



Cannas may be started now. Simply lay 

 them on a greenhouse bench or in flats in a hot- 

 bed. Cover them partly with moist sand or 

 coal ashes. They will soon start to grow when 

 they may be cut apart and potted for trans- 

 planting in late May. 



Place Dahlia roots in moist sand. When the 

 shoots are four to six inches long cut them ofF 

 to make "slips" or cuttings which grow as easily 

 as Geranium slips. In this way you may rap- 

 idly increase your best varieties. New sprouts 

 will come from the bulbs which may be planted 

 out as usual. 



Risk part of your Gladiolus bulbs by planting 

 about March 15th — as soon as the soil can be 

 worked. Plant successionally every two weeks 

 till June or July first, provided you can keep the 

 bulbs cool and dry that long. 



Prevention Better Than Cure 



Soak seed potatoes in a solution 

 of formalin (one pint to thirty 

 gallons of water) for two hours be- 

 fore cutting or planting them to 

 prevent scab. Dip your knife in 

 the solution occasionally while cutting the seed. 

 Discard all tubers that are discolored inside 

 with pink or brown blotches or that show any 

 other signs of disease. Many people dust the 

 cut surfaces with sifted coal ashes just before 

 planting. 



Beets are attacked by the same sort of scab as 

 potatoes; therefore don't plant either of these 

 crops on soil that last season produced a scabby 

 crop of either. 



If your onions were smutted last season plant 

 them this year somewhere else, and treat the in- 

 fected plot with flowers of sulphur one ounce 

 and powdered lime half an ounce per twenty- 

 five square feet. If your cabbage developed 

 swollen, deformed roots, do not use that plot for 

 any plant of the cabbage family for at least three 

 years; and dress the soil heavily with lime in the 

 meantime. 



Disinfection of the seed bed soil is a wise pre- 

 caution. Baking in an oven is the simplest way 

 to effect this. Also cabbage seed may be soaked 

 in a corrosive sublimate solution — three tablets 

 as purchased in a quart of warm water, for fifteen 

 minutes. 



If you own and enjoy using a pole-handled 

 tree pruner, restrain yourself from using it too 

 freely. Its only legitimate purposes are heading 

 back branches that are growing too long and that 

 are beyond the reach of the shears; and clipping 

 off twigs carrying the egg clusters of tussock or 

 brown tail moths, tent caterpillars, and a few 

 other insect pests. 



