Chapter L: H. Bailey (8)

The climbing Roses, which bloom later in the season than the Remontants, are very useful as pillar and screen plants. The old Queen of the Prairies and Baltimore Belle are still in favor. A newer and better variety is the Crimson Rambler.

The Tea Roses have proved more disappointing to the amateur than any other. No one can resist the temptation to try to have a few of these highly perfumed, richly colored Roses, but unless one has a conservatory or an especially favored location in the house, the results do not pay for the trouble. A few blooms may be had outdoors with plants set in the spring, but on the approach of winter they must be taken up and protected by more secure means than is taken with other Roses. If potted and grown in the house, they are the first plants to become infested with red spider; or if grown cool enough to escape that pest, they will be subject to an attack of mildew. Still, the results are well worth striving for, and a few persons will find the proper conditions; but the Tea Rose is essentially a florist's flower.

All Roses are heavy feeders and require rich, moist soil. A clay soil, if well enriched and having perfect drainage, is ideal. Pruning should be carefully done, preferably in the spring. All weak growth should be cut out and the balance well cut back. The flowers of all Roses, except the Yellow Persian and the Harrison's Yellow, being borne on the new wood, the bushes should be cut back half or more of their growth.

In the majority of cases, Roses on their own roots will prove more satisfactory than budded stock. On own-rooted stock, the suckers or shoots from below the surface of the soil will be of the same kind, whereas with budded Roses there is danger of the stock (usually Manetti or Dog Rose) starting into growth and, not being discovered, outgrowing the bud, taking possession, and finally killing out the weaker growth. Still, if the plants are set deep enough to prevent adventitious buds of the stock from starting, there is no question that finer Roses may be grown than from plants on their own roots.

The summer insects that trouble the Rose are best treated by a forceful spray of clear water. This should be done early in the day and again at evening. Those having city water or good spray pumps will find this an easy method of keeping Rose pests in check. Those without these facilities may use whale oil soap, fir-tree oil, good soap suds, or Persian insect powder.

ROSES IN WINTER. Although the growing of Roses under glass is a business which would better be left to florists, as already said, the following advice may be useful to those who have conservatories:

When growing forcing Roses for winter flowers, florists usually provide raised beds, in the best-lighted houses they have. The bottom of the bed or bench is left with cracks between the boards for drainage; the cracks are covered with inverted strips of sod, and the bench is then covered with four or five inches of fresh, fibrous loam. This is made from rotted sods, with decayed manure incorporated at the rate of about one part in four. Sod from any drained pasture-land makes good soil. The plants are set on the bed in the spring or early summer, from 12 to 18 inches apart, and are grown there all summer.

During the winter they are kept at a temperature of 58 deg. to 60 deg. at night, and from 5 deg. to 10 deg. warmer during the day. The heating pipes are often run under the benches, not because the Rose likes bottom heat, but to economize space and to assist in drying out the beds in case of their becoming too wet. The greatest care is required in watering, in guarding the temperature and in ventilation. Draughts result in checks to the growth and in mildewed foliage.

Dryness of the air, especially from fire heat, is followed by the appearance of the minute red spider on the leaves. The aphis, or green plant louse, appears under all conditions, and must be kept down by syringing with tobacco-tea or fumigation with tobacco stems.

An effectual and preferable method now employed for destroying the aphis is to fumigate with the vapor arising from a pan containing a gallon of water and a pint of strong extract of tobacco. To generate the vapor, a piece of red-hot iron is dropped into the pan. From one to three or four pans are required to a house, according to its size. For the red spider, the chief means of control is syringing with either clear or soapy water. If the plants are intelligently ventilated and given, at all times, as much fresh air as possible, the red spider is less likely to appear. For mildew, which is easily recognized by its white, powdery appearance on the foliage, accompanied with more or less distortion of the leaves, the remedy is sulfur in some form or other. The flowers of sulfur may be dusted thinly over the foliage; enough merely to slightly whiten the foliage is sufficient. It may be dusted on from the hand in a broadcast way, or applied with a powder-bellows, which is a better and less wasteful method. Again, a paint composed of sulfur and linseed oil may be applied to a portion of one of the steam or hot-water heating pipes. The fumes arising from this are not agreeable to breathe, but fatal to mildew. Again, a little sulfur may be sprinkled here and there on the cooler parts of the greenhouse flue. Under no circumstances, however, ignite any sulfur in a greenhouse. The vapor of burning sulfur is death to plants.

_Propagation._--The writer has known women who could root Roses with the greatest ease. They would simply break off a branch of the Rose, insert it in the flower-bed, cover it with a bell-jar, and in a few weeks they would have a strong plant. Again they would resort to layering; in which case a branch, notched half way through on the lower side, was bent to the ground and pegged down so that the notched portion was covered with a few inches of soil. The layered spot was watered from time to time. After three or four weeks roots were sent forth from the notch and the branch or buds began to grow, when it was known that the layer had formed roots.

