HOUSE AND GARDEN 
]M A V , 1912 
amaryllis-like flowers, and the Mexican 
frost flower, Milla Biflora, with its waxen, 
pure white flowers, are also easily grown, 
and well worth while. The shell-flower 
(Tigridia) is very popular. 
Not less important than the summer 
bulbs, and if anything, more frequently 
overlooked, are the several annual climb¬ 
ing vines. Of course, all have morn¬ 
ing glories, and maybe one or two other 
favorites, such as the scarlet runner bean 
or the fancy gourds. This year surprise 
yourself, and some of your friends, by the 
effects to be had with one of the new 
Dolichos (hyacinth bean) “Darkness" or 
“Daylight," or the new variegated Japan¬ 
ese hop, a remarkably beautiful and quick- 
growing climber of the easiest culture. 
The cypress vine, especially the new Scar¬ 
let Ivy-leaved variety, is a graceful and 
quick-growing vine. Cobea Scandens has 
beautiful blue flowers, borne in the great¬ 
est profusion; the seed should be set in 
edgeways, and not covered deeply. The 
new moon-flowers are much earlier than 
the old type, thus making this most attract¬ 
ive climber available for the more northern 
States, even when sown outdoors. The 
canary bird vine (Tropealiim) has flow¬ 
ers of a rich canary yellow, very fantastic 
in shape, and it is easily grown from 
seed. Why not take an hour to make a 
simple trellis or two, and try some of 
these? The seed costs only a few cents a 
package. 
Early Spraying 
O not let your work in flower and 
Vegetable garden take your atten¬ 
tion entirely away from the fruit trees. 
Apples should be sprayed before the blos¬ 
soms open, with Bordeaux for “scab 
and by adding arsenate of lead, you get 
the bud-moths also. On cherries use Bor¬ 
deaux for leaf blight before blossoms close 
and again when the fruit forms. On 
pears, for scab, before the blossoms open. 
For oyster shell scale, on any of these use 
kerosene emulsion as soon as the new 
brood, minute white lice, is hatched out. 
(For directions as to mixing Bordeaux 
and kerosene emulsion, see the articles in 
the April and June, 1911, issues of IdousE 
& Garden.) 
A small compressed-air sprayer, which 
can be bought for a few dollars will en¬ 
able you to apply any of these sprays eas¬ 
ily and thoroughly, and will, moreover, be 
of endless use to you in the vegetable 
garden, and for spraying roses, holly¬ 
hocks, and other flowers that sometimes 
need attention. 
Plant Flower Seeds this Month 
AY is the flower garden month. 
Seeds of annuals and perennials 
should be sown. In the great majority of 
cases far better results can be obtained by 
preparing a special seed-bed. and sowing 
in rows about four inches apart, and later 
transplanting to their permanent positions, 
than by sowing in the beds directly. Most 
flower seeds are very small, and need the 
lightest possible covering — both in depth 
and materials used. 
Toward the end of the month, if the 
weather continues warm, potted plants, 
such as geraniums, heliotrope, salvias. 
Neatne.ss and care in weeding go far toward 
producing a successful vegetable garden 
etc., should be put out. In buying these, 
remember that you have a whole sum¬ 
mer’s blooming to prepare for, and select 
plants for shape and healthy condition, 
even if they seem small, rather than for 
size and any flowers they may have on 
them. 
Try some mass planting this year. You 
Burning the waste matter that accumulates 
in the garden is one way to prevent pests 
_ 45 
will be surprised at the striking and beau¬ 
tiful effects obtainable with the simplest 
of flowers, such as zinnias, petunias, mari¬ 
golds, portulacas, poppies, etc., planted in 
solid beds of one color, with a border of 
some lower-growing and contrasting color, 
such as sweet alyssum. 
Two Handy Contrivances 
SCRAP basket made of three-foot 
poultry netting is a most convenient 
device for the home garden. All sorts of 
scraps can he thrown into it and burned 
up as often as necessary. The basket is 
made by taking two wraps of the netting 
and hooking the cut ends in the wire, mak¬ 
ing a cylinder perhaps a half yard or more 
wide. It can he easily staked down in 
any handy spot to burn the rubbish. It 
is not only the quick disposal of small 
scraps and the constant keeping of the 
g'arden in a neat condition that makes this 
contrivance valuable, but also the fact that 
diseased portions of the plants or leaves 
that are attacked by insects can be so eas¬ 
ily made away with in this manner. 
Everything dries out quickly in this 
basket, for it is open to the breeze. The 
contents are easy to burn and the basket 
none the worse for the blaze. The ashes 
left from the burning are useful in the 
garden. 
Many amateur gardeners do not under¬ 
take the raising of Dutch bulbs because 
of the mice. Bulb lovers may have these 
flowers in spite of the mice if they want 
to take the trouble to plant their bulbs in 
a cage. A piece of strong netting, with a 
small mesh, can be bent to form a box¬ 
shaped trough. This can be made as long 
as the row is wanted. The earth can be 
thrown in, the bulbs planted, and a nar¬ 
row strip of the wire fastened to it as a 
top. and the bulb bed will be mouse- 
proof. At the same time, the wire does 
not interfere with drainage or any other 
natural condition. 
- »» 
About the Vegetable Garden 
URING this month the first plantings 
should be made of wrinkled peas 
(if not sown in April), potatoes, beans, 
corn, cucumber, melons, pumpkin, and 
squash; and, as soon as danger of frosts 
is over, set out tomato, pepper and egg¬ 
plants. 
It is not yet too late to hasten the ma¬ 
turity of muskmelons, corn, lima beans 
and cucumbers by planting in paper pots, 
or on sod, and starting them under glass 
or in a sheltered place, several weeks be¬ 
fore they could be planted in the open 
garden. By this method the roots are not 
disturbed in transplanting, and the crop is 
not only earlier but much more certain 
than that planted outside. 
In planting all the vine crops, and also 
with tomato, peppers and eggs, it always 
pays handsomely to prepare the hills by 
enriching them at the bottom with old. 
thoroughly rotted manure, and after work¬ 
ing this in well, to mix in nearer the sur- 
(Confiiiucd on page 65) 
