172 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1913 



Burpee's 

 Seeds 



row 



Burpee's 

 Annual for 1914 



which is now being mailed at the 

 rate of more than ten thousand 

 copies every day, is a Bright New 

 Book of 182 pages and is known 

 as the "Silent Salesman" of the 

 world's largest Mail-order Seed 

 trade. It tells the plain truth about 



Burpee - Quality 

 Seeds that Grow 



With hundreds of illustrations from 

 photographs and carefully written de- 

 scriptions of Vegetable and Flower Seeds, 

 it is a safe guide to Success in the garden 

 and should be consulted by every one 

 who plants seeds either for pleasure or 

 profit. We are pleased to mail it 

 free to every one who has a garden 

 and asks for it. Shall we mail you 

 a copy ? If so, kindly mention 

 "The Garden Magazine" and 

 write to-day. 



W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO 



Burpee Buildings 

 PHILADELPHIA 



Dahlias 



To encourage Winter 

 buying we offer attrac- 

 tive Specials for De- 

 cember. Write for lisU 



THE SEEKONK GARDENS, (Albert E. Brownell), REHOBOTH, MASS. 



Grow Asparagus In 4 To 5 Weeks 



You will derive pleasure and profit from this 

 book, "French Method." It describes intensive 

 cultivation and forcing of Asparagus and other 

 vegetables. Here's a few chapter titles: "How 

 to Grow Asparagus in a Garden," "A Hot-bed 

 Anyone Can Make," "A Half Acre of Green 

 Peppers," etc. Everyone, whether planting a 

 small garden or many acres, needs THE 

 VEGETABLE GROWER, devoted to grow- 

 ing and marketing of vegetables, fruits and 

 flowers. Each issue full of timely, newsy arti- 

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 scription and "French Method" for $1. Price of book alone $1 

 postpaid. A i-year subscription alone 50c. 

 The Vegetable Grower, 800 Boyce Bldg., Chicago, 111. 



READERS' SERVICE 



• All Your Problems Solved 



Pruning Norway spruce 



In trimming limbs on Norway spruce, should the 

 branch be cut close to the trunk or should one or 

 two inches of the branch remain? In which case 

 will the least bleeding of the tree occur? — I. S. A., 

 New Jersey. 



— It is an invariable law that, in puning, all cuts 

 be made as close as possible to the parent trunk 

 even if the exposed surface is five or six times as 

 large as it otherwise would be. A short s,tub will 

 die and new bark will not grow over dead wood. 



Improving the soil for vegetables 



For several years I have had a small garden, the 

 soil in which is clay, to which fine ashes from soft 

 coal and manure has been added. To a space 

 33 x 35 ft- six loads of manure have been spread 

 in three seasons, also some lime. The soil is moist 

 and kept from weeds, but peas turn brown and do 

 not produce; lima beans produce very poorly; 

 lettuce and cauliflower do not "head up"; beets, 

 salsify, turnips, etc., grow poorly; string beans, 

 chard, cabbage, endive, summer squash, tomatoes, 

 and corn do fairly, well; Hubbard squash and 

 cucumbers rot away where the vine leaves the 

 ground. What can I do about such conditions? — 

 H. D. J., Pennsylvania. 



— My first thought is that the soil generally lacks 

 tilth. This may be due to several causes, singly or 

 in combination. It is possible that the soil is not 

 top soil but is soil filled in from excavations. It is 

 possible that being a clay soil it does not aerate 

 properly and may be underlaid by an impermeable 

 hardpan which may need breaking through. The 

 latter condition would result in a cold, dense, un- 

 drained soil which would naturally sour. The 

 evidence seems to point clearly to insufficient root 

 action. Some improvement has, no doubt, been 

 noticed by the addition of the coal ashes and 

 manure, but these additions may not have been 

 great enough. We should like to know how deeply 

 you cultivate. Has the hardpan ever been broken? 

 If not, it is very clear that you should accomplish 

 this in some way as by coulter plowing or even by 

 discharging dynamite in the ground. The same 

 result might be achieved by double trenching, 

 being sure that the soil is broken to the depth of 

 two feet and loosened but not inverted. Con- 

 tinued additions of lightening material, such as 

 coal ashes or sand, will be of benefit; but unless 

 there is aeration from the bottom any manure you 

 put in will remain largely unavailable and will 

 sour in the soil, a condition which can, to some 

 extent, be corrected by the addition of lime. Clay 

 soils are usually potentially very fertile, and they 

 need breaking up and lightening more than en- 

 riching. The fact that your soil is moist makes us 

 suspicious that it is not sufficiently drained, and 

 perhaps tile draining at the depth of three feet 

 may be necessary. Tile drainage improves any 

 heavy soil and if it is necessary to do this the work 

 should be done this winter. If this is not done 

 dig up the soil and leave it in rough ridges and 

 furrows as deep as you can conveniently make 

 them, and allow the frost to weather the soil during 

 the winter. Lime of itself will improve clay lands 

 merely because it flocculates the soil. Of all soils, 

 a tenacious, wet clay is the most difficult to put in 

 condition, but when once reclaimed it becomes very 

 responsive. You will find some suggestive remarks 

 on the cultivation of lettuce in the February, 191 3, 

 issue of The Garden Magazine. The kind of 

 lettuce you select is an important factor. Some 

 varieties never head, which is a fact that is often 

 lost sight of. Grand Rapids is no good when it is 

 grown out of doors and Big Boston fails in the 

 spring but does well in the fall. Cauliflower is 

 essentially a cool climate crop and may be quite 

 unadapted to your location. Lima beans should 

 do well but they will not stand a constantly wet 

 soil. Without further knowledge of your condi- 

 tions, we believe you must improve your drainage 

 and soil conditions. 



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SEVENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL EDITION 



DREERS 



GARDEN BGDK 

 - 1914- 



EACH year DREER'S GARDEN 

 BOOK becomes more valuable 

 and indispensable to gardeners and 

 flower-lovers, whether they are ama- 

 teurs or professionals. 



DREER'S GARDEN BOOK for 

 1014 contains cultural articles written 

 by experts, as well as authoritative 

 information about the growing of 

 every flower, plant or vegetable. And 

 every dependable old standby, as 

 well as all the novelties worth grow- 

 ing, are listed. Among this year's 

 specialties will be particularly fine 

 strains of Asters, Snapdragons, Dah- 

 lias, etc. 



It tells what to plant, and when 

 and how to plant and care for your 

 garden. It describes the tools, in- 

 secticides and fungicides to use. 



DREER'S GARDEN BOOK con- 

 tains hundreds of photographic illus- 

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 plates. 



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 this publication 





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