The Garden Magazine, May, 1922 



197 



There are of course an endless number of beautiful Gentians, Dode- 

 catheons, Pentstemons, Larkspurs, Asters etc. around ten thousand 

 feet, but they always seem to belong to a lower world and not quite 

 deserve the high title of Alpines. — Marie Meiere, Los Alias, Cal. 



"Sweet Lime" 



To the Editors of 'The Garden Magazine 



We read the letter of one of your subscribers on page 327 of your 

 February number and took up with the Apothecaries Hall Co. of this 

 city, which does a very large wholesale business and has a fertilizer de- 

 partment, the question of the purchase of "sweet lime," and they never 

 heard of it. They can find no reference to anything of the sort; no- 

 body can advise me. They refer me to agricultural limestone and hy- 

 drated lime and ground limestone and Swedish lime, but nothing about 

 that which is "sweet." Would not it be well for you, recognizing the 

 fact that there are many of us who have little information or knowledge 

 of things suburban to give us some information on the different kinds 

 of lime? — N. R. Bronson, IVaterbury, Conn. 



— Of course I am sorry that some readers have been annoyed about the 

 expression "sweet lime." Time out of mind it has been synonymous 

 for slaked lime, is a commonly accepted term in chemistry and is used 

 in text books. I presume it is called "sweet" because the slaking pro- 

 cess renders it a sweetener of soils. — A. Rutledge. 



Of Course Sweet-Peas Can Be Transplanted 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



OUR "garden neighbor" in Seattle, Inez Fraser (see March Garden 

 Magazine, page 47) may be interested to learn that every grower 

 of high class Sweet-peas raises his plants in pots or boxes and trans- 

 plants. I was doing this nearly 30 years ago. Sweet-peas — whether 

 raised indoors or in the open — readily transplant, but it is not wise 

 to so treat plants that have grown more than six to eight inches unless 

 raised in pots. In this section of the country so different from that of 

 Seattle, one cannot hope to sow in the open much before April ; therefore 

 to get strong plants that will bloom strongly before the hot weather, in- 

 door or frame sowing is essential. 



Already (March) I have on hand several hundred seedlings up in 

 boxes. Though neighbors tell me I cannot hope to grow Sweet-peas on 

 my soil, twenty years of experience in growing them leads me to quite 

 another belief. Green Peas cropped well last season and where these 

 thrive so will Sweet-peas; at least I figure it so. — T. A. Weston, New 

 Jersey. 



Circumventing Moles and Ground Mice 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



LIKE many other readers of The Garden Magazine I have had 

 <* great difficulty in raising Tulips, and have planted them by the 

 hundred and had but a bare strip of ground for my reward in the 

 spring. But now I plant Tulips with a serene assurance that I will 

 see blossoms from the bulbs I put so carefully in the ground. My 

 experience may be helpful tcothers unless the moles and ground mice 

 of other gardens differ from the inhabitants of my grounds. I have 

 found they work only in the loose soil of beds and borders and in the 

 lawns. One fall I put Tulip bulbs in a narrow strip close to the founda- 

 tion of my house — every one came up and bloomed; nor have I lost 

 any of them since from the ravages of their deadly enemies. Since this 

 success I have planted the bulbs along the side of the garage with the 

 same result. Of course, the soil in such locations is not very good, but 

 Tulips are not extra fastidious, and they flourish in spite of that. Ap- 

 parently the moles like to work in the open where they can extend their 

 runs in any direction they choose. Perhaps they also dislike grit and 

 the constant passing of human feet. Whatever the reason, they do 

 not work about house foundations here, although I have not put any 

 barriers of board, stones, etc. in their way. I will be very glad if this 

 hint helps others. This method of raising the Tulip restricts the plant- 

 ings, but "safety first" is my motto. — A. H. B.,Del. 



— Inquiry was made in September issue of The Garden Magazine 

 for a way to eliminate moles. If Maryland is as congenial to the 

 operations of this tunneling pirate as Oregon, the lady has my pro- 

 found sympathy. A map of the subways within my garden domain 

 would be a most interesting exhibit. What a splendid irrigation system 

 one might have if only these industrious workers could be harnessed. 

