296 



// you are planning to build, the Readers' 

 Service can oHen give helpjul suggestions 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1911 



THE 

 OSBORNES 



BY E. F. BENSON 



Author of "The Fascinating Mrs. Halton," "Sheaves," etc. 



E-F-Bensorv 



In this romance of a middle -class Eng- 

 lish family which buys its way into high 

 society, Mr. Benson has given us a rare 

 portrayal of human nature, searching, finely 

 drawn and warm with good nature. You 

 will love the Osbornes, mother and father, 



for their whole-souled honesty and high courage in the great crisis of 



their lives. Fixed price, $ 1 .20. (Postage 1 2 cts.) 



THE SECOND 

 CHANCE 



BY MRS. NELLIE L. McCLUNG 



Author of " Sowing Seeds in Danny" 



Mrs. McCIung has written a further account of Pearlie Watson, who figured so largely in " Sowing 

 Seeds in Danny." And Pearlie is the same comical, motherly, unexpected, and altogether delightful 

 little Irish girl that made one's heart grow warm and brought the smiles to one's face every few moments. 

 Her experiences as she grows to young womanhood, and the way in which she makes the numerous 

 Watsons transform that run-down farm, " The Second Chance," are worth your while — and we know 

 if you read this book you will want to pass it on. Frontispiece. Fixed price, $1 .20. (Postage 12 cts.) 



Doubleday, Page & Co. 



# 



Garden City, New York 



The Fireless Cook Book 



By MARGARET J. MITCHELL 



This book explains in a simple way how to make and use this in- 

 vention, which has only recently become known, but has already proved 

 itself a real labor-saving, economical implement. 



Including, as it does, 250 recipes, the volume must soon become a 

 necessity to all up-to-date housekeepers. Nineteen pen-and-ink drawings. 



Net $1.25 (postage, 12c.) 

 Doubleday, Page & Co., Garden City, New York 



PROTECTING THE GARDEN FROM 

 BIRDS 



How can I make birdlime, so as to protect my 

 garden from the ravages of birds? 



California. R. D. 



— Birdlime is a thick, sticky substance made by 

 boiling the bark of the English holly. When the 

 proper consistency has been reached, smear it over 

 twigs and place them wherever the birds are likely 

 to alight. The birdlime entangles them and they 

 may then be caught. It is but rarely used in the 

 United States, and we do not know of any place 

 where it can be obtained; but if it is possible for you 

 to get the bark you can very easily make it yourself. 



CHINESE PRIMROSES FOR EASTER 



Chinese primroses started from seed in Septem- 

 ber and now in 3-inch pots, are about three inches 

 high, and not budded. Do you advise throwing 

 them out or carrying over until next year, and if 

 the latter, what method would you follow? 



New York. R. C. S. 



— Chinese primroses now in 3-inch pots and not 

 budded are very useful at this time. Potted now 

 into 5-inch pots, they will make very nice plants 

 for Easter and later. They will grow fast, but are 

 best kept in a temperature of from 50 to 55 degrees. 

 Chinese primroses are not satisfactory when kept 

 over. Sow batches of seed from iVIay onward for 

 succession. J. T. S. 



WOOLLY APHIS ON APPLE TREES 



I have an apple tree of which the leaves curl up 

 and become brown on one end. The undersides 

 of some of the leaves are also covered with a white 

 insect. What is it ? 



New Jersey. H. R. W. 



— The tree is probably attacked by the woolly aphis, 

 which descends in the fall and winter to the roots. 

 Its presence can be positively determined by the 

 appearance of little woolly tufts in various places 

 along the bark on the trunk or on the branches. 

 The only thing to do is to burn all fallen leaves 

 and spray the tree several times during the season 

 with kerosene emulsion. A very successful treat- 

 ment of badly infested trees is to uncover the roots 

 in the fall and bury them with tobacco dust, over 

 which the earth is replaced. The tobacco dust not 

 only acts as a deterrent to the aphis but also as a 

 slight fertilizer. 



STORING MANURE 



My barn is an old-fashioned one, and I would 

 like to know of an economical and clean method 

 of storing manure. Should manure be hauled 

 almost immediately to the field and spread there? 



New York.. W. S. A. 



— The cheapest and best method of storing manure 

 that we know of is to build a lean-to, making a 

 solid bottom by tamping with clay and making 

 the structure as nearly air-tight as possible with 

 tarred paper. The outside can be made like a 

 flat door so as to facilitate loading on wagons. 

 The general rules for preserving manure are to 

 spread it uniformly, keep out the air, keep it always 

 moist but not too wet and to protect it from extremes 

 of heat and moisture. The opinion of most chemists 

 and practical farmers is that it is best to apply 

 manure to the soil as soon as made. The fertilizing 

 constituents of rotted manure are more quickly 

 available to plants, more soluble and more readily 

 leached in a light soil. Fresh manure mixed with 

 the soil readily ferments, increasing the availability 

 of its own constituents and rendering those of the 

 soil more soluble. Professor W. H. Beal, of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, says: 

 "The greatest return is likely to be gotten from 

 manure applied in the fresh condition. In light 

 soils there is considerable danger that some of 

 the soluble constituents will be carried away by 

 leaching and drainage if well rotted manure is 

 applied." The constituents of fresh manure are 

 not in forms that leach readily. One of the best 

 plans for fixing the ammonia of stable manure and 

 increasing the value of the fertilizer by adding 

 phosphoric acid, is the sprinkling of acid phosphate 

 on the fresh manure in the gutters. The crop to 

 be fertilized should determine to as great an extent 

 as the soil texture whether the manure should be 

 fresh or rotted. F. E. B. 



