Evening star., 1934-05-06
The Home Gardener
Practical and Seasonal Hints for the Amateur for
Beautifyirg Surroundings of the Home.
BY J. w. WELLINGTON.

| lection of the plant tissues. With
the peach borer, o successful treat
ment was developed by the United
States Department of Agriculture in
which the parasites are actually gassed
by placing volatile substance, paradi-
chlorobenZene, at the base of the tree
Borers in tender ANIMALS are more
difficult to control but fortunately are
not usually numerous. If, as in the
dahlia, their presence Is detected by
exuding frass. the borer may often
be killed with sharpened wire or
penknife blade sTermites or white
ants often attack garden plants grow
ing near old stumps or wooden fences.
Here the only remedy consists in re-
moval of the stumps or fence and
clearing Of all plant refuse from the
garden.
Organic Matter.
THE reason why animal manures
surpass commercial fertilizer pos
sessing equal quantities of the prin-
cipal plant foods rests In the organic
matter in the former. Decomposed
vegetable substances exert a highly
favorable effect on the soil that is
difficult to explain in full. There Is
an improvement in texture with or
ganic matter, but probably even more
important is the stimulus to bene-
fetal organisms living in the soil At
all events, an application of we'll rotted
stable manure will stimulate plant
growth on poor soils to remarkable
degree.
But, unfortunately, there are one or
more disturbing factors. Stable man
ure is too costly for the average home
gardener 1t usually brings a fresh
supply of weed seeds and it is not
as satisfactory to handle as commercial
fertilizer. There is, however. sue
cessful way out, and that Is to grow
the organic matter in the home garden
when it is idle Crimson clover, COW
peas, soy beans and Winter rye will
supply much vegetable matter for
spading under. In the larger garden.
particularly. a section might be laid
aside in rotation for some of these
soil-improving crops. without them.
yearly cropping with flowers or veg
etables will surely bring about a re-
duction in productivity. Whether peat
moss may replace the need Of clovers
is an unsettled question. For the
large garden, peat moss would be
too costly. even If it were equally ef-
fective. So important is organic mat
ter that many commercial gardeners
believe it to be the most important
inde:; to soil productivity. A balanced
program of cover crops anG mineral
fertilizers will enable the owner to
maintain the soil In productive con-
dition at minimum cost.
In the care of the lawn, one Of the
important reasons for cutting fire.
quently and leaving the clippings on
the soil lies in the maintenance Of the
organic matter in the SOIL Otherwise.
as in old hay fields. the grass becomes
poorer progressively until renovation
is necessary.
Peat moss is partially decomposed
vegetable matter taken from low-lying
areas where water-iogging and low
temperatures have prevented complete
disintegration. After drying it is
pulverized and baled To date most
of the peat moss has been obtained
from Northern Europe, but there is
reason to believe that American de-
posits will be more greatly utilized in
the future. There are unlimited guam
titles of moss in Northern low lands.
Peat moss is a useful mulching ma
terial for perennial borders. particu-
larly those located on rather steep
slopes where the tendency to wash
badly during heavy rains is manifest.
A layer of inches or so in depth
will aid in keeping down weed growth
and thus reduce hand labor in the
gardening enterprise In the grow
ing of young seedlings peat moss and
sand. half and half. have proved an
effective combination, in which
abundant roofing takes place freely,
and the amount of seeding mortality
is greatly reduced.
Garden Notes.
DINK f1owered dogwoods gain in
popularity each season, as is wit
messed by the number of plants
sold by the various stores handling
nursery stock. On rare occasion, the
pink form is found in the wild, occur
ring apparently as a chance variation
from the white form. One reason for
the rather high selling price of the