THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



THE- TALK- OF - THE - OFFICE 



PLANS AND PURPOSES 



WHEN any one feels the call to start a 

 new magazine, there rises up a well- 

 defined class of people who protest that there 

 are magazines enough, and it is possible that 

 some will say this apropos of The Garden 

 Magazine. 



For our part, we have been surprised at 

 the great patience of the public, which has 

 so long waited for a beautiful periodical 

 devoted to that most fascinating and refresh- 

 ing of all subjects, the garden. There are 

 dignified and attractive monthlies devoted 

 to every other subject under the sun, from 

 railroads to chickens, but no such magazine 

 as we have in mind to make exists. Our 

 chief difficulty will be, we fear, not to find a 

 market, but to make a magazine good enough 

 to meet the demands of that market: it will 

 take a little while to get in full swing of the 

 great field that we hope and mean to occupy. 

 We know the deficiencies of this first issue, 

 and we know where our real shortcomings 

 lie, but we shall be grateful for practical 

 suggestions for improvement in text or illus- 

 trations, and especially we invite the stories 

 of personal gardening experiences when they 

 are practical and inspiring. 



The March Number 



" To business that we love we rise betime 

 And go to 't with delight." — Antojiy and Cleopatra 



A NEEDED MAGAZINE 



The Garden Magazine is the logical 

 working out of the growing interest in the 

 garden not merely as a means of livelihood 

 (though we expect to see more and more peo- 

 ple turning to it as a life work), but as a de- 

 light and pursuit for the busy people in the 

 world who find a new fascination in the things 

 of the soil. 



In England, gardening papers and maga- 

 zines have circulations running into the 

 hundred thousands; the best authorities are 

 represented in their columns, and in techni- 

 cal matters they are far more advanced than 

 would meet the needs of any large public 

 in this country; but they are, with few 

 exceptions, not beautiful. There is really 

 no excuse for a periodical which touches 

 the things of nature that has no beauty of 

 form and illustration; and here, we have 

 felt, there is a great opportunity. 



quality, not bulk 

 Fine printing and paper and fine cuts cost 

 about twice as much as ordinary printing, 

 cheap paper and poor illustrations, and yet 

 if one does not attempt to give too much in 

 quantity, the quality may be sustained and 

 the magazine sold at a low price. The 

 Garden Magazine will contain the very 

 best we can get, and we expect to cover the 

 whole subjects with crispness and interest; we 

 intend that all articles shall be short and to 

 the point. 



TIME OF PUBLICATION 



As the contents of the magazine must neces- 

 sarily be timely, and as each number will dwell 

 a good deal on the things to be done month 

 by month and season by season, we propose 

 to have every issue in the hands of our 

 subscribers about two weeks before the begin- 

 ning of each month. Fully half the pleasure 

 of gardening is in the planning of one's 

 work and the joy of anticipation. Seeds 

 and plants are to be purchased and work 

 cut out before the month opens, and we feel 

 that the early arrival of the magazine should 

 stimulate one's interest in advance. 



THE MARCH NUMBER OF THE GARDEN 

 MAGAZINE 



will be the chance to bring into this magazine 

 the real spirit of spring. It is too early to 

 speak as yet of the contents of that issue. 



It will be changed and changed again: the 

 least attractive articles or subjects will be dis- 

 placed by more attractive ones — it is wiser to 

 waste a less attractive article when a better 

 one appears than to print the second-best. 

 If you find any subject neglected in this 

 initial number, let us know what it is. 



THE FEBRUARY ISSUE OF COUNTRY LIFE IN 

 AMERICA 



Our older magazine publishes in February 

 an article called "The Love-Making of the 

 Grouse," which typifies the kind of thing the 

 magazine stands for. The photographs, 

 by Josef Brunner, depict this shy bird at 

 his mating season, when the cock sets out 



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inAntefiea 



The February Number 



to win his lady-love. That such a series of 

 life photographs could be made is almost in- 

 credible. These photographs form but one 

 of a series which have been appearing month 

 after month on the squirrel, the tarpon, 

 the beaver, etc., and represent months of 

 painstaking work. The time and patient 

 effort wasted even by the most expert 

 photographers to gain the results given to the 

 public can hardly be realized. 



