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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 1914 



Residence of Mrs. Kirckner, Llanerch, Pa. 

 Covered with J-M Transite Asbestos Shingles. 



For the Artistic 

 Fireproof Home 



Why not make your roof not 

 only as artistic as the rest of the 

 building, but absolutely fire- 

 proof by using 



m TRANSITE ASBESTOS SHINGLES 



They are moulded into one solid, compact, homogeneous mass under tremendous hydraulic 

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 preserve them. J-M Shingles are furnished |-inch thick with smooth edges, in colors of 

 gray, Indian red, and slate; and j-inch thick with rough edges, in gray and Indian red. 

 Our booklet "The Roof Everlasting" fully describing these indestructible shingles, will be 

 forwarded upon request from our nearest Branch. 



H. W. JOHNS-MANVILLE CO. 



Albany Buffalo Cleveland Indianapolis Louisville New Orleans Philadelphia Seattle 

 Baltimore Chicago Dallas Kansas City Milwaukee New York Pittsburgh St. Louis 

 Boston Cincinnati Detroit Los Angeles Minneapolis Omaha San Francisco Syracuse 

 THE CANADIAN H. W. JOHNS-MANVILLE CO., LTD., TORONTO, MONTREAL, WINNIPEG, VANCOUVER 

 (1585) . 



THE ARISTOCRATS OF THE 

 FLOWER FAMILY 



Rhododendrons and Kalmia 



We are repeating our special offer of last month for 

 thirty days. They are going fast and to take advan- 

 tage now is money in your pocket. 



SPECIAL OFFER 



CHOICE OF 

 6 Rhododendron Maximum 2 ft. 



or 

 6 Kalmia Latifolia 2 ft. 



or 

 3 Rhododendron and 3 Mt. Laurel 2 ft.. 



$5.00 



To read our booklet "A Plea for Rhododendrons and 



Kalmia" is a delight to the flower lover. Those to 

 whom we have sent them say "Your book is a most 

 interesting one. I never knew the beauties of these 

 plants before," and then comes the order. It gives 

 you complete information on their care and their uses. 

 Don't put it off, write for it now. Tell us where you 

 would like to have them on your grounds. Sent upon 

 request. LUETCHFORD & CONNOR 



Landscape Architects 

 S09 Exchange Place Bldg. ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



ALEXANDER'S S u *!. lty 



Dahlias 



The Twentieth 

 Century Flower 



r THE Dahlia of to-day is 

 * of surpassing beauty 

 as a single flower, exquisite 

 for private gardens, charm- 

 ing in masses, and ideal 

 for planting against shrub- 

 bery. 



Alexander's Up-to-date 

 Dahlias lead t he 

 World; because 

 they are perfect 

 in type and shape, 

 beautiful in color, and most important of all Free-flowering. 

 Our many customers are satisfied : they receive good 

 stock; true to name, and best of all— Guaranteed to Grow. 

 All Flower Lovers are invited to send to the Dahlia 

 King for his latest Free Illustrated Catalogue, which 

 contains helpful descriptions and valuable cultural hints 

 on Dahlias, Gladioli, Roses and Cannas. 



J. K. ALEXANDER 



The Dahlia King 

 27-29 Central Street East Bridgewater, Mass. 



"MAKE YOUR GARDEN GLAD" 



HEADQUARTERS FOR "OLD FASHIONED" 

 HARDY PLANTS 



"The Flowers Our 

 Grandmothers Loved" 



IRIS, PHLOX, PEONIES, LARKSPUR, COLUMBINES 



and hundreds of others highly illustrated and described 



in our 1914 Garden Guide mailed for the asking. 



The "Last Word" in Delphiniums (Larkspur) 



"King or Delphiniums" Strong Blooming Plants 

 50 cts. each — $5 per doz., postpaid 



WINTERSON'S SEED STORE 

 166 No. Wabash Avenue Chicago, III. 



STRAWBERRY PLANTS 



Over twenty varieties at $2.50 per 1000. Descriptive cat- 

 alogue free. 



Basil Perry, Georgetown, Delaware 

 Headquarters for Fall Bearing Strawberry Plants 



Have You Some Friends? 



to whom this magazine 

 would appeal ? A very lim- 

 ited number of copies have 

 been set aside for my use. 

