158 



The Garden Magazine, November, 1921 



But with restrained treatment, letting the plant very much 

 alone, nature will itself evolve an adjustment, even if in the 

 process it strips the plant of some of its leaves to acquire the 

 proper balance. This, indeed, often occurs when plants are 

 shifted into darker quarters, and is no cause for anxiety. 

 They'll recover in due time. 



THE OPE^C OLUM ^C 



Readers' Interchange of Experience and Comment 



Why Not a Southern Issue of The Garden Magazine? 



To-the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



I AM very much interested in the California articles that you publish 

 from time to time, and have often wondered if you would ever 

 have an article on southern gardening? — P. W., Texas. 



"How Much Does Watering Help?" 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



I READ with interest your September editorial on this topic as it is a 

 question of vital interest to us. We are dependent upon cisterns 

 for water, and we do love flowers. Our garden is a fair sized one, and 

 a mass of blooms from March, with Snowdrops and Crocus, to Novem- 

 ber, and even sometimes December — if the season is open as last year 

 was. We never can water. We do cultivate as much as we can, but 

 I am never without flowers for myself and my friends and generally 

 have more than I can use. So I feel I can positively say watering is 

 not necessary to the production of good flowers or vegetables, for we 

 have all we need of both and enough vegetables over to can. The flower 

 which has lent my garden certain neighborhood fame is the large English 

 Delphinium growing to a height here of seven or eight feet. — J. C, 

 ■ Kentucky. 



Where to Get Fuchsias 



To the Editor o/The Garden Magazine: 



IN HIS article in the September number of The Garden Magazine 

 Mr. J. Horace McFarland asks who has different varieties of Fuch- 

 sias? I am very glad to be able to answer his question, for the lovely 

 Fuchsia always brings childhood memories to me and I am often regret- 

 ting that it cannot be grown successfully in our hot climate. Fuchsias 

 do remarkab'y well in the cooler parts of California. The California 

 Nursery Co., Niles, Calif., listed seven varieties in the 1920 catalogue, 

 but a year ago 1 noticed perhaps twice as many growing in the nurser- 

 ies at Niles. No doubt, Mr. McFarland could get all the varieties by 

 writing to the president of the California Nursery Co., the well known 

 horticulturist, Mr. George Roeding. — Paul Winkler, Dallas, Texas. 



We Are Grateful and Encouraged 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



JUST a word to say how much I am enjoying my September number 

 of The Garden Magazine, which grows better with every suc- 

 cessive issue. "Walks and Talks at Breeze Hill" by J. Horace Mc- 

 Farland is most interesting and suggested to me the idea of sending 

 you these leaves from a Fuchsia which has been most unhealthy all 

 summer. Can you give me any information as to the disease and 

 how to remedy it? — Maud A. Queen, Mass. 



— The leaves do not show any evidence of parasitic disease, but the 

 dried, browned tips and edges etc., suggest the effect of "burning," 

 i. e., collapse of the tissue through excessive direct sunshine, coupled 

 with a stagnation of root action. The Fuchsia delights in semi-shade, 

 and a cool moist air. — Ed. 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



A WORD in appreciation of your various articles on Evergreens. 

 There is a tremendous sale of evergreen plants throughout a 

 large part of the U. S. and a great percentage of house owners love and 

 appreciate them, yet yours is the only magazine that adequately pre- 

 sents them. — H. F. Wilson, Morris Park, N. Y. 



Couch, Scutch, Twitch or Quitch Grass 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



IN OUR small plot in this Baltimore suburb, there has appeared a 

 plant known on our farms as Wire-grass — probably brought in with 

 some of the "good top-soil" from the country. Two years ago when 



this pestilential plant showed increasing strength we had the terrace 

 and little lawn dug up and we hoped every root destroyed. Never- 

 theless, it appeared the following year and again this summer. Of 

 course, it is taken up as it shows on the surface, but the invaded area 

 evidently enlarges, showing great underground activity, and the work 

 of eradicating obviously must be done in some other way. 



In times past The Garden Magazine has proved a tower of strength, 

 and I hope once more to find assistance. Can you tell me how to de- 

 stroy this plant? — Lu Wilson Sperry. 



