12: 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



October, 1911 



Note plain background with nothing to distract 

 attention — all the lines are clear cut 



ture. Place in the north window before 

 exposing them to the heat of the sunny 

 south windows. Avoid draughts. Give 

 bulbs plenty of water at blossom time. 



The Outdoor Bulb Bed 



FIRST when preparing the outdoor bed 

 remember to dig deeply, at least eigh- 

 teen inches and work the soil over thor- 

 oughly and carefully. Use any good garden 

 soil, and no fertilizer need be added. If 

 the soil is a bit sandy, it will help 

 drainage. 



Bulbs planted outdoors must be placed 

 below the top surface 

 of the ground. No 

 noses should be left 

 sticking up and out. 

 Hyacinths, and the 

 narcissus family 

 may be planted six 

 inches deep. Tulips 

 and bulbs of about 

 that size four inches 

 deep, and snow- 

 drops, crocus and 

 the like from two 

 to one and one-half 

 inches below the 

 ground. Buy bed- 

 ding bulbs for out- 

 door planting. Put 

 a 2-inch layer of 

 manure over the 

 bed just before frost 

 time. This layer 

 may be two inches 

 in depth. 



Pictures 



YOU boys and girls do not always get 

 very good results with pictures. 

 One reason is because you use little snap 

 shot cameras. It is not possible to focus 

 satisfactorily with these. One gets no 

 detail either, nor sharpness of lines in 

 pictures thus taken. Right now put a 

 focusing camera on your Christmas list. 



Another point to keep in mind in your 

 picture taking is the background. A 

 plain background, darker in color than the 

 object you are photographing is the proper 

 one to select. If you are taking a picture 

 outdoors you can arrange such a back- 

 ground by the use of a blanket, a portiere 

 or a shawl of one solid color. Contrast 

 these two bulb pictures one of a narcissus 

 plant, the other of Helen and her daffodil. 

 The first picture has a solid background 

 of a plain color which is a contrast to the 

 color of the blossoms. Just see how clearly 

 each detail of this plant stands out. The 

 camera must have been very carefully 

 focused, must it not? 



Let us look a moment at the other 

 picture. It's a pretty good picture of 

 Helen. But it's not as good of the plant. 

 The camera was not focused sharply at 

 the potted plant. Just see how poor a 

 background her dress is. The resulting 

 color of dress and plant after photograph- 

 ing is practically the same. Then the 

 lines in the fabric of the dress seem to run 

 down into the stems and leaves of the 

 plant. This condition is distracting. Try 

 to have no disturbing lines in a picture. 

 Such lines draw attention away from the 

 main thing. 



Of course this matter of taking good 

 pictures is one of study and practice. 

 Perhaps it will help some, even in snap 

 shot work, to remember about the color 

 of background and disturbing lines. 



For a photographic paper buy what is 

 called a smooth matte gas light paper. 

 There are many makes on the market. 

 Pictures taken on a " printing out " paper 



The careful arrangement of this exhibit from Worcester Massachusetts School won our first prize last season 



The Roman hyacinth is exceUent for schoolrooms 

 — it will bloom in ten weeks after planting 



are splendid for magazine reproduction. 

 But you boys and girls will find the " gas 

 light " easier to handle. 



Suggestions for the Month 



DAKE up leaves and other vegetable 

 AV matter for the compost pile. Oak 

 and chestnut leaves are full of plant food. 

 Be sure to add them to the mass. 



(2) Pick the green tomatoes before frost 

 and put them in a sunny place to ripen. 

 Or take up the entire plant and hang 

 it up by the roots in the cellar. 



(3) Plant bulbs in window boxes for 

 the kindergarten and 

 primary grades. 

 Three dozen daffodil 

 bulbs can be planted 

 in the ordinary win- 

 dow box. 



(4) If you wish 

 to have single bulbs 

 in small pots raise a 

 dozen or more to- 

 gether in flats. Then 

 later pot them into 

 little individual jars. 



(5) Trim the 

 school shrubs. 



(6) Get your writ- 

 ten contest matter 

 ready. All papers, 

 diagrams, pictures 

 and plans should be 

 marked with the 

 class and number 

 under which you 

 entered the contest. 



