120 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 1913 



Michell's 



Ready 



r I 



Mowind 



from 

 Sowing 



The one best grass seed for each purpose — for average 



lawns, shaded places, terraces, seashore lawns, golf courses 



pastures and public parks — is found in Michel l's 1913 Catalog. 



Tells what to use, and how to use it; describes the various Michell Grass 



Seeds which have proven their superiority on the finest estates, on the White 



House Grounds at Washington and on every recent National and International 



Exposition Grounds from Jamestown to Portland, Ore. 



750,000 pounds of Michell's Grass Seeds 



are now ready for 1913 demand — a quantity so much greater than the average seedsman sells 

 that it is a sure index of Michell superiority. 



$ 



00 ^ or ®* we w '^ deliver, prepaid, our Introductory Package of Michell's 



Evergreen Lawn Seed — enough for the average lawn, and our Special 

 Bulletin, "How to Make a Lawn." (Bushel lots, $4.00 not prepaid). 



1 



The Michell Catalog for 1913 — (196 pages) describing everything for garden, lawn, greenhouse, 

 poultry yard, etc., mailed free. 



Expert Lawn Advice — Free 



HENRY F. MICHELL CO. £££££ 



St. 



Pa. 



The Big 4 Asters Dahlias Gladiolus Peonies The Big 4 



We call our specialties The Big 4 because they are the four best 

 flowers any body can grow in the Garden or Border. 

 They are the very best for display and for cut flowers. 



They grow for any body and in any kind of soil. The Big 4 will 

 furnish you cut flowers from early spring to the heavy frosts in the 

 fall. If interested in any of these, get our prices before you buy. 



BARNES* GARDENS 



Box 1000 



SPENCER, IND., U.S.A. 



Don't grow cider apples. Rid your trees of scale and fungous pests and grow No. 1 

 apples by using " Scalecide," the one absolutely sure scale spray. "Scalecide" is easy 

 to handle, it will not clog or corrode the nozzle or injure the skin. It will build up a 

 poorly paying, run down orchard and make it return large profits. It will maintain a 

 good orchard in prime condition. " Scalecide " is the best spray for San Jose. It kills 

 every scale it reaches. "Scalecide" goes further, is cheaper and more effective than 

 lime sulphur. Endorsed by Experiment Stations and used by the best orchardists every 

 where. " Scalecide " will solve your scale problem. Our SERVICE DEPARTMENT 



furnishes everything for the orchard. Write to-day for our new booklet "Pratt's Handbook for Fruit 

 Growers" and "'Scalecide' — the Tree Saver." They contain valuable information for orchardists. Every 

 fruit grower should have them. Both are free. Address B.G. Pratt Co., Dept. 1, 50 Church St., N.Y. City. 



Nitrate Necessary for Beautiful Lawns 



Enough Nitrate quickens and thickens the growth of grass and gives to it that deep, cool 

 green which makes lawns inviting. A rapid growth of trees and shrubs and a foliage, 

 almost tropical in density, follow close upon an application of Nitrogen in the form of 



Nitrate of Soda 



Nitrate of Soda is the cheapest form of nitrogen because it is immediately and entirely available. Its 

 effect is seen sooner than that of any other fertilizer. It is clean, odorless and easy to handle. Use it now 

 and have a finer lawn and more beautiful trees next summer than ever before. Write for literature. 



DR. WILLIAM S. MYERS, Director Chilean Nitrate Propaganda, 17 Madison Avenue, New York 



No Branch Offices 



box a piece of cheesecloth and a newspaper. This 

 covering kept the ground moist until the seeds 

 germinated. I had only one variety in a box, 

 and marked the boxes carefully. The seed was 

 choice seed of the Lavender Gem, Crego, and Late 

 Branching varieties. They germinated well, and 

 on April nth I transplanted the seedlings to larger, 

 deeper boxes. The sifted soil for these boxes was 

 mixed with sheep manure, watered and allowed 

 to dry out a little. Then I took up the little 

 seedlings carefully, with an old kitchen fork, taking 

 soil with them when possible, and deposited them 

 gently, in the holes 2 inches apart, that I had made 

 for them in the large boxes. I kept the earth 

 moist, but not too wet. The little plants grew 

 splendidly, and on May nth they were ready 

 to put outdoors. 



I determined to try a shady situation this time 

 and prepared a bed on the northeast side of the 

 house, where the sun makes only a short visit 

 every morning. The ground was dug rather deep 

 and well rotted manure thoroughly mixed with the 

 earth. The top layer was good soil from the gar- 

 den, well raked and pulverized. Into this carefully 

 prepared bed the little asters were transplanted, 

 ten inches apart each way. I took them out of 

 their old boxes, disturbing the roots as little as 

 possible, set them in holes made with a small 

 dibble, and then scratched a circle of sifted ashes 

 into the soil around each little plant. The plants 

 were kept watered and grew well. On the first 

 and fifteenth of June I sprayed them with a dilute 

 solution of bordeaux mixture and arsenate of 

 lead, coaxed from the gardener when he sprayed 

 the potatoes. To every gallon of the bordeaux 

 mixture I added two level teaspoonfuls of the 

 arsenate. In June I also dug wood ashes into the 

 soil about the plants twice, and kept the ground 

 well stirred. 



Through July I used the bordeaux and arsenate 

 mixture every ten days, and in between gave the 

 roots of the plants a soaking with soap suds, and 

 one application of tobacco water, to discourage that 

 miserable root aphis. I also administered manure 

 water (made by pouring two quarts of boiling 

 water over a quart or so of dry sheep manure, letting 

 it cool, and diluting with two gallons of cold water) 

 once a week. In spite of everything, the black 

 beetles appeared on time, but not in great numbers, 

 and we hand picked them into kerosene and were 

 soon rid of them. 



This regime sounds more formidable than it 

 really was, although I confess to spending two or 

 three hours a week on the asters. But the result 

 of my labors was such a mass of bloom as paid well 

 for all the trouble. The Lavender Gem was first 

 to bloom, and the blossoms were very lovely. The 

 late branching asters cannot be hurried much by 

 early planting, but the early start made the plants 

 strong and stocky, and I believe, ensured better 

 flowers. At any rate, they were covered with 

 white, pink and lavender blossoms almost as large 

 as chrysanthemums. 



New Jersey. Mrs. W. B. Richardson. 



White Violets for Edging Flower 

 Beds 



FOR several years I have used the white violet 

 in my garden as an edging around the flower 

 beds and it has proved the most satisfactory plant 

 for bordering that I have ever grown. It not only 

 looks well, but it is clean and thrifty, is unmolested 

 by blight or any insect and is ironclad as to hardi- 

 ness. Once set it is truly perennial; as the plants 

 throw out no runners there is no danger of the 

 border becoming matted with roots. 



I had experimented with many edging plants 

 of different kinds, but all had their faults. The 

 fragrant, old fashioned grass pink, with its charming 

 soft green mats of foliage, will occupy too much 

 space in a narrow border and its flowers never quite 

 harmonize with the colors of any other flowers 

 blooming at the same time. Besides, the plants 

 must be replaced every few years, as they die out. 

 Sweet alyssum grows weedy and, as its flowers fade, 

 the spikes of resulting pods are unsightly; while 

 it obligingly self-sows, the plant being an annual 

 dies each season and a new edging must be set each 

 spring. A true perennial is needed at the garden 



// a problem grows in your garden write to the Readers' Service for assistance 