Several years ago a friend took a cheese-box, filled it with sharp sand to the brim, supported it in a tub of water so that the lower half inch of the box was immersed. The sand was packed down, sprinkled, and single-joint Rose cuttings, with a bud and a leaf near the top, were inserted almost their whole length in the sand. This was in July, a hot month, when it is usually difficult to root any kind of cutting; moreover, the box stood on a southern slope, facing the hot sun, without a particle of shade. The only attention given the box was to keep the water high enough in the tub to touch the bottom of the cheese-box. In about three weeks he took out three or four dozen of as nicely rooted cuttings as could have been grown in the greenhouse.

The "saucer system," in which cuttings are inserted in wet sand contained in a saucer an inch or two deep, to be exposed at all times to the full sunshine, is of a similar nature. The essentials are, to give the cuttings the "full sun" and to keep the sand saturated with water.

Whatever method is used, if cuttings are to be transplanted after rooting, it is important to pot them off in small pots as soon as they have a cluster of roots one-half inch or an inch long. Leaving them too long in the sand weakens the cutting.

SAGE is a perennial, but best results are secured by resowing every two or three years. Give a warm, rich soil. Hardy.

SALPIGLOSSIS. Very fine half-hardy annuals. The flowers, which are borne in profusion, are of many colors, and rival in markings most other annuals. The flowers are short-lived if left on the plant, but will hold well if cut and placed in water. Seed should be sown in heat in February or March, the seedlings grown along until May, when they may be planted out. It is usually best to pinch out the centers of the plants at this time to cause them to branch.

SALSIFY, or VEGETABLE OYSTER. Salsify is one of the best of winter and early spring vegetables, and should be grown in every garden. It may be cooked in several different ways. The seed should be sown as early in the spring as possible. Handle the same as parsnips in every way. The roots, like parsnips, are the better for the winter freeze, but part of the crop should be dug in the fall, and stored in soil or moss in a cellar for winter use.

SALVIA. The SCARLET SALVIA (or SAGE) is a well known tender perennial, blooming late in the fall and making a fine effect in beds or borders. It is easily transplanted, and large plants removed to the house continue in bloom for some time. The blue and white species are both desirable summer flowering plants, and the low-growing Silver Leaf Sage is well adapted for edging. Propagated from seed, cuttings, or by division. Height 2 to 3 feet.

SAN JOSE SCALE has now become a wide-spread pest. It has been introduced into the eastern states from the Pacific slope. It is a minute scale insect the size of a small pinhead, shield-shaped, with a raised center. There are various native and comparatively harmless scales which look very much like it, and an expert is usually needed to distinguish them. The San Jose Scale can usually be distinguished, however, by its very serious results. In favorable seasons it spreads with enormous rapidity, covering the branches of many kinds of plants, sapping their juices, and either killing or reducing them to such a low state of vitality as to render them useless; or they are killed by the winter. The indications are that the scale will never be so serious in the moist, cool climates of the northeastern states as it is in the hotter and drier climates of the West. It has been found by careful experiments that it can be killed by a spray of kerosene and water (see _Kerosene_) in a proportion of one part of kerosene to four or five of water. This material is applied with a mechanical pump mixer, and the application should be made on a sunny day so that evaporation soon takes place. Spraying with kerosene in cloudy weather is very likely to result in injury to the plants. Some experimenters have found crude petroleum to be a specific for the San Jose Scale.

It is not to be expected that the San Jose Scale can be exterminated any more than the tent caterpillar or apple scab can. It follows, therefore, that we should spray for the San Jose Scale as we do for other pests. It is such a serious pest, however, that the state or province should take measures to hold it in check. Some system of inspection should be inaugurated, and it is probably best that nursery stock be fumigated with hydrocyanic gas before it is sold. This gas is exceedingly poisonous, however, and should never be handled by the inexperienced. Whenever it is used, it should be under the control of experts. Plants or plantations which are badly infested with the scale would better be destroyed.

SCABIOSA. MOURNING BRIDE. A useful annual, producing a profusion of bloom through the greater part of the summer if not allowed to go to seed. The flowers range in color from white to rich purple, are borne on long stems, and are very lasting. The seed may be sown where the plants are wanted, or to hasten the season of bloom may be sown in boxes in February and grown along to be planted out in April.

SCARLET RUNNER. One of the pole or running beans (_Phaseolus multiflorus_). It is a great favorite with people from the Old World, especially English and Germans. This bean is used either as an ornamental vine for porches or trellises, or as a screen to hide unsightly objects. The red flowers are very showy, either on the plant or in bouquets. The green pods are excellent as string beans, and the dried beans are of superior quality. Seed should not be sown until the ground has become thoroughly warm; or the plants may be started in the house.

SCRAPING of trees is rarely to be advised, except in fruit plantations. The old and hanging bark on apple and pear trees may be taken off in order to destroy the hiding places of insects and the breeding places of fungi, and also to make the plantation look more neat and kempt. Only the loose outer bark should be removed, however. Trees should not be scraped to the quick. If there is moss on trees, it can be destroyed readily by a spray of Bordeaux mixture.

A large part of the beauty of an ornamental tree lies in its characteristic bark, and it is very rare that such trees should be scraped.

SCREENS. See _Windbreak_.

SCREW PINE. See _Pandanus_.

