The Garden Magazine, March, 1923 
51 
Maidenhair Ferns that Flourish in Full Sun 
To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 
AVING read Mr. Stephen F. Hamblin’s article in the November 
number, 1 am moved to tell my experience under similar conditions. 
I have had Maidenhair Ferns hanging about three or four feet above 
the steam radiator for the past six years, and both (Adiantum Roen- 
becki and A. gracillimum) are as beautiful specimens as you would 
want to see. All fall and winter the sun shines on them nearly all day 
long; so I would say that they will stand lots of heat and sun if given 
plenty of water, and my experience with the ever-blooming Begonias 
differs. They are on a shelf probably six inches above the radiator 
and they are a mass of bloom for about nine months a year. In the 
summer I put them outside to let them harden, and the only trouble 
they give is to spray them once or twice a year with Blackleaf 40. 1 
greatly prefer them to Geraniums.—L. C. Remick, Quincy, Cal. 
Olden Time Herbs that Allure 
The plants in the herbaceous garden were heavy and bore well, 
flowers full and large. The plants in other odd corners grew just 
about the same as these. The twenty along the edge of the Tomato 
patch were very fine, vigorous stalks and great richly colored blossoms. 
They ran from pure single through all forms of the Anemone-centred, 
Peony-flowered, Decorative and the fluffy petaled variety; and in 
every shade of pink, salmon, copper, gold, flame, orange, crimson, 
cerise, maroon, cream, and pure white. Several were oddly variegated, 
several had two colors, as face of petal crimson and reverse gold. 
There are no duplicates among the whole 300 and more plants, no 
two that are the same in color and shape. The smallest-flowered plant 
is a semi-double, clear pink with cream shadings—just 4 inches across. 
The largest measured 10 inches. The first blossom opened exactly 
two months and three weeks from seed planting, in Bed No. 1. On 
October 4th, we were still cutting dozens of superb blossoms daily, 
and the plants still carried quantities of buds. — K. W. Lawson, 
Edgewater, N. J. 
To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 
M AY 1 trespass upon your Open Column again? In my search for 
herbs I have looked through several representative catalogues and 
find none of the following, of which I am anxious to get seed or plants: 
Agrimony Elecampane Pepperwort 
Ambrosia Eyebright Sweet Cicely 
Angelica Ipecac Self-heal 
Betony Lovage Smallage 
Colchicum Liverwort Vervain 
Calamint Liquorice Woundwort 
I started on my “herb bee” through my love for antiques. It’s 
fascinating to furnish a room as it might have been a century ago and 
just as fascinating to imagine oneself dependent upon a garden for 
flavorings and medicines as our great-grandmothers were. And the 
names are so enchanting! Lad’s Love, Hyssop, Rue, St. John’s Wort, 
and “ Basil for hatred. ” My herb garden was started last spring and I 
am looking forward to a larger one.— Mrs. Cliff Sterrett, Garden 
City, N. Y. 
Experimenting with Dahlias from Seeds 
To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 
W HILE visiting the gardens of a Dahlia specialist in Connecticut 
last summer, I was seized by a desire to try my luck at raising 
these flowers from seed. The result has been so stimulating that it 
may be worth passing on. 
The seeds were planted in good, rich garden soil in boxes three inches 
deep on March 20th. As soon as the seedlings had four leaves they 
were transplanted to other boxes four or five inches deep, plants set 
three inches apart each way. 
A second transplanting was made when the seedlings were about six 
inches high, and on May 20th I began setting them out in open ground, 
after ten days on the porch. The plants were set three feet apart each 
way and several methods were tried. 
In the first bed one hundred and ten seedlings were planted in 
the following manner: a hole, twice the depth needed, was dug and 
about a cupful of lime fertile well mixed with the soil at the bottom; 
next a trowelful of soil from the seed box and then the plant, filling in 
with the soil from the garden which had been used for vegetables for 
several years. 
Bed No. 2 had been a flowerbed for twenty years, usually filled with 
Salvia or Geraniums, and as it had been covered with old cow manure 
every fall the ground was very rich. In this went forty plants. 
Bed No. 3 was dug freshly from sod, fifty plants being set as in bed 
No. 1. 
