Garden Prizes 



EVERY child enjoys the incentive 

 of working for a prize. It does 

 not matter if the prize is a small one; 

 there is still the joy of working toward a 

 definite goal. We all love to run races. 

 We all prize highly the mark of our 

 attainment. 



Some people think that working for 

 a prize detracts from the higher object 

 of the work. So it might if the prize 

 offered were a large sum of money. But 

 few of us would think of offering this. 

 To be sure some of the horticultural 

 societies give small sums as puzes for 

 the children's work, but these rarely amount 

 to more than three dollars for a first prize. 

 The usual range for money prizes is from 

 twenty-five cents to three dollars. 



But there are prizes, not of money, 

 which represent actual garden helps to 

 the young gardener. It seems as if the 

 prize is worth while which places in a 

 child's hands the means toward better 

 gardening. This is the reason why we 

 offer as prizes our magazine and certain 

 garden books. 



The South End Industrial School in 

 Roxbury, Mass., presents bulbs, garden 

 tools and magazine subscriptions as prizes. 

 A child going home with fifty tulip bulbs 

 or an order for the same is perfectly sat- 

 isfied. One girl with a large, green water- 

 ing pot was the envy of an entire group 

 of girls. 



Sometimes just a ribbon or card is 

 given as the prize. North Andover, 

 Mass., gives ribbons plus a small sum of 

 money. A first prize is a blue ribbon 

 and fifty cents; second prize, a red ribbon 

 and twenty-five cents. School prizes are 

 given, too. The number of ribbons won 

 by the children of a given school count 

 so many points toward the prize. The 

 school having the 

 highest number of 

 points wins a large 

 framed picture. 



Cleveland, Ohio, 

 gives premium cards 

 which represent cer- 

 tificates for the prizes 

 which are given after 

 the exhibit time is 



Potato beetle 



over. 



REWARDS AND PRIZES FOR CHIL- 

 DREN'S WORK— COMMON GARDEN 

 PESTS AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM 

 — METHODS OF CONDUCTING A 

 COMMUNITY GARDEN FOR BOYS 

 AND GIRLS 



Conducted by 



ELLEN EDDY SHAW 



New York 



One school in Scotland gives for the 

 best plants raised such simple, childlike 

 things as dolls, balls, and pocket knives. 

 A civic improvement league in an English 

 city presents small sums of money ranging 

 from twopence to five shillings. 



Some places depend entirely on the 

 prizes this department offers. If a school 

 or child wins, then the success seems 

 the greater since the contest is national 

 and not local. 



The disagreeable features of compe- 

 tition disappear if the contest is managed 

 properly. 



Garden Pests 



\ LL our garden seedlings seem to be 

 **■ doing well when suddenly some 

 pest appears. From now on we must 

 keep persistently at it; with bugs and 

 weeds the time will be fully occupied. 



Often this question 

 is asked concerning the 

 pests one is most likely 

 to have in the garden 

 and what is to be done 

 in each case. Well, 

 there are the big cat- 

 erpillars, such as the 

 celery caterpillar, the 

 cabbage worm, and: the 

 cutworm. 



The celery caterpil- 

 lar is a large, green 

 fellow with a black 

 band on each ring of 

 its body. It attacks the celery plant and 

 is so large that it can be seen easily and 

 picked off by hand. 



The cabbage worm is green, too, but 

 is much smaller than the celery cater- 

 pillar. This pest may be destroyed by a 

 resin-lime spray, or by a spray made from 

 one ounce of white hellebore powder 

 dissolved in three gallons of water. 



The cutworm is a different proposition 

 for one so rarely gets a peep at it. Cut- 

 worms are known by their deeds. They 

 cut off the tender stalks of bulbs, the 

 young tomato plants and even the violets. 

 If you ever see one, it will look to be just 

 a rather dull, grayish, striped caterpillar. 

 To be rid of this pest first buy five cents' 

 worth of hellebore powder at any drug 

 store. In late afternoon go out to the 



358 



Celery caterpillar 



Sauash bug 



garden and with your 

 finger make a ring in 

 the soil about six 

 inches from the stalk 

 of the infested plant. 

 The ring should circle 

 the plant stalk. 

 Sprinkle hellebore 

 powder in this ring. 

 The dews keep the 

 powder in place. An- 

 other way is to put a paper collar about 

 the plant stalk and some two inches from 

 it. Sink this collar into the ground to 

 the depth of an inch, and the same dis- 

 tance, or a trifle more, above the ground. 

 The potato bug, a black and yellow 

 striped beetle, also attacks the tomato 

 plants. These bugs appear in May and 

 stay through the season. A spray of Paris 

 green or Bordeaux mixture should be used. 

 The squash bug, a dark brown, evil 

 smelling chap, feeds on both the squash 

 plants and the melon vines. This bug can 

 be picked right off and easily kept down. 



Many plants may have aphis or lice 

 during the season. An emulsion of strong 

 soapy water and kerosene or whale oil soap 

 is effective and easy to apply. 



Of course, there are many, many other 

 pests but these are more common than 

 many of the others. Careful, clean cul- 

 tivation helps to keep down the bugs. 



Garden Hints 



r T" v HE following are suggestions 

 -*■ this month's outdoor work: 



(i) It is not too late 

 to plant dahlias. In 

 fact when this number 

 of the magazine comes 

 to you it is just the 

 right time. Plant one 

 bulbous part to a place. 

 Plant in the school gar- 

 den ready for the fall. 



(2) Do not forget 

 that the toad is a gar- 

 den friend. Have a few 

 stones and bits of wood 

 in the garden as shel- 

 ters for him. 



(3) Before certain 

 flowers run out, which 

 happens during the cutworm 



for 



