290 



The Readers' Service will gladly furnish 



; Headers' Service will giaaiy turnisn miju r , A"RF»TT'XT M i T i 7 T M U 

 information about foreign travel 1 H Li ijrArlJJX!ilN lVlAVjAZiliNjCy 



January, 1910 



White Pines, 20 feet high, moved to our nursery, on cars, two years ago 



Plant Large Pines and Evergreens Now 



Do it now, because it is the best time to do it. Best, because 

 it tears up your grounds least. In the spring the ground is 

 soft; you are in a hurry to get everything else done, and every- 

 body else is in just as much of a hurry. Of course, some one 

 has to wait. 



Besides, if you do it now, you will have the beauty of their 

 greenness all winter. 



We have hundreds of pines, cedars and evergreens in our 

 nursery that have been root-pruned. They are strong, healthy 

 trees. Many of them twenty feet high, and some of the pines 

 have a spread of fifteen feet. For ornamental purposes they 

 are exceptionally fine. 



For screens to shutout laundry yards, stable, or some objection- 

 able feature, they are just the thing. 



We can move and plant these big trees with absolute safety, 

 and will deliver them by wagon within driving distance, or ship 

 on cars, whichever you like. 



Our candid opinion is it's best to buy big trees, because you 

 get immediate results — no long waiting for them to grow; and 

 most evergreens on the market are small. 



Come to our nursery and pick them out for yourself, or order 

 from the catalogue. But do it now. 



Or let us send an expert crew and apparatus to move large 

 evergreens from your vicinity. We can work at it all winter. 



s a a c 



Hicks (8L Son 



Westbury, Long Island 



HONEST! Have y° u conquered the g AN jQgg SCALE? 



B. G. PRATT COMPANY. 50 CHURCH ST.. N. Y.. will guarantee that it can be done with 



"SCALECIDE" 



ior less money, with less labor and more effectively than with Lime-Sulphur or anything else. 



Prices: In barrels and half-barrels, 50c. per gallon; 10 gal. cans, $6.00; 5 gal. cans, $3.25; 1 gal. cans, 

 $1.00. If you want cheap oils, our "CARBOLEINE" at 30c. per gallon is the equal of ANYTHING ELSE. 

 Send today for free Booklet, "Orchard Insurance." 



See article in tills Issue on home made Sprays* Then note how simple 

 "Scaleclde" Is to mix and use at same cost and equal efficiency. 



i Growing Tomatoes for Quality, 

 Quantity and Earliness 



is the name of the best booklet ever issued on the subject of tomato culture. _ It 

 contains 30 pages and illustrations fully describing the Potter method of raising 

 tomatoes. By this method you can have bigger and better fruit and weeks earlier 

 than otherwise. It teaches the secret and science of tomato culture: forcing the 

 fruit by systematic cultivation and pruning. This book is invaluable to every 

 gardener, whether he grows one dozen or one thousand vines. The subjects cover- 

 ed are: History of the Tomato; Its Nature and Habit; Tomato Culture in General; 

 The Potter Method; Plants and Planting; Home-Grown Plants; Preparing the 

 Ground; Setting the Plants; Cultivation; Pruningand Staking the Vines; Picking 

 the Fruit; Ripe Tomatoes at Christmas; 40 Tomato Recipes; Best Tomato Seeds. 

 The information is condensed and to the point — just what every grower wants. 



The cut herewith shows one of a large number of vines in my garden this 

 season. Notice that each stalk is loaded with large, perfect fruit from top to 

 bottom. This is the result of my method. It is easy to raise this kind of fruit 

 when you know how. Just send for my bcok — price 50c, postage or money 

 order. Your money back if not satisfactory. 



FREE SEED. — To everyone ordering my booklet within the next 30 days I 

 will send FREE with each book one package each of the best varieties of early and 

 late tomatoes. I make this offer so that you will get ready now for your spring 

 ;ardening. Don't wait until the last minute when the rush is on. Sendformybook- 

 et to-day and I know you will be thankful that you made such a wise investment. 



dbpt. c. T. P. POTTER, Tomato Specialist, DOWNERS GROVE, 111. 



Doctoring House Plants 



VERY few of the diseases, often so destructive 

 in the greenhouse, attack house plants. 

 An unhealthy condition of the plants, however, 

 is often caused by lack of ventilation, too little or 

 too much water, too high or too low temperature. 

 Coal and escaping illuminating gas also must be 

 guarded against with the greatest care. 



For both insects and diseases, an ounce of pre- 

 vention is worth a hundred-weight of cure. See 

 to it that your plants have proper soil and drain- 

 age, and that watering and temperature are not 

 neglected. Be sure that no insects are brought in 

 from outdoors on the plants. 



Also provide for the evaporation of water near the 

 plants, that the air may be kept sufficiently moist. 

 Syringe the foliage upon bright days; and three or 

 four times a month dip the small plants into soapy 

 water, followed by a dip into clear water. Sponge off 

 the large plants with the same preparation, and 

 follow with a clear water syringing. 



The three insects most likely to give trouble are 

 probably familiar to all who have ever attempted to 

 grow plants in the house. They are the green aphis, 

 mealy bug, and red spider. 



The aphis, or common green plant louse, is of 

 sufficient size to be plainly visible; but it keeps to 

 the undersides of the leaves and shoots, where its 

 presence is unsuspected, and often for a while 

 escapes detection. It is a sap-sucker, multiplies 

 with great rapidity, and greatly injures the vitality 

 of the plant. Unless checked at once, before 

 many of the insects are full grown, it is difficult 

 to get rid of. 



The conditions favorable to its attacks — poor 

 ventilation, partial shade, and plants crowded 

 together — should be changed immediately. Use 

 tobacco, applied in one of the following ways: 

 Syringe the plants (using one of the small hand 

 syringes for sale by almost all seedsmen), and then 

 sprinkle thoroughly with tobacco dust. Some 

 brand made especially for this purpose is a great 

 deal better than the ordinary dust, which is apt to 

 have but little strength. If possible, apply the dust 

 with a bellows, so as to get it on evenly, particularly 

 under the leaves, where it is most needed. If the 

 plants are not too large, invert them while apply- 

 ing the powder. Allow the dust to remain on the 

 plant for twelve- or eighteen hours, and then thor- 

 oughly syringe with clear water. If necessary, 

 give the treatment again in two or three days. 



If you cannot readily procure the dust, get some 

 tobacco stems from a florist or grain store. Steep 

 two or three handfuls in a pailful of warm water, 

 until the latter is the color of strong tea. Syringe 

 the plants thoroughly with this. Or, if a tub can 

 be procured, make enough tea to immerse the 

 foliage of the plants in. Let the moisture remain 

 upon the leaves a few minutes, and then dip the 

 plant in clear water. 



Tobacco extracts, used according to directions 

 coming with them, and kerosene emulsion are also 

 good. 



The mealy bug is a white, cottony-looking mass, 

 easily seen. It seems to be most fond of the coleus, 

 fuchsias, and other soft-wooded plants, thrives in 

 a hot, dry, close atmosphere, and is apt to keep 

 out of sight in a mass of leaves or in some corner 

 until there is a great number, when they infest 

 the undersides and stem-joints of the leaves. 



If there are only a few insects upon the plants 

 when you first discover them, take a fine feather 

 or small, stiff brush, and with this apply alcohol, 

 kerosene, or coal-oil to the insects, killing them 



