Garden
VOL. LVIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, FEB. 28, 1903.---TWENTY PAGES.
NO. 9
gatUjcs' gq>.tvttuettt.
Written for the Indiana Fanner:
Imperatice Need ln Every Home.
(By Kentuckienne.)
A yonng wife writes to know if it is
essential to clean and fill a lamp every
.lay, and if it unhealthy to leave a lamp
burning low in- the nursery.
I had never thought so seriously npon
this subject until a friend's family were
nil sick, and in calling the physician in
the night, he exclaimed as soon as he
entered the room: "No wonder you are
all sick." There was a disagreeable odor
emanating from a lamp turned low, and
it had been the mother's rule to sleep with
it thus, night after night.
Let me say to the yonng mother who
reads this page, to never sleep with it
turned low, but if you need it badly turn
!.t full up, and nse a shade. Never use
any but the best of headlight oil, and fill
your lamps full every morning and clean
thoroughly. The best way to get the
burner and wick freed from sticky, gummy secretions, etc., is to plunge them into
a hot suds of gold dust washing powder.
and leave it there for a few seconds, stirring it about, then remove and wipe perfectly dry. Clean and polish the chimney every morning. Use tissue paper
;*t cleaning the chimneys; it makes them
>I.-ine as clear ns you need. Gather up
;;11 your lamps every morning and have
plenty of hot water and cloths to clean
with. Poor lights mean poor health. It
:<*■ imperative to have clean lamps. The
doctor's bills and oculist's charges are
not small, usually, hence consider this
question  from  all  standpoints.
Written for tbe Indiana Farmer:
Birthdays.
(By Peggy.)
Do not forget the birthdays in the family. Older people are not generally so
anxious to have them appear as the children are, but it is a great pleasure for
the younger ones to prepare a bit of surprise for mamma or papa in the way of a
book, picture or package of carmels to
be laid beside their plate at breakfast;
and it is good for the children to plan
for these birthday tokens, for it helps to
make them unselfish and thoughtful for
others.
No matter how hard poverty presses,
do not let one of the children's birthdays
pass without notice. Money is not necessary for this, if you must do without
it. A small birthday cake, very common
but tastefully trimmed and placed before
him to cnt and serve will make him feel
happy and honored. But if possible, invite the neighbor schoolmates and cousins, and have games of their own choosing. IB you live in the country go into
the woods and dig up a tree and plant
for the boy on your land. He will take
pride in its growth, and will watch it
with interest because it is his own. There
are hundreds of little things that can
mark the day, which will only need
thought and good will to carry them out.
Happiness is as cheap as sunlight, and
childhood's capacity for pleasure illimitable.
There is no reason why birthdays may
not be celebrated in a cottage as well as
in a mansion. They are the mile stones
on the journey which will never be passed again, and they may mean much for
future memory.
Written for the Indiana Farmer:
To Remove Stains.
(By  Eleanor R.  Parker).
Every housekeeper has experienced the
annoyance of finding good garments, table linen, etc., seemingly ruined by accidents. If she knows just the right remedy, however, and applies it in time, what
is to all appearances a hopeless case, may
sometimes be remedied.
To remove scorched spots from linen,
make a paste of half an ounce of white
eastile soap, finely shaved, half an ounce
of pulverized borax, two ounces of earth
secured at the druggist's, the juice of two
onions and one cupful of vinegar, stir
well and let boil. When cool spread over
the scorched place and let it remain until
dry.
Blood  stains  should  be  dipped   lirst   in
Horticulture.
The great peach farms of J. H. Hale,
part in Connecticut, but mostly in
Georgia, comprise 2,500 acres, and in the
hight of the season as many as 125 carloads are shipped daily.
Flowers For the Home.
Kditora Indiana Farmer:
You can at this time, and all through
February start all kinds of Beeds in little
cigar boxes, of sueh kinds as can be had
now at any seed store. Call with your
l'.orist and he will supply you, if you want
new kinds of mums or carnations. Some
new kinds are being sold for thousands of
dollars. Get a package of each and
try   your   luck;   place   these   see.ls   in*     a
kitchen window or bay window, ami when
ihey come np prick out into other little
boxes,    until   Bpring)   when   they   can   lie
Packing poaches on farm of Wesley Love, near Jacksonville,     T.\*s.
Cotton      Belt      It ..if.
kerosene oil anal then washed. Peroxide
ni hydrogen will also remove them and
tiny will sometimes disappear by simply
washing  in  lukewarm  water.
Grass stains may be removed by covering the spot with molasses nnd then
washing, and many kinds of fruit stains
will disappear if wet with whiskey before
washing.
Coffee stains may usually be removed
by moistening the spots and holding them
(.ver the fumes of a small piece of sulphur placed in an iron vessel. Sulphur
being an acid, the stained parts must be
carefully washed at once in water containing a little soda and ammonia. If
the spot is small it may be held over a
burning match. The vapor from burning sulphur will often* remove stains that
nothing else will  affect.
