July, 1917 



T HE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



317 



Spraying is also effective — arsenate of lead one 

 ounce, soap two ounces, water two gallons. 



J$- Can't understand why your squash and 

 pumpkin vines wilt here and there and rot or 

 break off? The squash vine borer is the cul- 

 prit. Split the stem and look for him — a borer 

 about an inch long when full grown. As he is 

 inside no spray can reach him. When his 

 presence is suspected plunge a thin bladed pen- 

 knife through the stem and make a slit 

 parallel with the stem itself, then cover a foot 

 or so of the stem with an inch of earth so it 

 will take root at the joints above arid below the 



slit. Burn the vines as soon as the crop has 

 been gathered. 



if Potted strawberry plants are easy to 

 get and handy to have. They're better than 

 runner plants for summer setting. Plunge 2, 

 i\ or 3 inch flower pots rim deep in the soil 

 where a runner plant is trying to take root. 

 Fill with soil and place a small clod or a 

 pebble upon the runner stem to prevent its 

 being moved by the wind. In two or three 

 weeks, or when the pot has become filled with 

 roots the plants may be removed to and 

 planted in a new bed. Plants so treated will 

 give a good crop of berries the following spring 



whereas runner plants set in the spring will 

 not. The plan is therefore a time saver. Being 

 simple any one can use it. 



if To PROLONG THE CURRANT SEASON, 



cover some of the bushes with burlap or 

 muslin early in July or before the fruit be- 

 comes ripe. The material should be brought 

 down and tied at the base of the bushes so as 

 not to be whipped off by a wind. By this kind 

 of thing, currant varieties that would normally 

 be ripe in mid-July will last in good con- 

 dition until mid-August. Later varieties may 

 be made to keep until September. 



nnHHH 



Mobilizing Crops for Winter 



WE HAVE a vegeta- 

 ble garden this year 

 after all ! We were 

 "plumb" discour- 

 aged last year, as, after having planted, watered 

 and tended the crops for many weeks and every- 

 thing was flourishing, vacation time arrived 

 and the house was shut up. This happened 

 just as the beans and peas were beginning to 

 yield. When we came back two weeks later, 

 there was a luxuriant growth of weeds, quite 

 choking out over-ripe vegetables. And then 

 the mosquitoes! So I suggested that what we 

 grew was not worth all the trouble and that 

 this year we would devote ourselves to flowers 

 and a nice little lawn. But "circumstances 

 alter cases" and this year, after all, we are 

 filling every possible space with food plants of 

 all kinds; we actually have tomatoes among the 

 Tulips and cabbages with the Canterbury 

 Bells. Why not? Everything is green and 

 pretty to look at and really, to twist a 

 well-known sentence: "Now is the time for 

 every good woman to come to the aid of her 

 country." 



The men are seeing to it that every possible 

 use shall be made of the land; but, while the 

 summer crops are plentiful and comparatively 

 cheap w r e must prepare for winter supplies, 

 when, according to the economists, there will 

 be a shortage of everything. So I say, grow 

 anything you can, and then can it. Very often 

 there are "left overs" of fruit or vegetable 

 after the day's meal — well, can them. Don't 

 throw away anything. A pretty good plan to 

 follow is to deliberately cook too much for one 

 meal and can the remains. By doing this every 



EFFIE M. ROBINSON Gra t^feS^d^ inin8 



WHY, HOW AND WHAT TO CAN 



few days by the end of the summer you will 

 have collected a fine number and variety of 

 jars of fruits and vegetables that should help a 

 great deal toward carrying you through the 

 next winter at a cost of very little time or 

 trouble to yourself and it also enables you to 

 spread the money cost over many weeks in- 

 stead of crowding it all into a few. The 

 motto: "waste not, want not" had better be 

 put up in everybody's kitchen as a reminder. 



When I send in my weekly order to the 

 grocer I always add an order for a five pound 

 bag of sugar. This is not used for the 

 ordinary daily cookery but put aside sep- 

 arately to be used for canning only, as at the 

 time when all the fruits seem to ripen together 

 and I simply have to do a lot of canning or 

 preserving I have a whole lot of sugar already 

 and more money to spend on fruits, etc. 



RULES FOR CANNING 



Canning is either a perfectly easy routine 

 job or a terrific undertaking, according to the 

 way you approach it. Simple canning of 

 fruits can be done without sugar, but you must 

 have it for jellies and jams. In all canning, by 

 whatever method, a few general rules carefully 

 observed, will pretty well assure success. 

 , (i). Absolute cleanliness in everything. 



(2). Perfectly sound and fresh goods. 



(3). Complete sterilization. 



(4). Complete exclusion of air when sealing. 



For home canning glass jars are the best. 



They are economical as they 

 can be used over and over 

 again. Use any shape or size 

 you may happen to have, but if buying new 

 ones, get either quart or pint wide-mouthed 

 ones with glass top and fastened with a clamp. 

 Whatever jars are used must have rubber rings, 

 good springy new ones, as old and hard rubber 

 which has "perished," as it is called, allows 

 the air to seep through and so spoil the con- 

 tents. After emptying a jar, wash it, and keep 

 it in a handy place with fresh rubbers also 

 handy; then when you are about to can any- 

 thing all that is necessary is to put the jars on 

 the fire in a pan of tepid water and when the 

 water bubbles boil the jars fifteen minutes, 

 then let them stay in the water kept hot till 

 you are ready to use them. Boil the glass tops, 

 also. When ready for work, lift out a jar, do not 

 dry it, set it in a shallow pan of boiling water 

 and fill with the boiling food, at once place the 

 top and rubber ring in position and put into 

 the bath. The rubber rings must be scalded — 

 have a small pan with a quart of boiling water 

 with one teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda 

 dissolved in it. When you are ready for the 

 rubber rings, drop them into the solution for 

 half a minute. Do not seal the jars tightly till 

 the food has been boiled for fifteen minutes, for 

 otherwise when the water starts to boil and the 

 heat runs up, the jars, expanding, will burst. 



If you are so successful that your canning 

 business grows beyond your home needs, and 

 you start out to market your products, as is 

 quite possible if you once take to canning, the 

 enamelled tin cans are good to use instead of 



