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The Garden Magazine, August,, 1924 
Now and then 1 hear talk about saving the seed of such perennials as 
Michaelmas Daisies and Phlox, but my own experience has been that 
seedlings of such plants produce such a large percentage of useless 
varieties which are either inferior to, or only slightly different from, the 
parent plants. It seems more profitable to try one’s skill on Del¬ 
phiniums, Gaillardias, Pentstemon, and Pyrethrum, for seedlings 
of these frequently give varieties which are superior to the plants from 
which the seed came. 
Flowers for the Winter Garden 
F YOU are looking for some bright little flower to grow in your green¬ 
house or winter garden during the coming winter, let me suggest a 
small sowing of Calendulas any time in August for November flowering. 
They are of the easiest cultivation. Give them rich soil and, if 
grown on benches in your conservatory, see that the bed is well drained. 
Sow the seed first in an unused coldframe, and pot the seedlings into 
small pots, carrying them along until about the middle of September 
when they should be planted in their permanent place in the green¬ 
house. Do not crowd the plants but place them about twelve inches 
apart. In selecting Calendula seed get a well established strain. 
Among the best is the “Ball” type. The variety generally listed as 
Orange King will be very good, if you want an orange-red shade; and 
for yellow flowers, Golden King. If you want flowers throughout the 
winter make a new sowing of seed each month. Some of these Calen¬ 
dulas when potted up do well on a heated sun-porch during the winter. 
Among the Vegetables 
RANSPLANT Endive for fall salads. Dig under all old Pea and 
Bean vines for fertilizer. 
The very latest Celery may yet be set. Your earliest will be ready to 
blanch. Blanching with earth at this season is not advisable because of 
the warmth of the earth. Drain tiles will work excellently. Boards 
do just as well. Celery blanched now should be in small quantities, so 
it can be used as blanched. 
Onions should be ready for harvest this month. Bear in mind that 
white Onions are prone to rot, and if the season is wet, many will rot in 
the ground; eat the white ones first. Red and brown kinds will keep 
much longer; use them last. Also, whites are much milder than reds 
and browns. A good Onion scheme for the home garden is to raise some 
whites for early use and the others for winter storage. 
If you happen to be short of Tomato plants your stand can readily be 
increased by cutting off some sturdy branches of already flourishing 
plants and rooting these. Set the branches slantingly so that two or 
more joints are in contact with the soil, and keep well moistened until 
they take root. They can then be set out as plants. A location that 
is partly shaded is the best place in which to root such cuttings. 
Flowers formed on further growths of many sorts cannot possibly 
mature their crops before frost. Pinch off such shoots and throw the 
strength of the plant into the maturing of the crop already set. Toma¬ 
toes, Beans, Squashes, Pumpkins, and other plants should be treated 
this way as soon as they reach the dead line. It is time to begin on 
Tomatoes at once. 
Unless you actually wish to secure seed, be sure that you do not allow 
your Asparagus plants to set seed. Strip off the pods as fast as they 
set. Asparagus seeds are a great nuisance in the garden. They pro¬ 
duce “volunteer” plants that are most troublesome. Also, the produc¬ 
tion of seed necessarily takes vigor from the plants. 
Bush and Tree Fruits 
LACK Raspberries will be ready to root about this time. New 
plants are made by the rooting of the pendant tips of the branches. 
Even if you have never handled Black-caps, it is easy to know when the 
plants are ready to root. They will tell you themselves. The slender 
tips begin to thicken and assume the appearance of snake heads. At 
this stage they are ready to root and are looking for soft ground. 
Keep the earth well cultivated about them and, to make certain of 
their rooting, cover each tip with earth. If you do not want the 
plants to root in this way, cut the pendent branches back before it is 
too late. 
Peaches, Pears, and Apples will all be maturing in August. Their 
quality will depend largely upon how they are picked. Pears, oddly 
enough, should mostly be picked while still green. This is especially 
true of such varieties as Clapp Favorite, one of the earliest. It colors 
up beautifully if left on the tree, but at the same time it gets mushy at 
the heart. Pick these Pears three or four weeks before they are really 
ripe; put them away in a dark, cool place and eat them as they ripen. 
They will mellow slowly and become truly delicious. Some Apples 
have this same tendency. Yellow Transparent, if left to ripen on the 
tree, bursts open and becomes mealy and worthless. 
Only the man who has his Peaches in his own yard can ever know 
what a really good Peach is like. Commercial Peaches must be picked 
while they are still hard and firm, while the home gardener allows his 
Peaches to hang on the tree until they are dead ripe. The increase in 
sweetness and general quality in the last day or two on the tree is 
amazing. Pick your Peach trees daily, culling out the dead ripe ones 
and letting every Peach hang until it is dead ripe. Then you will 
know what good Peaches are! 
Of Budding and Borers 
N A late season, like the present one, buds may not be sufficiently 
matured for budding in July, but get them in as early as possible in 
August. Raffia of different colors is useful in budding to mark differ¬ 
ent varieties of buds of the same kind, as for example, several varieties 
of Cherries. 
August is the time when the effect of the Apple tree borer’s evil work 
becomes apparent. Theoretically, the borer makes a little heap of saw¬ 
dust just below the entrance to his burrow. Actually, there is not al¬ 
ways such visible evidence of borer work; and even an experienced fruit 
raiser may overlook a borer that is doing real harm to his trees. The 
inexperienced home gardener is quite likely to overlook these pests. 
If, at this time, your trees begin to look sick and the leaves wilt and 
turn yellow, hunt diligently for borers. If you find them, use your 
knife freely. Cut out all the dead bark covering their tunnels and 
scrape out all sawdust, etc., but be sure you leave some connecting lines 
of live bark to carry the sap up and down past the wounds. When you 
have cleaned the wounds, wax them over well, mound earth up over 
the wounds, cultivate about your trees, and water the soil long and 
thoroughly. 
Corn borers, too, should be watched for in ears of Corn and killed. 
Individual slaughter seems to be the only wav to check them. It will 
not be difficult to get every one in the corn patch. 
Move Evergreens Now 
HE earlier this month evergreens are moved the better. Every 
spring sees vast numbers of fall-moved plants that are dying, the 
reason being that the transplanting was not done soon enough to allow 
the plants to form new feeding roots and get proper hold of the soil. In 
handling evergreens, particularly conifers, remember this: the roots 
of evergreens must never be exposed to wind. Deciduous trees may 
be so exposed and pull through. 11 is sure death to expose an evergreen 
in this way. Nursery plants will be shipped with balls of earth on the 
roots. Water well after setting. If you dig plants for yourself, try 
to lift a ball of earth with each plant. Failing, wet the roots at once 
and wrap in wet burlap. Keep roots moist until they are planted, 
and then make sure the moisture supply is uninterrupted. A good 
mulch around every transplanted evergreen is the best insurance. 
LITTLE GARDEN PICTURES 
I. PLANTING THOUGHT FOR AUGUST 
O NE of the finest little garden pictures of June may be started now: 
Madonna Lilies, pale blue Larkspur belladonna against a background 
of Dorothy Perkins Rose trained on a fence, trellis pole, or arch. The 
Larkspur seed may be sown now if no plants are in stock and will give 
plants which will bloom next year although they will be small. 
