216 



The latest books on travel and biography may 

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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



April, 1910 



fS c/T Free Help in 

 ry^Home Decoration.^ 



?^55 This portfolio contains definite and workable 

 1 suggestions for every room in the house, for the 



55 



treatment of walls, floors, ceilings, woodwork, rugs, hang- 

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 portfolio unless you use Sherwin-Williams' products. 



Stenciling is an inexpensive and simple method of decorating 

 flat walls, curtains, draperies and hangings. Our stencil book 

 shows hundreds of stencil designs like this here, at small cost, and tells you how to use them. 



Stencil Book 



shows hundreds of stencil desig 



Sherwin-Williams 



Paints & Varnishes 



Address all inquires to The Sherwin-Williams Co., Decorative Dept.,637 Canal Road, N. W,, Cleveland, Ohio 



CATALPA TREES 



FOR PROFIT. My Free Booklet 



tells all about the 150 acres I am growing for tele- 

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No capital or special place necessary. 



Grown in cellars, stables, sheds, boxes, 

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Small Fruits for the Country Home 



A variety of grapes, berries, currants, etc., will add greatly to the enjoyment of your 

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GROVER NURSERY CO., 94 Trust Bldg., ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



BROWNING THE LEAVES 



The ends of the leaves on my palm, also buds on a 

 Chinese lily, turn brown and dry up. What is this 

 caused by? 



New York. C. B. W. 



— The reason that palm leaves turn brown and 

 dry up may be due to several causes, such as extreme 

 changes of temperature and an extreme range of 

 moisture in the atmosphere. If, at any time, the 

 temperature becomes high and the air is dry at the 

 same time, the roots will be unable to supply the 

 leaves with moisture as rapidly as it is needed. 

 Insufficient or improper watering, or improper 

 aeration of the soil or the presence of illuminating 

 gas or the fumes of coal gas will produce the same 

 effect. The same reasons will also cause the buds 

 of the Chinese lily to dry up. It may also be the 

 result of exposing the plant to heat too soon so that 

 the upper part of the plant develops more quickly 

 than the roots can supply nourishment. 



A DEFENSIVE HEDGE 



What can I grow as a defensive hedge six to 

 eight feet high? 



New York. F. M. S. 



— The height a hedge will grow is merely a question 

 of the kind of plant and age. The buckthorn is 

 liable to scale, but a hedge can be sprayed the 

 same as trees. The most ornamental hedge is 

 the hemlock, but it grows slowly and is expensive. 

 The beech is excellent, it retains its foliage very late, 

 and is therefore almost an evergreen. Both the 

 honey locust and osage orange make fine hedges, 

 but they need a great deal of attention in order 

 to keep them within bounds. The locust is abso- 

 lutely tight and a quick grower. A good time for 

 planting hedge plants is the spring and the general 

 rule is that the plants should be from eighteen inches 

 to two feet high, and from nine to eighteen inches 

 apart, depending upon the nature of the hedge 

 itself. 



MAKING A LAWN 



How can I proceed to get a first class lawn 

 established by next fall? The soil is now of the 

 poorest kind, no fertility. 



Connecticut H. B. W. 



— You can get grass established in this plot next 

 fall, but it will be a very expensive operation. You 

 will have to cart in large quantities of good top 

 soil as well as large quantities of stable manure. 

 Put the stable manure on the land first, and plow 

 it in deeply so as to break up the subsoil. On top 

 of this put a thick layer of good top soil on which 

 the seed should be made. The really practical way 

 to get ground in good condition is to plow it up this 

 spring and harrow thoroughly, sow to cow peas and 

 plow them under deeply as soon as the crop is well 

 developed; then give a dressing of manure and 

 lime. If you do not wish to go to this expense, 

 sow cow peas again; turn them under late in the 

 fall and seed down to grass in the fall so as to get 

 the grass growing the following spring. Read 

 "Lawns and Bow to Make Them," by Leonard 

 Barron. 



ORRIS ROOT 



How is orris root obtained? 



Alabama. H. B. B. 



— Orris or iris root is made from the rootstocks of 

 Iris Germanica, I. pallida, and I. Florentina, the 

 first of these being our common garden iris, with 

 deep blue flowers, the second a paler-flowered 

 species, the third having white flowers. When 

 cultivated the iris is generally propagated by root 

 divisions, the cuttings being placed for the first 

 year in a nursery, afterward set in rows a foot 

 apart. It is grown in stony dry soils, on hillsides 

 or mountains. The crop is gathered once in two 

 or three years. The outside is scraped from the 

 root, which is dried in the sun and stored in a dry 

 place for two or three years for the development 

 of its fragrance, which is lacking in the fresh root. 

 When distilled the root yields "orris butter" but 

 it is more largely used in the form of an alcoholic 

 tincture or ground up for sachets. There is no 

 reason why orris root should not be grown in many 

 sections of this country, but the returns at present 

 are not large. As to whether it could be grown 

 profitably, the question is one of cost of labor and 

 probably that is prohibitive. 