 Send me the names and I 

 will mail sample copies— a 

 prospectus of coming fea- 

 tures and our best clubbing 

 offers. We are anxious to 

 extend the usefulness of the 

 magazine — will you help ? 



Address W. H. EATON, 



Circulation Manager 



The Garden Magazine 



GARDEN CITY 



NEW YORK 



A Criticism 



I WAS much interested in the article "A $50 

 Greenhouse" in The Garden Magazine for Nov- 

 ember. It showed a successful effort to accomplish 

 a certain result with the material at hand. Whether 

 or not it could be duplicated depends on whether 

 second-hand material can be obtained cheaply and 

 whether the builder has sufficient ingenuity to con- 

 struct a glass house tight enough to be of service. 

 Heating by means of a coal stove is a crude make- 

 shift and could be improved upon by substituting 

 a cheap hot- water heater such as is used by poultry- 

 men in brooder houses and in regular greenhouse 

 practice. The ventilation could be improved upon 

 by arranging pivoted openings along the ridge in- 

 stead of at the ends of the structure, and the 

 foundation as described is faulty and in my climate 

 would soon be broken up by the heaving of frost, 

 although the sills being 5x8, would probably pre- 

 vent sagging and consequent breakage of glass. 

 Such an affair, built of ordinary material, is short 

 lived at best. 



But, after all, is it worth while? Are there any 

 short cuts to greenhouse success any more than to 

 any other? The one described was used only to 

 grow seedlings and to carry them along for planting 

 outside, the same job as the plebeian hotbed or even 

 the coldframe, neither of which clutters up the land- 

 scape nor keeps one awake tending a coal stove 

 in zero weather. If one really wishes a "sure- 

 enough" greenhouse, can one do better than obtain 

 one made by a reputable greenhouse builder? Some 

 are on the market for as low as $250, and there is 

 now offered by a manufacturer of double-glass 

 sash a little greenhouse with roof and sides com- 

 posed of these sash. This is easily heated during 

 the winter and in the spring the frames may be ut- 

 ilized on hotbed or coldframes outside. 



There is a growing demand for the small home 

 greenhouse and manufacturers will soon be in line 

 to satisfy it. 



Long Island. J. E. W. 



An Artificial Soil for "Sweets" 



AS IS well known, the best soil for potatoes is a 

 naturally good friable loam, rather light and 

 free from stagnant water. Thin, sandy soils, well 

 manured, produce well-flavored potatoes. 



Soils such as these may be produced artificially, 

 provided a fairly good loam and bank sand are 

 available. The ground should be loosened about 

 two inches by a harrow, both ways, and the sand 

 deposited on the surface to a depth of about ten 

 inches. It is not essential that the sand be pure 

 but may be mixed with soil or loam. No further 

 treatment of the soil is necessary; and it is not even 

 required to touch the loosened surface of the under- 

 lying soil, as a union is effected between the two. 



The potato plants are set in the sand, and the 

 roots will grow down through the sand until they 

 strike the soil underneath. The hardness of this 

 soil prevents the formation of the potatoes therein, 

 but they will be formed in the sand instead, obtain- 

 ing the necessary nourishment from the soil under- 

 neath. 



By growing potatoes in this manner it will be 

 found that they will all be substantially of the same 

 size. This is due to the fact that all the potatoes 

 get the same nourishment and expand in the same 

 quality of sand. It will also be found that the yield 

 will be increased as well as the flavor. 



Washington, D. C. Fred H. Hayn. 



For Black Spot 



MY ROSES had black spot very badly for sev- 

 eral seasons, and I tried the carbonate of cop- 

 per compound remedy given in the book "Roses and 

 How to Grow Them," but without much success. 

 So I took air slacked lime and made whitewash, 

 which I put all over the canes with a paint brush, 

 to the height of about fifteen inches from the roots, 

 and poured some on the earth close about the canes. 

 I found that it did more good than all the other 

 things I had tried. The whitewash must be quite 

 thick. Repeat every two or three weeks. 

 Pennsylvania. A. H. Robinson. 



The Readers' Service will gladly furnish information about Retail Shops 



