10 
THE G A R D E N MAGAZINE 
February, 1915 
‘TATjg 
READERS' SERVICE 
Expert aid and advice on individual 
problems of practical gardening 
Manure on Bulb Bed 
Will stable manure, placed on the bulb bed as a 
winter covering, and worked into the soil after the 
winter’s weathering, injure the bulbs if it gets in 
contact with them in the spring?— S. H. B., Minn. 
— After the winter’s weathering the manure will be 
thoroughly “spent” and, therefore, do no harm in the 
spring. 
Ashes From an Incinerator 
What is the fertilizing value, if any, of ashes from 
a garbage furnace? — J. J. N., Pa. 
— The value of ashes from a garbage incinerator for 
fertilizing purposes would depend entirely upon the 
nature of the material consumed. In any case, it 
would be extremely low since all the most valuable 
elements of plant food, such as nitrogen and some of the 
soluble potash and phosphorus materials, would have 
been lost in burning. It would be far more desirable 
and effective to compost the garbage itself, mixing 
it in a pit or heap with soil, sod and, if possible, stable 
manure and applying it to the ground when fully 
rotted for its humus. 
Anthracnose on Blackberries 
What shall I do with my blackberry bushes which 
seem to be blighted; the leaves are falling off and the 
stalks are spotted? I cannot find any worms on the 
bushes.— B. W. A., La. 
— Your description is rather incomplete, but it seems 
as though your blackberries are afflicted with anthrac- 
nose. This is a difficult disease to combat and the 
only recommendations we can give you are: First, 
that you cut out all affected canes as soon as you 
discover them; second, that you spray the young 
growth thoroughly every two or three weeks through- 
out the season with bordeaux mixture. 
Cutting Alfalfa Too Soon 
I have a field of alfalfa which will not grow, al- 
though it has plenty of water. I planted it in February, 
1914; got a good stand, but when it was eight inches 
high I cut it for green feed. Since then it has not 
grown. — F. W. S., Calif. 
— From your description it would seem as though you, 
yourself, had caused the failure of your alfalfa by 
cutting it altogether too soon. As with any plant, 
alfalfa needs a certain amount of leaf surface to change 
the plant foods taken up by the roots into forms in 
which they can be assimilated, that is, turned into 
tissue. By cutting the crop when it was only eight 
inches high, you removed practically all the active 
leaf surface and as the plants were young they did 
not have enough stored up food material to replace it. 
We very much doubt whether you can do anything 
to the crop but replant it and if you do this you should 
leave the field alone for at least six months before 
cutting it. The best time to mow is when a new 
growth of shoots can be seen just starting up from the 
crowns of the plants. 
Dividing a Yucca 
What is the right time to divide a yucca? — K. K. P., 
111 . 
— The suckers from the yucca can be divided in the 
spring or early summer, taken off and put in a sandy 
soil, well drained. If given this treatment they will 
strike and do well. 
Natural Increase of Narcissus Bulbs 
Last fall on taking up Narcissus poeticus bulbs 
that had been planted several years ago, I found they 
had multiplied from eight to ten times, and where 
one bulb had been planted there were then eight or 
ten, not more than an inch in diameter. These have 
been replanted. Will they bloom, and if so when? — ■ 
F. T. W., Idaho. 
- — It is quite possible, since you did not take up the 
bulbs till fall, that the growth will be considerably 
weakened for the coming season; for to get the full 
growth from these bulbs, they should be replanted in 
August or September. The small bulbs found are the 
natural increase and will flower when they have at- 
tained the proper size and vigor, the exact time de- 
pending on the conditions under which they have 
been grown. This may take from four to seven years, 
although an occasional strong bulb will bloom the 
second year. The bulbs should be taken up as soon 
as the foliage is ripened, and sorted out by sizes; select 
the larger ones for flowering size and put the smaller 
ones in nursery rows, handling them each year in the 
same way, sorting out the larger ones each year as 
they develop. Narcissus poeticus will bloom for a 
good many years under normal conditions and if 
planted in clumps that are not too dense they can be 
left alone until they become so crowded that they 
cease to flower on that account. 
Salt Hay 
It is a thing that I suppose everyone should know; 
but we out West here cannot find out what “salt 
hay” is. It is mentioned in almost every number of 
The Garden Magazine. — W. W. H., Mo. 
- — By Salt hay is generally meant any coarse, grass- 
like plant that grows on the typical salt marshes of 
the Atlantic Coast. As a general thing these marshes 
are firm enough to bear the weight of a mower or at 
least the weight of a man with a scythe. The hay 
is generally stacked and allowed to dry out for some 
weeks; then the stacks are picked up on poles and 
carried out on to higher land, unless, of course, teams 
can be driven on to the marshes. While this type of 
grass is occasionally fed to cattle, who eat it eagerly 
in the absence of better forage, the market for the 
material is based more on the demands of dealers in 
china, crockery, etc., who use it as a packing material. 
In this latter respect, if not also in regard to its feeding 
qualities, the salt hay of the East is comparable to 
any of your western coarser wild pasture grasses. 
