66 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 19 18' 



Fortunatelj there is .1 host of helps with 

 which tn fight the weeds. Besides tin- score 

 of cultivators that will cut, up-root and des- 

 troy the- weeds, then- are special rakes, spuds, 

 hoes, trowels and weeders galore. Not the 

 least important implement with which to 

 fight weeds is a good lawnmower, for it is 

 only logical that a well-watered and fertilized 

 lawn should prove an ideal breeding place 

 for weeds. Keep the lawns cut; also keep 

 walks and gutters clean for which purpose 

 special chemical preparations are avail- 

 able that kill weeds very effectively. One 

 unique weed-killing implement consists of 

 two sharp knives attached to a metal tube 

 loaded with a weed-killing fluid that is 

 ejected as !the knives cut off the plant. 



Let's have more weedless gardens this year 

 and ever after, for weeds are waste and 

 waste is a crime; especially so when half the 

 world is looking for us to provide food. 



About Types in Root Crops. — That art- 

 icle of yours in January Garden Magazine 

 on the different types of vegetables was fine. 

 But what is the difference in quality of long, 

 half long and round root crop types respec- 

 tively? — C. B. Cranston, Columbus, Ohio. 



— Quality in root crops among vegetables 

 differs considerably, according to soil and 

 season in which they are grown. This affects 

 all shapes alike. As a rule, however, the 

 round type is the quickest to develop, but 

 also the first to overgrow and deteriorate in 

 quality. The half-long types resist heat and 

 drouth better than the short, round types. 

 The long types require the longest season 

 during which to develop, but they also 

 have the firmest flesh and keep best. How- 

 ever, the "law of compensation" decrees 

 that the quality (flavor) in a root vegetable 

 is best while the product is young. Never 

 expect to find the succulent flavor of young 

 beets in the long roots from winter storage — Ed. 



An Improved Form of Bird Bath. — May 

 I suggest what I think is a decided improve- 

 ment and correction of the one fault in the 

 design for a bird bath in "Among Our Garden 

 Neighbors" department for December. The 

 design, as shown, is good only for large 

 birds. The water would be practically all 

 one depth and small birds would be unable 

 to stand on the edge and bathe, or find a 

 place where they could stand in the water. 

 As the ideal bird bath is one in which all 

 birds may enjoy themselves I suggest that 

 the basin, instead of having a practically 

 flat bottom and straight sides, have a bottom 

 that gradually slopes from the outer edge to 

 the centre. Thus, no matter how deep the 

 w 7 ater in the middle may be, there will always 

 be a place" where even the smallest bird may 

 make merry. Possibly a very shallow wooden 

 chopping bowl would do for a farm. — L. C. 

 Burke, Madison, Wise. 



Surely Grow These Things. — I wish to 

 remind you to again tell your readers to 

 plan to put out onion seedlings. In this 

 vicinity they may be procured at the green- 

 houses in flats. Last spring I put out 150 

 feet and had three bushels (Prizetaker). 

 They are so much easier to weed and of course 

 require no thinning. Another thing not men- 

 tioned in January number is the French bean 

 (green podded). They require an 8 ft. sup- 

 port but produce the whole season, thus requir- 

 ing no second planting of beans but are the 

 best of all for canning or drying. I used 

 Carter's— AT. Sears, N. Y. 



We Always Aim to Hit— In your February 

 issue, you have, in my opinion, beaten your 

 own record and in it you prove again your right 

 to leadership in this field. The trade advertise- 

 ments are always of great benefit; the editor- 

 ials, excellent and instructive; "Facts About 

 the Seed Supply," "Simple Talk for the 

 Beginner" are excellent. Quite apart from 

 their accuracy they are written in a concise 

 and comprehensive style which covers the en- 

 tire situation. — A. L. Don, New York. 



INCHES 



-1 



Grown with- 

 out a fight 



The price we pay for letting weeds grow (see page 65) 



Making Paper Pots. — These articles are very 

 useful for starting seeds to be transplanted, 

 rooting cuttings, strawberry runners, etc., 

 and they are easily made at home. The 

 accompanying sketch is self explanatory. 

