June, 1910 



THE G A R D E N M AGAZINE 



309 



Things to be Attended to at Once 



READ over the reminders. They are for home 

 and school gardens and gardeners. 



(r) Look out for cut worms. If you find a plant 

 stalk, neatly cut off, the cut worm did it. Bend a 

 piece of tin about the plant 2-inches from the stalk. 

 Paper may be used. In this case put a paper 

 collar about the plant. Firm it down into the 

 earth and let it stand up about an inch above the 

 ground level. 



(2) The slugs and striped beetles may feed on 

 the tender leaves of the melon and squash or other 

 vegetables too. In this case make a ring about the 

 plant some 4 inches from the stalk. Sprinkle 

 hellebore powder in the ring. Do this for three 

 or four evenings and the slugs and beetles will 

 disappear. 



(3) Sow some seed of self planting annuals. 

 Try cornflower and larkspur this year. Next 

 year they will appear again. 



(4) When you plant remember to keep in mind 

 the fall appearance of your garden. All the 

 autumn long you should have a blaze of color. 

 There are no more satisfactory flowers for con- 

 stant and late blooming than zinnia, aster, 

 marigold, sweet alyssum, poppy, mignonette and 

 cornflower. 



(5) For borders use ageratum, dwarf nasturtiums 

 or candytuft. 



(6) In sandy soils nasturtiums, zinnias and poppies 

 grow. In heavy soils plant sweet alyssum, marigold 

 and petunia. In rocky places sow candytuft, nas- 

 turtiums, phlox. 



(7) The old straggly geraniums may be slipped 

 right into window boxes and left all summer out- 

 side in a shady, sheltered place. Occasional water- 

 ing keeps them in condition for the schoolroom. 

 They will blossom early next winter. 



(8) It is usually a waste of time and energy to 

 plant in the window boxes and place these ,on the 

 outside of the school building for summer blooming. 

 This is all right for. the home. The box receives 

 too little care to make this practical for vacation 

 time. 



(9) After the outdoor bulbs are through blossom- 

 ing and the blossom has withered, the top may be 

 cut down close to the ground. The bulbs may be 

 left in the ground and seed planting done in the bed. 

 Or the bulbs may be taken up, dried out, and 

 stored. 



(10) A barrel of liquid manure is worth having 

 right on the garden spot. Put horse manure or 

 barnyard dressing into a barrel and add water. 

 Keep the barrel covered to prevent escape of odors. 

 The plants watered with this get an extra food 

 supply. Do not put this on too strong. It should 

 look like weak tea. Dilute to this color. This is 

 the cleanest way of keeping liquid manure. Some 

 boys sink barrels into the ground beneath the water 

 tap. This is convenient but mussy. The barrel 

 cannot be covered completely because of the water 

 drip. 



(n) When planting hill vegetables place six or 

 seven kernels to the hill. Afterward thin to three 

 plants. 



(12) Label the planted rows in your garden. 

 Then you can easily keep track of the young 

 seedlings. 



(13) Keep constantly stirring the soil. This is 

 one way of watering. When you use the watering 

 pot, do not water the foliage of your plants but the 

 ground itself. 



(14) Many of you keep garden diaries. This 

 year make note of your failures in order to find out 

 the reason why. Also observe the work of others 

 who are having greater success than you are. Ask 

 questions and take notes for next year. You will 

 find this most helpful. 



Children's Correspondence 



I PLANTED some lettuce early last spring. It 

 was coming up nicely. When it was almost 

 ready to eat, we found the sparrows one day had 

 eaten what we were going to eat. We were dis- 

 appointed. But we covered the lettuce up with 

 chicken wire. I found that the sparrows would 

 not touch it because the sun shone on the wire and 

 was reflected in their eyes. Another way to frighten 

 off the sparrows is to tie pieces of tin on a string. 

 Then hang them in a tree where the sun will shine- 

 on them and the wind will blow them. This fright- 

 ens the sparrows. 



New Paltz, N. Y. Eloise Shafer. 



I PUT some sand over my melon hills so as to keep 

 off the insects. When the plants came up a:vl 

 began to spread over the hill, I sprinkled more sand 

 at the ends of the vines. Then if insects do get 

 on I pick them off and kill them. 



New Brunswick, N. J. William Rowland. 



I WANT to tell you how I set out tomato plants. 

 First I dug up the place that I wanted and got 

 some wood ashes and sifted it. Then I put a little 

 rich dirt from the hen yard in with it and mixed all 

 together. Next I put a little of the rich dirt in each 

 hill, and put the tomato plants in. 



New Brunswick, N. J. Dick Nelson. 



Contest Bulletin — If you have not received 

 one of the 19 10 garden prize contest announcements, 

 write for one. This contest is open to boys and 

 girls; to school and community gardens as well. 

 The prizes are similar to those of last year. The 

 Nature and Garden Libraries will be presented for 

 group work. Books and subscriptions to The 

 Garden Magazine are the prizes for individual 

 work. 



Civic pride is an unforced lesson from such a school garden as The Rittenhouse, Jordan Harbour, Ontario, Canada. Besides serving its purpose as an 

 actual garden for the pupils, it conveys many landscape lessons and the whole thing is a pictorial unit 