SEA-KALE shoots are very highly prized as a delicacy when blanched. The seed should be sown in a hotbed early in the spring, plants transplanted to the garden when from 2 to 3 inches high, and given high cultivation through the season, being covered with litter on the approach of winter. The young stalks are blanched early the following spring by covering with large pots or boxes, or by banking with sand or other clean material. The Dwarf Green Scotch, Dwarf Brown, and Siberian are among the leading varieties. Sea-kale is eaten much as asparagus is. Highly prized by those who know it.

Sea-Kale is also propagated by cuttings of the roots 4 or 5 inches long, planted directly in the soil in spring. The plant is perennial, and the early shoots may be bleached year after year.

SEED SOWING. The general rule in sowing seeds is to cover them twice or three times their thickness. This rule will apply to the majority of seeds, but in many plants of a naturally short season of bloom or growth, an instance of which is the sweet pea, it may be advisable to sow the seed deeper, that the roots may have sufficient moisture and be in a cool temperature through the hot summer months. Also, in sowing very minute seed, as tobacco, petunia, begonia, and others of like size, care should be taken to have them only under the surface of the soil,--simply pressed down with a smooth surface or allowed to settle into the soil with the soaking in of the water. The soil for all seeds should be loose and porous, in order to allow the excessive moisture to escape and the warmth to penetrate, but should be firmed directly over the seeds to induce an upward flow of moisture. One of the most common mistakes in sowing seed is in sowing all kinds at the same time without regard to the season, thus causing a failure with some, while others grow freely. All tender seed should be sown only when the ground has become thoroughly warm, while seeds of the so-called hardy plants may be sown as early in the spring as the ground is fit to work. A few kinds of seed are the better for soaking, especially such as for some reason have been delayed in sowing. Sweet pea seed is benefited by soaking if not put into the ground until the soil is warm. Seed of canna, moonflower and others with hard shells may be scraped until the outer shell is pierced or is very thin.

It is generally better to buy garden seeds than to grow them, for those who make a business of seed-growing become expert in the cultivation and selection of the plants.

SEEDS of most plants should be kept dry and also rather cool. It is always better to rely upon fresh seeds. Test them in boxes in the house, if possible, before planting them in the open. If beans, peas, corn or other Seeds become buggy, pour a little bisulfide of carbon (very inflammable) into them. The material will not injure the Seeds even if poured on them. It soon evaporates. A teaspoonful will kill the insects in four quarts of Seeds, if the receptacle is tight.

Most tree Seeds should be kept moist until planted. They are usually buried or kept in sand.

SENSITIVE PLANT (_Mimosa_). This curious plant is often grown for the amusement it affords by its habit of closing its leaves and dropping the leaf-stalk whenever the plant is touched. Seed should be sown in heat early in the season, and the plants grown in pots or a protected border. The seed is sold by all seedsmen. The plant grows readily in a temperature suited to beans. It will not stand frost. The young plants are usually the most sensitive.

SHADE TREES. The best Shade Trees are usually those which are native to the particular region, since they are hardy and adapted to the soil and other conditions. Elms, maples, basswoods, and the like, are nearly always reliable. In regions in which there are serious insect enemies or fungous diseases, the trees which are most likely to be attacked may be omitted. For instance, in parts of the East the elm leaf beetle is a very serious pest; and it is a good plan in such places to plant other trees than elms. Amongst the best exotic trees for shade in the northern parts of the country are the Norway maple, European lindens, horse chestnut, and the European species of elm. Trees for shade should ordinarily be given sufficient room that they may develop into full size and symmetrical heads. The trees may be planted as close as 10 or 15 feet apart for temporary effect; but as soon as they begin to crowd they should be thinned.

SHELTER-BELTS. See _Windbreak_.

SHRUBBERY. Shrubs have two kinds of values or uses: first, they are useful for their own sakes or as individual specimens; and second, for use in the making of foliage masses or groups. Ordinarily they are used only for the former purpose in home grounds; but their greatest use is, nevertheless, in heavy masses about the borders of the place or in the angles of the building. That is to say, they should contribute to the general design of the place or to its pictorial effect. If they are planted in Shrubberies or masses, the flowers are still as interesting and as showy as they are when the bushes are planted alone. In fact, the flowers usually show to better advantage, since they have a heavy background of foliage. In the Shrubbery mass the bushes are more easily cared for than when they are scattered as single specimens over the lawn. The single specimen which is irregular, or ragged, or untidy, is an undesirable object; but such a specimen may contribute an indispensable part to the border mass. In the border they do not need the attention to pruning that they do in the lawn. The main part of the Shrubbery mass should be made of the stronger, larger growing and coarser Shrubs; and the more delicate ones, or those with highly colored leaves or showy flowers, may be placed near the inner edge of the plantation. Shrubs which are valued chiefly for their flowers or showy foliage, as, for example, the _Hydrangea paniculata_, may be planted just in front of a bold Shrubbery mass, so that they will have a background to show off their beauties. Further directions for the lay-out of the grounds will be found under the articles _Lawns_ and _Borders_.