 These pots can be made with a sheet cut 

 according to the drawing; the tenon t passing 

 through the slit b and the notch c through slit 

 d after having been folded. The parts marked 

 e fold along the dotted line xx and overlap- 

 ping one another, constitute the bottom of the 



pot reserving the central hole at the bottom. 

 These pots for shipment are very light and 

 resist humidity. After they are made up it is 

 well to soak them in a parafine bath which 

 pastes the different pieces and makes the 

 whole impermeable. It is suggested that it 

 may be desirable to replace the parafine with 

 a silicate of potassium. The exceedingly light 

 weight of the paper pots and the consequent 

 economy in the cost of shipment has been 

 recognized for some time by many dealers, as 

 paper pots are a regularly manufactured 

 article and may be purchased if preferred. 



Confusion in Catalogues. — You will per- 

 haps remember that a year ago I wrote you a 

 letter from the point of view of the customer 

 who finds seedsmen's catalogues more confus- 



ing than helpful, and you sent me a very sym- 

 pathetic and illuminating reply. [We do — Ed.] 

 1 notice in the January Garden Magazine 

 an article which so completely supplies the 

 information which I sought that it might 

 almost have been inspired by my letter. This 

 article is entitled "Your Seed Order and the 

 Tangle of Varieties." It seems strange that 

 no seedsman has ever tried to do this so 

 clearly and simply as you have done it. I 

 want to add my endorsement to the com- 

 ments of Albert E. Fay upon sweet corn. 

 I agree with him that Golden Bantam is far 

 and away the best sweet corn I have ever 

 eaten, much better than any of the white 

 varieties. Even though the ears are small, 

 the quality is so good that we now plant 

 nothing else in our garden. Under the in- 

 spiration of Mr. Hoover's propaganda we put 

 up a great deal of this corn, and we are now 

 eating it with great satisfaction. We cannot 

 buy any variety of canned corn which even 

 remotely approaches it in flavor. — Ernest 

 Elmo Calkins. 



Discussing The Garden Magazine. — One 

 evening I was looking through the January, 

 1917, number and also the December issue. 

 The former is full of definite help and sugges- 

 tions which cannot help but be of service if the 

 reader will apply them. The latter gives a 

 forecast of what we may expect during the 

 year 1918, so you see I must have The Garden 

 Magazine. I think one of the most valuable 

 pages is "The Month's Reminder" — it truly 

 is a reminder of things to be done. I have a 

 lot 43 x 153 which I expect to plant this spring, 

 and my seeds are ordered so as to be ready 

 when the proper time comes. The pages: 

 "Among Our Garden Neighbors" are very 

 interesting. There are a great many subjects 

 brought up which I am not familiar with nor 

 do I care for them, but I am expressing my 

 individual opinion. My preferences are not 

 the other person's, so publish all you can and 

 everybody will find something of interest. 

 Here are three cheers for the great American 

 public which is going to do wonders the 

 coming season in the way of growing food 

 stuffs and not a little credit will be given your 

 magazine. — Ira DeMoss, Indiana. 



Quality in Sweet Corn. — I am a country 

 physician seventy-eight years old, and have 

 always been an amateur gardener. I always 

 raise twice as much truck as my own family 

 can use and usually give the surplus to my less, 

 fortunate friends or neighbors. I am espec- 

 ially interested in M r - Fay's remarks about 

 sweet corn, and agree with him in his restric- 

 tions as to the so-called white sweet corns.. 

 His only objection to Golden Bantam seems- 

 to that it is not sufficiently productive. Now 

 allow me to say if it is treated in accordance 

 with its nature there is little reason for this 

 restriction. It should never be planted in 

 hills, but always have one stalk in a place 

 not closer than ten or twelve inches between 

 stalks, and in tows three feet apart, and 

 always in very rich ground. If so treated 

 there will almost invariably be two ears on 

 each stalk, and ears of sufficient size, it seems 

 to me, to suit most persons. It is so incom- 

 parably superior to all white varieties, as well 

 as to other yellow varieties I have tried, that 

 I am sure quality amply compensates for 

 differences in quantity. It well illustrates 

 the old saw that "precious goods are done up 

 in small packages." 



The one trouble I have in raising sweet 

 corn is the blackbird. Our little city i& 



