230 
The Garden Magazine, May, 1924 
desolation of waving Wheat. To one born in the heart of Minnesota’s 
ten thousand lakes and raised among its forests and winding streams, 
the prospect was disheartening. “Who enters here leaves beauty be¬ 
hind” might have quite accurately expressed my thought. It was a 
dismal prospect. 
On the contrary, however, I found the broad bosom of the prairie 
dotted with groves, which differed from those in the farming regions of 
Minnesota chiefly in that they were the result of painstaking toil and 
care on the part of the hardworking pioneers who had planted and 
tended them, instead of being the free gift of nature. Here all nature 
seemed to conspire against the establishment of trees, and the settlers 
had a mighty battle, but they won out. After hearing their stories one 
would hesitate to accuse them of lack of interest in everything except 
grains and stock. 
I built me a home here. Long before it was done my neighbors came 
bearing gifts. The list probably is not complete, but here are some of 
the things they gave me: Lilacs for a screen hedge along the alley; 
several varieties of Rugosa Roses for a screen at the side of the house, 
by the garden; bushes of the old-fashioned white and yellow hardy 
Roses, and a number of larger-flowering June Roses brought from Bos¬ 
ton and acclimated here by one of the earliest settlers; an Elderberry 
bush for a clump in the corner of the garden, to attract the birds; 
Currant and Gooseberry bushes to more than supply our desire for 
their fruit; Asparagus roots to start a small bed; flowering Currants; a 
Beta Grape vine; 6 varieties of Dahlias; 5 varieties of Iris; bulbs of 
several varieties of hardy Lilies; Lilies-of-the-valley for the north side 
of the house; Aquilegias; Delphiniums; hardy Phlox; Violets; Clematis 
for the porch. A number of trees were also offered, but my lot already 
had on it a clump of bearing Plum trees and so many white Oaks and 
Box-elders that I had to give away a number of them. To the various 
shrubs, etc., that were given me, I have since added many other var¬ 
ieties from the nurseries to round out my landscaping scheme. 
The point I started to make, however, was not in connection with my 
own plantings, but rather to show what must have been already ac¬ 
complished by my neighbors along this line as evidenced by their 
ability to give me all they did. Their spirit of generosity, moreover, 
is proof that they are geniune, and not veneered gardeners. 
As to the farmers, I could name many in this community who have 
spent much of both time and money in beautifying their homes with 
plantings of trees, shrubery, and flowers. There are very few indeed 
who have made no attempt to thus improve their surroundings.—J. C. 
Gould, Supi. of Public Schools, Oakes, N. D. 
r 
A Perfect Pear for the Home Garden 
To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 
NE February about ten years ago as I walked past a fruit store in 
Chicago my eye was attracted by some fine looking pears, russet 
in color, large, and of unusual shape. On inquiring the name was told 
that they were “California pears.” They proved to be well ripened 
and of most delicious quality. I determined to learn what variety I 
had eaten and, if possible, to grow some in my home orchard. After 
consulting a number of catalogues, I decided they were Beurre Bose 
and ordered a tree. 
The tree was planted seven years ago in ordinary, good, rather heavy 
orchard soil. It grew vigorously, developing into a tall but well pro¬ 
portioned shape, and came into bearing in 1922. The first crop was a 
fine one of large perfect 
fruit, nearly a bushel in all. 
As the pears neared matur¬ 
ity the tree was an attrac¬ 
tive sight, the limbs bending 
under the load of large rus¬ 
set fruits which were har¬ 
vested before being quite 
ripe (about the last of Sep¬ 
tember), wrapped in paper, 
crated, and taken to cold 
storage at once. 
I desired them to be at their best for Christmas, so they were taken 
out of storage about the middle of November. I found them hard and 
essentially as when placed in storage. They were put in a garage with 
an average temperature of about 40° to 45 0 and thus ripened up grad¬ 
ually, being in prime condition at Christmas. Bringing them into the 
house temperature for two or three days would ripen them much more 
rapidly. It has never been my good fortune to eat better pears than 
these proved to be. The pear is quite versatile as to time of ripening, 
for if picked when nearly ripe and placed at once in cold storage it can 
be kept for months; in ordinary cellar temperatures it ripens rather 
quickly. Thus it is possible to control the time of ripening and have 
the fruit over a long period. 
The tree is a strong grower and has not been as much troubled with 
blight as some other varieties in my orchard. I planted another tree 
last fall and am looking forward with pleasure to its fruiting.— Norman 
C. Yarian, Cleveland, Ohio. 
Some Flowers for Indiana 
To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 
VERYONE seems to admire my 20-year-old Gypsophila panicu- 
lata which reaches three feet across these last years when in bloom 
and has a root like a radish. 1 find Ox-eye Daisies very satisfactory 
scattered here and there in the border, also the Feverfew; both these 
self-sow. The Blue Lace-flower is too tender to do well in the ground, 
though the three I have potted are blooming—but who wants to pot 
annuals? I find Carduus or Spotted Thistle (annual) beautiful to use 
as a foliage plant and it will self-sow. 
For the first time in the twenty-five years I have been growing 
Peonies seeds have formed on my Peony officinalis rubra as for the 
first time other Peonies were simultaneously in bloom to fertilize it. 
I began planting Peony seeds ten years ago. Many seedlings per¬ 
ished when small, but I’ve had eighteen plants mature to bloom and, 
curiously enough, only three came single though most of the seeds 
sown were from single varieties. Some of these Peonies have been 
much better than many of the named varieties I have bought. One 
bloomed for the first time last year giving a flower eight inches across 
despite the fact that it was not disbudded and never cultivated. I 
consider that pretty good. Just how long ago it was planted 1 do not 
remember, but have had at least one Peony bloom at three years of age. 
—Mrs. Cora Jewell, Darlington, Did. 
July Bloom in Nebraska 
To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 
EPLY 1 NG to the appeal of Cora Jewell in February here are the 
names of some perennials which bloomed in my garden in July. 
1922. 
July 2nd: Anchusa, Dropmore variety; Coreopsis; Gaillardia; 
Shasta Daisy Alaska; Pentstemon Torreyi; Pinks; Perennial Peas; 
Prickly Poppy; Hollyhocks, double and single; Delphinium seedlings; 
Hemerocallis; Achillea The Pearl; a red Lily; Hyacinthus candicans. 
July 16th: Platycodon, blue and white. 
July 23rd: All the preceeding, also Lythrum roseum; Helenium 
Riverton Beauty; a yellow Evening Primrose; Tiger Lilies; and the 
following in Perennial Phlox, Europa, Elizabeth Campbell, Indepen¬ 
dence, R. P. Struthers, Rynstrom, Miss Lingard. The following 
Roses also bloomed July 
23rd: J. B. Clark, Ulrich 
Brunner, Edw. Mawley, Paul 
Neyron, Queen of Edgely, 
La France. The small shrub 
Spiraea Anthony Waterer 
and a similar one with white 
flowers bloomed during July. 
Snowberry opened its tiny 
pink bells the latter part of 
July.— Mrs. Ernest Frisch, 
Cook, Nebraska. 
BEURRE BOSC, A GOOD PEAR FOR THE HOME GARDEN 
As large or larger than the Bartlett, fine-grained flesh of superior quality, skin 
rich yellow mottled with russet, excellent keeper (see accompanying text) 
