The Junior Gardeners 



CONDUCTED BT AUNT HEPSIE 



Boys and girls are requested to write to Aunt Hepsie, care Home and Flowers, Springfield, Ohio. 



Success Comes With a Little Effort 



Bear Aunt Hepsie : 



I have liked Home and Flowers ever since 

 mamma has taken it, but the Junior Gardener 

 makes it doubly interesting. 



I had my first success with Sweet Peas this 

 year and yet they didn't do so well as I hope to 

 have them do another year. 



I have three small Rose plants about six 

 months old^ which I transplanted to larger pots 

 a few days ago. Shall I put them in the cellar 

 for the winter or put them in the ground? 



I have a pot of Sweet Alyssum in bloom now. 

 I forgot to water for several days and I found 

 it wilting so I set it in a tub of water until well 

 saturated. The next day it was as fresh as 

 ever. Your friend, 



Callie Purl. 



Illinois, August 24, 1903. 



Set them out in the ground and protect them 

 during the winter. Eead Mr. Rexford's article 

 on the Eose this month. 



Elsie^s Second Letter 



Bear Aunt Kepsie : 



I see that my other letter was in print, and 

 so I guess I can write another. I see Aunt 

 Hepsie is very good about giving information 

 on plants, so I will see if I can't obtain some. 

 I had a nice Fuchsia and it was just loaded with 

 little blossoms when we noticed that the leaves 

 and blossoms began to fall off. It was not 

 long before mamma killed a little spider on it 

 and she said she sprinkled water all over the 

 leaves. But still the leaves and blossoms kept 

 falling off. It had a large slip on it, and I cut 

 the slip off, and washed it, all the leaves were 

 off so I just washed it good and it was covered 

 with little white specks, and I scratched all I 

 could see of them off vdth my finger nail. I 

 changed the dirt and put the ,slip in one can 

 and the root in another, and now the root has 

 started to grow again, and has two or three 

 little leaves on it now. Was it the little spider 

 that made the leaves fall off, and what were 

 those little white specks? If the leaves began 

 falling off again, should I do the same thing or 

 something different? 



I think another name for "Wandering Jew" 

 is "Jacob's Ladder." Is that right? 



Your loving niece, 



Elsie Colwell. 



South Dakota, August 27, 1903. 



The little red spiders caused the leaves to 

 fall off. The white specks were probably what 

 is called scale. This is another troublesome 

 insect and it sucks the juice of the plant. 

 Spiders do not like water. But you should 

 spray it on, and reach especially the under por- 

 tion of the leaves. Jacob's Ladder is another 

 plant entirely and belongs to the Phlox family. 

 See letter of George E. Pearson, who answers 

 the question. 



Blanche's Question Answered 



Bear Aunt Hepsie : 



1 live in Colfax county, New Mexico. I have 

 a nice Poppy bed and mamma has a nice Pansy 

 bed, and a lot of other plants. Yes, Blanch, I 

 can answer your question, the botanical name 

 for Wandering Jew is Tradescantia repens or 

 Spiderwort, named in honor of John Trades- 

 cant. I have a Wandering Jew, it is so big and 

 pretty. I am a great lover of plants, I have 

 two gardens all for myself. I am thirteen 

 years old, and can raise lots of flowers. Mamma 

 reads Home and Flowers and so do I, I like 

 to read about the flowers and when I read about 

 the junior class, I said I would. like to join, aud 

 so I wrote, and hope to hear from Aunt and 

 cousins soon. Well, I will have to close for the 

 first time. Your true nephew and cousin, 



George Edward Pearson. 



Colfax county, September 1, 1903. 



Tradescantia repens or Tradescantia zebrina 

 is the scientific name of Wandering Jew. It is 

 a cousin of the Spiderwort, though not exactly 

 the same. The name zebrina is given because 

 of the stripes found on the leaves, which sug- 

 gest the markings of the zebra. 



Perhaps Flowers Do Have a Message 



Bear Aunt Hepsie: 



1 was quite sick last summer, and could not 

 hold up my head for several days. I had to lie 

 still and just think. I studied the wall paper 

 until I got tired and everything seemed to run 

 together. When I got better and could sit up 

 a little I liked to sit at the window and look 

 outdoors. 



We have a large yard, and I thought the 

 flowers never did look so pretty. Brother gath- 

 ered a bunch for me every day, and I never 

 noticed before how wonderful a flower really is. 

 They seemed to want to tell me something. 



Your friend, Julia Clark. 



Connecticut, July 29, 1903 



