Readers' Service 



Tst!ff of e ^ , ^ T'T , ^ haVC eStabHshed the Readers ' Service, by which the whole organization of the 

 elder A n h\ , t ^Z *' ^^ ^ * ^ iS br0U S M ri * ht to the door of the individual 



it, h ! T SSary . £ ^^ t0 d ° iS t0 Send an inC ^ ^ mail > and evef y effor t will be made to give a 



the l^nw, 7 ? u a" ' ^ an r SWer ~ by retum mail > if Possible-or, at all events, to put the inquirer in the way of getting 

 the knowledge sought. Only answers of general interest will be published here. g 



reader Sta^^TS^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ** ^^ ° f IetterS ^^ And * is aI1 ava » abIe to ^ery 

 — ^^ ( " a — - a " — - -ly J 



the ^2^^^?^ ° f THE GAM MAGAZINE ' theref ° re ' ^ ^ ^^ ° f ^ m ° St ^ "**» ** 



service T We T,Z7^w2 T ^ T ?""*•**" *"*»*• ^^ WOrk that ^^ hd ™& to ex P e « professional 

 f™ f T supply plans for garden design or for garden making or for buildings-because this really requires intimate 



knowledge of the special conditions and a personal inspection; nor can we make complete planting lists for indiXa pumoses 

 We are, however, m such cases ready to give references to people who we think could adequately serve the inquirer P ^ 



nl,n C tw arC k W T ^^ h ° WeVer ' t0 anSWCr Spedfic questions and to make suggestions regarding garden designs or planting 

 plans that may be submitted to us. Address all inquiries to The Garden Magazine Readers' Service, GardL City, Lo^Isld N Y 





Moving red cedars in November 



I want to move some cedar trees about nine or 

 ten feet high and three feet or more in diameter 

 from the woods to my garden. The soil is very 

 dry and sandy. We are never able to transplant 

 evergreens m August, because nearly every year 

 we have a long drouth at that time, and the soil 

 is like ashes. These trees are to protect a small 

 formal, spring garden from the east winds At 

 what time in the year should they be dug? How 

 moved, and prepared?— H. T. B., Massachusetts. 

 — Cedar trees can be moved with perfect safety 

 now, and if there is a ball of earth around the 

 roots of the trees they can be moved at any time 

 except m actually freezing weather, as cedars 

 object to having their roots exposed to the frost 

 When moving large native cedars, take balls of 

 earth five feet in diameter and about two feet deep 

 with each one of the trees. The ball is dug around 

 and canvas wrapped around the roots and the 

 whole is roped over and over so as thoroughly to 

 tighten the ball of earth. Trees thirty to forty 

 feet high, weigh from one to two tons each. The 

 whole secret is to take a large enough ball with 

 the tree. We think that from the size of the trees 

 mentioned in your letter the ball of earth should 

 be at least three feet in diameter, but the size 

 of the ball is dependent on the kind of soil. A light 

 soil requires a larger ball than a heavy soil does. 



Seeding a new lawn 



On a new lawn, what is best to sow for seed now 

 and in the spring?— H. E. H., New York. 



— Use any of the standard lawn mixtures. Rye 

 alone should not be used for it is not permanent. 

 It is used with mixtures because it germinates 

 quickly, thus giving a green effect within a short 

 time. It makes no difference whether the seed 

 is sown now or in the early spring. Read "Lawns 

 and How to Make Them," by Leonard Barron. 



Transplanting old lilac 



Will it kill a seventy-year old lilac bush to trans- 

 plant it, and if not, is November too late to under- 

 take such a job?— L. N. G., Virginia. 



— As the lilac is always sending forth new suckers 

 the age of the shrub will not affect the transplant- 

 ing. If conditions are favorable we do not see 

 that it would injure the shrub to move it. The 

 transplanting can be done in the fall as well as 

 at any other time, perhaps better, because the 

 lilac starts to grow so early in the spring. 



Mulch for bulbs 



Manure fills my bed of tulips and narcissus 

 with weeds, and I am warned against leaves and 



straw on account of the prevalence of field mice 

 in this neighborhood. Will a covering of cocoanut 

 fibre answer the purpose?— C. A. S., Pennsyl- 

 vania. 