Another Lawn Weed 
I have sent you a specimen of a weed which last 
summer appeared in my lawn. It grew in dense mats, 
and killed the grass. How can I eradicate it if it appears 
next year? — R. S., Canada. 
— Polygonum aviculare, or knotweed, is apt to infest 
such lawns as are frequently trodden, as it can stand 
such treatment much better than grass or white clover. 
In such situations, the best plan to follow is to give the 
grass a rest in order that it may recuperate. The only 
method of eradication that we have known to be suc- 
cessful is to pull up the plants in order to prevent their 
forming seed. It is an annual and readily succumbs to 
such treatment. As it produces seed throughout a long 
period of time, it is necessary to go over the lawn several 
times during the season. As in the case of all lawn 
weeds, is it strongly advised that the grass be kept in a 
thrifty condition by top dressing with well rotted man- 
ures or fertilizers, liming if necessary, reseeding and 
giving careful attention to mowing, rolling and watering. 
The thick stand and vigorous growth of grass tends to 
crowd out most lawn weeds or at least makes them much 
less noticeable. 
Lime on Sour Soils 
What kind of lime is used on sour soils; how'much 
should be used; when should it be applied, etc. — 
J. S., Ohio. 
- — The use of lime on the land is such an important 
subject that we advise you to learn more about it 
than we can give you in this space. Write, therefore, 
to the Director of the State Agricultural Experiment 
Station at Wooster, Ohio, for copies of Circular No. 123 
and Bulletin No. 279 which, if available, will be sent 
you free of charge. We can say briefly, however, that 
the best sort of lime for the average soil is raw ground 
limestone which should be applied at about the rate 
of a ton per acre, just after plowing, and then harrowed 
in thoroughly, preferably in the fall. The next best 
would be air slaked lime which need not be used as 
plentifully but which is ordinarily rather more expen- 
sive as it represents limestone that has been burned 
and then slaked. Possibly the cheapest form where 
ground rock cannot be obtained would be quick lime. 
Of this you would have to buy only one half as much 
as of the other two as it contains only about half as 
much water. Before applying it to the land, however, 
you should slake it, preferably by putting it in piles 
about the field, covering it with a few inches of soil 
and leaving it for a few weeks. In a garden, lime 
should be added after the soil has been spaded but 
before it has been raked. From three to seven pounds 
per ten square feet of freshly slaked quick lime would 
be a good application. 
Winter Planting of Spring Bulbs 
This fall I bought some hyacinth tulip and nar- 
cissus bulbs, but before they were delivered the ground 
had frozen over. I do want an attractive spring gar- 
den; and how can I get it now that I have missed the 
proper time for planting? — A. C. G., Pa. 
— You might light a bonfire on the ground where you I 
wish to plant your bulbs and after the ground has be- 
come well thawed out plant the bulbs in the usual way. 1 
We have seen good results from following out this 
method. Last year, here at the Country Life Gardens, 
we planted narcissus bulbs in January when the ground 
was frozen so hard that we had to pry it open with a 
crow bar, dropping a little sand into the bottom of the 
hole for the bulb to rest on. The result of late plant- 
ing will be late flowers and they will not have the full 
vigor of flowers planted earlier in the season. You 
can do nothing else now. 
How to Keep Poultry Manure 
What is the best method of keeping poultry drop- 
pings so as to get the full benefit of the different fer- 
tilizing constituents? — E. K. S., Nebr. 
— The essential requirements in keeping poultry manure j 
are: 1. that it should be kept protected from rain; 2. it 
should be kept from direct sunlight; 3. that its 
volatile.constituents should not be allowed to evaporate. 
Probably the most convenient way to satisfy such 
conditions is to mix the droppings as they are gathered 
with enough dry loam, leafmold or other absorbent 
material to cover them. They may then be stored 
either in boxes, barrels, or sacks in some dry shed or 
out of the way corner. Either when they are used or 
previous to this mixing the material should be reduced 
to a uniform size by having the lumps pounded down. j 
Of course, during the summer it is often possible to ! 
use a great deal of the manure directly on the garden 
as fast as it is obtained. In this case break up the 
lumps and do not allow the material to come in actual 
contact with the plants or roots. 
Plants Under a Fountain 
Can you suggest any varieties of plants, to be grown 
in pots, which would be likely to succeed during the 
growing season, under a fountain which has a fairly 
heavy spray falling all the time ? — A. B., New Jersey. 
— You might try some of the following. You will 
have to plunge the pots and treat the plants as if they j 
were in the open ground. Plants less than one foot 
high: water arum; moneywort; water mint; American 
pennyroyal; buckbean; forget-me-not; orange milk- I 
wort; mandrake. Plants one to two feet high: small 
flag; marsh marigold; golden seal; ground lily. Plants 
two to three feet high: baneberry; flowering rush; . 
turtle head; bugbane; day lily; irises; loosestrife; arrow ' 
arum; arrowhead; swamp milkweed; horsetail; woolly , 
rush; pampas grass; gunnera; cardinal flower; eulalia; 
pickerel weed. Plants five feet high or more: giant 
reed; papyrus; swamp rose mallow; purple loosestrife; 
cat-tails. 
