268 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



May, 1913 



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If the leaves under 

 your trees were al- 

 lowed to drop each 

 year and remain un- 

 disturbed for 200 or 

 250 years, three feet 

 would have fallen, 

 making three inches 

 of humus. 



ALPHANO HUMUS 



Is Nature's Soil Builder 



It is a fertilizing stimulant, plant 

 food, and lasting soil builder, combined. 

 It is five times stronger and lasts ten 

 times longer than barnyard manures. 



It is neither a flashy, short-lived, chemical 

 preparation, nor a high-priced, dried manurial 

 product; but simply nature's own make, rich in 

 all the ten elements essential for plant life. 



Nitrogen, the vital element of all life, it pos- 

 sesses in high degree. 



When used freely, it will make even barren, 

 sandy soil lastingly productive. 



It is odorless, making it unobjectionable to 

 handle and permitting its use on your lawn in 

 quantities at any time of the year. It does away 

 entirely with the litter of manures, and attracts 

 no flies. Needs no raking off. 



Being in powdered form it is easily and quickly 

 applied, and is at once available to the roots. 



For shrubbery, trees, and gardens; landscape 

 architects say it has no equal. 



Order some. Use it freely. 

 Price F. O. B. Alphano, N. J. 

 5 bags $5-00. Per ton $12.00. 

 By the carload $8.00 a ton in bulk. 



Send for Booklet, which tells in plain words 

 just what Humus is, and why it is the best 

 soil builder. 



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Barn 

 Yard 

 I Manure l||| 









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ALPHANO M 

 HUMUS 1 







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ano 



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Alphano Humus is 

 five times stronger 

 and lasts ten times 

 longer than the 

 richest barnyard 

 manure. The 

 squares show their 

 relative values. 



3 



£&£? 



942 Whitehall Bldg. 



wsnssoBa 



New York City 



AWonderf ul NevQhrub 



Everblooming, fragrant, hardy, splendid for cut- 

 ting, a show plant growing \\ feet high. Planted 

 in April, it bears, from June till snow flies, long 

 spikes of beautiful claret colored blossoms of rare 

 fragrance, like the blending of lilac and heliotrope. 

 A single plant of the 



Everblooming Fragrant Butterfly Bush 



will perfume a large garden the entire season, draw- 

 ing myriad butterflies from all around. Strong 

 young plants from 2^-inch pots (will bloom first 

 season) 50 cents each, 3 for $1.25, $5.00 per dozen, 

 $35 per 100, prepaid. 



The 196-page Michell Catalog, sent free, describes this 

 wonderful new plant and lists all things useful for garden, lawn, 

 greenhouse and poultry yard? Tells all about the superior 

 qualities of Michell's Grass Seeds of which 750,000 pounds 

 are in hand for 1913 demand. 



HENRY F. MICHELL CO., 



520 Market St., Philadelphia 

 Expert Lawn Advice — Free 



Growing Large Pumpkins and 

 Squashes 



THE process "of producing enormous specimens 

 of squashes and pumpkins is easily within the 

 reach of any careful gardener. 



Last season some large specimens were desired 

 for a special exhibit at one of the fairs. I had grown 

 large specimens at other times but the method of 

 producing them had not occurred to me until the 

 procedure of this season's work was summed up in 

 my garden diary. 



The first thing to do is to start the seed early. 

 Last year I planted mine in paper pots the first 

 week in May, three weeks earlier than the usual 

 outdoor planting time, and later transplanted 

 them to their permanent positions in melon frames. 



The soil was dug away to a depth of a foot and a 

 prepared compost soil placed in its stead, the area 

 being five feet each way. The ground was banked 

 about six inches high over the entire area and the 

 plants set out in the center of the plot. One pound 

 of sulphate of potash and two pounds of acid phos- 

 phate were broadcasted on the space and raked into 

 the soil. 



Pumpkins suffer from lack of water and will be 

 stunted in dry seasons. When they were surface 

 watered the ground "baked" and the plants wilted 

 because the plants covered the ground and could 

 not be disturbed on account of their rooting at 

 each joint along the vine. They were sub-irrigated 



T>Rfl|i-««<ie*-/VROU'lo-Tll-£. 



A lack of water will stunt pumpkins. A method 

 of sub-irrigation is here shown 



— a drain tile was placed in the ground at a depth 

 of a foot near the hill of plants, with ample drainage 

 around the bottom of the tile so that the soil would 

 not wash. 



The first blossoms that appear are the ones to 

 secure the specimens from; and be content in secur- 

 ing but two specimens from a plant. I do not pinch 

 the vines back because they take root at the leaf 



A bumper crop of pumpkins and sauashes that 

 any gardener can produce in his garden 



joints and help the plant to pick up food. I pick 

 off the extra fruit blossoms as soon as formed 

 because the greater part of the plant's energy is 

 used in producing fruit and if it is spread out on 

 too many specimens they will be smaller. 



When the fruit is the size of a derby hat it should 

 be placed on the blossom end, flat on the ground; if 

 this is not done the specimen will be out of shape or 

 flat sided. If the situation be such that the sun- 



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