Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-03-09
The Flower Garden.

lRead before the Vermont Board ofAgrlculture
by Mrs. Albert b. Jsquith OF Woodstock
The soil should be carefully stirred abou
the tulips as soon US they are out of th'
ground; they will soon follow the hvacinths
opening their gay cups in the sunlight anC
| quite filling the air with their fragrance
The hills must be hoed away from the roses
and they must be closely watched to discov
er the first appearance of the enemy, tht
little leaf hopper (Titticonia Rosa, } which
will be found nestled closely to the under
side of the new leaves, very harmless looking
little white lice, perhaps, you would cal
them and now is the very time to give
them a sousing dose of tobacco soap suds
with the garden syringe, ifyou have one,
il not q good turkeys wing can be made
quite scrviceable. Ii you have only very
few bushes, by holding a pan of the suds
under the bushes and, dipping the wing,
brush up through the foliage so as to hit
the under of the leaf for there is where you
always find them. Common soft soap suds.
a teacupiul of soap to one pail of water
is much better than nothing, but it is
not so sure to kill, therefore must be
| applied oftener. One pound of tobacco
soap to seven gallons of water is an efficient
solution and it does the best execution
put on at night, it does not dry off so
quickly and is not liable TO injure the
foliage as when the hot sun is shining
upon it. If the hOppers are allowed to
remain few days they will turn the leaves
white, as they live on the Juice, and they
get so lively that the moment the bush is
disturbed they hop out of reach of the suds.
Alter these comes the slug. small green
worm, which eats the substance of the leaf,
making the bush look as though fire had
run over it. Four or five syringings within
three or four weeks will generally finish
them all though somehow or other there is
plenty of seed left for an other year. Now
there Is work in this if any one has large
bed of roses. The soap smells badly, being
made of tobacco oil and whale oil. Tobacco
is always disagreeable, you know but it is
far more sensible to kill insects with it than
to chew, smoke, or snuff it. Besides, We
must do something or We shall not have any
roses, and the rose is the queen of the
garden. not another flower is so regally
beautiful or so fragrant. So We are willing
TO try our best TO insure a good bloom,
and do We not feel paid when we haye thirty
or forty bushes in full blossom and all the
foliage looking so fresh and luxuriant
am sure you do not. any of you feel happy
when you look at your poor bushes that the
slCgs have run over, every bit of green cat
out of the leaver and only few small.
wilted flowers dropping on their stems.
II could not keep the slugs off | should
dig up the bushes and burn them.
Between syringings me must get in our
ANIMALS, and if VIC can have few warm
rainy days the seeds will start Quiskly-all
the plants will grow finall-and so will the
slugs. The second or third week in May
(according as the season is carly or late)
is good time to plant part Of the glad
iOlus bulbs, the remainder in about q week,
SO that they may not blossom so nearly at
once; and by the first week in June all
the seeds, bulbs, and plants should be in
the ground aud everything in running
order. But gardeners do not always do
their work at just the right time any more
than other people. In the meantime an
army OF weeds is getting fine start. No
doubt the earliest chickweed and shepherds
purse are ripe ready TO scatter plenty of
seed. Purslane, or as We all call 1t, "pus-
ley" is comming vigorously to keep the
gardener at work while the quantity of
petunias, eschscholtzias, bunch pinks and
candytufts coming from self-sown seeds is
quite startling. Some Of them we shall
wish TO transplant, the rest can be more
easy killed than "pusley," which surely
uds a. mdby ilNtS ds tuciC IL uOt
more. 1t certainly is not the worst thing We
have to contend with. If one could sell it
by the peck for greens it might be made
profitable. We have steady work now, hoe
ing, raking-with plenty of finger work
mixed in-transplanting stalking, tying;
while new flowers are unfolding their beau
ties almost every day to encourage US.
Perhaps the rose bugs are eating the roses
badly, if SO, gather them (the bugs) quite
early in the morning, by hand. into a large,
empty watering pot, hasten to the house
and pour boiling water over them, that is
sure death. | know Of no other.
As the summer advances, and the heat
grows more intense, the flowers fade quick
" (; but the verbenss will thrive if not al
lowed to get too dry. If it is very dry
time the roses should be watered once
week-their beauty ard fragrance will pay
for it-and if the green lice are plenty on
the new shoots they must be destroyed,
either by pinching, rinsing in quito warm
water, or a solution of tobacco. Those
green worms (lrom one to two iuches long)
will eat the heart out OF the buds and the
new shoots If they are not killed.
The ANIMALS begin to show some hand
some flowers. The verbena bed grows gay
every day, and the gladiOlus look very pro-
missing. Slips set In spot OF wet sand
the first of August, or earlier, root more
readily than later in the season and make
good plants for winter or early spring
hlossoming.