68 



T II E G A R I) EN MAGAZINE 



March, 1918 



and superior to many. It measures sixteen 

 to twenty-four inches in length and from four 

 to six inches is its largest diameter. 1 call it 

 "Conservation." —Mrs. E. Sefton.Mo. 



Yellow Tomatoes Have a Friend. — I find 



The Garden Magazine very interesting 



and helpful and hate to be without it. There 

 are some opinions expressed, of course, with 

 which I cannot agree, but generally speaking 

 the advice offered will help anyone who is 

 doing anything at gardening. In the January 

 number in the article on varieties of vegetables 

 the writer in speaking of Tomatoes ends up 

 by saying that Golden Queen is almost 

 tasteless. 1 have never grown any of this 

 variety until last year, probably because of a 

 prejudice in favor of red or pink, but I must 

 say that I found Golden Queen equal to if not 

 better than any of the other varieties. — 

 J. B. Cannon, Ottawa. 



Hunnemannia from Seed. — The note of 

 appraisal on the poppy wort in the December 

 issue has brought forth a communication from 

 the gentleman whose exhibit it was that 

 induced Mr. Presby to try his hand. Mr. 

 Schling in a covering letter to the Editor 

 desires that his communication be published 

 "Just as it is with the bottom line on." It 

 is so ordered! Neighbors all, Mr. Max 

 Schling speaks: 



Hunnemannia to grow successfully, it doesn't mean only to 

 buy seed from one house or the othet house. One can buy 

 the seed anywhere he wants as long as the seed is good. 



When Mr. Frank H. Presby in Montclair writes in December 

 number of The Garden Magazine that he seen at my exhibit 

 Hunnemannia. and that instigated his desire to grow some, is 

 something which 1 believe happens almost every week to some 

 one else with some other kind of flowers seen at our place. 



Prune Your 

 Roses! Here's 

 the bush as it 

 comes through 

 from last year. 

 See other figure 



If Mr. Presby would have raken the time to call me up, I 

 would have saved him fully three years of experiment, and lie 

 could have good (lowers the first season. I don't mean to say 

 that the first seed was good and the sowing was not correct, 

 and I again don't want to say the second lot was not good and 

 the soil was bad. bur what I want to say is that no matter what 

 seed is sown, it shall he sown at the right time to insure success, 

 and the second reason for a good production is to sow the seed 

 in the right way. 



Most growers sow Hunnemannia or any variety of Esholtzia 

 directly in the ground where the planting shall remain and 

 bring flowers. I am one of the few who doesn't sow the Esholt- 

 zia in the place where it shall develop to bloom. I am one of 

 the very few who doesn't press the ground down in the seed 

 boxes. I never was unsuccessful with any kind of seed; but 

 before I sow seed I make sure to buy my seeds from a house to 

 whom I have confidence that I will get fresh seeds, and no mix- 

 ture or no carryover seeds. If Mr. Presby would have gotten 

 Schling's seeds with Schling's instructions, he would have had 

 a good result the first year. I will sow my Hunnemannia in 

 this way: 



I fill a box with one-fifth sand, one-fifth loam, and three parts 

 of leaf mould, finely sifted, the box full up to the rim. Level soil 

 lightly with a strip of wood, and instead of press it down, I lift 

 the box a few inches from the planting table and let it drop down 

 evenly. I take the strip of wood which has a straightened 

 edge and press the edge down very lightly, making lines into 

 the soil about two inches apart. Sow my seeds in the rows 

 evenlv. Lift the box again up about two inches from the plant- 

 ing table, drop it down evenly, spray the soil thoroughly with a 

 very fine sprayer which doesn't disturb the soil much, and cover 

 it with glass. Within IO or 12 days the little plants begin 

 to come up. When the plants have developed the second 

 leaves, I replant them in little pots, but instead of using broken 

 pots in the bottom of the pots, I use small pieces of ordinary 

 newspaper that hinders the roots to grow out of the pots, and 

 by careful watering it still doesn't block the drainage. Before 

 planting the young plants out in the ground where they shall 

 go, I water them thoroughly then they lift easy out of the pots, 

 and can be planted without the root being disturbed. By 

 planting I possibly waste four to five per cent, of the plants on 

 account of the balls, but I always had wonderful Esholtzia 

 in and out doors. 



