148 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 1914 



TOR 35 CENTS 



The Garden and Farm Almanac 



Will Save You Dollars 



IT TELLS YOU HOW 



To recognize, combat and con- 

 quer the Insect Pests, Fungous Dis- 

 eases and Weeds that attack garden, 

 farm and orchard crops. 



To estimate the cost of farm 

 houses, barns, poultry sheds, the 

 water supply, the silo, and the de- 

 tailed operations of farm work 

 such as plowing, planting, harvest- 

 ing, etc. 



To choose the right book on any 

 phase of garden or farm activity. 



To estimate the amount of hay 

 in a stack according to the latest 

 Department of Agriculture meth- 

 ods. 



To plan your vegetable and 

 flower gardens, shrubbery border 

 and orchard. 



To diagnose and treat the com- 

 mon diseases of farm animals. 



To make whitewash for all pur- 

 poses. 



To know whether you get what 

 you pay for in buying "pure seed." 



To make cloth waterproof. 



To make spray mixtures in 

 small, convenient quantities. 



To estimate the weight of cattle. 



To keep ahead of the garden 

 work month by month. 







The Revised 1914 Edition 

 Contains Features that 

 are Absolutely 

 m. %$fy\ New - Almost 200 

 \4fc\ Large Pages 



ear Sirs: >K>\ Full y Illu S" 



Please send me *"*% % Qq ""°% % trated. 

 repaid the 19 14 °*"\ <&• "*"\ % 

 arden and Farm % "\ % Qfo'\ % 



lmanac for which I "\ % ^jp *\ 

 ldose Thirty- five cents. ■„,.. 4*,'* 



\ x . 





19 14 



GARDEN AND FARM 



ALMANAC 



Typical Contents 

 (Partial) 



Animal Diseases and Remedies 



Analysis of Soils 



Guide for the Best Annual Flowers 



Composition of Milk of Differ- 

 ent Breeds 



How to Build a Storage Cellar 



How to Make Cloth Waterproof 



Iceless Cold Storage 



How to Make and Use Concrete 



Breeds of Ducks 



Amount of Wire for a Fence 



Points on Feeding Your Cattle 



Measurement Table for Lumber 



Raising Pigs for Profit 



Cost of a Greenhouse 



Rations for a Horse 



How to Build an Ice House 



The Best Lawn Grasses 



First Aid to the Injured 



Average Period of Incubation 



Principles of Garden Planning 



Value of Hay as a Food 



Heating the Greenhouse 



m 

 1 

 I 

 1 



m 



DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO. , Garden City, New York 



wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 



Problems of Retarding Growth 



IN THE home garden, there is no problem so 

 baffling as that which is occasioned by the ques- 

 tion: When is it well to retard or curtail the too 

 exuberant growth of certain plants in order that 

 their strength may be directed toward fruit produc- 

 ing instead of foliage producing? 



This question cannot at this time be answered 

 finally; for the problem itself has not yet been com- 

 pletely solved. However, a few phases of this in- 

 teresting and important subject may, with some 

 degree of profit, be examined. 



Considering vine-growths which run and spread 

 on the ground, such as melon and cucumber vines; 

 is it best, after the gardener has decided that the 

 vines have spread far enough, to pinch off the ends 

 of these, so that the strength needed for their fur- 

 ther extension may be turned back into the fruiting 

 systems? In this case, the answer is a safe affirma- 

 tive. Vines of this nature seldom put out a new 

 growth at the point where they have been broken, 

 and the feeding juices are readily and naturally 

 diverted into channels which lead them where they 

 will do most good. But, on the other hand, in the 

 case of lima beans, which seem forever trying to 

 reach farther and farther, it is injudicious to do any 

 trimming back, for at every leaf joint a cluster of 

 beans will form; and these, developing late, will 

 supply the table long after the first crop has been 

 taken. 



Tomatoes have a baffling habit of putting out 

 suckers at the leaf joints, which sometimes develop 

 sufficiently to produce good fruit, but which more 

 often draw off and waste in their excrescent growth 

 the sap which should traverse the main stem to the 

 crown and true fruiting areas of the plant. To have 

 the finest fruits, these suckers should be trimmed 

 off. When young, they are quite readily broken at 

 the joints where they are formed. After setting 

 tomatoes in the open garden, there is usually a time 

 when, after having rooted anew, they appear to stand 

 still, though extraneous growths begin to appear. 

 One of the best ways to stimulate real growth is 

 to remove those extra new branches whose develop- 

 ment is exhausting the vitality of the plant. 



From time to time one hears a great deal about 

 potatoes failing to produce properly because "they 

 went to tops." As are many such vague and gen- 

 eral statements, this is a misleading belief . A heavy 

 top growth at the expense of tubers is generally an 

 indication of a too heavy application of fresh man- 

 ure, which over-supplies the plants with ammonia. 

 A spindly growth, such as is often seen in "wild" 

 land, indicates a general poverty of the soil, and a 

 lack of attention. But there can be no possible 

 objection to a big top on a potato plant if the soil 

 is rich in available potash which will produce fine 

 tubers. Some garden growers, fearful that their 

 potatoes will "all go to tops," mow off about half 

 their growth, literally mutilating them. This is a 

 form of curtailing development that can never be 

 recommended. The plants may yield well in spite 

 of it, but never because of it. For the sake of 

 definitely ascertaining its effect, the following ex- 

 periment was tried. 



In a row of potatoes, forty feet long, which had 

 about attained their maximum top growth, the tops 

 of the potatoes from half the row were cut off — about 

 three fifths of the totalfoliagebeingtherebyremoved. 

 When the potatoes were ripe, the lifting of them 

 did not show that the operation had had any effect 

 on the development of the tubers, either in number 

 or in size. If anything, the plants which had not 

 been disturbed gave a slightly better yield. 



Even under conditions which do not seem to war- 

 rant it, such as poor soil and drought, the growth of 

 sweet potato vines is often exuberant. It is never 

 well to attempt to trim them between the rows, as 

 their matted growth forms a mulch which retains 

 moisture and keeps down weeds. But if the vines 

 run too far beyond the sides of the banks, exceeding 

 proper bounds, they may, without injury to the 

 plants, be cut back. 



To make things grow is the fundamental problem 

 of every gardener; but to make them not grow, or 

 to develop them in certain ways only, is a considera- 

 tion of secondary importance. In any case, its 

 practical worth can be determined only from careful 

 and judicious experiment. 



Pennsylvania. Archibald Rutledge. 



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