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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1911 



Readers' Service 



TO SUPPLEMENT the magazine itself we have established the Readers' Sendee, by which the whole organization of the 

 staff of experts, with whom the editors of the magazine are in touch, is brought right to the door of the individual 

 reader. All that is necessary for the reader to do is to send an inquiry by mail, and every effort will be made to give a 

 complete and satisfactory answer — by return 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. 

 This special service has been of real value to many readers, as dozens of letters testify. And it is all available to every 

 reader of The Garden Magazine upon request and without expense (although a stamped and addressed envelope for reply is 

 appreciated) — but, stamp or no stamp, the answer to the inquiry is sent. 



Through this service each reader of The Garden Magazine, therefore, has the advantage of the most expert advice that 

 the editors of the magazine can procure. 



There are some things we cannot do. We cannot, for instance, undertake work that properly belongs to expert professional 

 service. We cannot 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 individual purposes. 

 We are, however, in such cases ready to give references to people who we think could adequately serve the inquirer. 



We are always ready, however, to answer specific 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, Garden City, Long Island, N. Y. 





Protecting grape vines 



Last year I laid down my grapes and covered 

 with soil, but some few buds died. Would it have 

 been better to have covered the vines with straw 

 or evergreen boughs and just a little soil? — S. R. L., 

 New York. 



— We are not at all sure that it is necessary to 

 bury grapes in your region except the first year 

 after planting. If you refer to newly planted 

 vines, the dying of a few buds need not cause 

 surprise, as this is apt to occur. If the vines are 

 old ones you probably buried them too deeply. 

 If it is necessary to bury them at all, probably a 

 light mulch or Utter is all that is necessary in 

 your part of the world. If you use a litter you 

 will probably have trouble with mice; therefore, 

 earth is better. 



Aster troubles 



I have lost about five hundred out of eight 

 hundred aster plants. The varieties were Hender- 

 son's Invincible, Semple's, Giant Comet, Purity 

 and Daybreak. The plants grew well until tbey 

 began branching for blooms and even after start- 

 ing to bloom. They would turn yellow and the 

 buds blast. On pulling up the plants I found 

 on the roots of some a small bug; on 

 some absolutely no indication of any blemish. 

 I raised my plants in seed boxes and in trans- 

 planting used every precaution to put out 

 only strong healthy plants in ground that 

 was ideal and had never grown asters before. 

 What, if any, insecticide, will prevent or remedy 

 the above trouble? The season with us was 

 unusually damp. — C. G. M., Indiana. 



— The blue aphis which you found feeding on the 

 tender roots of the asters was the cause of all the 

 trouble. This can be prevented by giving the 

 plants a good start, never letting them suffer a 

 check in growth, and by feeding well. Wood 

 ashes are almost a specific for the disease. Stir 

 a handful of ashes into the soil round each 

 plant, when it is set out. Just before the buds 

 appear, give an application of tobacco water, 

 prepared as follows: Put a good armful of to- 

 bacco stems in a water barrel or other receptacle 

 which can be covered tightly, pour hot water 

 over them until it covers the stems entirely. 

 Cover tightly for four or five hours, then add 

 double the amount of water and give this liquid 

 to the plants; watering around each plant, so 

 that all the roots get a thorough soaking. The 

 tobacco water should be used the same day as 

 made, as it quickly ferments and becomes valueless. 

 Pull out a plant two days later, and if there is a 

 blue aphis left, the liquid used was not strong 

 enough and you should give another watering. 

 When the buds have formed dissolve a quarter 

 of a pound of nitrate of soda in twenty gallons of 

 water, and give each plant one watering with the 

 solution. It will result in blooms of fine color 

 and large size. The best asters I ever raised were 

 planted as described above in a spent hotbed, ten 

 inches apart, and ten inches in the row. They 

 were watered copiously during the dry weather. 



Renovating an old lawn 



What is the best and easiest way to renovate 

 an old, well worn lawn, which has some bare spots. 

 Would chicken droppings be good and should they 

 be mixed with much earth? Or would stable 

 dressing be better? — J. H. F., Minnesota. 



— If the soil is deep and the grass is making a 

 satisfactory growth, a top dressing of any fertilizer, 

 preferably bone meal and wood ashes, will be ad- 

 visable. Stable manure is good as a winter mulch, 

 it can be spread on now. The best way to renovate 

 a lawn is to dig it up and double trench the soil, 

 carrying in an abundance of manure and reseeding. 

 Read "Lawns and How to Make Them," by 

 Leonard Barron. 



Keeping bulbs 



I have 450 tulip and narcissus bulbs that I was 

 unable to plant in the fall. They are packed as 

 they came from the seedhouse. Can I plant 

 them before the fall of 191 2, or will they keep until 

 that time? — T. R. W., Pennsylvania. 