It is ordinarily best to plow or spade the entire area in which the Shrubs are to be set. For a year or two the ground should be tilled between the Shrubs, either by horse tools or by hoes and rakes. If the place looks bare, seeds of quick-growing flowers may be scattered about the edges of the mass. The larger Shrubs, like lilacs and syringas, may be set about 4 feet apart; but the smaller ones should be set about, 2 feet apart if it is desired to secure an immediate effect. If after a few years the mass becomes too crowded, some of the specimens may be removed. Throw the Shrubs into an irregular plantation, not in rows, and make the inner edge of the mass more or less undulating and broken. It is a good practice to mulch the plantation each fall with light manure, leaf-mold or other material. Even though the Shrubs are perfectly hardy, this mulch greatly improves the land and promotes growth. After the Shrub borders have become two or three years old, the drifting leaves of fall will be caught therein and will be held as a mulch. It is often advisable not to remove these leaves, but to allow them to remain year after year, where they make a fine covering of leaf-mold. When the Shrubs are first planted, they are headed back one-half or more; but after they are established they are not to be pruned, but allowed to take their own way, and after a few years the outermost ones will droop and meet the greensward.

Good Shrubs are numerous. Some of the best are those to be found in woods and along roadsides. They are hardy. Of Shrubs which are generally adaptable for the North, the following are excellent:

Barberries.
Box.
Burning Bush, or Euonymus.
Bush Honeysuckles.
Bush Willows.
Caryopteris, blooming in August and September.
Cotoneasters.
Desmodiums, or Lespedezas, blooming in fall.
Dwarf Sumac. _Rhus copallina._
Elders. Native species are excellent.
Exochorda, with profuse white bloom in spring.
Flowering Almond.
Flowering Crabs.
Flowering Currants.
Forsythias, or Golden Bells.
Fringe Tree, or Chionanthus.
Hawthorns.
Hydrangeas.
Indian Currant. _Symphoricarpos vulgaris._
Japanese Quince.
Kerria, or Corchorus.
Lilacs.
Mock Orange, or Philadelphus.
New Jersey Tea, or Ceanothus.
Osiers, or Dogwoods.
Privet.
Rose Acacia.
Roses (see _Roses_).
Smoke Tree.
Snowballs. The Japanese is preferable.
Snowberry. _Symphoricarpos racemosus._
Spireas of many kinds.
Viburnums of many kinds.
Weigelas.
White Alder. _Clethra alnifolia._
Witch Hazel. Blooms on the eve of winter.
Xanthoceras sorbifolia.

SILENE, or CATCHFLY. Some of the Silenes are hardy annuals of very easy culture. Sow seeds where the plants are to stand; or, if early results are desired, seeds may be started in boxes. The plants thrive in any garden soil, even if it is not very rich. Colors red, or sometimes running to white. One foot. Let plants stand 6 to 10 inches apart.

SMILAX of the florists is closely allied to asparagus. While it cannot be recommended for house culture, the ease with which it may be grown and the uses to which the festoons of leaves may be put, entitle it to a place in the conservatory or greenhouse. Seed sown in pots or boxes in January or February, the plants shifted as needed until planted on the bench in August, will grow fine strings of green by the holidays. The plants should be set on low benches, giving as much room as possible overhead. Green-colored strings should be used for the vines to climb on, the vines frequently syringed to keep down the red spider, which is very destructive to this plant, and liquid manure given as the vines grow. The soil should contain a good proportion of sand and be enriched with well-rotted manure. After the first strings are cut, a second growth fully as good as the first may be had by cleaning up the plants and top-dressing the soil with rotted manure. Slightly shading the house through August will add to the color of the leaves. The odor from a vine of Smilax thickly covered with the small flowers is very agreeable.

SNAPDRAGON, or ANTIRRHINUM. An old garden favorite, flowering freely through a long season. The dwarf strain is well adapted for bedding or borders. Any light soil, well enriched with rotted manure, will grow Snapdragons to perfection. Distinct varieties should be propagated by cuttings, as they do not come true from seed. Sow seed early in the spring.

Although bloom may be obtained the first year, late sown plants sometimes persist over winter and bloom early in the spring. Snapdragons make good window plants.

SNOWDROP (_Galanthus_). This is one of the earliest flowers of spring, always welcome. It should be planted in the edge of the border. The bulbs may be planted in October in any good border soil and left undisturbed for years; or they may be potted at that time, and after forming roots be gently forced into bloom in winter.

SNOWFLAKE (_Leucoium_). Culture same as for _Snowdrop_.

SODDING. In general, the best way to secure a lawn is by the sowing of seed (see _Lawn_), since it is the least expensive way. For small areas, and along the sides of walks and drives, sods may be used. The results are quicker. Unless the sod is of the right kind, however, and very carefully laid, the results are not so good as with seed.

