March, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



XIX 



GARDEN NOTES 



By Eben E. Rexford 



MANURE can be applied to orchard, 

 field and garden now. Spread it as 

 evenly as possible. Use it as liberally 

 as circumstances will warrant, keeping in 

 mind the fact that what we give to the soil 

 is always returned to us in the quality and 

 quantity of the crops we harvest from it. 



The generous use of fertilizers is absolutely 

 necessary if one would achieve anything be- 

 yond an ordinary degree of success in the 

 growing of vegetables and small fruit. The 

 amateur gardener is likely to lose sight of, or 

 ignore, this fact. He can not afford to do 

 so. Our most successful farmers and gar- 

 deners are those who have been applying fer- 

 tilizers to their soils for years. They believe 

 in keeping up soil-fertility, and the only way 

 in which this can be done effectively is by 

 returning to the ground yearly those elements 

 wh-'ch the annual crop extracts from it. 



What plant-foods to use constitutes a prob- 

 lem each person will have to solve for him- 

 self. In its solution the kind and quality of 

 soil with which he has to deal must be con- 

 sidered, also the crop he proposes to grow. 

 Read up along these lines. Study the phil- 

 osophy of the soil and the effect of various 

 fertilizers on it. Consult men of sound sense 

 and practical experience. It is not necessary 

 for each person to experiment for himself in 

 all departments of gardening, as some seem to 

 think. Others have already experimented, 

 and why should we not reap the benefit of 

 their experience, and save ourselves the time 

 and labor of going over the same ground. 

 Knowledge at second-hand is just as valuable 

 as first-hand knowledge, provided it is real 

 knowledge. 



Go over the plum and cherry trees and 

 make a thorough search for block-knot before 

 the season opens. Cut and burn each diseased 

 branch. This treatment is considered so im- 

 portant that in several States laws have been 

 enacted against leaving plum-knots on the 

 trees. 



Much damage has been done, in late years, 

 by borers in peach, plum, pear and cherry 

 trees. Many experiments have been made, 

 with a view to exterminating the pest, but, 

 so far, no positive remedy has been found. 

 The following preparation, however, has been 

 found of considerable benefit, if used early in 

 the season, because it prevents many eggs from 

 hatching. Slake fresh lime, and prepare it as 

 you would for whitewash. To two-thirds of 

 a pailful of this liquid add one pint of gas-tar 

 and one pound of whole-oil soap dissolved in 

 hot water, or, if preferred, one pound of 

 potash may be substituted for the soap. Then 

 add clay enough to make the mixture as thick 

 as cream. Mix thoroughly and apply with a 

 stiff brush. Scrub the trunk and large limbs 

 of the trees with it, and work it well into 

 every crack and crevice. Remove some of the 

 earth about the base of the tree and paint the 

 roots liberally. This treatment will prevent 

 the borer from doing the injury he would if 

 left undisturbed. It also works well against 

 bark-lice and scale. 



Ashes and bonemeal make an excellent fer- 

 tilizer for small fruit. Use in the proportion 

 of one part bone meal to ten parts ashes. Mix 

 well before applying. Scatter broadcast about 

 the bushes, as soon as snow is gone. 



Look over the small fruit plantation, and 

 remove all defective plants. Especially such 

 as show signs of disease. One diseased plant, 

 if allowed to remain, may be the ruin of the 

 entire collection. 



Crop rotation should be practised in the 

 garden. Change the location of your vege- 

 tables from year to year. 



Small gardens can be spaded up to better 



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advantage than they can be plowed, for team 

 and plow can not do the best kind of work 

 when cramped for room. It will be necessary 

 to use the spade to complete matters, after 

 having used a plow, for much of the soil, at 

 ■the edges of the lot, will be left unturned. 

 Much can be accomplished in a day if a sharp, 

 thin-bladed spade is used, and the work is by 

 no means as hard and tiresome as most ama- 

 teur gardeners seem to think. My preference 

 for the small garden is the spade every time. 

 Much neater work can be done with it than 

 with the plow. 



If your garden is without asparagus and rhu- 

 barb, do not fail to set out some of these 

 plants this spring. Locate them at the sides, 

 where they will not interfere with the use of 

 the wheel cultivator. 



If you are not already the owner of a wheel 

 cultivator, don't neglect to add one to your 

 stock of garden tools this season. It is the 

 most all-around useful tool any gardener can 

 have. With it he can clean and cultivate his 

 garden in a fraction of the time that is re- 

 quired when a hoe is depended on. And the 

 work will be better done. 



In order to get the best results from the use 



of a cultivator plant your garden in rows. 

 Plant in such a. manner that the cultivator 

 can be run the entire length of the garden 

 without turning. 



The window-garden ought to be gay with 

 blossoms at this season. 



Make cuttings from your plants for sum- 

 mer use in beds. Go over them and remove 

 all small branches that do not seem to be 

 needed. Insert them in the pot, alongside the 

 old plants, pinching the soil firmly about their 

 base, and not one in ten will fail to grow. In 

 this way one can easily secure enough young 

 plants of geranium to fill a good-sized bed, 

 and the old plants will be all the better for 

 the pruning they get. 



Bring up the plants that have been win- 

 tered in the cellar. As soon as they are 

 placed in the light and watered well they will 

 begin to grow. When new branches break, 

 go over them and prune them into symmetrical 

 shape. Pruning should not be done until 

 growth starts, for one can not always tell in 

 advance where new branches will be pro- 

 duced. 



Fuchsias should be cut back at least half. 

 In fact, leave little but the main stalks and 



