T II E GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 1918 



Are you planning 

 to plant fruit? 



To you who realize the importance of fruit as a 

 food, and the deliciousness of home-raised fruits, 

 we offer these two big helps : FREE. 



"Inside Fact* of Profitable Fruit Growing"— a complete 

 authoritative guide on every phase of fruit growing, 80 pages, 

 many illustrations and diagrams ; no advertising. Tells how to 

 plant, prune, spray ; how to grow strawberries and 

 other fruits. "Intensely valuable to fruit grow- 

 ers," says Dr. J. C. Whitten, Prof, of Horticul- 

 ture, University of Mo. 



"How to Beautify Your Home Grounds" — a 50- 

 page illustrated booklet which enables even the 

 novice to make the home place more attractive and 

 valuable at little expense. Tells what, when, where, 

 and howto plant ornamentals; how to prune and care 

 for shrubs, roses, etc. "I have received more ex- 

 pensive books, yet none in which the subject is treat- 

 ed more interestingly and practically." W. S. Forbes, 

 Winchester, Mass. 



Our new 64-page Catalogue, profusely illustrated, gives 



descriptions and prices of choice fruits and ornamentals, 



tables of ripening dates,planting distances, varieties suited to your section, etc t 



Three Free Books — any one or all of them sent FREE, if you'll mail the coupon or men- 

 tion this ad when you write; We usually charge for the instruction books, except to customers: 

 Now is the time to plan for spring planting — let us help you. We have no agents, but sell 

 direct from nursery only: Write. 



WRITE OR MAIL COUPON TO-DAY 



Address and name both the 

 same. 



WM. P. STARK NURSERIES, Box 32 



STARK CITY, MISSOURI 



Please send books as checked : 



"Inside Facts" [ ] "How to Beautify" [ ] "1918 Catalogue" [ ] 



I am interested in Fruits [ ] Ornamentals [ ] 

 Name Address 



(Give County and Street or R. F. D. Number) 



THE policy of the Bay State Nurseries has never changed. After a quarter of a century of experience we 

 believe in it more than ever. It is simply this: Give Value for Value. We can do this because we 

 spend very little money on the selling end of our business but we spend liberally in growing and handling 

 all our products. We have nearly 500 acres of ornamental nursery stock, but we employ no salesmen and 



spend but little in printers' ink. Don't look for any large display of advertising from us. Our money goes into the growing of our 

 stock and we expect, as in the past, that our stock will sell our stock. Pleased customers are among our most valuable assets. Our 

 1918 catalogue is for the asking. Get one and send us a trial order. We will guarantee you satisfaction. 



THE BAY STATE NURSERIES, 678 Adams Street, North Abington, Mass. 



Everbearing Strawberries for the 

 First Fruitless Summer 



THE first summer of Cityman on the farm 

 or in the suburbs is frequently a fruitless 

 one even if the farm and garden yield bounti- 

 fully, for he generally finds no fruit on the 

 place but an old gnarled apple tree or two, 

 and a blighted pear tree. And to the trials 

 and disappointments of that first critical year 

 is added the blighted vision of luscious fruit 

 which his fancy had painted as one of the joys 

 of country life. It is in this connection that 

 the everbearing strawberry has its greatest 

 value. Fortified with a hundred or more 

 plants, Cityman may move out into the 

 country and continue dreaming of home- 

 grown short cake; for his dreams will be re- 

 alized the first summer. Planted in the 

 spring, even though there be no other fruit 

 on the place, the first summer will not be 

 fruitless. 



In the spring of 1916 we moved to the sub- 

 urbs. This was a return to the country after 

 an absence of fifteen years, during which time 

 we had forgotten all the attractions of the 

 country but not that of strawberry shortcake 

 made from berries picked when ripe. Lack of 

 fruit on our suburban plot prompted us to try 

 the everbearing strawberries as an experiment, 

 for which purpose we bought twenty-five 

 plants of each of the three varieties, Progres- 

 sive, Superb and Americus. They were re- 

 ceived by mail on the fourth of April, but a 

 snowstorm that week prevented us from plant- 

 ing them out until the nineteenth. We 

 heeled the plants into the ground in an old 

 chicken-house and they kept very well until 

 planted out. We planted them in three rows 

 spaced three feet apart, putting the plants 

 two feet apart in the row. The blossoms were 

 kept pinched off till June, when a light dress- 

 ing of nitrate of soda and acid phosphate was 

 given the plants. Our first ripe strawberries 

 came before the middle of July, and twice a 

 week thereafter we picked, on the average, 

 slightly less than a quart at each picking. 

 This continued until October when the quan- 

 tity began decreasing; but there were some 

 ripe berries picked as late as the first of No- 

 vember. 



The experiment was voted a decided success; 

 but we were not equally satisfied with the 

 three varieties, for the bearing was done al- 

 most wholly by the Progressives. To be 

 sure, the few berries the Superbs bore were 

 superb, but the berries were so few. How- 

 ever, we felt we had not given them a square 

 deal, for in our greed tp increase the number 

 of plants, we allowed all three varieties to 

 runner without restraint. All three varieties 

 produced large numbers of runners, but the 

 Superbs acted as though runnering was all 

 there was to strawberry life, so that at last 

 we were compelled to force them to practise 

 birth-control. The Americus was a complete 

 disappointment — they bore few berries, and 

 those few small and ill-formed. 



We decided to gjye the Superbs another 

 trial. So, when we moved on a farm last 

 November, we took from our strawberry bed 

 400 Progressives, 100 Superbs, but none of 

 the Americus. The plants were heeled in the 

 open ground, where they kept well during 

 the winter, and in April we set them out 

 in rows spaced three feet apart, putting 

 the plants fifteen inches apart in the 

 row. A placard was then put on a 

 stake with the following notice: "runners are 

 not permitted in this strawberry bed." And 



{Continued on -page 42) 



The Readers' Service will give you suggestions for the care and purchase of cats and dogs and other pets 



