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BOTANICAL 
The Carden Ma 
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Dahlias in Minnesota. — I have no doubt 
that Carl Zapffe (page 14 Garden Magazine 
for February) has been reached by the tarnish- 
ed plant bug in Minnesota. These insects have 
made it practically impossible to flower the 
Dahlia here for a long time and they are now 
attacking the Calendula and some other flower- 
ing plants. They are a mottled brownish or 
greenish bug, not a beetle, about as big as a 
small grain of wheat and when they sting 
the Dahlia it will not blossom for a long time. 
If I try to raise the Dahlia next season I shall 
cover every plant with a wire or cloth screen 
till the bug disappears in the fall. I made 
something of a fight last season by picking 
the insect off the Calendulas and using insect 
powder on the Dahlias, though I did not begin 
early enough to save them. The plants grew 
sturdily enough, but not one of them blos- 
somed. If the buds formed they turned brown 
at half size and did not grow any more. I 
have been acquainted with this insect a long 
time and would very much like to know how 
to get rid of it. — John W. Chamberlain, 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
The Garden Magazine is Appreciated. — 
If I disliked The Garden Magazine, I would 
write and tell you so, or else I would quit 
taking it! Inasmuch as I like it very much, I 
think it is no more than fair for me to write 
and tell you how well I like it. I read every 
column of the reading matter and almost all 
of the advertisements. Some of your special 
articles are of exceptional value to me. I 
think that, all in all, I like best the “Which 
and Why” articles by Mr. Adolph Kruhm. 
These seem to me to be the best of their kind, 
and each article is worth a year’s subscription 
to your readers, I think. The article on 
“Lettuce” in the March, 1916 issue struck me 
as being so well written, and the illustrations 
were good. His articles are written in such a 
concise and pointed manner that they can’t 
help but clear up many of the vague points 
in the minds of amateurs. — J. N. Lait, 
Nebraska City, Neb. 
Where Landscape Articles Fit. — My acquain- 
tance with The Garden Magazine is not 
so very old and perhaps that is why I find 
it so interesting. Of course, some articles do 
not appeal to me at all; a good many, that I 
read with interest, cannot possibly be of help 
in our climate and with our soil conditions, 
but it is a pleasure to me to know what can 
be grown in other sections of the country, 
and what a big garden can become. At any 
rate, I haven’t a number that did not bring 
me something; in fact, more than I can use. 
With the value of landscaping just coming to 
the place it should hold in our country, The 
Garden Magazine certainly should give it 
plenty of space. Even our villages are waking 
up to the fact that it is right to make them- 
selves as beautiful as possible. How can 
this be done without a proper plan? And 
so, why not get some ideas from a reputa- 
ble magazine before we hire an expensive 
landscape architect? — Mrs. C. A. Kirby, 
Heron Lake, Minn. 
Can We Have Winter Flowers? — We who 
stay beside our gardens all the year sadly miss 
their flowering in the winter. It has been my 
effort to prolong the autumn blooming and 
to hasten the spring by all the means within 
my knowledge, but there must always be at 
least three flowerless months. I read the 
delightful narratives of English gardeners, 
who go about their gardens in mid-winter, 
peeping behind a sheltering boulder or turn- 
ing back a blanket of leaves to find this or 
that lovely thing bravely flowering and I 
wonder if, even in the climate of New York, 
some of this pleasure might not be ours. 
1 he latest flowering perennials in my garden 
are Aconitum autumnale, Anemone japonica. 
Chrysanthemum nipponicum, Aster tartari- 
cus and A. grandiflorus, Helianthus maxi- 
milianus, the hardy Japanese Chrysanthe- 
mums, and Crocus speciosus. These carry 
us well into November and through this 
month there are usually a number of annuals 
that vouchsafe a quite sturdy flowering. 
Often on Thanksgiving Day I have gathered a 
charming nosegay of China Roses and purple 
Horned Violets for the dinner table. Decem- 
ber and January are bare of flowers in my gar- 
den, but in February, if there comes a warm 
spell, an indomitable little Daphne mezereum, 
against the warm south wall, slips on a lav- 
ender garment that accents the air for yards 
around. Occasionally too, the Naked Jas- 
mine, on the same warm wall, ventures a few 
yellow stars, but usually waits for March for 
a full display. With early March come the 
Snowdrops and Winter Aconites, closely fol- 
lowed by Crocus imperati in sheltered 
corners, and I frequently enjoy the brilliant 
83 
violet-scented blossoms of Iris reticulata above 
a carpet of snow. But these are not enough; 
and if any readers of The Garden Magazine 
can give me news of flowers, wild or cultivated, 
with which to deck out this cheerless season, 
I shall be very grateful. Can any one tell me 
of the winter Heliotrope, Petasites fragrans, 
or of Iris stylosa? — Louise Beebe Wilder, 
Pomona, N. Y. 
Wistaria Does Not Flower. — A few 
months ago an inquiry was made regarding a 
Wistaria vine that did not bloom. I knew 
of one that was fine as a vine, strong and 
sturdy, but no flowers. The remedy lay 
between an axe and treatment which was 
this: a hole was dug beside the vine in the 
late fall and a bushel of rich hog manure 
buried there. The treatment was drastic but 
spring time brought a wealth of flowers, 
almost rivaling the famous Japanese pictures 
of Wistaria. The treatment was followed up 
in a milder way and the vine was a thing of 
beauty. — Mrs. G. W. Bain, Nassau, N. Y. 
Experience with Plant Forcers. — My curi- 
osity was aroused about two years ago, by 
wonderful tales of results obtained, by using 
plant forcers and I decided to test them for 
myself. During the late winter of 1915-16 I 
obtained several styles or types of these for- 
cers. Some had board sides with glass over 
the top, being built on the same lines as a 
coldframe, only much smaller; others had 
paper sides, the paper being treated with a 
substance to prevent injury from moisture; 
still another style had glass sides, in fact it 
was practically all glass. I he last style 
reminded me of the French bell glasses, com- 
mon in European gardens. The foreign forcer 
or plant protector is round or bell shaped while 
the American is made entirely of flat panes. 
Another style differing in construction from 
the coldframe was also obtained. It consists 
of specially treated paper on the back and 
sides, but with a glass front. 
The early spring of 1916 was ideal for test- 
ing. There were warm sunny days, followed 
by cold nights or days, and also enough rainy 
days. Corn and beans were started under 
several forcers about four weeks before they 
could be safely planted without protection. 
April 2zd, lettuce and radish were planted at 
the same time in a long row, and at intervals 
a plant forcer was placed over the row. 
