The Garden Magazine, February, 1922 



327 



comes. But Roses are the best of all — certain late varieties like Mer- 

 maid, Ophirie, Alba odorata, Hiawatha, Mme. Alfred Carriere some- 

 times have blooms until July, and, all but Hiawatha, begin again in 

 late September. — An Italian Reader, Rome, Italy. 



Plants that Don't "Come True" 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



THE article by J. L. Collins in the November number recalls the 

 peculiar conduct of a Dahlia plant in my garden a few years ago. 

 It was supposed to be Lindhurst, but it bore on one stem two full, large 

 blooms that were alike in form and size but not in color for one was a 

 solid, rich red and the other a bright yellow except for one little red 

 mark on one petal. Another case, strange to me, was that of a Balsam 

 plant given me by a friend. I had only the one plant and, so far as 1 

 could learn, there was not another in any garden near by. 1 saved 

 seed from this plant whose blossoms were red and this seed, sown 

 the following spring, produced four different shades: a pure white, 

 a flesh pink, and two reds, one light, the other dark. These cases may 

 interest the other readers of The Garden Magazine. — Frank M. 

 Bingham, Decatur, Michigan. 



— It was to be expected that the Balsam would not "come true" — as 

 is the case with the vast majority of garden varieties of selected strains 

 of flowers. Only under carefully controlled conditions can they be 

 bred true — see the reference to Double Cosmos on p. 296 this issue. 



Pole Limas That Rival Jack's Beanstalk 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



THE pole Limas here pictured are worthy rivals of the proverbial 

 beanstalk of Jack. These Beans, variety early Leviathan, were 

 grown by Frank j. Fedder at Dansville, N. Y., and bore a heavy crop 

 from the ground to the top of the tallest pole, which, before erecting, 

 measured twenty-two feet long. 



They were sown May 30th and reached the tops of the poles about 

 July 20th. The first mess of beans was picked the last week in July, 

 and the vines were still bearing strongly on September 18th when this 

 photograph was taken. 



This result is due to striving for many years on Brother Frank's part 

 to provide poles tall enough to satisfy his most ambitious Lima; and 

 every season he has provided taller ones until this year when he 

 felt he had surely reached the limit. But the Beans, favored by un- 

 usually warm weather, not only reached the top but came back down 

 again four or five feet more. No fertilizer was used to force them, but 

 they were given at all times an abundance of water. As a basis of com- 

 parison, Mr. Fedder is 6 ft. 2 in. tall and the ladder beside him 9 ft. 



He has wonderful success likewise with the balance of his small but 

 intensively productive garden in which he takes great pride and from 

 which (as a true gardener should) he derives much pleasure. — Raymond 

 L. Fedder, Dansville, N. Y. 



The Idiosyncrasies of the Rabbit 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



WHO can account for the peculiar depredations of rabbits? Are 

 they spiteful in that they often destroy but do not consume their 

 prey? In the fall they are apt to injure any recently transplanted 

 material which they would not injure if left undisturbed. 



On several occasions in the fall I have transplanted to my garden 

 from a near-by wood young Hawthorns and, unless protected, they 

 are girdled by rabbits during the early winter, while similar plants in 

 the woodland on my grounds remain untouched. Early in the autumn 

 I planted some small Lilacs — choice varieties — but neglected to protect 

 them; by the middle of December they were cut back to within six 

 inches of the ground. Near by were plenty of small sucker plants 

 at the base of their parents just as tender and juicy as my pet plants 

 that were not "sampled" or cut for food. Was it mere cussedness on 

 the part of the rabbit? Every fall 1 transplant some Rudbeckia triloba, 

 a biennial retaining its foliage during the winter — if allowed to! How- 

 ever, unless covered with strawy manure, it will be eaten by rabbits 

 who do not touch undisturbed plants only ten feet away. 



Some seasons they seem to have a grudge against some particular 

 plant and take delight in de-flowering its blooms as soon as they appear. 

 Last summer they chose a planting of yellow Violas having Sanvitalia 

 procumbens for a centre. They seemed not to have discovered it 

 until about the first of July when the bed was a sheet of color; or, dis- 

 covering it, did they want me to see what a glorious sight they could 

 deprive me of? At any rate they then commenced their nocturnal 



HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANY TALLER? 

 Pole Limas (variety Leviathan) more than 20 ft. high; sown May 30th, 

 they reached the top of the poles about July 20th; first mess of beans 

 picked the end of July and vines still bearing strongly on September 

 18th when this photograph was taken; no fertilizer used to force but 

 water plenty and often. How about it, neighbors? Shall we take off 

 our hats to Mr. Frank J. Fedder, of Dansville, N. Y.? 



depredations and no blooms were seen thereafter. The same plants 

 in other parts of the grounds were untouched. 



Two years ago their tastes apparently did not run to Violas as my 

 plantings were ignored; the fancy that year was for groups of hybrid 

 Verbenas — an entire absence of bloom during the summer being the 

 result of their nocturnal sprees. 



I expect some one will suggest that I put salt on their tails and catch 

 them — I tried that some seventy odd years ago, but it didn't work — 

 their tails weren't long enough! — W. C. Egan, Highland Park, III. 



What Lime Will Do for Your Grape Vines 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



IT IS pretty generally known that the great virtue in lime does not 

 consist in its own fertilizing power but rather in its potency to 

 liberate, through certain chemical action, other fertilizing elements in 

 the soil. Ordinary earth is, essentially, far richer than we suppose; but 

 its powers to stimulate growth are not always available; and they 

 decrease naturally as plants draw upon them for development. 



Until recently I had not known of the marvelous power of sweet 

 lime on Grape vines. A friend living near by has a vineyard of several 

 acres which, during the winter of 1921, he liberally limed. The liming 

 was not done broadcast but about two or three pounds of pulverized 

 sweet lime were applied at the roots of each vine, and then raked care- 

 fully into the top-soil. This was done during a dry spell when the top- 

 earth was mellow. The raking in was so thorough that the lime and the 

 soil, for a distance of three feet from the foot of each vine, in every direc- 

 tion, were perfectly mixed. No other fertilizer of any kind was used. 



Last year was a poor year for Grapes in this section; many vines had 

 none and others bore an indifferent and ragged crop. My friend, 