The sod which is best adapted to the Sodding of lawns is that which comes from an old, closely grazed pasture. Sod from a sheep pasture is supposed to be best. Such sod has been so closely grazed that it has made a very dense mat of roots, and all the weeds have been destroyed. The droppings of the animals also make the ground rich. The sod should be cut in very thin strips. It should not be more than an inch and one-half or two inches in thickness. If it is thicker than that, it is heavy and bulky to handle, and is not so easily laid. Ordinarily, the sod is cut in strips ten inches or a foot wide. A board is laid on the sod and the strip is cut along either side of it with a sod cutter or a sharp spade. Two men then roll up the sod. One stands on the strip of sod with his face toward the man who, with the spade, cuts it loose beneath. As it is cut loose, the man on the strip rolls the sod so that the upper surface is on the inside of the roll. Strips longer than ten or twelve feet make rolls which are too heavy to handle with ease.

The soil upon which the sod is to be placed should be very loose, so that the sod, can be pounded down firmly. Some heavy pounder should be used, as a block of wood. It is usually impossible to pound down sod with the back of a spade sufficiently firm unless the soil is very loose. The sod should be pounded until the top is about level with the surrounding soil. This insures contact with the soil beneath, so that there are no air spaces and no likelihood of drying out. Sod pounded down as firmly as this should grow very readily. If a sod edging is laid along walks and drives, it should be pounded down an inch or more lower than the surrounding loose land which is seeded, because the loose land will finally settle; otherwise the sod border is likely to be higher than adjacent land after a year or two.

If there are uneven places on the sodded area, these depressions can be filled in with very loose, fine soil; and the grass will grow through it. In dry weather, a sodded area may be mulched with a half inch of fine loam to protect it.

SOILS. Soils are of many kinds. The classification of soils depends upon one's point of view. Gardeners ordinarily call a good, friable, dark-colored, rich Soil a garden loam. No Soil is so good that it cannot be improved. It is improved in two general ways: by tilling (see _Tillage_), and by the application of various substances.

In considering the improvement of lands by the application of foreign substances, two distinct things are to be considered: the improvement of the physical texture, or tilth, of the Soil; the increasing of its plant-food. These are coordinate objects. In some cases one may be of prime importance, and in another case the other may be more necessary. Lands which have a fair store of available plant-food may be unproductive. Such lands may be very greatly benefited by stable manure, even though that manure may have lost a large part of fertility by being baptized under the eaves of the barn. If plant-food alone is needed, then some concentrated or commercial fertilizer may be the best thing to apply. In most cases the main or chief amelioration of the land is to be wrought by tillage, stable manures, mulches, green crops, and the like; if special results are desired, commercial fertilizers may be added more or less liberally, as the case demands (see _Manures_, _Fertilizers_).

The top-dressing of Soils is often very beneficial because it tends to prevent the escape of moisture, and often improves the physical texture. If the material contains plant-food, the land will also be directly enriched. The trimmings from lawns may be a distinct protection to lands if allowed to remain (see _Lawns_); and the leaves which blow into clumps of shrubbery may often be allowed to remain with good results. However, if the leaves become too thick year after year, they tend to induce a surface rooting of the shrubs. This, however, may be no disadvantage unless the mulch were finally to be removed. One of the very best top-dressings for borders and shrubbery is spent tan bark, since it does not pile up on the ground, but tends to work into it. Well-rotted sawdust often has the same effect. These materials are much used by gardeners, when they can be had, since they can be raked into the soil in the spring, and need not be removed.

SOLIDAGO. See _Goldenrod_.

SPADES and SHOVELS must be a part of every garden equipment. The common and most useful forms are shown in the cuts, but long-handled tools are more useful for the loading of earth, the making of ditches, the spreading of mulches, and the like. It pays to buy the steel tools, with strongly strapped handles.

SPEARMINT is prized by many people as a seasoning, particularly for the Thanksgiving and holiday cookery. It is a perennial and perfectly hardy, and will live in the open garden year after year. If a supply of the fresh herbage is wanted in winter, remove sods of it to the house six weeks before wanted. Place the sods in boxes, and treat as for house plants. The plants should have been frosted and become perfectly dormant before removal.

SPINACH. Probably the most extensively grown early spring vegetable, being in great demand as greens. The earliest crop that finds its way to market is gathered from seed sown in September or October, often protected by frames or other means through the severe winter, and cut soon after growth starts in early spring. Even as far north as New York Spinach may stand over winter without protection. Spinach is forced by placing sash over the frames in February and March, protecting the young leaves from severe freezing by mats or straw thrown over the frames. Seed may be sown in early spring for a succession; later in the season seed of the New Zealand Summer Spinach may be sown, and this will grow through the heat of the summer and yield a fine quality of leaves. The seed of this kind being very hard, should be scalded and allowed to soak a few hours before sowing. This seed is usually sown in hills about three feet apart, sowing four to six seeds in each hill. The spring and winter Spinach should be sown in drills 12 to 14 inches apart, one ounce being sufficient for 100 feet of drill. Remember that common Spinach is a cool-weather (fall and spring) crop.

SPRAYING. Of late years Spraying has come to be one of the most important of all horticultural operations. Most kinds of injurious fungi and insects can be combated by a water spray in which various poisons or injurious substances are contained. There are two general classes of Spraying material: first, fungicides, or those which are used for the control of fungi or plant diseases; second, insecticides, or those which are used for the control of insect enemies.

