May, 1915 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
217 
soil added to fill the bands. These bands hold 
soil enough to grow a melon or cucumber plant until 
it is ready to vine. 
In transplanting to the field I simply slip a spade 
under the bands and set them on a platform on the 
farm truck and carry them to the field. In remov- 
ing from the truck the spade is used in lifting 
them, each band being lifted separately and placed 
in its hill. When placed I slip the spade out, re- 
move the band, draw up the soil around the plant, 
and firm it down. 
Before removing the plants from the bed I wet 
them down and do not water them after setting 
in the field and yet few plants fail to grow. I have 
set out acres in this way even during extremely dry 
weather and a good stand is always secured. 
Massachusetts. M. H. Northend. 
A Tall, Brilliant Red, Annual Sunflower 
T ITHONIA speciosa, a native of Mexico, al- 
though known since 1833, appears to have 
been almost forgotten until recently a desire for 
something new has once more brought it into prom- 
inence and deservedly so, for it is certainly a charm- 
ing annual well worthy of notice. It is sometimes 
catalogued as Helianthus speciosus, being closely 
related to that family, but the foliage is covered 
with soft downy hairs, and feels like the richest 
velvet, being most pleasing to the touch, entirely 
different to the harsh foliage of the helianthus. 
Its beautiful rich, orange vermilion flowers three to 
four inches across, like a glorified cosmos are unique, 
and last a long time on the plant and also when cut. 
Seed sown in March flowers in September in 
3-inch pots; but not being satisfied with these results, 
I sowed seed as usual the following season, and 
planted out in June. The plants grew vigorously 
and by September were perfect specimens, about 
six feet in height and four feet in diameter at the 
base, and were covered with flowers until frost. 
A poor soil would probably bring them into 
flower earlier, but where frost is not an early visitor 
liberal treatment would assuredly bring its reward. 
It is certainly worth a trial, and isolated specimens 
in the herbaceous border, would be attractive among 
yellows or reds. 
Massachusetts. Alfred J. Loveless. 
Winter Sorrel 
I NOTED with considerable interest one item in 
Mr. Kruhm’s article published in the January 
issue of The Garden Magazine, entitled “The 
Experiences of a Novelty Hunter.” He mentioned 
having seen in Holland the past summer a crop of 
Rumex patienta, and that owing to the fact that it 
was called by the local growers winter sorrel he won- 
dered whether or not it might not be identical with 
the sorrel listed by the seedsmen of this country. 
For some weeks prior to noticing Mr. Kruhm’s 
article I had been investigating the Rumex patienta, 
believing that it would be a good plant to furnish 
winter greens if grown under the benches in the 
greenhouse where, in large commercial establish- 
ments, the space is very little utilized owing to the 
fact that comparatively few plants do well in such 
a location, and furthermore are apt to be somewhat 
neglected. 
Noticing that one of our native docks, Rumex 
crispus, the common narrow leaved or curly dock, 
grows exceedingly well under the bench in the green- 
house and seems impervious to attacks from any of 
the common insects found in commercial establish- 
ments, such as red spider, thrip, white fly, aphis, 
etc., I began a hunt for a plant belonging to the 
same species which would furnish a better quality 
of greens, and concluded that the Rumex patienta 
would come nearer to fulfilling the requirements 
than any other, as I do not care for a tendency to 
acidity in greens which would be found in the sorrel, 
Rumex scutatus, the variety listed by the seedsmen 
of this country. 
Springfield, Ohio. Robert R. McGregor. 
Starting Strawberry Seedlings 
T HE fall-bearing strawberries have given a new 
impetus to growing these plants from seeds 
in the hope of getting new varieties. The common- 
est trouble in doing this lies in getting the seed 
started. They are slow in germinating and com- 
An old time, but not until now cultivated, scarlet annual 
sunflower (Tithonia speciosa), flowers 4 inches across. 
(Reproduced from The Gardeners’ Chronicle) 
monly lie in the ground a month before starting. 
This gives the weeds a good chance and unless the 
soil is clean is likely to cause failure. 
I have found that this can be obviated by the new 
method of treating the seed with sulphuric acid 
and then placing it in a germinating dish until the 
seeds sprout. On May 23d, I took two lots of 
seeds of fall-bearing strawberries, immersed one lot 
in strong sulphuric acid for four minutes and then 
washed with running water, the seed being held in a 
fine-meshed strainer during the washing. The other 
lot was not treated. 
