166 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



April, 1913 



6. Cut back the broken and ragged 

 roots to a clean, smooth surface. 



7. Hold the tree straight, directly in 

 the centre of the hole, using a planting 

 board if necessary while you — 



8. Spread out the root system evenly, 

 covering it closely with more top soil. Then 



9. Fill in quickly, trampling the soil 

 firmly from time to time, but — 



10. Before the hole is full, pour on 

 enough water to thoroughly soak the roots. 



11. When the hole is full, leave the sur- 

 face soil loose or mulch it with leaves, 

 straw or other litter, and — 



12. Stake all tall trees, tying them with 

 cloth or rubber hose, not rope or wire. 



PRUNING 



Cut back ornamentals, only enough to 

 balance the root pruning, taking care not 

 to injure the main leader under any con- 

 dition. Strip off part of the leaves of broad- 

 leaved evergreens. 



In pruning newly set fruit trees, keep 

 these points in mind: 



a. Prune for a low head: Apples and 

 pears, 2§ to 3 ft.; peaches, plums, and all 

 dwarfs, 1 to 2 ft. 



b. Leave 3 to 5 strong branches radiat- 

 ing spirally from the trunk. One-year 

 old peaches are best pruned to a "whip," 

 or single, straight stem. 



c. Avoid forming crotches. 



d. Aim for a spreading, open top. 



e. Wherever the bark has been bruised, 

 cut it away to clean edges and paint the 

 wound. 



PLANTING DISTANCES FOR FRUITS 



Apples (standard) Cherries 15-20 ft. 



30-40 ft. Quince 10 ft. 



Apples (dwarf) 10 ft. Grapes 8 ft. 



Pears (standard) 25 Apricots 10 ft. 



feet. Currants 3 ft. 



Pears (dwarf) 10 ft. Gooseberries 3 ft. 



Peaches 15 ft. Raspberries 3 ft. 



Plums 15 ft. Blackberries 3 ft. 

 Strawberries 2 ft. 



Making and Remaking Lawns 



nT"HE best lawns are made between March 

 ■*■ 15 and April 15, but plenty of previous 

 preparation is needed to give a fine, smooth 

 seed bed. Use plenty of seed — about a 

 quarter more than is ordinarily suggested. 

 Scratch it in with a wooden rake, then roll 

 lightly. 



The best fertilizers to work into the soil 

 for a new lawn are nitrate of soda and bone 

 flour for quick results, and sheep manure, 

 coarse bone meal and wood ashes for slower 

 but more lasting effects. 



To repair poor spots, scratch them with 

 an iron rake, sow seed, rake again, roll and 

 water. 



Very bad places in a very good lawn 

 should be sodded, but if there is any great 

 proportion of them better plow up the 

 whole thing, relevel, drain if necessary, and 

 make an entirely new greensward. 



Now is the time to dig out the worse 

 weeds, such as dandelion, burdock, plan- 



tain, wild carrot. Cut deeply with a spud 

 or asparagus knife. A little carbolic acid, 

 salt, or iron suphate crystal on the cut 

 surface, will make the job doubly sure. 



In many communities the accepted 

 winter and early spring treatment of pas- 

 tures and lawns is the burning off of the 

 dead grass. Some time we will print an 

 article about this. For the present, just 

 take our word for it and don't burn over 

 your grass land. 



Insect Enemies in April 



TF asparagus beetles appear, keep the 

 *■ young stalks cut. If the bed is young, 

 and this cannot be done, spray with an 

 arsenical poison. 



The bud worm is after the leaf and 

 flower buds of apple, pear and other fruits. 

 Lead arsenate in the first application of 

 bordeaux mixture or in water (one pound 

 to 25 gallons) will fix him. 



The canker worm follows as the blossoms 

 wither and fall. Use the same poison just 

 as the petals are dropping. 



For the leaf aphides that cause the young 

 leaves to curl up and die, spray with kero- 

 sene emulsion before the foliage opens fully. 



Burn all webs of the tent caterpillar. 

 If any worms escape make them share the 

 fate of bud and canker worm. 



Take one last look for the white, cottony 

 egg masses of the gypsy moth on stone 

 walls, clumps of trees, fences, etc., and paint 

 them with creosote. Undiscovered eggs will 

 begin to hatch in a very few weeks. 



Brown tail moth nests can still be seen 

 against the sky on the tips of bare twigs. 

