Published by 
The Rural Publishing Co* 
333 W. 30th Street 
New York 
The Business Farmer’s Paper 
Weekly, One Dollar Per Year 
Postpaid 
Single Copies, Five Cents 
VOL. Lxxvr. 
NEW YORK, JANUARY 20, 1917. 
No. 441.3. 
Trying to Grow the China Aster 
A Bunch of Truth About It 
Can you not get Elmer .1. Weaver to t('ll us about 
growing the China aster? There are man.v wild stor¬ 
ies told about this flower. Mr. Weaver will give us 
foots. .f. A. K. 
T^REAMS AND REALITIES.—The aster i.s the 
most erratic .species of vegetation the writer 
has ever experimented with. Each .season we start 
.sowing seed in high hopes that all our efforts will 
be crowned with well-merited success, only to find 
at the end. that we are po.s.sibly a little behind the 
preceding season in results, Avith profits regularly 
diminishing. Taist .sea.sou we planted in the field 
90,000 plants. This year of 1917 we shall not plant 
a single one, Avhich Avill prove that the longer and 
more extensively we tried to grow this ci-op the less 
we knew about it. It is so easy to figure what you 
proving that for a season or two .some lucky mortal 
has made good, to the admiration and envy of the 
remainder of u.s, who have failed. 
SDWINd THE SEED.—We begin .‘mowing seed 
Jan. 15 to Feb. 1, allowing the plants to -attain a 
fair size before transplanting, either in a .solid bed 
two inches apart each way, or in square dirt b.ands 
made of manilla paper 1% inches square and the 
same depth. We find the latter method prefer¬ 
able. as it is easy to transplant to field during dry 
weather without disturbing the roots. The bands 
have no bottoms, being placed upon a layer of paper, 
where the plants are placed upon a solid bed, or if 
I)lanted upon a bench a light layer of sifted coal 
ashes is spread over the surface. The bands are 
first set in place and then filled Avith sifted, steri¬ 
lized .soil. The bands are not removed Avhen jdant- 
ed outdoors, the roots api»ear to penetrate the sides 
strong feeder Avas heavily fertilized Avith nitrogen¬ 
ous fertilizer, and the sterilizing evidently changed 
some material, that otherwise may have been inert, 
as a strong ammonia odor Avas noticed at the time, 
and nearly all the asters planted in the soil died 
outright. Ordinarily Ave u.se .soil with a A-ery small 
amount of enriching material added, or none at all. 
as Ave do not wish to force a .soft quick growth. 
Several Aveeks before planting in the field the ven¬ 
tilators are left open day and night, eA’en if the 
temperature goes a little below 32 degrees in the 
night, as an aster plant Avill stand a light freeze 
if hardened properly. 
FIELD PLANTINO. —^The plants are placed 12 
Inches each Avay, and every sixth or seventh roAv 
omitted for a Avalk. An effort is made to cultiAoite 
at least once each AA-eek, and after rain.s. During 
dry weather aa’c have used the .Skinner iriagating 
A Cornfield with Cover Crop on the Light Soil of Eastern Virginia. Fig. 23. See page 69 
can lUiike from an acre of asters that 1 was greatl.v 
disappointed some time baek to see a Avriter. avIio 
furnished the Couniry (Jciitlcinan Avith .some ro.seate 
dreams of $10,000 to .$5.00(» per acre in Gladioli, 
etc., overlooked the great possibilities of this enqt 
entirely. Planted 12 inches apart each Avay and 
allowing for walks would total about 35,000 jdants 
per acre. Each plant Avill throw 10 to 12 buds on 
long stems and flowers should sell for Ic or more 
each. jNIakes your head feel dizzy to think of the 
oi)[)ortunities you have missed, doesn't it? Well, 
Ave have tried all methods that Ave thought made for 
success. Avith the result as stated above, for our 
results have i)roven that for us it Avould be a safer 
gamble to tr.A"^ mushrooms than aster.s. There are. 
each season, exceptions that prove us to be aster 
groAvers of mediocre ability, as reports of financial 
success each season reach us from various sources, 
Aery easily and spread otil from the bottom, Avhich 
is o[)en. 
STERILIZING THE SOIL.— We ahvays sterilize 
our .soil for potting up asters, carnations, etc. We 
have a box 12 inches deep Avith .several pipes in the 
bottom in Avhich a 3-1(3 inch hole is drilled clear 
through every six inches. These holes throw steam 
on each side, and thoroughly heat the .soil 12 inches 
deep in 15 or 20 minute.s, Avith a pressure of about 
15 pounds on the boiler. We coA’er the top with old 
sacks or builap. This short process kills almost all 
Aveed .seeds, and possibly .some fungus, and does not 
affect the mechanical composition of the .soil to any 
appreciable extent, as our expeilments have proven 
Avith sterilized and untreated soil side by side. Last 
season a lot of soil Avas steamed rather longer than 
usual, that aaus taken from a bed iii Avhich a crop 
of mignonette had been groAvn. Mignonette being a 
system to our b('ue(lt. and to our sorroAv. I am go¬ 
ing to try to explain that latter stat(Muent. as irri- 
g.ation is geiuo-ally considered the panacea for all 
ills the floAver and vegetable kingdom is heir to. 
This is almost tnu' Avhen api)lied to all crops that 
are able to appreciate fair treatment. l)ut the aster 
is a renegade, and does not knoAV Avhen it has de¬ 
cent treatment, or if it does knoAV it. it is not go¬ 
ing to admit it. being in the cla.<:s Avith the Avoman 
Avho knoAvs she is Avrong. still Avill not give up. 
IRRIGATION TROURLE.S.—Some years ago avo 
had an exceedingly fine crop of asters, heavily 
budded and a fcAV fioAvers opening. The season Avas 
very dry and the field Avas not easy to irrigate. 
I'lach day Ave hoped for rain that did not come. Fin¬ 
ally. fearing loss, Ave arranged to Avater it, and in 
about one Aveek the entire field Avhere Avater Avas 
applied turned yelloAA', the floAvers opened green 
