312 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



June, 1911 



Something About Corn 



SEVERAL years ago, I was not able to get a 

 portion of my garden plot ready for planting 

 until late in June owing to unfavorable weather 

 and soil conditions. This land had a thick growth 

 of scarlet clover, standing two feet high, which was 

 plowed under, disked and planted, neither manure 

 nor fertilizer being added. On June 25 th I planted 

 seven varieties of sweet corn — one row of Peep 

 o' Day, two rows of Golden Bantam," two rows of 

 Seymour Sweet Orange, two rows of Howling Mob, 

 four rows of Crosby's Early Twelve Rowed, four 

 rows of Burpee's White Evergreen and four rows 

 of Country Gentleman. 



Exactly two months from date of planting the 

 seed, on August 25th, I picked seven ears of the 

 Peep o' Day, and used this every day for a week 

 before the Golden Bantam was ready. I also 

 contrived to gather ears from this first row for 

 about ten days after the first ears were ready. 

 These rows were about 175 feet long, one stalk in 

 a place and a foot apart in the row. This planting 

 alone supplied three families with all the ears they 

 could use, with donations to neighbors after the 

 later four rows came on until the latter part of Oc- 

 tober when I had a large basket of good ears which 

 we were eating every day in the shape of corn 

 puddings, etc. These were gathered from the stalks 

 of the White Evergreen and Country Gentleman 

 before the stalks were cut off and removed that the 

 land might be seeded with a cover crop of winter 

 rye on the 25th of October. 



Plantings of the Burpee Improved and the Ford- 

 hook Bush Lima were also made on June 25th 

 which gave us a large supply of fine beans, begin- 

 ning about the second week in September; and late 

 seedling plants of the Chalk's Early Jewel tomato 

 set the same day, gave us a great many bushels 

 of fine fruits during September and October, being 

 still loaded with fine fruits when cut down by frost. 

 A quantity of fruit was taken from these tomato 

 plants, when frost seemed likely to destroy them. 

 They were placed under sash in an empty coldframe 

 and from these I had an abundant supply until 

 Thanksgiving Day. 



Owing to my absence from home during the 

 greater part of September I was unable to get 

 exact dates regarding the time when the different 

 varieties of sweet corn were ready for use with 

 the exception of the Peep o' Day. 



Pennsylvania. E. D. D. 



The Oyster Plant 



TWO years ago, while walking through a New 

 England lane, late in summer, I was at- 

 tracted by an unfamiliar plant that had gone to 

 seed just inside of the fence. So I picked three 

 of the long brown seeds, carried them home and 

 the following spring planted them in one of my 

 hardy borders. They all came up and last year, 

 at the end of May, these plants began to blossom. 

 Imagine my astonishment then to find, through 

 a random inquiry of one with more botanical 

 knowledge than I possess, that I was actually 

 harboring the oyster plant, or salsify, in my flower 

 garden. But Tragopogon porrifolius is right 

 welcome there, for I am quite taken with its 

 graceful whitish green foliage and its large com- 

 posite flowers of dull purple, each borne high on a 

 single stem and closing by noon. The vegetable 

 is a biennial that, it appears, has been naturalized 

 in not a few places. H. S. A. 



A Novel Trap for Insects' Eggs 



A SIMPLE and effective way to destroy the 

 eggs of the elm-leaf beetle, the gypsy moth, 

 and other injurious insects, is to spread at the base 

 of the tree where they have appeared a mat or 

 blanket of soft hay or grass-cuttings laid on in 

 a rather thick mass about a foot wide. Do this 

 in June when the mature beetles come down to 

 deposit their eggs, and allow to remain on undis- 

 turbed until into July. The beetles will nest 

 beneath this grass-mat, and lay their eggs therein, 

 believing it to be a safe place. 



In July, upon lifting the mass carefully, the eggs 

 will be found through and beneath it, just as ants' 

 eggs will be noticed distributed in an ant-hill. 

 It needs only a match to settle the pests, and a 

 little extra rubbish to make the flames sharper 

 will make the extermination more certain. 



