1907. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
579 
A Belated Garden. 
The cold, backward Spring has im¬ 
pressed several lessons upon the woman 
gardener; one is to have a larger store 
of home-canned vegetables reserved for 
early Summer use; another, to plant more 
Spring greens and salads. Last Fall we 
had 70 cans of tomatoes, sweet corn and 
string beans on the cellar shelves. We 
could have used twice that number. This 
year we have made larger plantings and 
will put most of what is not required for 
immediate consumption into cans. Then 
we shall not be reduced to a meat and 
potato diet, no matter what pranks Jack 
Frost mav play. Early spinach is a vege 
table of which we never have enough. 
The obstacle is lack of space in the gar¬ 
den in September, which is the proper 
month for sowing the seed. After the 
early peas are taken off we prepare the 
ground for Winter cabbage. This time 
the peas are too late for a succession of 
cabbage and I shall reserve the space for 
spinach. We shall also have sorrel, dan¬ 
delion and cress and if after partaking of 
these things, which are said to tone up 
the system and assist it in throwing off 
the lethargv of Winter, we are still af¬ 
flicted with Spring languor, then farewell 
to our faith in greens. 
The season’s experience has also taught 
the importance of keeping the seedlings 
growing. We raise many of our plants 
because dealers never have the varieties 
we want. For tomatoes we like the stocky 
sorts, with smooth, solid fruit, such as 
Dwarf Champion and Dwarf Stone. They 
do not make tall, fine plants that would 
attract the eye of a customer, therefore 
our greenhouse men do not raise them. 
The same with Asters, Verbenas, etc., the 
commercial dealers’ stock is seldom 
choice. In March or April, as soon as 
the weather permits, we move the young 
plants upstairs to a room fronting south 
and warmed from below. Here they usu¬ 
ally do well, but this Spring there was 
little sunshine and at night the tempera¬ 
ture of the room dropped almost to freez¬ 
ing. The plants that did not die simply 
stood still and when warm weather and 
sunlight returned they continued to stand 
still. They were stunted and no amount 
of coddling would induce them to grow 
thriftily again. Seeds planted outdoors 
did worse. A friend wrote recently: 
“We are having a good deal of sport 
over our bed of Eschscholtzias; if the 
light is just right we can see them by 
getting down upon our knees and looking 
carefully.” This in mid-June, when, un¬ 
der favorable conditions, Eschscholtzias 
are beginning to blossom. 
If any readers of The R. N.-Y. have 
started seeds of hardy plants as suggested 
in the article on “Perennial Mixtures” in 
the issue of March 30, I would say, put 
them where a snowbank will tuck them in 
for their Winter sleep. This is not so 
necessary after the plants become well 
rooted, but the first cold season is a try¬ 
ing one. There is some dearly bought 
experience back of this advice. Three 
Summers ago, when the desire for a pe¬ 
rennial border first seized me, I decided 
to place it in the door yard. I had to 
break up the sod to do it, but I thought 
the flowers would show to best advantage 
there. In my mind’s eye I saw a broad 
expanse of floral treasures which, once 
established, would flourish without any 
tending. I put in some strenuous hours 
digging up that tough, unyielding sward 
and after all my splendid vision was only 
a chimera. In my ignorance I set the 
plants where the west winds could rake 
savagely over them. The leaves with 
which I protected them for the Winter 
soon blew off, the snow followed and 
my tender seedlings were exposed to al¬ 
ternate freezing and thawing. In early 
Spring, when the green shoots began to 
appear, every chicken, stray pig and vag¬ 
rant cow made straight for them and de¬ 
voured them with groat appetite. At 
last only on lonely survivor was left—a 
Campanula. Had it not been for that 
blessed plant I should never have had 
courage to start another border. It grew 
up tall and strong, branched out freely 
and every inch of stem was loaded with 
lovely pale pink bells. It bloomed and 
bloomed and after all were gone I broke 
off the seed pods and then it bloomed 
again. Last year I decided to make an¬ 
other trial in the garden. Our garden is 
120 feet long and is inclosed by an ugly 
chicken-proof wooden fence. Along the 
eastern border a space four feet wide is 
not plowed, because it is full of stumps of 
fruit trees which have never been re¬ 
moved. This ground I appropriated for 
my flowers. After it was dug up I plant¬ 
ed the seedlings, each kind by itself, with 
spaces between for sweet herbs—thyme, 
Summer savory, sweet marjoram and 
lemon balm. Then Winter came and the 
snow drifted across the garden and 
banked high over my border. The drifts 
were four or five feet deep along the 
fence. Late in March came a few days of 
warm, thawing weather and the last of 
the snowbanks disappeared. Then I 
peeped through the chinks and found my 
plants fresh and vigorous. Even small 
pansies from seed sown Sept. 10, which I 
hardly expected to survive, were holding 
up their heads with the rest. Much to 
my delight the succession of bloom has so 
far been unbroken and promises to con¬ 
tinue throughout the growing season. 
Three days after the snowfall of May 12 
forget-me-nots opened their blue eyes; be¬ 
fore these were gone columbines and 
grass pinks were blooming; at the time of 
writing foxgloves and Sweet Williams 
make a brave showing, with larkspurs, 
Campanulas, Shasta daisies, hollyhocks, 
Coreopsis, Phlox, Golden Glow and hardy 
Chrysanthemums still to come. 