 Trim off and burn them at once. 



Peach leaf curl, pear or fire blight, and 

 black knot are not insects but deserve 

 equally severe treatment right now. For 

 the first spray thoroughly with bordeaux 

 mixture or lime sulphur by April 4th. 



Fire blight appears first as "blossom 

 blight" and is often fatal. The only 

 remedy worth while is to cut away the entire 

 affected part and burn it. Possibly the 

 rest of the tree will survive. 



To get rid of black knot on desirable 

 stone fruits, destroy all the useless wild 

 cherries in the neighborhood; then cut out 

 the occasional knots wherever they appear. 



Subjects for April Planting 



TDULBS: — Lilium auratum, longiflorum, 

 ■*-* speciosum, tigrinum — in fact, any sum- 

 mer blooming sorts. Gladiolus, dahlia, 

 anemone (indoors), red hot poker plant, 

 cinnamon vine, summer hyacinth (for 

 massed effects), montbretia, coral drops, 

 Tritoma crocosmceflora. 



Vegetables — Outdoors (may be thin- 

 ned later): beets, cardoon, carrot, chicory, 

 corn salad, endive, kohlrabi, onions, par- 

 snips, parsley, peas, potatoes, salsify, sea- 

 kale, spinach, turnips. 



Outdoors (in a seed bed, to be later trans- 

 planted): artichoke (French), asparagus, 

 broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celeriac, 

 celery, leek, lettuce. 



In hotbed or greenhouse (to be later 

 transplanted outdoors): Brussels sprouts, 

 cucumber, egg plant, musk and water mel- 

 ons, okra, pepper, pumpkin, squash, tomato. 



Here are some short cut reminders of 

 plants for special purposes: 



Herbaceous Perennials — Three or 

 more feet high: widow's tears, foxglove, 

 trooper's feather, larkspur, custard lily, 

 Canterbury bell, hollyhock, perennial pea, 

 false chamomile, giant daisy (Chrysan- 

 themum), New England aster, plume poppy, 

 golden glow, giant reed, giant knotweed, 

 peony. 



From one and one-half to three feet 

 high: bleeding heart, columbine, peach 

 bell, fraxinella, rock chamomile, blanket 

 flower, phlox, Oswego tea, bluebell, Jap- 

 anese wind flower, Scotch thistle, Spanish 

 bayonet. 



Less than one and one-half feet: sweet 

 keys (pansy), polyanthus, blue-eyed Susan, 

 forget-me-not, sweet William, bachelor but- 

 tons, fever few, tickseed, grass pink. 



Old Reliable Shrubs — Syringa, lilac, 

 hydrangea, snowball, elder, spirea, weigela, 

 forsythia, deutzia, strawberry bush, smoke 

 bush, rhododendron, mountain laurel, mock 

 orange, althea. 



Shrubs for Hedges — Japan (flowering) 

 quince, barberry, lilac, privet, Osage orange, 

 locust. 



Some oe the Best Evergreens — Ma- 

 honia, box, American holly (Ilex opaca), 

 juniper (several horticultural varieties), 

 arborvitae, rhododendron, sand myrtle, 

 leather leaf, evergreen thorn, pernettya. 



In the Perennial Border 



T"\IVIDE and reset plants established 

 ■*— ' three or more years and which have 

 become overgrown or crowded. The method 

 is: o. Dig up plants, laying them to one 

 side; b. Spade up the border, adding well 

 rotted manure and wood ashes, then level it 

 carefully; c. Cut the crowns in three to 

 five pieces (four to six eyes in each) with a 

 sharp spade or knife; d. Replant four to 

 six inches apart and slightly deeper than 

 before. To make the border a success: 

 Keep the tallest plants at the back, graduat- 

 ing to the lowest in the front ; 

 Arrange for well distributed blossoming 



throughout the entire season; 

 Blend the color scheme so that only har- 

 monious shades come together. 



Little Things That Count 



WHEN planting anything, press the 

 soil firmly around it. 



When planting bulbs place them on a 

 layer of sand to prevent their rotting; and 

 you will get bigger flowers, too! 



When cutting weeds from the lawn fill 

 each hole with soil and a pinch of grass 

 seed on top. 



When pruning, cut flush with the branch 

 or trunk, leaving no stub. Also, rake up 

 and burn all the litter. 



When transplanting, cut the broken roots 

 to clean, square edges. 