— The bulbs which you have purchased will be 

 of no use for planting outdoors in the fall of IQ12. 

 If the soil is now frozen, build a fire and thaw it 

 out, and plant the bulbs now. If the ground is 

 thoroughly warmed and the bulbs well covered 

 after planting, they may grow next spring. 



Wooden fences vs. wire ones 



Why is Hall's honeysuckle more top heavy and 

 short-lived on a wire fence than on a wooden fence? 

 I have a woven wire fence and roots all ready to 

 set and learn that the scheme is not good? How 

 far apart should the roots be set and how should 

 they be trained to keep the foliage as thick at the 

 bottom of the fence as at the top? — M. S., New 

 York. _ 



— A vine growing on a woven wire fence lacks the 

 appearance of luxuriance because it does not grow 

 as tightly and wreath around the wire as it does 

 around a wooden fence. On a woven wire fence 

 plants climb quickly and only wreath themselves 

 at the top when they find that they cannot climb 

 any more. The distance apart at which plants 

 should be set depends on their size. They should 

 not be more than a foot apart if one wants a very 

 dense foliage for the fence. The only way to keep 

 the vine dense at the bottom is to cut.it back. 

 This is a difficult thing to do when the vines are 

 growing on a woven wire fence. The vines should 

 certainly be kept down to the lower part of the 

 fence the first year, and downward growth should 

 be encouraged at all times. 



Keeping parsley from seeding 



How is parsley delayed, or kept from going to 

 seed? — P. W., Louisiana. 



— Parsley will run to seed if the plant is well 

 matured, the ground dry and the weather hot. 

 In places where difficulty is experienced in growing 

 parsley it is advisable to try turnip-rooted parsley, 

 or chervil. Probably conditions can be improved 

 by double trenching, heavy manuring, and heavy 

 watering all summer. 



Growing holly from seed 



How is American holly (Ilex opaca) grown from 

 seed? — S. V. H., Ohio. 



— Hollies grow best in rich, well-drained soil, 

 and the evergreen ones in partly shaded situations. 

 They are propagated by seeds, which do not 

 germinate until the second year. The young 

 seedlings should be transplanted after the second 

 year. If the seeds are sown at once, the seed beds 

 must be heavily mulched during the first summer 

 to prevent drying out. The young plants should 

 not be allowed to remain over one year in the 

 seed beds. 



Small fruits and trucking 



I want to improve a 10-acre tract for the double 

 purpose of a country home and as a means of 

 earning a livelihood for a family of four. I have 

 in mind small fruits and trucking, since I am only 

 five miles from Indianapolis. Can you give me any 

 assistance? — W. T. H., Indiana. 



— From the location which you have I am inclined 

 to believe that you will get the most returns from 

 your land, provided it can be made suitable by the 

 use of drains and manure, if you devote it to the 

 cultivation of small fruits and garden vegetables. 

 In your locality you should be able to handle all 

 the standard vegetables. I believe that a small 

 area covered by coldframes and hotbeds in which 

 radishes and lettuce are handled as commercial 

 crops and in which early cabbage, tomatoes and 

 cucumbers can be brought forward, will prove very 

 advantageous. To begin with, I believe that early 

 potatoes, string beans, beets and tomatoes, with 

 an area in late cabbage, will prove the most sensible 

 rotation. As the demands of the market are better 

 understood and the capacity of the soil becomes 

 apparent, this system of cropping can be modified 

 to more fully adapt it to the market requirements. 

 The personal likes and dislikes of the gardener will, 

 to a large extent, determine his cropping system, 

 particularly with vegetables. It may be that a 

 system of cropping similar to that carried on in 

 the neighborhood of Cleveland, O., may be more 

 advantageous — that is, a system which combines 

 the forcing industry with one or two outdoor crops 

 such, for instance, as lettuce and cucumbers or 

 tomatoes under glass, with celery or cauliflower 

 in the open. The small fruits which I should place 

 most stress upon would be (first) strawberries and 

 (second) red and black raspberries, with a few 

 blackberries. I think it would be well to look 

 into the possibilities of growing asparagus on a 

 considerable area. This crop is usually in good 

 demand and is very remunerative. Just how large 

 an area will ultimately need to be devoted to any 

 one of these crops can only be determined from 

 experience, but with one located so near a large 

 city as you are there should be no difficulty about 

 obtaining a large supply of stable manure, and I 

 have no doubt but that facilities for irrigation can 

 be installed very cheaply. On a small area of this 

 kind both of these means of crop insurance should 

 be carefully considered. — L. C. Corbett. 



