390 
BOOKS — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 389 
PRACTICAL PLANT BREEDING. $2.08 
By W. J. C. Lawrence; 1951; 160 pgs; 24 
ills and drawings. If you are interested 
in plant breeding or improving flowering 
plants grown in your garden, this book will 
help greatly. It contains the information 
necessary to save you many years of un- 
necessary work and will pave the way for 
quick results. 
HOW TO GROW AFRICAN VIOLETS. $1.40 
By Carolyn K. Rector. 93 pgs; ills; stiff 
paper cover. It covers the culture in de- 
tail and probably is the best on the sub- 
ject. For the small price anyone growing 
this beautiful house plant will derive 
much pleasure from it It would make a 
nice gift for a house wife. 
SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL 
PROPAGATION. $2.00 
By A. A. Longmire. Contains many line 
drawings by the author with detailed des- 
criptions of his methods of propagating. 
The list of subjects range from hardy trees 
to tropical plants; every propagator should 
have this book. 
ALPINE HOUSE CULTURE. $2.40 
By G. Anley. 164 pgs; 48 ills. This book 
consists of two parts: the alpine house, its 
management and care, in detail; and the 
culture in detail of hundreds of alpines 
suitable for alpine house growing; its good. 
ROCK GARDENING AND ALPINE 
PLANTS. $6.00 
By Henry Corveon. 524 pgs. There is 
a vast amount of information in this book 
written by the late M. Coorevon, one of 
the outstanding alpine growers in Switzer- 
land. One valuable section is the list of 
hundreds of the best alpines with detailed 
information on each, the most complete 
list available anywhere. Its of value to 
both the amateur and professional garden- 
er and nurseryman. A really fine book. 
Incidently, I might mention that seeds 
from the Correvon gardens are offered in 
the Seed Catalog. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. $2.50 
By John Woolman. 109 pgs; nearly 60 
ills and line drawings. Covers the subject 
for garden growing and exhibition; prop- 
agation, watering, etc. Deals with all 
types. | 
SIMPLE PROPAGATION. $1.10 
By Noel Prockter. 140 pgs; very many 
ills. There is a vast amount of practical in- 
formation in this book on _ propagation, 
from seeds to budding and grafting, with a 
list of trees, shrubs and other plants with 
methods of propagation. Worth many 
times the price to any grower. 
ALPINE GARDENING. $3.85 
By) LL: Ds Mills, 9343) pgsi934 ls) swath 
many line drawings; good on alpines; goes 
into detail on alpine banks; borders; dry 
walls; paths and alpine lawns; rockeries; 
soils; alpine plant by plant; propagation. 
SIMPLE GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. 
$1.60 
By J. S. Dakers. 122 pgs; object of the 
book is to help the amatuer in elementary 
principles of cultivation under glass; there 
is a good deal of information on popular 
plants; anyone with a small greenhouse 
should have this book. 
TURF. $2.00 
Bynes Lewis. 136 pgs. Discusses in a 
practical way grasses suitable for tennis 
courts. bowling greens, playgrounds and 
lawns; their making and keeping. Written 
ey conditions 
948, 
under but adaptable 
elsewhere. 
CLEMATIS. $2.50 
Any one growing Clematis should have 
this book. 126 pgs; 26 full page ills. It is 
a practical book covering the subject fully, 
especially as to culture and uses. 40 pgs 
given to descriptions of the species which 
is covered fully. Contains a lot of valuable 
information. By Ernest Markham; 1951. 
SAIER’S EARLY SHASTA 
Mrs. Paul W. Brown of Dayton, Ohio, 
growers of perennials, writes: Three years 
ago I bought your Early Shasta Daisy seed; 
it is a very good Daisy and starts bloom- 
ing here at Easter and continues fairly all 
summer long. It certainly is an attention 
getter. 
She also asks why Iris fails to bloom when 
divisions are made. There could be several 
reasons, one if from old crowded roots; 
or poor planting with poor climatic condit- 
ions or even borers. In our own planting of 
Iris, of which we have same 400 kinds cov- 
ering a few acres, we seldom bother with 
plants that are over 3 years old and would 
rather plow them under. 
She also asks if any reader has had Iris 
Theodalinda “consistently having 2 falls and 
2 standards and an occasional flower with 
4 falls and standards”. Possibly some read- 
er can advise on this. 
