April, 1 9 10 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



153 



GARDEN NOTES 



CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DOWNING LAY 



WINDOW BOXES 



liJNDOW boxes are a striking addition to 

 any house, whether in the city or the coun- 

 try. They seem a little more lovely in the 

 city, however, where their brilliant color 

 adds so much gaiety to a sometimes dull 

 and monotonous street. They are a con- 

 solation to the dwellers in the house and 

 a positive beneficence to the public. The owner who main- 

 tains window boxes on his city house when he himself is 

 away, gives evidence of high citizenship and shows consid- 

 eration for fellow men less fortunate than he. 



It is a pity that city houses must be closed in summer 

 for there is little more dreary than a house with dusty win- 

 dows showing nothing but green shades within. If the win- 

 dows could only be open, with gay colored curtains flutter- 

 ing from them, and brilliantly striped awnings, and flour- 

 ishing plants in the window boxes, how diflerent and how 

 picturesque our cities would be in summer! 



In the country, too, window boxes are attractive and may 

 be tilled with a greater variety of plants than in the city, if 

 one cares to take the trouble of frequently changing them. 

 Any flowering plant whose roots are not too large may be 

 transplanted to the window box, left there until its beauty 

 is passed, when it can be replaced by something else. 



When the window sills are broad, as they usually are on 

 stone houses, a box Sufl'iciently large can be placed on the 

 sill and will need no fastening. On a wooden house, how- 

 ever, there will not be room on the sill and the blinds could 

 not be closed, so the boxes must be supported on wooden 

 brackets below the window. 



The boxes must have holes in the bottom for drainage, 

 and must be filled with good potting soil on top of a layer 

 of spagnum moss or potsherds, also for drainage. 



The color of the flowers should be chosen with some re- 

 gard for the color of the house. Pink geraniums rather 

 than red, with a brick house, seems an elementary canon 

 of taste but is often violated. 



Nasturtiums, either the dwarfs for the back of the box, 

 or the climbing kinds planted in front so that they will hang 

 over, are very satisfactory. 



The so-called German Ivy (Senecio scandens) is a good 

 trailing vine in window boxes, and is almost as typical of 

 such a situation as pansies, geraniums, lobelia, and sweet 

 alyssum. Petunias, begonias and many other annuals and 

 house plants may be used as the taste of the owner dic- 

 tates. The main thing is to have these boxes gay and bril- 

 liant — even gaudy — and for this geraniums and nastur- 

 tiums will probably be best. 



GRAFTING 



One of the most delightful occupations of early spring 

 is grafting. It is best done in late March or April before 

 garden work is possible, but when one longs to be busy out 

 of doors and meet spring half way, as it were. 



It is constructive work and partakes of the beauty of 

 surgery and it is one of the high refinements of horticulture. 



The forms of grafting are many and have picturesque 



descriptive names, such as veneer grafting, root grafting, 

 whip grafting, in-arching, bridge grafting and cleft grafting. 



The tools required for grafting are few; a sharp, wide 

 set saw, a wide chisel and mallet, a knife, cotton twine and 

 grafting wax. For grafting wax melt together one-quarter 

 pound of rendered tallow, one-half pound of beeswax, one 

 pound of resin. Pull like molasses candy until it is light 

 colored. In using this the hands should be greased. It can 

 usually be bought in the stores if one cannot spare the time 

 to make it. 



If you have old apple trees that bear worthless fruit you 

 can easily rework their tops with any variety, or as many 

 varieties as you choose, and the new fruit should be borne 

 in three or four years. It is a much quicker way of getting 

 a new orchard than cutting down the old trees to make 

 room for seedlings of better varieties. 



Moreover, it is an excellent way to experiment with new 

 varieties of fruit which are thus brought into bearing very 

 quickly. 



In reworking an old tree you should not cut off big 

 branches, leaving only a couple of stubbs on the trunk, but 

 you should cut the branches where they are not larger than 

 two and a half inches and cut them all at the same distance 

 from the trunk so that the tree will still have some size, and 

 when the scions grow, will be symmetrical and evenly de- 

 veloped. 



The scions, which should have been burled in the earth 

 last November, are now dug up for use. 



Having selected the branch to be grafted and after saw- 

 ing off at the proper place, take the chisel and mallet and 

 split the butt left on the tree endwise through the middle. 

 This makes the cleft into which two scions, made wedge- 

 shaped on the ends, are inserted, one on each side. Be care- 

 ful in doing this to make a good joint, and be sure that the 

 scion is far enough toward the center in the cleft so that the 

 inner bark of the scion and the stock meet exactly. 



When the chisel is taken out of the cleft it will probably 

 close firmly on the scions, holding them in place; if not they 

 may be tied with waxed cotton twine. 



All joints about the stock and the scion should then be 

 covered with wax to prevent drying. The scion and the 

 stock will not unite or sink if the jomts dry out. 



Whip grafting is a method used on small trees or 

 branches. A slanting cut with a notch crosswise is made 

 on the stock and a similar one on the scion. They are then 

 put together, tied and waxed. 



Bridge grafting is used when a tree is completely girdled 

 by mice or rabbits. A number of scions of any variety are 

 cut slanting at each end and of proper length to bridge the 

 girdled part. The thin ends of the scions are then put un- 

 der the bark top and bottom. The scions should be quite 

 close, so that they will grow together in a few years. This 

 is the only way to save a girdled tree. 



Apples, pears, cherries, plums and peaches are easily 

 grafted, though peaches are usually budded. 



Nut trees can be grafted with some difficulty and many 

 shrubs are grafted on roots of other shrubs. The lilac, 

 for instance, is usually on privet stock. 



Grafting pears on the quince makes them dwarf. 



