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HOME AXD FLO}YEES 



act the mischief done. By all means use the 

 "pink pills" in preference to Castor oil. The 

 continued use of that will kill vour plants. Be 

 sure of that. 



"Indiana" gives us some advice about Aster 

 grovring -which will be found beneficial by those 

 who admire tliis flower and have some difhculty 

 in growing it well. My own experience goes 

 to prove that high culture greatly lessens the 

 dangers which we have to contend against 

 where only ordinary treatment is given: 



"For two years I grew my Asters where 

 there had been an old wood house without a 

 floor. The soil was composed of well-rotted 

 wood or 'chip dirt.' My Asters were the finest 

 I ever saw and free from pests. I think per- 

 haps the chip dirt was suited to their needs. 



They grew so strong that they were able to 

 withstand the pests. After that 1 raised them 

 in the garden in common soil, where I had in- 

 different results, with all kinds of Aster pests. 

 But the worst thing I have to deal with is a 

 large b^ack bug or beetle resembling an old- 

 fashioned running potato bug, only it is jet 

 black. It comes after the Asters are ready to 

 bloom and will eat a large bed up in a night 

 or in an hour or two. If I find them in time 

 I don"t know what better to do, so I grab the 

 shears and while they are busily engaged in 

 'eating I just cjuietly snip their heads otf one 

 after another as fast as I can until I demolish 

 the whole gang, for they come in companies. 

 If any one knows a better plan I would like 

 to hear it. They will Cjuickly destroy a fine 

 bed of Dianthus Pinks also if let alone." 



A BIT OF P L E A S A X T GOSSIP 



{ALWAYS admired a beautiful Tulip bed, 

 but had no end of trouble in trying to have 

 one of my own because the moles would 

 destroy the bulbs, and the children and 

 dogs would run over the bed after blooming- 

 season was over. Finally I selected a new place 

 for my bed. I made it large and round. I 

 had the top soil lifted and piled at one side, 

 then almost if not quite a foot of the clay 

 beneath it lifted and carted away. Then I 

 had a wall made of brick laid all around up 

 the side of the bed one and one-half or two feet 

 deep, so close that a mole could not creep 

 through and so deep they would not burrow^ 

 under. Then I had rotted manure and plenty 

 of it thrown in the bottom. On top of this the 

 soil was replaced, mixed with black loam. 

 Then I planted my bulbs, of which I had enough 

 to put them six inches apart in the row all 

 around the bed, and the rows nine inches 

 apart. I then mulched the bed all over with 

 dead sod turned root side up. I only wanted 

 one large bed, so I selected bulbs that would 

 bloom early and late. Then I put Crocus 

 thickly in the center, maxing the early and 

 late blooming Tulips evenly all over the bed, 

 so almost from the time the Crocus are gone 

 the bed is a thing of beauty and a joy for 

 months. The Tulips do not bloom for six 

 months, but every one knows that an old Tulip 

 bed is not ornamental after it is through 

 blooming, so I sowed seed of the Shirley Poppy 

 in it, and soon after the last Tulips have 

 bloomed the Poppies begin, and by going over 

 the bed every day with scissors and clipping 

 off every seed pod I succeeded in keeping them 



blooming all summer. When the dry, hot 

 weather comes you must give them a few good 

 soakings— not a little water, but a good soal-- 

 ing. Pour the water cn and give it time to 

 soak through the bed, then put more on until 

 the bed is wet as far down as it is dug. 



I do not dig in this bed or stir the soil, for 

 it is planted too thickly' and I would disturb 

 the roots, but it does not get hard, for it is 

 made of material that can not after being 

 mulched with sod. When the soil is wet after 

 a rain I pull out the weeds. To prevent the 

 bulbs from freezing up out of the ground mulch 

 the bed in late autumn with coarse manure. 



Xow, last, but not least, especially if this 

 bed is in the yard, it needs some protection 

 around it ; if there are chickens it must have it ; 

 if there are children or dogs it needs it almost 

 as much. Clip the flowers and give them to the 

 children. The more Poppies you clip the better, 

 but don't let tliem in the bed, for they do not 

 understand where to step. My bed has a two- 

 foot wire netting around it, which is a sufficient 

 protection. This bed needs to be renewed and 

 thinned once in four years. There are other 

 things that can be planted in the Tulip bed 

 that will make it a source of delight all summer 

 if only you make the bed rich enough to stand 

 the demand. One thing is Portulaca. It does 

 not mind the dry weather much if the soil is 

 not too light. If the bulbs are not too close 

 together you can sink your pots filled with 

 Geraniums for summer blooming between the 

 rows of bulbs and have the Portulaca carpeting 

 the ground beside. The soil beneath is better 

 to be shaded completely. Indiana. 