Bed No. 4 was part of an old barn-yard recently cleared up and plowed 
deeply last spring—forty plants were set out there. 
Thirty-five seedlings were scattered among other things in a large 
herbaceous garden; thirty went in odd corners wherever a space could 
be found; and twenty more along the edge of a large Tomato patch. 
The results were interesting to watch: Bed No. 1, the former vege¬ 
table garden where lime fertile was used, gave the best results, strong 
plants, single stalked and magnificent blossoms measuring up to 11 
inches across, with good, strong stems and free blossoming, a wonderful 
assortment of colors and shades. Bed No. 2 of rich soil grew regular 
bushes, great branching plants with quantities of flowers beautiful in 
shape and color, but not as large as those from Bed No. 1. Bed No. 
3 did next best to No. 1—plants were strong single stalks and flowers of 
surprising size. Bed No. 4 bore wonderful flowers, but gigantic 
plants, not so free blooming as in Beds 1 and 3. 
When Gardening Gets the Better of Golf 
To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 
I T HAS pleased me not a little to be the recipient of a number of 
“endorsements” to the article “Gardening vs. Golf” in the January 
Garden Magazine, some extracts of which I pass on for your delec¬ 
tation: 
Mrs. Francis King, Michigan: “This morning came into my 
room a charming young woman from Tuxedo, crying out—‘Oh, have 
you seen the article in The Garden Magazine on Gardening vs. 
Golf? ’ No, I hadn’t seen it. ‘Then; said she, ‘ I must send it to you; 
it is too delightful—and TRUE. I adore everything that Mr. McFar¬ 
land writes.’ So I have now read it and am as delighted as she, 
especially with that beautiful canticle of the months toward the end 
of the article; that should be published separately as a calendar some 
time—it is so filled with meaning.” 
Lucian Rosenwald, Missouri: “Your little article, ‘Golf or 
Garden—Which?’, published in the January Garden Magazine has 
proven a source of so much pleasure and satisfaction to me that I am 
taking the liberty of writing you to tell you about it. It is the best 
thing 1 have read for many a day, and the article will be saved so 
that I may use it as occasion demands. In my experience it has not 
been alone the case of golf or garden, but many times cards or gar¬ 
den and numerous other so called substitutes. I n each case “garden” 
has won out, much to the satisfaction of many friends, and neighbors, 
and myself. I operate my little garden in the backyard 50 x 60 
in which I have produced more flowers per square foot than any piece 
of ground in the State of Missouri. I have collected most wonderful 
returns, primarily in the form of renewed good health, and secondly 
in the acquaintance and association of other enthusiasts, which is 
quite as beautiful as the association with what Mother Earth pro¬ 
duces.” 
M. C. Chance, Long Island: “Permit me to thank you for the 
very splendid article ‘Golf or Garden—Which?’ from your able pen 
in the January number of The Garden Magazine, which has pleased 
me so much that I would like to add one more voice in the defence of 
the Garden. Your arrangement of the months of the years is indeed 
interesting, and I am sure not appreciated by many of us even though 
we claim to be gardeners or lovers of the garden. If some of our 
golf friends, or ‘fiends’ as you call them, would spend half the energy 
in the garden they do on the links, they would be far better off 
and help to make this world a more beautiful place to live in for all 
of us, to say nothing of the pleasure it would give thousands of poor 
souls who have no place to have a garden. I have a modest little 
home place of five acres on Long Island and spend many happy 
hours mornings, evenings, and Saturdays working among my Roses 
(a little garden of about 200 bushes), and in our old-fashioned garden 
which is 60 ft. square; and also find some time to work with my 
gardener among the fruit and vegetables, outside of business hours.” 
Thomas Dreier, Massachusetts: “Of course the ideal combina¬ 
tion is golf AND gardening. I know because I do both. I don’t 
make the mistake of playing golf for exercise, though. There isn’t 
as much exercise in a whole day of golf, as there is in an hour’s spad¬ 
ing and raking.” 
W. C. Egan, Illinois: “I have just read with much interest your 
article on Golf and Gardening in The Garden Magazine. You are 
probably aware that I have gardened some, but do not know that I 