While we are mentioning Mrs. Brown’s 
letter, I might repeat her remarks about the 
Magazine. We actually do get many letters 
like this but hesitae to take up space for 
fear it will appear as if we expected our 
readers to foot the bill while we were ‘blow- 
ng our own horn’. She says, I like the mag- 
azine better (and this covers a lot of ground) 
than any other publication I get. Being a 
licensed nursery, I do subscribe to many 
magazines, but yours is more down to earth 
and homey. 
Well, the Magazine is quite a lot of extra 
work and we have no time nor desire to 
set type of a lot of flowery words, better 
to talk plainly and in a practical way about 
flowers. It is a fact that a ‘good’ writer 
can use up a page just catching his breath 
after picking up his pen. If your work is 
a linotype operator and you are knocking 
down your $3.00 to $5.00, and may be $6.00, 
per hour, it makes little difference if there 
is any value in the stuff you are setting or 
not but when you have orders to fill, weeds 
to hoe out, seedlings to transplant and a 
hundred other things to do, you simply want 
waste time by a hot linotype setting junk. 
The magazine is not published at a profit; 
and it has been my hope that it would be 
an outlet for practical information, a sort of 
‘shop news’ so to speak. 
WANTS CATALOG SIZE CHANGED! 
We just had about completed the resetting 
of the Catalog when our friend Terrelt 
Nichols of Bowie, Texas writes, “I certainly 
would like to see you print your seed catalog 
the same size as SAIER’S GARDEN MAG. 
AZINE — 8% x 11 inches.” 
_There are some good reasons for both 
sizes. The main ones against the large size 
is the greater mailing cost; you either work 
your head off getting out as neat and clean a 
catalog as possibe then wrap it like so much 
junk to get by the high envelope costs or 
you buy the large expensive envelopes; [ 
see little reason for printing colored covers 
on thick, costly glossy paper and then hire 
some strong-armed girl to fold and crease, 
them up the size of a lead pencil, as is the 
case with all foreign papers, especially. 
_ Another bad fault with the larger size 
Is not being able to use it on one’s table or 
desk as one would a book. The Catalog 
really is more than a catalog; it contains 
down-to-earth practial information and one 
has reason to refer to it all thru the year; a 
large thin magazine-type catalog would have 
to be laid down on a table, Again, the two 
column catalog allows space at each listing 
for notes or checking; the middle column is 
always ‘confusing. 
Besides these, there many advantages in 
the smaller size from a cost point of view im 
printing. It is our intention to issue the 
Magazine in the small size after this issue: in 
fact if it were not for the fact that the cover 
stock was not already printed, this issue 
would haye been in the smaller size; even the 
postal rate is cheaper on the small size 
from 14 cents to 10 cents! ; 
JAPANESE METHOD OF PLANTING 
MORNING GLORY SEED 
1. Sow when the climate is warm enough and 
there is no frost. 
2. Put rought sand in a pot or box, 34 inches 
deep and spray water on it. 
_ Then make holes about 5/8 inches deep 
in which are to be placed seed and water 
again until holes are filled with sand. 
4. Immediately expose to the sun and when 
the sand is dried up to a white color. spray 
water upon it again. 
_ Transplant seedlings into 4 or 5 inch pots 
in the evening before the tiny leaves open. 
Put the pots in the shade only one day and 
then place in the sun from then on. 
As reported by Joe Elias. 
JASIONE HUMILIS. 
F. E. Blunck of Finleyville, Pa writes: 
Regarding the culture of Jasione humilis, I 
like to sow some seed in very early spring, 
but this time of the season (June), I proceed 
as follows. I put a few drops of water in 
the envelope and put it in the deep-freeze 
for 2 weeks; take it out, thaw, then put it 
back in the envelope with a few more drops 
of water and leave for a few days when I 
take it out, thaw, and sow in a mixture of 
good garden loam, sand and screened leaf- 
mold or humus. 
I find that this procedure applies to all 
small seeds that should be in the soil early 
in the spring. 
By the way, Mr. Blunck is 87 years old!! 
and still very active. He is assisted by his 
son in their landscape business and nursery; 
one simply does not have time to grow old 
when he is interested in growing things! 
that is the reward in the business. 
ACONITUM 
The Aconites love a rich soil where a peaty 
soil and rich leaf mould are very benefical. 
This would indicate more of an acid condit- 
ion. The seed is slow to germinate but not 
difficult. A dark place for the seed pans 
is also required for best results. 