We have planted grape vines along the 
fence; Brown’s Seedling is among them. 
As these are too small for immediate ef¬ 
fect nasturtiums will climb over the ugly 
background and hide its blemishes. Per¬ 
haps when those barbaric reds and yel¬ 
lows come out I may wish for quieter 
colors on my screen, but I should like to 
see the border all aglow with the hues 
of the sunset in its last hours. Of course, 
I have learned that a border of hardy 
plants,' like anything worth having must 
be cared for and tended. Some sorts re¬ 
this is a class to which the farmef cer¬ 
tainly belongs. The study of political 
economy, rather than party politics, awak¬ 
ens a more intelligent interest in public 
affairs and we already see its results in the 
attitude of our rural population toward 
certain public questions. “Political Prob¬ 
lems of American Development’ is pub¬ 
lished by the Columbia University Press, 
New York; 268 pages; price $1.50 net. 
The Limit of Wealth, by Alfred L. 
Hutchinson, looks forward to the year 
1943 and to a solution of certain prob¬ 
lems already causing anxiety, which are 
likely to becom. still more serious with 
the passage of time. Mr. Carnegie’s sug¬ 
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$1,000,000 should revert to the State on 
the death of the owner is here worked out 
quite independently of the views of the 
great iron master. The whole book is an 
industrial fairy tale, in which a single 
reformation of social and political condi¬ 
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that all evil ceases and everyone lives 
happily ever after. The best thing about 
Mr. Hutchinson’s book, as in the fan¬ 
tasies of Edward Bellamy and H. G. 
Wells, is the fact that it opens our eyes 
to existing evils and makes us ask 
whether they are really inevitable, even in 
a complex society. It is well written; of 
course, it will be ridiculed by those who 
hold that whatever is is right, but even 
a fairy tale may point a sound moral, and 
many a dreamer is now blazing a trail that 
will lead to a greater republic than we 
now know. “The Limit of Wealth” is 
R ublished by the Macmillan Company, 
Tew York; 285 pages; price $1.25 net. 
Gingerbread —One cup of molasses, one 
teaspoonful saleratus, one teaspoon ginger, 
one tablespoon butter or lard, a pinch of 
salt. Stir these together and then pour 
on one-half cup of boiling water and 
flour enough to make a thin batter. If 
eaten fresh this suits me the best of any 
•gingerbread I ever ate. m. e. h. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
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Springfield, Mass. 
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INDUSTRIAL SAVINGS AND 
LOAN CO., 
5 Times Bldg., Broadway & 
42nd Street, New York. 
Simpson-Eddystone 
Shepherd Plaids 
T> • • r 1 *1 • i r- 
EDdystoNE 
Beautiful and economical for 
Spring and Summer dresses. Some 
designs have a new silk finish. They 
wash without fading and they wear 
long because their quality is standard 
— never equaled in over 60 years. 
Ask your dealer Jor Simp son-Eddy stone 
Shepherd Plaids. 
Three generations of Simpsons 
have made Simpson Prints. 
PRINTS The Eddystone Mfg. Co. (Sole Makers) Philadelphia. 
quire frequent renewal and all must be 
kept free from weeds. I have found a 
set of small gardening tools, belonging to 
one of the children of the family, excel¬ 
lent for digging between the clumps. 
They are not the usual flimsy toys, but 
practical tools, intended for real work. I 
can use the sharp, narrow hoe and spade 
among the roots where larger ones would 
do irreparable injury. 
There is a shady corner which I mean 
to reserve for English violets. I believe 
they will winter safely under the drifts. 
I once asked a friend whose home was 
high up in the mountains of Germany 
how they managed to grow violets and 
other tender plants at an alttiude of 1,800 
feet. She explained that it was because 
of the protection afforded by the snow. 
Early in November the ground is covered 
and does not appear again until late 
Spring. The plants do not freeze under 
that warm, white mantle. After several 
unsuccessful attempts to grow the Alpine 
Edelweiss I set it on the south side of a 
fence. After that I had no more failures, 
for by accident I gave this interesting 
flower the two things it most requires— 
full sunlight and a Winter covering of 
snow. M. E. COLEGROVE. 
The Bookshelf. 
Political Problems of American De¬ 
velopment, by Albert Shaw, L L. D. 
This volume consists of a series of lec 
hires delivered as the opening course 
upon the Blumenthal Foundation in Co 
lurnbia University. The subjects dis¬ 
cussed include immigration and race ques 
tions, settlement and use of the national 
domain, control of railways and trusts, 
problems of tariff and of money, foreign 
policy and expansion, etc. There is much 
to interest the thoughtful reader, and 
There’s a Chance 
For Young Men 
Never before has the Navy offered such an 
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There is room for young men of good character in 
every branch of the service. 
The pay is good—$16.00 to $70.00 per month, in¬ 
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There is ample opportunity for study, and 
advancement to higher ratings and higher 
pay. The 
United States 
Navy 
not only gives a 
young man a general 
training that would be impos¬ 
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learning a profitable trade. 
Successful applicants will be assigned to a U. S. 
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The term of enlistment is four years. All appli¬ 
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Personal application may be made at Navy Re¬ 
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Bureau of Navigation, 
Navy Department, Box HI, Washington, Dm Cm 