In future Mr. Presby, in this open letter with the necessary 

 information how to grow Esholtzia successfully without having 

 to soak them over night in hot water, I would like to mention 

 this, anything I have and anything I grow, I neve make a 

 secret out of my methods. I never have made yet a secret of 

 anything in which I was successful, and you, just th ■ same as 

 everyone else, can come to me at any time and I wd. give you 

 the necessary information. If it is growing of Esholtzia or 

 Gerbera, or shall it be forcing of Ixia, or anything else, you 

 always can come and ask Max Schling, regardless, and no matter 

 what it is, and if it is something which I don't know, I will truth- 

 fully tell that I cannot tell you because my experience doesn't 

 reach that far, but I will tell you where you can get the right 

 information in the right way. And just the same as my knowl- 

 edge is at the disposal of anybody else, it will be always at your 

 disposal. Not for mercenary reasons, but out of love for flowers 

 and for horticulture. 



Is the South Disinterested? — Permit me 

 please, to come in with a few comments on 

 "December in the South" by J. M. Patterson 

 of Virginia — were this comeback given place 

 "Among our Garden Neighbors" probably 

 the first question asked would be "who struck 

 Billy Patterson." It is not my intention, 

 however, to throw "bricks" at anybody, and 

 as for throwing snowballs will say in passing, 

 that "there ain't no such thing in south 

 Georgia." I will not go so far as to state 

 there is never any snow in the South. While 

 I can but concede, and too, with pride that 

 Virginia is a part of the South, it forms such 

 a small part, the very topmost point, that 

 from my viewpoint it is unwise, unjust, and to 

 a great extent to the undoing of the South, 

 to base Southern gardening operations from 

 the vantage ground of Virginia. Neither 

 would I have the Editor think that I am 

 picking flaws with the management of The 

 Garden Magazine, for I do believe that its 

 policy is equality to all, partiality to none. 

 The South should have a better showing in 

 the magazine — though I firmly believe it is 

 disinterestedness on the part of Southern growers, 

 that we do not have this. In justice to Mr. 

 Patterson, I wish to state that he is doing a 

 good work for his part of the South (where 

 the first average killing frost occurs about 

 November 1st or 15th in autumn) but not for 

 the whole South. In our sect'on, the first 

 average killing frost is about December 1st 

 or 15th. The winter of 1916 was a rare in- 

 stance of what King Cold can do to the South. 

 At this date, December 7th, our gardens, our 

 lawns and flower gardens, are green and gay 

 with growing things and good things to eat. 

 We seldom have a freeze deep enough to 

 seriously injure Roses, shrubs, or winter 



blooming plants. Violets, Christmas Sweet 

 Peas, Pansies, English Daisies, Salvia, Ver- 

 bena, etc., withstanding light frosts making 

 the outdoor border gay with colorful beauty, 

 of bloom. Now for the benefit of those who 

 may ask "who struck Billy Patterson," they 

 will just consider the source — when they find 

 out it was just a mere woman, an amateur at 

 that, but one who wants, and is working for 

 more enlightenment, enthusiasm and more 

 interested individual workers in Southern 

 gardening. 



If I may I would like to tell the readers of 

 The Garden Magazine what our little 

 floral club has accomplished in the three years 

 of its life. [Surely. Come along! — Editor.] 

 Last but not least let me say that The Gar- 

 den Magazine has been an inspiration to 

 us in our struggling work. — Mrs. A. H. 

 Havenkoth, Valdosta, Ga. 



The Sporting Chance 

 in the garden is worth 

 thestake of a littleseed. 

 Peas in the late fall may 

 not fruit heavily but 

 the surprisecrop picked 

 last fall at Huntington, 

 L. I., November 17th, 

 was well worth the 

 effort. The late Au- 

 gust planting was be- 

 ginning to produce 

 when really cold 

 weather came, but a 

 rough covering of 

 canvas preserved the 

 vines from destruction and one 

 large picking of fully developed 

 pods was obtained November 

 17th. Was our gardener friend 

 elated? He was'. — S. A. E. 



A Stand- 

 ard Rose is 

 not pruned 

 quite so 

 hard be- 

 cause it is 

 expected to 

 give quanti- 

 ty rather 

 than size of 

 bloom 



Pruned For Business. This is a 

 good illustration of pruning for fine 

 flowers 