This method will apply to trees too large and 

 high to be sprayed easily, or without incurring 

 considerable expense. Last year the base of a huge 

 elm and its trunk, this last as high as could be 

 reached, were scrubbed with strong soapsuds and 

 kerosene mixed, applied with a broom, with good 

 results. This year, without labor, this simple 

 grass-mat and a few matches, as described, made a 

 neat extermination of eggs by the thousands 

 which would otherwise have developed. 



Connecticut. Virginia Hull. 



How to Make a Space-Saving 

 Bean Trellis 



LAST summer we were so disgusted with 

 unsteady and unsightly bean poles that had 

 been in our garden that we concocted a firm and 

 simple trellis from four poles set in a straight line 

 and about a foot apart. The tops of the two inner 

 ones were made to touch and the two outer ones 

 were set at a greater angle, so that all four could 

 be firmly tied together at the top. This fanlike 

 trellis was a great improvement on the old single 

 pole method, for more vegetables were raised on a 

 given space and cultivating and picking are easy. 

 We used to set one pole every four feet; now we 

 place four poles in a 3-foot space. 



Pole beans were not the only vegetables raised 

 on this sort of trellis. Four tomato plants were 

 so grown in the space usually given to one. The 

 plants were well pruned and neatly tied as far as 

 the top where they were cut, making a compact, 

 attractive looking trellis, especially as the tomatoes 

 were of different fancy varieties. Another ad- 

 vantage that this sort of trellis has is that the poles 

 are tied and sawed off at a height that is easily 

 reached by the picker, which does away with the 

 vegetables ripening out of reach and thereby 

 shortening the season. Straight poles were 

 selected to give a trim appearance and the whole 

 row is made even in height. Make a trellis 

 like this for your beans this summer and see how 

 much neater the garden will look. 



New York. I. M. Angell. 



A Vigorous Anemone 



I USED to think that the beautiful Japanese 

 'anemone (A. Japonica) was in the "hard 

 to grow" class. Now it seems to me that it would 

 not be easy to kill it. All it asks, I find, is moder- 

 ate moisture and many years between moving days. 

 The most vigorous Japanese anemones that I have 

 ever seen have not been disturbed for a decade, 

 for which reason also they bloom earlier. Al- 

 though these are growing with a full exposure to 

 the sun, my experience is that, for the ordinary 



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A four-pole bean trellis which saves space in the 

 vegetable garden 



Japanese anemones like these demand a fairly 

 moist soil and years of undisturbed growth 



home garden, partial shade is better. It is not 

 only less difficult to keep the ground moist, but 

 if, as in my case, the shade is from overhanging 

 tree branches it is unnecessary to watch out for 

 Jack Frost. For winter protection I use only a 

 moderate amount of leaves. Queen Charlotte, 

 single pale rose; Whirlwind, semi-double white; 

 and Alba, single white, are, in my opinion, the 

 sure winners. I have been very successful with 

 planting offshoots in summer, but spring is the 

 safest time, by all odds. 



Connecticut. T. B. E. 



Color Near the House 



THE following arrangement for continuous 

 and harmonious bloom in front of the bouse 

 has proved quite effective with us. Close against 

 the house Spircea Van Houttei, a white cloud of 

 small blossoms early in the spring, forms an effec- 

 tive background of green for the rest of the season. 



Planted rather thickly in front of the spirea are 

 Tulipa Gesneriana, var., major, edged with Arabis 

 albida, followed by many plants of rich crimson, 

 ever-blooming sweet William (Dianthus latijolius, 

 var. atrococcineus) , which lasts until hard frost. 

 Lilium speciosum, var. rubrum grows among the 

 spireas and blends beautifully with the crimson 

 flower of the sweet William. 



Gladiolus — America, and other varieties in deli- 

 cate pink with crimson blotches — are planted at the 

 back of this bed for late bloom, and the edge of the 

 bed is bordered with sweet alyssum Little Gem. 



This summer I expect to try some plants of 

 Nicotiana Alaka, so that we may enjoy its perfume 

 in the evening, while we are sitting on the porch. 



Minnesota. Mrs. S. A. Gill. 