The fungicides usually contain copper or sulfur, or both. The most popular and generally useful fungicide is the Bordeaux mixture (which see). It should be borne in mind that most injurious fungi work on the interior of the leaf or stem, and only the spore-bearing parts come to the surface. It is therefore very important that Spraying with fungicides be done very early in order to prevent the fungus from getting a hold. It is much better to Spray once very thoroughly than to Spray a half dozen times carelessly. It is important that the entire surface of the foliage or stems be covered with the material in order to prevent the access of the fungi.

Of insecticides, there are two general types: those which kill by external contact and are applied to plant lice, scale insects, and all other insects which suck their food; and the poisonous compounds which are used for the chewing insects, as all the tribes of worms and beetles. Of the former class, the most important material is kerosene in various forms (which see). Of the latter kind is Paris green (which see). For insects, Spray just as soon as the attack is evident. Paris green and Bordeaux mixture may be used together.

The best pump for Spraying is the one which throws the stream the greatest distance with the least amount of liquid, and the best nozzle is that which distributes the material most finely and evenly. For Spraying plants close at hand, the Vermorel nozzle is now the most popular. If it is desired to reach the tops of large trees, some other nozzle should be used, as the McGowen, Boss, or other types. Every outfit should have two or three kinds of nozzles for different kinds of work. Get a pump with much power.

Spray thoroughly. The general rule is to spray the entire plant until the material begins to drip, at which time it may be supposed that the plant is covered completely. When and how often one should Spray, and what material he should use, will depend entirely upon the difficulty which he is endeavoring to combat. Most fruit trees should be Sprayed before they bloom and again just afterwards. Sometimes they will need Spraying again.

SPREKELIA. Culture of _Amaryllis_.

SQUASH. The time of planting, method of preparing the hills and after culture are the same as for cucumbers and melons (which see), except that for the Early Bush varieties the hills should be 4 or 5 feet apart, and for the later running varieties from 6 to 8 feet apart. From eight to ten seeds should be planted in each hill, thinning to four plants after danger from bugs is over. Of the early Squashes, one ounce of seed will plant fifty hills; of the later varieties, one ounce will plant but eighteen to twenty hills. For winter use, varieties of the Hubbard type are best. For summer use, the Crooknecks and Scallop Squashes are popular. In growing winter Squashes in a northern climate, it is essential that the plants start off quickly and vigorously: a little chemical fertilizer will help. Pumpkins are grown the same as Squashes.

SQUILLS (_Scilla_). BLUE BELL. WILD HYACINTH. Well-known bulbous plants, most of them hardy. They plant well with snowdrops and crocus, flowering at the same time, but continuing longer in bloom. The colors are red, pink, blue or white. The blue varieties have very fine shades of color. Should be planted in October and remain undisturbed.

STOCKS. The Ten-weeks and the biennial or Brompton Stocks, are found in nearly all old-fashioned gardens. Most gardens are thought to be incomplete without Stocks, and the use of the biennial flowering species as house plants is increasing. The Ten-weeks Stock is usually grown from seed sown in hotbed or boxes in March. The seedlings are transplanted several times previous to being planted out in early May. At each transplanting the soil should be made a little richer. The double flowers will be more numerous when the soil is rich.

The biennial species should be sown the season previous to that in which flowers are wanted, the plants wintered over in a cool house, and grown on the following spring. They may be planted out through the summer and lifted into pots in August or September for winter flowering. These may be increased by cuttings taken from the side shoots; but the sowing of seed is a surer method, and unless an extra fine variety is to be saved, it would be the best one to pursue. Height 10 to 15 inches.

STORING. The principles which are involved in the Storing of perishable products, as fruits and vegetables, differ with the different commodities. All the root crops, and most fruits, need to be kept in a cool, moist and uniform temperature if they are to be preserved a great length of time. Squashes, sweet potatoes, and some other things, need to be kept in an intermediate and what might be called a high temperature; and the atmosphere should be drier than for most other products. The low temperature has the effect of arresting decomposition and the work of fungi and bacteria. The moist atmosphere has the effect of preventing too great evaporation and the consequent shriveling. In the Storing of any commodity, it is very important to see that the product is in proper condition for keeping. Discard all specimens which are bruised or which are likely to decay. Much of the decay of fruits and vegetables in Storage is not the fault of the Storage, but is really the work of diseases with which the materials are infested before they are put into Storage. For example, if potatoes and cabbages are affected with the rot, it is practically impossible to keep them any length of time.

Apples, winter pears, and all roots, should be kept at a temperature somewhat near the freezing point. It should not raise above 40 deg. Fahr. for best results. Apples can even be kept at one or two degrees below the freezing point if the temperature is kept uniform. Cellars in which there are heaters are likely to be too dry and the temperature too high. In such cases it is well to keep fresh vegetables and fruits in tight receptacles, and pack the roots in sand or moss in order to prevent shriveling. In these places, apples usually keep better if headed up in barrels than if kept on racks or shelves. In moist and cool cellars, however, it is preferable for the home supply to place them on shelves, not piling them more than five or six inches deep, for then they can be sorted over as occasion requires. In case of fruits, be sure that the specimens are not over-ripe when placed in storage. If apples are allowed to lie in the sun for a few days without being packed, they will ripen so much that it is very difficult to keep them.

