April. 1913 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



181 



The foxglove and mullein pinks are two good biennials which self sow in 

 poorly favored spots, making themselves virtually perennial 



In a smoky suburban garden. The common iris and the elder proved to 

 be strong growers 



that grow well in smoke and whose root 

 systems run deep, are Anchusa Italica, 

 Crambe cordifolia, Anemone Japonica, and 

 Oriental poppy. As these plants are grown 

 from root cuttings, a disaster will not 

 likely prove fatal. 



Plants which cannot endure excessive 

 -winter moisture are to be avoided, as a 



smoky atmosphere carries a heavy damp- 

 ness which is sure death to certain flowers. 

 Delphiniums seem to be exempt from this 

 rule, as I have seen splendid blooming 

 plants grow in heavy atmosphere where 

 phlox was quite overcome. 



Perennials and biennials which self sow, 

 such as rocket (Hes peris matronalis), the 



common double feverfew, and sweet Wil- 

 liam are splendid for town gardens, as the 

 young seedlings make the best blooming 

 plants and require no care other than a 

 spring thinning. Foxgloves are among the 

 best which self sow, but must be grown 

 carefully in light, well drained soil where 

 smoke hangs over winter. 



What a Tiny Fruit Garden Produced —By Harry J. Rodgers, ■« 



POSSIBILITIES OF THE AVERAGE SUBURBAN BACKYARD IN SUPPLYING FRESH FRUIT 

 IN VARIETY — YOU CAN PLANT NOW AND ENJOY SOME FRUIT THIS SEASON 



BY all means I say plant a fruit garden 

 this spring. The man who does 

 not make his backyard produce 

 fruits and vegetables little realizes 

 what he is losing. He has no idea how 

 much his small garden would reduce the 

 cost of living, and how many luxuries it 

 would supply for his table and pantry if he 

 would only give the soil a chance. 



I have a garden plot 45 x 60 ft. that has 

 been a source of surprise, satisfaction and 

 profit to me because of its productiveness. 

 I rescued it from a jungle of weeds and the 

 ash heaps of tenants — a laborious job, 

 I confess — and transformed it into a little 

 fruit farm, a mere tabloid of a place, it is 

 true, but very productive considering its 

 previous abandoned condition. The trans- 

 formation was begun five years ago, but 

 not all of the nursery stock was planted 

 until a year later. 



This tiny garden gave me a harvest of 



171 quarts and 170 pounds of small fruits 

 during the season of 191 2. The kinds and 

 the quantities were as tabulated below: 



NAME 



Strawberries 

 Early cherries 

 Late cherries 

 White currants . 

 Red currants 

 Red raspberries . 

 Gooseberries . 

 Four varieties grapes 



YIELD 



QUARTS 128 



(pounds) 170 



In addition I have one early and one 

 late apple tree that. will come into bearing 

 next summer, and there still remains enough 

 ground of the little garden for two vegetable 

 patches that grow an abundance of all 

 kinds for our family of two. 



Reckoned only in dollars and cents, the 

 cash value of this small farm's fruit crop 

 last year was $22.86. This sum does not 

 include the value of the vegetables, as no 



record of them was kept. The garden 

 contains less than 2,700 square feet, or 

 one-sixteenth of an acre. Last season it 

 produced at the rate of $365 an acre, but 

 the strawberry patch did much better. 

 It yielded at the rate of 12,800 quarts to 

 the acre, worth $1,200, and the picking 

 season lasted longer than four weeks. 



The fruits of the crop, figured at the 

 average prices of the summer, gave the 

 following cash returns: 



1 28 quarts strawberries, at 10 cents 

 15 quarts cherries, at 8 cents . 

 1 2 quarts currants, at 8 cents . 

 8 quarts raspberries, at 25 cents . 

 8 quarts gooseberries, at 10 cents . 

 1 70 pounds grapes, at 3 cents 



Total 





$12 



.80 





I 



.20 

 .06 





2 



00 

 .80 





5 



10 



$22.86 



The strawberry patch is 20x22 ft. It 

 was set to Senator Dunlap and Bederwood 

 plants in the spring of 19 10. They were 



