232 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1913 



Things to Save in Winter 



ALL the hardwood ashes you can get hold 

 of. Handle them carefully and pro- 

 tect them from the leaching effects of rain. 



Coal ashes, if any of your soil is heavy. 

 To save space, sift them and save only the 

 hne material. 



Soot, if by chance you burn soft coal, peat, 

 or any such material. This has a composite 

 nature combining fertilizing and insect de- 

 stroying properties. 



Manure, especially the liquids in the 

 stable, by means of absorbent bedding or 

 water-tight gutters and storage reservoirs. 



Energy, by doing indoor repair and con- 

 struction work now while the outdoor call is 

 less noisy. 



Tools, by keeping them from rust and 

 decay. 



Greenhouse Notes 



TO prevent carnations from bursting 

 their calyces, keep the temperature 

 above 50 degrees. 



For violets, 42 to 45 degrees is plenty 

 warm enough at night. Low temperatures 

 retard blossoming but strengthen stems. 

 Keep the dead leaves and full blown blos- 

 soms picked at all times. 



About January 15th, sow gloxinia, be- 



gonia, streptocarpus, amaryllis, and ges- 

 nera. 



Perhaps you can find room in the benches 

 for some of the smaller vegetables that 

 mature quickly, such as short horn carrots, 

 lettuce, spinach, radishes, and beets. 



With the approach of this indoor seed 

 sowing season you can well afford to look up 

 the January, 1907, Garden Magazine, 

 where on page 281, is found a detailed, com- 

 prehensive article and extremely helpful 

 photographs describing the best methods of 

 preparing flats, pots, and pans. 



The Care of House Plants 



"V7DU may receive, as well as give, some 

 1 growing plants as Christmas presents. 

 This is your chance to show your skill in 

 keeping them beautiful as long as possible. 

 If the soil is dry when they are delivered, 

 supply enough water to moisten them 

 thoroughly. Keep the plant in a slightly 

 cool place for a time, bringing it into the heat 

 of the living room by gradual stages. 

 Each night, too, put it away where the 

 temperature is not extreme and where it 

 will, therefore, get a little rest. It is most 

 important to avoid great fluctuations of 

 temperature; therefore at night, don't have 

 the plants close to the windows of rooms 

 that are heated by day. 



Bulbs (in soil) that have flowered should 

 be kept in a sunny corner without water to 

 ripen well and dry. In this condition they 

 will keep until next fall. Keep the water 

 around the growing bulbs fresh. A small 

 piece of charcoal will help by sweetening it. 



Methods of watering are responsible for a 

 good many successes and also a good many 

 failures with house plants. Above all 

 things don't sprinkle them regularly night 

 and morning just as you would feed a dog or 

 a horse. When the soil dries it needs water 

 and plenty of it. Until, then, leave it 

 alone. Mere surface sprmkling is not only 

 useless but harmful. 



Any Cape bulbs still left unforced can be 

 started with Easter in mind. As in the fall, 

 put them away in soil or water in a cool, dim 

 room for six or eight weeks. 



Easter lilies should have been started 

 before December 20th, but with special 

 care you can still get seasonable results. 

 The bulbs brought in from pits or frames 

 must be started at about 45 degrees. In- 

 crease the temperature two or three degrees 

 a week until 60 is reached. Then maintain 

 it there. 



Remember 



THE first thing is to get the garden 

 planned and seeds ordered. 



PRIZE AWARDS IN OUR GARDEN CONTEST 



Nat S. Green, 



WHEN -we offered five hundred dollars for the 

 best account of the most productive half acre 

 home garden, we fully expected to find one account 

 that would entirely eclipse all others. But instead we 



found that out of the host 



of competitors there were five 

 whose articles were of equal 

 merit. We accordingly sent 

 checks of $100 each to the 

 contestants named herewith, 

 as equal prize winners. 



Three of these prize articles 

 are presented in the pages 

 immediately following. The 

 two remaining will appear 

 in the February issue of The 

 Garden Magazine. 



It was no light task to 

 weigh out the respective 

 merits of all the entrants. 

 Some few failed to receive 

 ultimate consideration be- 

 cause they did not submit 

 full records of the season's 

 work; others sent no planting plans. 



It is interesting to observe that the three articles pre- 

 sented this month are from quite widely separated regions 

 and they also represent different typ es of gardens. 



THE WINNERS 



Alice Cooper Bensel, 



Amityville, Long Island 



Lincoln Cromwell, 



Norfolk, Connecticut 



J. Wesley Griffin, 



Warsaw, Kentucky 



James W. Reed, 



Glen Ridge, New Jersey 



To each of whom $100 has been paid 



In each case we certify to having seen full accounts and 

 vouchers for expenditures, but these are not printed as 

 having no general interest. Otherwise, however, the 

 accounts are published as received. 



Our readers will be able 

 to use the plans and records 

 for the improvement of their 

 own gardens this year. They 

 may take the facts here given 

 and construct a planting 

 plan to suit their own special 

 needs and they may be able 

 to very nearly estimate the 

 actual amounts of seeds, etc., 

 and feet of rows required for 

 a given yield. 



The interest in this contest 

 was widespread and intense. 

 We feel satisfied, from our 

 standpoint, in being thus able 

 to put before our readers 

 real hard facts — no fancies. 

 The year of this contest was 

 not favorable to large yields 

 so there is nothing phenomenal set down. But on the other 

 hand it is shown that the suburbanite and the rural 

 dweller have within their grasp at least a part of the 

 solution of the cost-of-living problem. 



Milford, Ohio 