Cabbages should be kept at a low and uniform temperature, and water should be drained away from them. They are Stored in many ways in the field, but success depends so much upon the season, particular variety, ripeness, and the freedom from injuries by fungi and insects, that uniform results are rarely secured by any method. The best results are to be expected when they can be kept in a house which is built for the purpose, in which the temperature can be kept uniform and the air fairly moist. When Stored out of doors, they are likely to freeze and thaw alternately; and if the water runs into the heads, mischief is likely to result. Sometimes they are easily Stored by being piled into a conical heap on well-drained soil and covered with dry straw, and the straw covered with boards. It does not matter if they are frosted, provided they do not thaw out frequently. Sometimes cabbages are laid head down in a shallow furrow plowed in well-drained land, and over them is thrown straw, the stumps being allowed to project through the cover. It is only in winters of rather uniform temperature that good results are to be expected from such methods.

In the Storing of all things, especially those which have soft and green matter, as cabbages, it is well to provide for the heating of the produce. If the things are buried out of doors, it is important to put on a very light cover at first so that the heat may escape. Cover them gradually as the cold weather comes on. This is important with all vegetables that are placed in pits, as potatoes, beets and the like. If covered deeply at once, they are likely to heat and rot. All pits made out of doors should be on well-drained and preferably sandy land.

When vegetables are wanted at intervals during the winter from pits, it is well to make compartment pits, each compartment holding a wagon load or whatever quantity will be likely to be wanted at each time. These pits are sunk in well-drained land, and between each of the two pits is left a wall of earth about a foot thick. One pit can then be emptied in cold weather without interfering with the others.

An outside cellar is better than a house cellar in which there is a heater, but it is not so handy. If it is near the house, it need not be inconvenient, however. A house is usually healthier if the cellar is not used for storage. House cellars used for storage should have a ventilating shaft.

STRAWBERRY. The saying that Strawberries will grow on almost any soil is misleading, although true. Some varieties of Strawberries will grow on certain soils better than other varieties. What these varieties are can only be determined by an actual test, but it is a safe rule to select such varieties as prove good in many localities. As to the methods of culture, so much depends on the size of the plot, the purpose for which the fruit is wanted, and the amount of care one is willing to give, that no set rule can be given for a garden in which but few plants are grown and extra care can be given. Large fruits and a number of them may be had by growing to the single plant, keeping off all runners and relying on numerous fruit-crowns on one plant for the crop of berries. Or Strawberries may be grown by the narrow matted-row system, in which the runners, before rooting, should be turned along the rows at a distance of from 4 to 6 inches from the parent plant. These runners should be the first ones made by the plant and should not be allowed to root themselves, but "set in." This is not a difficult operation; and if the runners are separated from the parent plant as soon as they become well established, the drain on that plant is not great. All other runners should be cut off as they start. The row should be about 12 inches wide at fruiting time. Each plant should have sufficient feeding ground, full sunlight, and a firm hold in the soil. This matted-row system is perhaps as good a method, either in a private garden or field culture, as could be practiced. With a little care in hoeing, weeding and cutting off runners, the beds seem to produce as large crops the second year as the first.

The old way of growing a crop was to set the plants 10 to 12 inches apart, in rows 3 feet apart, and allow them to run and root at will, the results being a mass of small, crowded plants, each striving to obtain plant-food and none of them succeeding in getting enough. The last, or outside runners, having but the tips of their roots in the ground, are moved by the wind, heaved by the frost, or have the exposed roots dried out by the wind and sun.

Ground rich in potash produces the firmest and best flavored berries. Excessive use of stable manure, usually rich in nitrogen, should be avoided, as tending to make too rank growth of foliage and berries of a soft texture.

Except in the case of a skillful grower in a favored locality, the fall setting of plants is not to be recommended. The preparation of the soil and care of the plants more than overbalance the partial crop obtained the following spring.

In the single-plant or hill system the plants should be set 12 inches apart, in rows 3 feet apart. In the narrow matted row system the plants should be set 18 inches apart, in rows 3-1/2 feet apart. The first method requires about 14,000 plants per acre, the second about 8,000 plants.

The winter treatment of a Strawberry bed should consist in covering the plants, when the ground is frozen, in November or December, with straw or hay. Salt marsh hay, if obtainable, is the best, as no weed seeds are introduced. Cover the soil and the plants to the depth of 3 to 6 inches. As soon as growth begins in spring, rake the mulch off, allowing it to lie between the rows; or, if the soil is hard or weedy, it may be taken off the patch entirely, the ground tilled, and then replaced for the purpose of holding moisture and keeping the berries clean.

Usually, Strawberries may be fruited twice or three times; but on rich soil, with extra good care, the first crop may be very heavy, and the patch may be plowed up thereafter. Some varieties do not produce pollen, and not more than two rows of these should be planted without a row of a pollen-bearing kind.

The rust and mildew may be held in check by Bordeaux mixture. It is usually sufficient to spray after the blooming season (or at any time the first year the plants are set), in order to secure healthy foliage for the next year.

