178 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
December, 1916 
no winter protection, except a covering of 
leaves, not too lieavy. In the spring, I give 
them a liberal dose of wood ashes. 1 hey 
have multiplied wonderfully. They get par- 
tial shade and are watered only in very drj' 
weather. At other times, they take care of 
themselves. I'hey are planted in ordinary 
garden soil, to which leafmold has been added. 
I have now Queen Charlotte, which promises 
to be fine. 
Tennessee. B. U. Tomlinson. 
Dahlias Grown Every Way 
T HAD splendid results last year with 
Dahlias by following every one of the 
different directions given. I planted them on 
rocky soil, in cinders, ordinary garden soil, 
well manured soil, in partial shade and full 
sunshine, in sand, and old sod, and had 
Dahlias to burn everywhere. 1 he only par- 
ticular difference I noted anywhere was that 
the Dahlias growing in heavily manured soil 
spread so wide and far that they pulled the 
stakes out of the ground and sprawled, a solid 
mat of flowers and leaves, all over the ground. 
Kansas. Mrs. Sarah E. Roby. 
Making the Refrigerator Help 
T^O ^’OU happen to be married (as I am), 
-*-^and live in a house with your refrigerator 
not connected with the sewer. ^ If so, you 
will recall many occasions when, being just 
ready for bed your wife has ordered you to 
empty the drip pan; you will also vividly 
recall that the pan was always overflowing, 
and that you usually filled your slippers with 
icy water, and the rest of it. Determined to 
remedy this condition, a few years ago I 
placed a half-inch iron pipe under the floor 
of my north back porch upon which my 
refrigerator stands, so as to carry the drip 
outside the baseboard of the porch. I 
happened to arrange it so that the pipe dis- 
charged in a space about three by eight feet 
enclosed on three sides by the foundations 
of the house, porch, and cellar way. Noticing 
that this space was always cool and moist 
from the drip, I prepared it as a flower-bed 
with suitable soil, and planted Ferns around 
the foundation and various wild, moisture 
loving plants in the middle, and it has worked 
to perfection, changing the least sightly 
to the most attractive place on my premises. 
Maidenhair and other native Ferns, Solo- 
mon’s Seal, False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Ginger, 
Columbine and Bluebells all do perfectly, 
and make a really beautiful bed. While 
this idea is doubtless very old, it was new to 
me, and has been gratefully received by enough 
of my friends to lead me to believe that it 
may be worth while to suggest it to the 
readers of The Garden Magazine. 
Warsaw, Mo. Henry P. Lay. 
A Vine That Cannot Be Drowned 
A V’ERY interesting corollary wasestablished 
in connection with the flood that devast- 
ated the parks of Fargo, N. D., during July, 
1916. All but a very few groups of shrubs, both, 
native and exotic, were completely covered 
with water for a period of two weeks. To know 
that a row boat could be taken over the shrubs 
during more than a week of this time gives an 
adequate idea of the actual conditions. It re- 
quired another week for the water to recede 
and leave the land dry enough for spading. 
Even then, going down to a depth of a spade 
and a half, disclosed standing water. 
As might be expected every shrub and every 
perennial was killed. However, the native 
River Grape (Vitis vulpina) went through the 
ordeal unharmed. All the vines were leafless 
when the water receded, though within less 
than a month they were fairly well foliated 
again. There were a considerable number of 
these vines under water, some but a few years 
old, others of many years’ growth. All re- 
foliated themselves with equal vigor. It 
should be noted in this connection that the 
River Grape is distinct from the eastern wild 
or Fox Gra^e, Vitis labrusca. 
Fargo, No. Dak. C. L. Meller. 
A Rotation of Coldframes 
TN THE Odds and Ends Department of the 
September Garden Magazine I was in- 
terested in Mr. A. E. Wilkinson’s article on 
coldframes. Some four or five years ago I 
was staying at a place where there was a four 
sash coldframe. In the fall I planted one sash 
to radishes and half of another to lettuce. 
Another sash I dug out and put in three or four 
wheelbarrows of horse manure, which warmed 
the other sections enough to force the plants 
along. When the lettuce was ready to trans- 
plant I put it in the sash that had the manure 
in it, planting radishes between the rows; then 
dug out the remaining sash and put in horse 
manure, filling up vacant spaces in the other 
sashes with lettuce and radishes; and when 
that sash of manure had cooled down so that 
it needed more heat, one of the first sashes was 
ready to be dug out and filled with manure for 
heat. In that way I kept heat sufficient dur- 
ing the winter to supply lettuce and radishes 
until spring. As we kept a horse there was no 
expense except for seed, planting lettuce seed 
twice during the winter to have plants ready 
to transplant. 