 Many remedies are brought forward for this pest, but, after much 



experience of ruination and trials of different things offered, I have 

 settled down to traps and tobacco. Traps that are made for the pur- 

 pose will really catch a good many, using a little pains and patience, 

 and thus reduce the colony considerably. But if one has a seed-bed or 

 Tulip patch that must be protected, then just permeate it with nicotine. 

 It will nauseate the moles and fertilize the soil. One good smell of the 

 tobaccoed patch will start them off to sweeter fields. Instead of plow- 

 ing straight down the rows of newly planted Peas they may cross it in 

 haste, but that is enough. 



I purchase sacks of tobacco stems from the cigar factory and, when 

 convenient, run them through the straw-cutter for easier spreading. 

 Some are put down into the bed before filling up and another sprinkling 

 strewn on top for the rains to flavor the ground. The stems are in- 

 expensive and probably worth their cost for fertilizer alone. — Chas. 

 F. Barber, Portland, Oregon. 



— If Mrs. Applegate of Maryland is still waging war against moles, 

 may I offer a remedy which I have used very successfully for more 

 than fifteen years and which I have recommended to many people, 

 who have reported equal success? 



Punch a hole in the runs with a cane or stick every ten or twelve 

 feet, dropping in each hole a Castor-oil Bean. The rodents are very 

 fond of this seed, but they never live "to tell the tale." This method 

 is inexpensive and effective — if Mrs. Applegate tries it, I hope to hear 

 that she finds it so. — Charles W. Eberman, New York. 



— Concerning the inquiry of W. A. Shafor, Hamilton, Ohio, about the 

 depth to which the troublesome mole goes, W. H. Hudson says (either in 

 "The Book of a Naturalist" or in "Far Away and Long Ago") that if 

 fine woven wire is sunk three or four feet around a garden, no mole can 

 ever get in, and that it is the easiest thing in the world to keep them 

 out. We haven't had a chance to try this ourselves, but control them 

 in a measure by putting poisoned raisins in their runways. — Mrs. P. S. 

 Herbert, Tacoma, Wash. 



— Do not waste energy telling the sufferers from field mice about arsenic 

 or strychnine or any other poisons that might kill one mouse out of 

 the hundreds. I worked for over two years before I learned of Parke 

 Davis' "Azoa" that is a germ-carrying poison so that the destruction 

 goes on till all have disappeared. — Mrs. Wm. T. Sampson, Hancock 

 Point, Me. 



Anemones in Hawaii 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



1AM not having anything so pretentious as a rock garden, but I want 

 to put some rock plants in an excavated garage which has a grotto 

 effect of boulders. The Garden Magazine has helped me immensely 

 in planning my front yard, and so I am looking for further suggestions. 

 I often wonder why no one mentions Spring Anemones. Is it because 

 they won't grow outdoors in your colder climate? With us they begin 

 blooming in January (picked my first 18 blossoms last season on Jan. 

 6th) and last until June. The stems are from eight to twelve inches 

 long and the flowers a wonderful array of e colors. Everyone that sees 

 them, immediately becomes a Spring Anemone enthusiast. They 

 grow readily from seed if left in the seed bed until they bloom and then 

 transplanted after they have ceased blooming. — Jessie C. Barlow, 

 IVaimea, Kauai, Hawaii. 



— The St. Brigid Anemones (A. coronaria) do not do well in this part 

 of the world because they suffer from summer heat as much as from 

 the winter cold. They are grown to some extent by the florists under 

 glass and can be seen in limited quantities. Outdoors the plants have 

 an irrepressible tendency to start growing before spring arrives, and 

 consequently they get their heads nipped off and never come to bloom. 

 Such plants as we do see here are grown in coldframes with protection. 

 The fact is that very few people will take the trouble to nurse the plants 

 to such a degree as this. They want easy results. On the Pacific 

 Coast — the northern part of it, at all events — Anemones are grown 

 successfully. — Ed. 



A Novelty Border for Your Flower Bed 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



A FRIEND had a small bed of volunteer Petunia plants soon to 

 bloom, and she was debating the question of a border for the bed. 

 A Grape arbor had been pruned and the cuttings lay on the ground near 

 by. My friend began, absent mindedly at first, to select cuttings and 

 stick them in the ground, pushing in both ends, then setting another 