— An enclosed specimen is what is known variously as Couch Grass, 

 Wheat Grass, Scutch Grass, Twitch Grass, Dog Grass, Devil's Grass, 

 Whickers, Wire Grass, and several other names, the multitude of which 

 give evidence of the commonness of the pest. It is a troublesome weed 

 and multiplies from each joint that is broken. In the "Manual of 

 Weeds" by Ada Georgia the recommended course to follow is: 



"An early fall plowing with the furrow turned just deep enough 

 to cut the matted rootstocks free from the subsoil (usually about six 

 inches) followed by toothed harrowing to work the soil free from the 

 rootstocks so that they may be raked into piles to be dried and burned 

 is a good way to fight this grass. Two such plowings should be done in 

 the fall, the second crosswise to the first, and with early and careful 

 cultivation in the spring, followed by a hoed crop thoroughly tilled 

 until midsummer, will clean out the weed. And again small areas of 

 the pest may be smothered by being covered with boards, or spread- 

 ing thick manure or straw (not less than a foot deep and well packed 

 down so as to exclude air) or with tarred paper pegged down so that 

 the wind cannot stir it. Two or three months of such exclusion from 

 air and sunlight will leave the rootstocks withered and dead." — Ed. 



As to "Blanket Flowers" and Fuchsias 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



A LETTER which came to me through The Garden Magazine 

 has in it a bit of interesting information about the reason why a 

 Gaillardia is called a "Blanket Flower." Mrs. John Goddard (Monu- 

 ment Beach, Mass.) writes: "Twice lately I have seen the name 

 'Blanket Flower' for the Gaillardia called 'absurd' and 'unaccounta- 

 ble.' You may be interested to know that old-time ladies used to copy 

 the flower in crewels in the corners of their home-made blankets. I 

 have seen and used such blankets that were 'handed down.'" 



I confess to being very much gratified at the way in which I hear 

 from the stuff you permit me to get into The Garden Magazine. 

 The periodical is evidently read by thoughtful, cultured people the 

 country over. For example, I have two lots of Fuchsias coming to 

 me on account of the September complaint that I did not know where 

 to get a collection; and a third offer from California! — J. Horace 

 McFarland, Harrishurg, Pa. 



What Are the "Best Peonies?" 



To the Editor of 'The Garden Magazine: 



IN A recent issue your comment on the Peony symposium of the 

 American Peony Society was, it seems to me, accompanied by the 

 wrong table of the up-to-the-minute varieties. The table you used was 

 one comparing this latest voting contest with a former one of some years 

 ago. The correct table of those receiving the highest vote is on pages 

 33-36 of the Symposium Bulletin. So much care and expense has been 

 taken to attain this result that I suggest you publish that table so that 

 all flower lovers can see that the American Peony Society is getting good 

 results. It is the fond hope of most Peony growers that in a few years 

 the many hundreds of present varieties will be reduced to a point where 

 only those voting above eight on a scale of ten points will be grown. — 

 Frank W. Campbell, Detroit, Mich. 



— The list published with our comments in the August Garden Maga- 

 zine was the one embracing all the varieties "receiving 20 or more votes 

 in both symposiums" — there having been an earlier vote taken in 1919 

 — and was selected, to quote from the bulletin because "such kinds 

 may be considered as definitely placed and removed from the 

 necessity of further discussion." The other list to which our corres- 

 pondent refers is an ordinal or grade record in two columns: 1st the 

 varieties whose average rests on more than 20 votes in the latest sym- 

 posium; and 2nd those receiving less than 20 votes "whose position is 

 therefore still open to question," to again quote the Bulletin. As to 

 which is the "correct" list all depends on the angle of approach. The 

 leaders in this graded list are Le Cygne, Kelway's Glorious, Therese, 

 Solange, Mme. Jules Dessert, Tourangelle, Festiva Maxima, Walter 

 Faxon, E. B. Browning, La Fee, M. Jules Elie, Phillippe Rivoire, 

 Frances Willard, Lady A. Duff, Martha Bullock, Baroness Schroeder,. 



