The Garden Magazine 



Vol. IX— No. 2 



Published Monthly 



MARCH, 1909 



( One Dollar a Year 

 I Fifteen Cents a Copy 



[For the purpose of reckoning dates, New York is 

 generally taken as a standard. Allow six days' difference 

 for every hundred miles of latitude.] 



The Spring Rush Begins 



WITH the return of long days and 

 brighter sunshine, growth of plants 

 under glass will become quite active, and all 

 such as need it may be repotted into larger 

 sized pots. Examine the ball of earth, and 

 if found to be a matted mass of roots, it is 

 safe to conclude that the shift is necessary. 



Cuttings taken last month will be pro- 

 ably rooted, and may be shifted now. Con- 

 tinue propagation of bedding stock and all 

 other tender plants required for summer use. 



In a cool greenhouse a great deal of time 

 can be gained with the hardy annuals by 

 sowing in shallow, two-inch deep boxes. 

 These young plants will be ready for set- 

 ting out in the garden by the time it will 

 be safe to sow seeds in the open. 



Start bougainvilleas, root crotons, chrysan- 

 themums, and so on. Pot up carnations, and 

 look after all bulbous stock that is to be had in 

 time for Easter. Easter falls on April nth. 



In the Flower Garden 



TF YOUR garden is on a light soil, dig over 

 A the flower beds during this month, so as to 

 forward the general spring work. Cold, heavy 

 soils cannot be touched so early as light ones. 



As soon as the ground outdoors can be 

 worked, sow seeds of the hardiest annuals. 



Rearrange and replant hardy perennials 

 wherever necessary. Take up and divide old, 

 dense clumps, giving them room to spread. 



Take note of your losses during the last 

 winter, and buy whatever is necessary to re- 

 plenish or fill up the vacancies. 



In the Fruit Garden 



T^\0 NOT forget to prune fruit trees dur- 

 *-J ing the latter part of February and 

 the beginning of March. 



Repair all damage by accident, storm, 



frost, or other mechanical injury. Read 

 Professor Fletcher's article in this month's 

 Garden Magazine, pages 72 to 74. 



Set out new orchards. Prune back all 

 transplanted trees at least one-third. Don't 

 be faint-hearted in this matter. Trees will 

 be all the better for severe treatment now. 



Now is the time to set out all the stone 

 fruits, magnolias, birches, and all other 

 thick-rooted or thin-barked trees that could 

 not be handled in the fall. 



Be careful not to expose the roots of trees 

 more than necessary in transplanting; par- 

 ticularly never leave them exposed to frost. 



About the Lawn 



MAKE new lawns. Seed down any lawn 

 areas that were prepared last year; 

 don't wait until next month. 



Give established lawns a good dressing 

 of fertilizer early in the month. 



Rake over others with a sharp steel rake, 

 pulling off all coarse growth and rough 

 material, and top dress with fine, short 

 manure or rich garden soil. This acts both 

 as top dressing and mulch, and will help 

 early spring growth wonderfully. 



Look to the shrubbery. All deciduous, 

 ornamental shrubs are best planted now, 

 pruning back severely the same as the fruit 

 trees, but thereafter prune back flowering 

 shrubs only after they have done flowering. 



Give abundance of water when setting out, 

 trusting to the water to wash the soil in and 

 around the roots rather than tamping, but 

 do both. 



Give clean cultivation, and mulch all newly 

 set shrubs. You will be glad of it later on, 

 especially if the season is a dry one. 



In the Vegetable Garden 



THIS is a busy month wherever the frost 

 has left the ground; if it is not still 

 wet, sow seeds of the hardy vegetables as 

 soon as possible. 



In the Southern States all tender vege- 

 tables, such as egg-plant, okra, sweet 

 potatoes, melons, squash, potatoes, and 

 tomatoes may be sown and planted. 



In the North, sow all tender vegetables 

 in hotbeds. This includes tomatoes, egg- 

 plants, melons, and, perhaps, lima beans. 

 Read the late Mr. Darlington's article on 

 egg-plants in this number if you would have 

 this vegetable at its very best. 



Sow in the open ground during March, as 

 soon as the soil can be worked, asparagus, 

 carrot, chickory, corn salad, mangel wurzel, 

 parsnip, salsify, seakale, and spinach. 



How to have seakale within the year was 

 told in The Garden Magazine for March, 

 1908. 



Start in the greenhouse or hotbed, for 

 planting out when the weather is fit, beets, 

 broccoli, all kinds of cabbages and cauli- 

 flower, cardoons, celeriac, celery, egg-plants, 

 kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, okra, onions, parsley, 

 pepper, squash, and tomato. 



Sow in heat (hotbed or greenhouse) but 

 not outdoors, during this month, bush beans, 

 cucumbers, and melons should be sown, 

 and thus get an early start. 



Sow cress every week in the greenhouse 

 or coldframe to have succession. Also 

 mustard and radishes. Nothing is more 

 welcome than a succession of radishes and 

 lettuces. 



This is the last opportunity for planting 

 mushrooms on prepared beds out of doors. 

 Mushrooms cannot be depended on to grow 

 during the hot summer months. If you can 

 get spawn of the hardy Agaricus subrufescens 

 you may be able to carry the beds much later 

 than with the ordinary mushroom. 



Sprays, Spraying, and Insects 



BEFORE the buds burst is the last oppor- 

 tunity to use the lime sulphur wash, 

 which is the surest means of fighting San Jose 

 scale. If you have only one or two trees to 

 bother with, it would probably be more con- 

 venient to use some of the miscible oils. 

 Even if they may not be quite as efficient, 

 their convenience is a great recommendation;, 

 but the " ready for use" lime-sulphur prepar- 

 ations have given good results. 



Destroy all diseased twigs and any 

 branches infested with eggs of plant lice, 

 tree crickets, and buffalo egg hoppers. Make 

 a clean sweep now and lessen the intensity 

 of the fight in the summer. 



The fall web worm is always a pest, but 

 its cocoons can be found and attacked now. 



If the canker worm is troublesome, put 

 greased bands on the fruit trees that were 

 attacked last year. 



The eggs of the tent caterpillar can be 

 seen in masses; clean them off with a wire 

 brush dipped in kerosene or crude oil. 



Scraping off the loose bark from the 

 trunks of trees will destroy the hiding places 

 of hosts of insects. A sharp hoe may be 

 used for this purpose. 



Wherever soft scale is present use sprays 

 of kerosene emulsion, and do not use strong 

 sprays on stone fruits, because they are 

 more susceptible to injury than any other 

 orchard tree or ornamental shrub. 



Encourage the birds. Even if they do eat 

 some fruit, you will find they will eat many 

 more insects, and the great prevalence of 

 insect pests is very largely due to the upset 

 of the balance of Nature in the destruction 

 of our native birds. 