If ink spots are treated at once they
will usually yield to application of salt
a*r sweet milk; where the ink has dried,
oxalic acid may be necessary to remove
it.
Many housekeepers use no other method
)f removing coffee, fresh fruit stains, etc.,
than simply pouring boiling water baok
nnd forth over them and then letting
the article soak over night in strong borax water.
Written for the Indiana Farmer:
Economical Shopping.
(By   Mrs.   Jack   Robinson.)
In purchasing supplies for the store
room it is always economical to pay cash,
to buy the best and to buy in quantity.
It took Jack and me quite a long time to
learn how to do that, but when* we had
Continued   on   page   12.
planted out. If any geranium has grown
too tall, cut slips three inches long and
put these into a shallow box or pan, two
inches deep of sand, pressing tight the
sand about the cuttings, and keeping
same moist, and in this way you can increase your new kinds or any kinds.
If you wnnt a new supply of umbrella
plant, cut off close to the top, the umbrella or top, with the blossoms that have
gone to seed in this condition; put them
in a saucer or plate, filling the saucer
with fresh, clean water, renewing the
water every day. In four weeks you will
haye nice new plants. This species of
plants thrive best grown in an aquarium.
.>Iow is a good time.
If your palms and roses nre infested
wilh slugs, get some soap suds anal brush
ainl soak them well with your suds; then
go over them once more with fresh, clean
water. These vermin are like some people; they don't like soap and water. Now
is a goo.l time to visit your home greenhouses, for nt this time of a year you
can get plants for a winter garden* at
jour own pi-ices, such as eyclaman, prim-
ioses   ,.in,I   Ij]i,,s  „f  t),e   va]|PVi   0-alis>   j,nt_
ter cup. carnations and roses.     All these
•rill bloom beautifully iu a window during
February  and  March.
Hamilton Co. An Old Florist.
Sweet Pees.
Editors Indiana Firmer:
The old time sweet pea, with its many
variations, is still a favorite Bowel
among growers, its delightful fragratree.
beauty of form and texture, profusion
of bloom throughout the summer, and
adaptability to cutting for nil occasions
combining to  render it  most useful.
To secure the best results seeds should
be sown very early. Some successful
growers prefer to do this in the fall, and
thus secure growth in the first sunny
days.- This plan is a good one where the
soil does not incline to heave out too
much with freezing, but if the latter condition prevails it is not always a net
When the sowing is deferred until
spring it should be done as soon* as the
ground can be worked. Do not wait until pleasant weather or until the soil
warms up. To do this is not only to lose
much valuable time, but robustness of
growth is thereby more or less sacrificed.
Dig a trench six inches deep and fill in
two inches with well decayed eow manure. Plant the seeds about three inches apart in a double row, zigzag, and
covet- well with soil, but do not ridge up.
Tho support should be given at this time
I never after can it be put in so firmly,
md there is more cr less danger of disturbing the plants when deferred until
Inter. Poultry netting is the best material, though if this cannot be afforded a
very pretty hedge may be made by brush
alone.
As growth increases keep the soil light
about the roots.*This is highly essential
in drought, the loose soil gathering tha
moisture in the atmosphere at night and
transmitting it to the roots. If the continued drought compels the use of the
watering ean, use it freely, thoroughly
watering the roots. Then put it away
for a while. If but a scant watering is
given every day the growing rootlets seek
the surPace and are then much more susceptible to drought. When the watering
is thorough they grow deep, and do not
dry up so completely in the hot August
days.
Do not hesitate to pick the flowers
freely. If they are picked every morning
buds will form more freely and the suc-
ctssion of bloom will be rendered continuous until cut short by frost. Even
two or three seed pods allowed to form
and mature are a heavy drain upon the
plant's vitality, ainl the fact is soon officially announced by a dearth of new
1 uds. As we grow flowers for the flowers, it will be found more profitable to buy
(iir seed each year and enjoy our own
plants   in   the   hight   of   their   glory.
Among the numerous varieties now offered, none are more pleasing than the old
colors, pink and white, though in improved form. The Blanche Ferry is a
happy combination of these colors, as is
also tho Bride of Xiagara. The latter
:'* double. An.l hy the way, the grace
and symmetry too often lost in the multiplication of petals, is retained in the
RWeet pea. Blanche Burpee and Emily
Henderson are standard white varieties
of large size and pure color. Yellow is
1 color which in the sweet peas as in the
hyacinth signifies not the highest quality,
yet the Mrs. Eckford is of fairly good size
and texture. Lottie Eckford is a lovely
variety in white and lavender, nnd Venus
is a beautiful salmon pink. If the seeds
are named, colors can be arranged tastefully in planting, though a mixed packet
is a far cheaper way of getting a variety.
On cutting, place several stems of each
color together, and group the colors in
harmony. Bessie L. Putnam.
Reg-aiding Jncubatore.
With many the incubator has passed
Ihe experimental stage; and the vast majority unite in pronouncing it a great
Improvement over the old methods. Some.
it is true, are dissatisfied. Yet when
we come to trace the source of their dissatisfaction*  it   frequently   resolves   itself