Let each one of us, upon receiving these plants (with perchance a 
glance at the "gift horse's" mouth), protest to the florist from whom 
they come. 
Also when ordering insist that no ferns or other green be sent with our 
flowers save those which can be grown by the florists for this purpose. 
Surely a small task for each one of us, but yet an aid to one of the 
waves of betterment emanating from and set in motion by The Gar- 
den Club of America. Margaret L. Gage, 
Litchfield Garden Club. 
Poison Ivy 
Rhus tuxicodendron is that most troublesome of vines. It adds 
a wealth of color to the autumn landscape, but brings pain and suf- 
fering to humanity. How to rid our roadsides and wooded lands of 
this unwelcome visitor is a subject well worth our attention. 
Where a vine runs up a tree, chopping it through just above the 
roots will kill the growth but not the root, but salt placed in the root 
almost always kills it effectively. If the root is large enough bore 
a hole in it with bit and brace and fill it with salt. 
Old vines will bloom and fruit, and by this means the pest increases. 
Sometimes the ground becomes matted with Poison Ivy. Constant 
chopping at the vines with a hatchet at any time of the year is a help 
toward checking the growth, but winter is the proper time to go about 
ridding the neighborhood of this pest. Pull the vines out with a grub 
hoe. The following season little shoots will come up which were over- 
looked. The next winter go at it again. These two efforts should 
finish the business. 
We have had great experience in exterminating this vine, and where 
we have persisted we have been entirely successful in getting rid of it. 
I remember one experience with a large clump of white Lilacs at the 
entrance to our woods. They were at some distance from the house 
and had been neglected for years. The ground was completely matted 
with roots of Poison Ivy one half inch in diameter and lying on top 
of the ground. I went for them by myself, tearing and rending, 
and when almost exhausted my gardener appeared and I told him 
to finish it. We never had any Poison Ivy at that spot again. This 
was accomplished with one effort. I was terribly poisoned, however, 
on my arms where the gloves had not reached, and it was weeks before 
the bandages could be removed. 
I have tried many remedies. Nothing cures or stops the course of 
the poisoning, but some of these have proved soothing. If you are 
poisoned in summer the Jewel Weed — Impatiens Aurea — which 
