Evening star., 1934-07-08

VlCJl0n tnaC Lnere Is uAo
l. tinct problem in fertility In
the home garden as well as in
the commercial plantation. The
continued use of commercial fertilizer
will not sustain production indefinite
ly unless supplemented with some
decomposing organic material. AS
the native humus derived from the
forest cover disappears, the soil be-
comes more yellow and more sticky
and plants fail to thrive irrespective
of the quantity of mineral nutrients
applied.
A condition sometimes described as
toxic" is reached. No one fully un-
derstands the function of organic
matter but it is tied up with water
supply. aeration and growth of bene-
fetal organisms such as soil bacteria.
Dig a plant from soil we'll supplied
with stable manure or even peat moss
and it will be found that the fine
rootlets embrace the particles of
organic matter.
The problem cannot be SideStepped
in the home garden by shifting the
garden enterprise to different place
simply because the area is so small
that the garden must stay placed.
Nor can the home gardener very well
devote his soil to the growing of COW
peas. soy beans and other legumes
for turning under. Stable manure
would be the answer to the question
were it practical to secure the man.
ure The problem appears to vary
with the size Of the home garden.
The very small garden may justify
the purchase of animal manure.
which can be obtained either from
the farm or in a dry, shredded condi-
ton. Supplemented with peat moss,
shredded manure will keep the soil
permanently productive and in good
condition. In the larger garden
more thought should be given to cover
crops, such as mentioned. In early
Fall as the cultivated crops mature,
the soil may be Spaded and seeded to
crimson clover or Winter rye Or.
as suggested, a portion of the garden
may be reserved each year for these
cover crops, alternating the crop area
year by year In the large suburban
garden, cover crops are the practical
way out as the cost of manure be-
comes almost prohibitive.
Gardeners who may have observed
a gradual reduction in the quality of
their plants and in quantity of pro-
duction should give the fertility ques-
ton consideration. Too often one
hears the statement that a certain
soil is too poor to garden and there
fore the enterprise was abandoned
This is not at all necessary for. on
the contrary how many times an ap-
parently hopeless soil has by the use
OF organic matter been brought into
worthwhile condition
The Regal Lily.
Each year the regal lily gains in i'm
portance in local gardens because
gardeners find that it is one of the
real sturdy lilies and is also very
beautiful Just now, the last blooms
OF this species are dropping their
petals, so that it really may be classed
as a late June bloomer in this area.
Discovered in China hinterlands only
two or three decades ago by the late
Ernest Wilson of the Arnold Arbore-
tum, the regal lily swept into popu-
larity as soon as people saw its BEAU
ty and learned of its sturdy growing
qualities.
So many of our lilies are a bitter
disappointment because of the1r short
duration that gardeners are truly lily
hungry and welcome any addition to
the few strong growing species led
by the tiger or hlium tigrinum.
Regal lilies may be grown from seed
or from scales of old bulbs, but there
is really no reason for the home gar
dener to wait so long. Blooming sized
bulbs have been very reasonably priced
in the last year or two, and for the
small home garden only few are
needed for a beginning.
The regal lily promises to be
parent for many new varieties. Al
ready we have several valuable hy-
brids from Canada and the United
States. and it seems safe to add that
the introduction of this one lily has
been the means of a tremendous for
ward movement in lily growing which
may we'll be only in the beginning
Regal lilies have one weakness. In
their hurry to begin growth in Spring,
they often push up too early and are
injured by belated frosts. A covering
of straw or leaves may prevent this
trouble by keeping the soil cooler.
Like most lilies the regal seems to do
better when planted among other
plants which are tall enough to shade
the soil but not to completely obscure
the lilies.
THIS is the season of the year when
raspberries bring delight to many
tables Generally rather expensive to
purchase, there is no real reason why
the larger home garden should not
produce a supply of these berries,
either the reds or the black caps as
the desire may be. Raspberry plants
set in the early Spring of one year
will be in good fruiting condition the
second Summer and with care will
continue to produce good crops for
several years.
Perhaps the red varieties are the
more easily handled because they re-
quire no spraying and little or no
pruning, except to restrict the num-
ber of new canes. The finest-favored
red raspberry is the Cuthbert, but
this is surpassed IN productivity by
Latham and some other newer va
rieties. Cuthbert would, however, still
be the choice of many old gardeners
because of its high quality. With
abundant rainfall, such as has fallen
this year. the picking season for the
red raspberry would easily extend over
two or three weeks.
Insidious virus diseases have
wrecked many raspberry paintings in
the past years, but now it is possible
to secure healthy stock and avoid at
least for a reasonable period these
troubles. 1t is well not to plant red
nnd nIock ra crnherrins In the same gar