Taunton, Mass. A. W. Dean. 
Cyanide of Potassium for Ants 
/^FTEN a hill of ants works havoc in a gar- 
'“^den. The following is an excellent way to 
exterminate them. Dissolve one-half to one 
ounce of cyanide of potassium in one gallon of 
w’ater, and spray the hill. Then dip bread in 
the solution, leave it where the ants can get it 
but cover with boards to protect it from ani- 
mals. The ants will carry the poisoned bread 
to their young and queen in the nest, thus 
destroying the whole nest. 
Florida. Winnina E. Brownson. 
A Working Costume for the Mistress of the 
Garden 
T BOL'GHT some plain green denim, the 
color of Marsh Willow leaves and had a little 
tailor make, me two pair of workmen’s over- 
alls, with full array of pockets and straps. 
Then I bought enough rose pink chambray for 
a knee length smock. This I made myself, 
with round neck, long sleev'es, and a loose belt 
so that the folds of the smock should not fall 
forward and get in my way when weeding. A 
second smock, of the same pattern, was of corn 
yellow chambray. I wore a true old-fashioned 
sunbonnet to match each smock. 
For ten cents I bought a good sized chip 
basket and painted it willow green to match 
my overalls. I'his held my smaller tools, a 
trowel, scissors, gloves, and a folded kneeling- 
mat. This rug was a piece of an old green and 
white rag rug and could be washed as often as 
necessary. 
A pair of earth brown sneakers completed 
my costume. 
Connecticut. Gobelina Fell Alsop. 
Mistletoe a Forest Pest 
^ I ’HE United States Department of Agri- 
culture reports that serious injury is done 
by Mistletoe to coniferous trees in many re- 
gions. The Western Larch, the Western 
Yellow Pine, the Lodgepole and the Douglas 
Fir suffer most; each of these is attacked by a 
particular species of Mistletoe which gradually 
causes a great reduction in the growth of the 
tree by reducing the amount of leaf surface. 
Excessive infection of the lower branches of 
the tree may cause the upper portion of the 
crown to die, giving rise to what is commonly 
called staghead or spiketop. Severe infection 
throughout the entire crown often results in 
the d eath of the tree. Young seedlings from 
three to six weeks old may be killed within a 
comparatively short time after they become in- 
fected. Furthermore, trees weakened by 
Mistletoe infection are much more susceptible 
to attacks from fungi and forest tree insects. 
Graceful Outlines in Landscape Gardening 
TF ONE is laying out a new shrubbery, flower 
bed, or grass plot, with edges to be cut in 
curves, instead of experimenting with garden 
line, pointed stick, or formal measurements to 
get a good outline, lay a garden hose loosely 
around the general measured space. It falls 
at once into graceful curves, not to be as 
easily obtained in any other way. Cut or 
draw around it as it lies. This was told me by 
an expert who has a professional, literary, and 
home interest in gardens, and the suggestion 
has been of such value to me that I am glad to 
“pass it on.” 
Massachusetts. Florence Spring. 
How Many Others? Let’s Hear! 
T MISS the enthusiasm and spark of con- 
tributions from bright amateurs in The 
Garden Magazine. Sometimes, as in the 
July issue, the dead level of professionalism 
grinds along so heavily and deadly dull, that 
there is not an item in the whole number I care 
to read. It has seemed to me lately that 
landscape gardeners’ platitudes and driveling, 
together with planting tables and such 
“ clutterment” ought to be cast out, like the 
tables of the money changers. I have always 
been fond of The Garden Magazine and 
have a complete file of it. 
Old Fort, N. C. Lennie Greenlee. 
A New House Plant 
TN THE late summer of 1913 I received, 
from a friend in Florida, a box of tropical 
fruit among which were two A vacado (alligator) 
pears. I planted the seed in a bucket. The 
seed constitutes at least half of the pear, being 
about seven or eight inches around. In the 
fall, when time for open fires arrived, I brought 
the bucket indoors and set it in an empty fire- 
place, one of two in a double chimney, the 
other one having fire in it constantly. The 
seed sprouted and sent up several pinkish, 
fleshy-looking sjtrouts, something like a sweet 
potato. Now it has four stalks, the tallest 
being 41 inches. It has remained in the same 
bucket in which it was first planted, which is 
a lO-quart water bucket with holes in the bot- 
tom for drainage. 1 he plant is very decora- 
tive, with leaves nine or ten inches long and 
three to five inches across, shaped much like a 
Magnolia leaf but without the glossy appear- 
ance. It keeps nicely in the living room, even 
better than Geraniums, etc. 
Kentucky. Mrs. W. B. Smith. 
