Conducted by The Editor zvill be glad to aiiszver subscriber's queries pertaining to individual problems connected zuith the 
F. F. Rockwell. garden and grounds. When a direct personal reply is desired please inclose a self-addressed stamped envelope 
May 
T is true that May brings the flowers. 
Jt is equally true — though one does 
not see it mentioned in the numerous little 
spring' poems in magazines — that May 
brings zveeds; weeds by the million! They 
come so suddenly that even experienced 
gardeners sometimes are caught. And 
when you once get behind the work of 
weeding in the garden, you are likely to 
be chasing it all summer, without ever 
catching up, and with severe injury done 
to your garden. 
So whatever else you do this month, 
keep the garden scrupulously clean — with¬ 
out a weed in sight. I never realized the 
importance of the weed question—how 
many golden garden hours are wasted by 
putting off the dreaded task until to-mor¬ 
row, when it will only take much longer 
— until I attempted to grow onions on a 
large scale. Now we try to make our 
rule, as far as possible, never let a weed 
be seen ! Here is the method used : 
In these days i)ractically every garden 
is ])lanted with a seed-drill, which leaves 
a narrow, plain mark where the roller 
passes over the row. Instead of waiting 
for the plants to come up, before beginning 
operations, begin a few days after sowing 
— just as the first weed seeds are sprout¬ 
ing, if possible. Put the “disc” attach¬ 
ments — you are only wasting time and 
money if you try to get along without them 
— on the wheel hoe, set them at a very 
slight angle, and shave up just as close 
to the row as you can get. This will leave 
a slight depression each side of the row. 
Then examine the rows frequently, and 
after the seeds have sprouted, but before 
they get quite to the surface, you can put 
on the hoes, and by going very carefully, 
just skin under the surface of the rows 
themselves, not going deep enough to cut 
the seed sprouts, but destroying thousands 
of little weed seedlings which otherwise 
would have to be pulled one at a time by 
the fingers. Then i)ut on the rakes, or hoes, 
whichever seems to work best, depending 
upon the condition of the soil, and go 
through between the rows, leveling' down 
the slight ridges left by the discs. By fol¬ 
lowing out such a system as this, adapting 
it of course to your own requirements, you 
will save yourself many hours of the most 
tedious work there is connected with the 
garden. 
With all these precautions, however, 
some hand weeding will be necessar}'. Do 
not shirk it; delay onlv means added labor. 
Save every precious hour of your garden 
time you possibly can for work that will 
show results in beautiful flowers or fine 
vegetables, not merely wilted weeds. 
The Summer Blooming Bulbs 
ORTUXATELY, however, weeds 
need not take up all our attention this 
month. An important group of plants 
quite generally overlooked is the summer 
and autumn flowering bulbs that can be 
planted in spring. M’ith cannas and 
dahlias, of course every gardener is famil¬ 
iar — and yet it is remarkable how seldom 
one sees any of the new beautiful “orchid¬ 
flowering” cannas, which are as distinct 
from the old foliage sorts (Indian 
.Shot ) as a rose is from a blackberry briar. 
New dahlias luake progress more rapidly, 
because at ])resent there is a dahlia craze 
raging — and justifiably so. Next to these, 
but not quite so well known, although it 
certainly deserves to be — is the very easily 
grown gladiolus, an ideal flower for cut¬ 
ting, as the wonderfully beautiful blos¬ 
soms continue to open out one after an¬ 
other, for a week or more after the stalk 
is cut and put in water. Gladioli bulbs 
are now extren'iely reasonable in price, and 
as they can be kept for several years, in¬ 
definitely if one will but take the trouble 
to save the new bulbs produced, there is 
no possible excuse for the gardener who 
does not have a good quantity of them on 
hand. Certainly, after once trying a few 
of the many magnificent new sorts, he will 
never again be without them. Plant as 
early as possible, putting the bulbs at vari¬ 
ous depths, to prolong the flowering sea¬ 
son. If exposed to winds or beating rains, 
support by light plant stakes. 
Other glorious flowers not used nearly 
so much as they should he are the im- 
])roved Japanese lilies. The best known 
of these, the Golden-rayed lily of Japan, 
lilitiiii Auratiim, has long been a favorite, 
but even this sort one finds comparatively 
rarely. 
Spcciosum, and its several forms, es¬ 
pecially the new immense magnificiun, 
are. if possible, even more beautiful than 
Aw'atum. The points of successful out¬ 
door lily culture are a well-drained posi¬ 
tion, given by slightly raising the beds in 
a base, small stones or clinkers, and win¬ 
ter protection. Plant several inches deep, 
and as a precaution against rotting, cover 
the bulb in sand before filling in the soil. 
One of the most showy of all bulbous 
plants that can be set out in spring is the 
montbretia. The flowers, which are borne 
in long .spikes, are star-shaped and very 
large. They are quite hardy, and increase 
in beauty yearly. 
Tuberous rooted begonias, while not 
strictly "bulbs,” are too valuable to es¬ 
cape mention here. The tubers may be 
])lanted outside in May. but it is more sat¬ 
isfactory to get plants already started in 
pots, as they come into bloom much 
sooner. 
The crinums. with their enormous 
It is not too late to hasten the maturity of cer¬ 
tain vegetables by forcing in pots under 
glass 
(44) 