SUNFLOWER (_Helianthus_). People who know only the coarse annual Sunflower are not aware of the beauty which it is possible to secure with the herbaceous perennials belonging to that family. No border should be without a few of the hardy species. Their blooming period extends from early in August until heavy frost. The color runs from light lemon to the richest orange, and the range of growth from 3 to 10 feet, thus enabling one to scatter them through the border without any formal arrangement. They are of the easiest culture. Plants may be dug in the wild or bought of nurserymen. The domesticated double _Helianthus multiflorus_ is always valuable.

Of the annual Sunflowers, there are some which are not generally cultivated that should receive more attention. The silver-leaved species from Texas (_H. argophyllus_), and the small, light lemon-yellow variety, are two of the best.

SWAINSONA. This makes a very desirable house plant, blooming through the late winter and early spring months. The blossoms, which resemble those of the pea, are borne in long racemes. The foliage is finely cut, resembling small locust leaves, and adds to the beauty of the plant, the whole effect being exceedingly graceful. It may be grown from seed or cuttings. Propagate a new stock each year. The flowers are large and pure white. The plant has been called the "Winter Sweet Pea," but the flowers are not fragrant.

SWAN RIVER DAISY (_Brachycome iberidifolia_) is a charming little border plant, growing to the height of 12 to 15 inches, and bearing quantities of blue or white flowers. The flowers last a long time when cut, and give a vase of flowers a light, graceful effect. The seed should be sown in boxes, hotbed, or windows; or, in warm garden soil, the seed may be sown where the plants are to stand. Only half hardy, and should not be planted out until settled weather. Annual.

SWEET CORN. See _Corn_.

SWEET HERBS. The Herb garden should find a place on all amateurs' grounds. Herbs may readily be made profitable by disposing of the surplus to the green grocer and the druggist. The latter will often buy all that the housewife wishes to dispose of, as the general supply of medicinal herbs is grown by specialists, and goes into the hands of the wholesaler and is often old when received by the local dealer. The seedsmen's catalogues mention upwards of forty different Herbs, medicinal and culinary. The majority of them are perennial, and will grow for many years if well taken care of. However, it is better to resow every three or four years. The annual kinds are raised from seeds each year. Beds 4 feet square of each of the Herbs will supply an ordinary family.

SWEET PEA. No annual receives greater attention these days than the Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea exhibitions are held in several sections of the country, the press gives considerable space to the discussion of varieties, and the public generally is interested in the growing or buying of the flower. On any occasion the Sweet Pea is in place. A bouquet of shaded colors, with a few sprays of galium or the perennial gypsophila, makes one of the choicest of table decorations. Deep, mellow soil, early planting and heavy mulching suit them admirably. Sow the seeds as soon as the ground is fit to work in the spring, making a drill 5 inches deep. Sow thickly and cover with 2 inches of soil. When the plants have made 2 or 3 inches growth above the soil, fill the drill nearly full, leaving a slight depression in which water may be caught. After the soil is thoroughly soaked with water, a good mulch will hold the moisture. To have the ground ready in early spring, it is a good plan to trench the soil in the fall. The top of the soil then dries out very quickly in the spring and is left in good physical condition. Frequent syringing with clear water will keep off the red spider that often destroys the foliage, and attention to picking the seed pods will lengthen the season of bloom. If the finest flowers are wanted, do not let the plants stand less than 8-12 inches apart.

A succession of sowings may be made at intervals through May and June, and a fair fall crop obtained if care is taken to water and mulch; but the best results will be secured with the very early planting. In the middle and southern states, the seed may be planted in fall, particularly in lighter soils. It is easy to get soils too rich in nitrogen for Sweet Peas; in such case, they will run to vine at the expense of flowers. If the plants are watered, apply enough to soak the soil, and do not water frequently.

SWEET POTATOES are grown from sprouts planted on ridges or hills, not by planting the tubers, as with the common or Irish potato. The method of obtaining these sprouts is as follows: In April, tubers of Sweet Potatoes are planted in a partially spent hotbed by using the whole tuber (or if a large one, by cutting it in two through the long way), covering the tubers with 2 inches of light, well firmed soil. The sash should be put on the frames and only enough ventilation given to keep the Potatoes from decaying. In ten or twelve days the young sprouts should begin to appear, and the bed should be watered if dry. The sprouts when pulled from the tuber will be found to have rootlets at the lower end and along the stems. These sprouts should be about 3 to 5 inches long by the time the ground is warm enough to plant them out. The ridges or hills should be prepared by plowing out a furrow 4 to 6 inches deep. Scatter manure in the furrow and plow back the soil so as to raise the center at least 6 inches above the level of the soil. On this ridge the plants are set, placing the plants well in to the leaves, and about 12 to 18 inches apart in the rows, the rows being from 3 to 4 feet apart. The after cultivation consists in stirring the soil between the ridges; and as the vines begin to run they should be lifted frequently to prevent rooting at the joints. When the tips of the vines have been touched by frost the crop may be harvested, the tubers left to dry a few days, and stored in a dry, warm place. To keep Sweet Potatoes, store in layers in barrels or boxes in dry sand, and keep them in a dry room. See that all bruised or chilled potatoes are thrown out.