All the seeds were then put in small germinating 
boxes made of the same clay pottery as ordinary 
flower pots. They were kept moist. On June 6th 
practically all the seeds in the treated lot were 
showing through the soil. 
These seeds were now sown in a flower pot and 
covered lightly with very fine soil which was kept 
moist. They came up rapidly and grew finely. 
The untreated seeds in the germinating dish were 
much slower in starting. Ten days after the 
treated seeds had been.sown in the soil only about 5 
per cent, of these untreated ones had germinated. 
A good germinating dish for this purpose can 
easily be made by taking two ordinary flower pot 
saucers, one a little larger than the other. Invert 
the smaller one on the larger one. Set the latter 
in a soup plate or other shallow dish and keep water 
in the plate to a depth of half an inch. The water 
will seep through the saucer to make its interior 
moist. Scatter the seeds on the bottom of the 
saucer and they will soon germinate. 
Lowell, Mass. Clarence M. Weed. 
Aiding Cauliflower to Head 
C AULIFLOWER is, probably, the most dis- 
couraging vegetable for the home gardener to 
grow because so few plants form heads. Every- 
where, and in all seasons, one is much more uncer- 
tain of cauliflower heading up than cabbage, and in 
years of long rainless periods (such as the last three 
have been in this section) the percentage of cauli- 
flower plants that have formed heads has been so 
small with most gardeners as to discourage many 
of them from further attempt to grow this vegetable. 
Two years ago, in an effort to overcome this 
failure, I tried three experiments. One of these 
seemed to work so effectively that I tried it again 
last year — on both early and late cauliflower — with 
the result that I secured a good head on all but two 
of the twenty--five plants I set out. Otherwise the 
plants had the same treatment last year that they 
have had other years, and last year was even more 
rainless in this section than previous seasons. This 
is what I did: 
When the plants had become of a size and age to 
begin forming heads, a thick spread of green cow- 
manure was placed about each plant, being careful 
not to have it against the stem. I believe the 
manure cannot be too fresh, but found that manure 
not more than a week old (and which had not been 
“weathered”) does nearly as well provided it is 
placed in a water-tight pail and moistened to be of 
the consistency of the green manure. It is best to 
apply it in the evening and sprinkle the top with a 
little soil to keep the sun from baking it. My plants 
were all set in the same kind of soil (a sandy loam) 
each year, but not in the same part of the garden. 
New York. L. G. B. 
Wild Flowers Indoors 
B EING an interested reader of The Gar- 
den Magazine, and especially of the “Odds 
and Ends from Everywhere” items, I am sending 
one of my own experiences, though doubtless others 
may have tried the same thing. 
I have had the yellow lady slipper (Cypripedium 
hirsutum) blooming in the house on Washington’s 
Birthday. I have successfully forced them for a 
number of years without any difficulty. I get the 
plants from the woods in the spring before they 
blossom; transplant them to my garden in a shady 
spot and then in November, just before the ground 
freezes, pot what I intend to force in good, rich, 
soil, part leafmold. Then I bring them in and place 
them in a warm, sunny window and keep them 
moderately moist. One blossom opened on Feb- 
ruary 2 2d, and lasted for about ten days. 
Hepaticas from the woods are also very simple to 
force any time after the first few hard freezes. They 
only take about four weeks and I have also success- 
fully forced trailing arbutus. By digging up a clump 
during a January thaw and placing in a warm sunny 
window, keeping the soil, quite moist, hepaticas 
may be had in full bloom in about five weeks. 
Dansville, N. Y. Raymond L. Fedder. 
Organic Matter in Soils 
P ROFESSOR FIPPIN of the New York State 
College of Agriculture states that average 
sandy soils contain from 5 to 2 per cent, loam and 
clay soils from 1 to 5 per cent, and peaty soils up 
to 60 or 8c per cent, of organic matter. Of this, 
from £ to 5 is usually humus or decomposed ma- 
terial. The average moisture content, varies with 
the type of soil, the season, the climate and with the 
amount of organic matter in the soil. 
This yellow lady slipper, transplanted from the wild, 
bloomed indoors on Washington’s Birthday 
