266 



The Readers' Service is prepared to 

 advise parents in regard to schools 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Mat, 1912 



The Home of Wholesome Food 



A Snow- White Solid Porcelain Compartment 



It does away -with cracks, joints, 



Each ' J 

 Compartment | 



a solid piece 

 ! of 



Porcelain Ware, ;j 



like This. * 



T 



crevices, corners and other natural 

 hiding places for dirt, odors, decay- 

 ing food and dangerous microbes 

 found in other refrigerators — the one 

 really sanitary food compartment. 



Send for Our Free Book on 



^"Monroe" 



A Lifetime Refrigerator 



A Germless Food 



Compartment 



Home Refrigeration 



It tells you how to keep your food sweet and wholesome — how to cut down ice 

 bills — what to seek and what to avoid in buying any refrigerator. It is packed 

 with money-saving hints, and every housewife and home owner should have 

 one. It tells all about the " MONROE " — describes its wonderful lining and 

 the manyother grand features that have given this refrigerator its posi- 

 tion as the world's 

 best. 



The "MONROE" is sold direct to you— 

 at factory prices — on 30 days' trial. We pay the 

 freight and guarantee "full satisfaction or money 

 back." Liberal Credit Terms if not convenient to pay cash. 



The " MONROE " is the ONE REFRIGERATOR with each food 

 compartment made of a solid piece of unbreakable snow-white 

 porcelain ware with every corner rounded as shown in above cut. 

 The ONE REFRIGERATOR accepted in the best homes and leading 

 hospitals. The ONE REFRIGERATOR that can be sterilized and 

 made germlessly clean by simply wiping out with a damp cloth. 

 The ONE REFRIGERATOR that will pay for itself many times 

 over in a saving on ice bills, food waste and repairs. The ONE 

 REFRIGERATOR with no single point neglected in its construc- 

 tion, and suitable to grace the most elaborate surroundings. 



MONROE REFRIGERATOR COMPANY 



(i5) 



Station 13, Lockland, Ohio 



Iron Railings, Wire Fences and Entrance 

 Gates of all designs and for all purposes. 

 Correspondence solicited: Catalogs furnished. 



Tennis Court Enclosures, Unclimbable Wire Mesh 

 and Spiral Netting (Chain Link) Fences for Estate 

 Boundaries and Industrial Properties — Lawn Furni- 

 ture — Stable Fittings. 

 F. E. CARPENTER CO., gW Broadway 



Saves Work 



Time and Money 



Witten Automatic Dump Cart saves labor 



and time in handling 1 and moving 



material. Handiest thing on 



the farm, dairy, estate and 



residence. The 



WITTEN 



has large ca- 

 pacity; is light, 

 but strong — guaran- 

 teed fully. Write for 

 er NOW. It is free. 

 ress 

 BAKER MFG. CO.* 

 :-'.>: Hunter Building, 

 Chicago - Illinois 



Wag 



ner 



rrows 



"Everything in Evergreens 



Arbor-Vitaeas, Hemlocks, Spruces, Retinosporas, Boxwood, 

 Rhododendrons, Evergreen Shrubs - $1 to $25 



evergreens, undaunted, will relieve the bleak 

 with dashes of verdant color 'gainst the 

 frost. 



All sizes from small, sturdy growths at $1 

 to magnificent specimens at $25. 



THIS year our greens seem to be more vigorous than 

 ever before. Their healthy growth is reflected in 

 an admirable symmetry and rich coloring which 

 is delighting every landscape enthusiast. 



L,et us send you a few of different ages. Plant them 

 with budding shrubs between and you will have Nature- 

 pictures of exquisite contrast all summer. And when 

 winter breaks the spirit of the flowering plants, the 



landscape 

 snow and 



You should 

 "Plants and 

 roundinds. 



WAGNER PARK NURSERIES 



§1 Florists - Nurserymen - Landscape Gardeners 



BOX 670, SIDNEY. OHIO 



California's Fertility: Is It Soil 

 or Climate ? 



THE growing of vegetables and flowers for the 

 seed market is becoming an important in- 

 dustry in California. Winter rains are copious 

 and the general soil is retentive of moisture. The 

 winter is mild; snow appearing on the mountains 

 only. There are three or four months of summer 

 without any rainfall. Sunny, dry weather with 

 dew at night is favorable for bees and insects and 

 the development of seed. Year before last Santa 

 Clara County, alone, shipped 4,000,000 pounds 

 of garden seed. When one considers the fineness 

 of the average seed; that this is retailed by the 

 ounce and small fractions of an ounce, then one 

 can realize the vast number of customers this 

 supplied. It is stated that California furnished 

 go per cent, of the world's market for lettuce seed. 



The Editor of The Garden Magazine has re- 

 ferred to the totally dissimilar conditions East and 

 West of the Rockies, stating that as a general rule 

 plants of Southern Europe, which refuse to grow 

 in the Eastern States, will grow in the Pacific Coast 

 States. Equally the native California plants with 

 the exception of the California Poppy, are very 

 hard to do anything with in the Eastern United 

 States. "The alliance appears to be somewhat 

 like this: Eastern United States corresponds 

 to and grows plants similar to Japan and China. 

 Western United States, Pacific Coast, plants 

 similar to Europe generally." 



I have been convinced from my experience with 

 Iris pavonia that California's advantage in plant 

 propagation has been in climate rather than in soil 

 conditions. This tiny flower, whose recurved 

 petals have the crisp whiteness of Narcissus 

 poctiats is also known as the peacock iris, this 

 name being given it because each petal is blotched 

 with delicate shades of blue. 



The first year after I planted it, a grasslike 

 foliage came up and died down. The bulbs were 

 new to me so I wrote to the eastern firm from whom 

 I had purchased them, and was told that Iris 

 pavonia is a native of Southern Europe, that it 

 refused to naturalize and, moreover, defied experts. 



Later, upon digging up the bed, the bulbs were 

 found to be much larger than when they were 

 planted. Some of the bulbs had easily split their 

 outer shell and there within were bulbs of the size 

 of peas and of about the size as originally received. 

 The root growth was peculiar. Instead of being 

 at the base, the roots branched out from the side 

 of the spherical bulb like a white runner, and at the 

 end some four to six inches away terminated into 

 a well-sized bulblet. There was the solution — 

 blooming sized bulbs had not been received. The 

 bulbs were carefully planted again and the next 

 season a prolific bloom followed of flowers two inches 

 in diameter upon stems eight to ten inches long. 

 The bulbs have continued to multiply both from 

 division of the mother bulb and root terminal. 

 There is some tendency for the flower to seed, in- 

 dicating three different modes of propagation. 

 The bed is of a heavy, sandy soil, well drained and* 

 in full sunshine. These bulbs appear to have 

 responded to mild winter conditions as the root 

 growth starts in the fall without watering. 



Around San Francisco Bay and some other parts 

 of California, the peony rarely flowers while the 

 foliage will be luxuriant. In these localities the 

 freezing point is reached but several times during 

 the winter. In other parts heavy frosts prevail, 

 also thin ice, and warm summers follow. There 

 peonies do well. The explanation seems to be 



