The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-16


Where Is the man, woman. or child, who
yard? Certainly Montgomery can produc,
as large a per centage of flower lover
among its population as any other citl
IN the world. 10 demonstrate this as
sertion practically. The Advertiser pro
poses to conduct an Amateur Gardeners
Contest among Montgomery residents
for the purpose of giving all an incentive
to improve and beautify their homes.
In order TO MAKE p the Contest interest
GVLD viii be distributed in prizes for thu
| best improved front and back yards.
| Prizes will be classified under two heads
| three prizes will be offered for the best
| improved front yard. and three prizes for
| the best improved back yard.
Every resident Of Montgomery is eligi-
BILE to this contest. beginning tomorrow,
Entries for the Contest will close on May
10Th, just sixty days from today. after
/ which committee on awards. which will
| be composed of competent judges. Sc
| lecte0 from responsible residents of Mont
contestants, and select the prize win
| nerS.
Springlime is here, which means tina,
the time for getting out the rake and
hoe has arrived. Your YARD needs at
tention. Every body's yard needs clean.
| ing up. Set good example tor your
| neighbors by beginning to clean up first
| Don't confine all your efforts to the front
yard. either, for as mdcn may De ac
, complished i'll the back yard, and FREE
| qu.hty more. towards beautifying tbs
home. and making life worth living. as
by combining all your energy TO the front
yard.
No Favoritism to be Shown
The man with back YARD four by six,
| will stand an equal show with the man
! possessing 200-foot lawn. in the award
ing of prizes in The Advertisers ANA
~. 4. GARDENERS CON TEST. The
word garden Is not to be construed in
| the ordinary sense. 1t Is not necessary
| that a man should have an acre OF
ground about his home to have garden;
he can grow grass or flowers, or Doth,
in yard the size of his kitchen. When
| the time comes to award the prizes, en-
vironment. LABOR. skill and artistic taste
| will be taken into consideration. 1t is
| the great mass Of people that The Ad-
| vertiser looks to. to take an interest IN
| the competition. and to join in an united
| effort to make Montgomery beautiful to
look UPON and healthful and agreeable
| to live in.
Room for Improvement.
| That there is plenty of room for i'm
provement cannot be denied. How lew
sections are there in Montgomery, either
among the districts populated by the
well-to-do, or by the poor, that present
pleasing picture to the eye yard space
Is far more common In Montgomery than
most of the large cities in America. yet
| few are improved as they should be, OF
could be at small expense OF labor ana
money. The Advertiser believes that
these conditions can be improved, ana IL
is to stimulate an interest among house
holders that the several prizes have been
| offered.
The number Of ways in which the sur
roundings of home can be made az
tractive and at little cost, Is legion. II
you have a front yard. you can at ieast
keep it clean and sow 1t in grass. Even
| If II is small. how much better does ~
set off the front entrance 10 youi nome.
| If neat and green, than If allowed 10 go
unkempt and left to the weeds. small
bed of flowers i'll the center .. SIDE. or
narrow strip along the front OF the
house. improves the picture wonderiuily.
The same is true of the back yard W mar
can hide an unsightly fence more PIC
turesquely than growing vines, or better
supplant piles OF tin cans, boxes ana
waste paper, than grass, shrubs ana
flowers?
Hints for Beginners.
There are few people indeed who are
not enough acquainted with the rudi-
ments of gardening to smooth on yaru,
plant II with grass or construct simple
flower beds. However. that all may be
taught The Advertiser has secured a
number of valuable articles which Wall
be published at intervals during the run
ming Of this contest under the heao OF
HINTS FOR AMATEUR GARDEN Frs
They will not be intended for hortcul-
tural experts or landscape engineers, Dut
they will be in simple English that az
may read and understand. Every cond.-
ton of living Will be taken INTO Sos sinea
Grafton. For those who have good-sizeo
lawns there will be Information, now TO
lay them out, and how to plant them IN
trees, shrubs and flower beds; Tor those
who have small yards. direcuons VIII DC
smallest expense; for those who nave
fences and porches, suggestions VIII De
made as to how to decorate them Win
vines: for all who grow mowers at the
end of the season, there will be speclnc
directions as to caring for the plants ana
the lawns through the winter. In tact'
all the best practical Information OBTAIN
able will be printed in Tine Adveruser ior
the benefit of those who will take an IN
terest in the contest, and VINO want 10
make their home surroundings as attract
i've as possible.
Give the Children a Chance
If the man or woman of the house IS
too busy to give the time necessary w
cultivating the yard, why not interest," the
children and give them chance TO WIN
one of the prizes? There Is no poy wa"
does not want a bicycle, wagon base pan
outfit, or some other arucie LOT pas' tma n
and how better could he earn It than
nv making the front or the back yaro
more pleasing to the eyes OF MS IaHl!
and neighhors? Every boy knows now
to WELD the SpduS, tIle 'ohc -,
quite as well as a ball bat or Sunny
club Give him the necessary impienehts'
a few seeds. and tell him to read the in
structions in The Advertiser ana go
ahead. The girls too, are quite as app
as thp boys in designing flower BEDS ana
they. too have several wants that can
be quickly gratifed with an amount
OF spending money.
Save Your "Hints."
Again. let 1t be understood that the time
is now ripe to prepare your saruens.
lawns and flower beds. IL Is not qulte
time for planting some flower seeds, but
TIE season is at hand when work should
h. hep1In on the yard. Hint No. l. print
ed TODAY. tells Just what to do tomorrow.
TN Hints every day will be equally
timely IL you are in doubt on any point
regarding YOUR competition, write to the
Garden Editor of The Advertiser. and II
will be promptly answered as tuiiy ana
accurately as possible. 1t is advisable
that the Hints be kept in a scrap book,
for they will always be useful for ref
erence.
Hints for Amateur Gardeners-No. L.
The early vlolets or green blade Of
grass, or the bald sprout of some prom
Using weed. forced out by the first warm
ravs of the sun, reminds one that the
time has arrived for a renewed life on
the home plat. Spring cleaning in the
garden is just as necessary as IN tne
house and the sooner work Is com
menced. the better. There are ashes. TN
cans. and A lot of other rubbish that
through some source or other have accu-
INFLATED during the winter. All these
must be removed. -
Do not throw this rubbish on the lot
next door; remember it is Just as much