— Cocoanut fibre will prove suitable for the pur- 

 pose. It is a refuse from cocoanut factories and 

 can be obtained from orchid growers. It should 

 be spread over the beds to a depth of from three 

 to four inches. 



Hardy bald cypress 



Where, in the North, can I find a market for the 

 hardy bald cypress trees which grow in the swamps 

 m this state? I have been told that this variety 



° f j r t 6 gr ° WS faster in the Nortl1 than in the South- 

 and because one grower could not buy his trees in 

 the South, he found it necessary to import the 

 very young trees from France. I am in a position 

 to ship trees m almost any size up to twelve feet.— 

 C. A. D., South Carolina. 



— So far as we know, there is no regular demand 

 for the hardy bald cypress in the northern markets. 

 It is sometimes used as an ornamental tree, and 

 some people recommend it as a street tree. If 

 you wish to dispose of these trees you will have to 

 create your own market, and this would have to 

 be done by judicious advertising in the horticultural 

 journals. We are in doubt if even this method 

 would bring you large returns. 



Starting in the florist business 



Could I succeed as a florist? I have been a 

 bookkeeper and need a change. I have been very 

 successful in raising garden flowers, but have had 

 no greenhouse experience. — E. S., Kentucky. 



— The ideal preparation for the florist's business 

 is a four-year course at an agricultural college, 

 with practical work during vacations. Next best 

 is a short course of ten weeks or so. The following 

 books would be particularly helpful: "Greenhouse 

 Construction," Taft; "Greenhouse Management," 

 Taft; "Forcing Book," Bailey. Make friends with 

 the local florists, and learn all you can from them. 



— Wilhelm Miller 



Protecting poppy plants 



In my garden a large number of self-sown poppies 

 have come up and are now two inches high. Can 

 they be sufficiently protected to survive the winter? 



— T. M. G., New York. 



— The only thing you can do with such poppy 

 plants is to give them a very light mulch of clean 

 straw litter or leaves. A heavy covering would 

 surely kill them. See the article on page 158 of 

 this month's Garden Magazine. 



176 



Fall pruning of privet 



I have an old privet hedge that needs recovering 

 Can it be pruned in the fall? — J. R., Ohio. 



— Privet will stand the severest kind of cutting. 

 It will put out new growth very quickly We 

 would cut back the hedge hard during the winter 

 and depend on the new growth. 



Larkspur and plume poppy 



Will larkspur and plume poppy grow in half 

 shade and not exceed five feet in height? — J. C. L. 

 California. 



— Larkspur and plume poppy will grow very well 

 in such a situation here in the East, but we do not 

 know whether they will do well in California or 

 not. The climatic conditions of the Pacific Coast 

 are such that plants which thrive in California do 

 not do very well here in the East. The Eastern 

 United States has climatic affiliations with Japan, 

 while the Pacific Coast has climatic affiliations with 

 the western coast of Europe. In all probability 

 both larkspur and plume poppy will thrive, but we 

 judge that they will attain a height of more than 

 five feet — from six to eight feet. 



Exterminating cutworms " 



My garden (where the soil is a light, sandy loam) 

 is full of cutworms. Is there any way of getting 

 rid of them? — S. J., Ontario, Canada. 



— Make some bran mash poisoned with Paris 

 green — a teaspoonful of Paris green to a quart of 

 bran. Moisten to a thick paste, and put it around 

 the plot in piles on the surface; do not stir 

 into the soil. Lock up the chickens, too. 



Storing celery outdoors 



Please tell me how to keep celery without moving 

 it, leaving it in the ground where it is now growing? 



— H. W. W., Massachusetts. 



■ — In order to keep celery without moving it, dig 

 a trench as deep as the celery is high and as narrow 

 as possible in order to pack the celery snugly in 

 an upright position, the roots remaining in the 

 soil. Cover with straw, hay or leaves, then add 

 six to eight inches of soil. 



The Qerber pear not flowering 



About five years ago I purchased two Gerber 

 pear trees which have never blossomed. What 

 sort of a pear is this? — F. H., Long Island. 



— The Gerber pear is a native of Pennsylvania. 

 The trees, when they have attained their growth, 

 are only of medium size. The fruit is astringent 

 and juicy and is used for cooking. This pear is 

 only a medium quality fruit. The trees will doubt- 

 less bloom in due time. 



