Part 5

Respecting these two insecticides, Slingerland remarks: "Always use the crude carbolic acid, as it is much cheaper than the purified and is nearly, if not quite, as effective. It will probably be safer if used as an emulsion than if simply diluted with water. We would advise that it be made by the follow formula: 1 pound of hard soap or 1 quart of soft soap dissolved in 1 gallon of boiling water, into which 1 pint of crude carbolic acid is then poured and the whole mass agitated into an emulsion, which will remain in this condition for a long time. In treating the plants, take one part of this standard emulsion and dilute it with 30 equal parts of water; it probably can be used stronger without injury to the plants. If the emulsion is cold and semi-solid, use several parts of warm water at first. Begin the treatment early, a day or two after the plants are up, or in the case of Cabbages and Cauliflowers the next day after they are set in the field, and repeat it once each week or 10 days until about May 20 in our state. While we have little faith in the preventive effects of the early treatments, we do believe that the emulsion will then kill many of the eggs and recently hatched maggots. If it could be applied with some force through a syringe or force pump, it might not be necessary to go to the trouble of first removing some of the earth from about the plants. It must be remembered that its success will depend on the eggs or maggots being hit with it. None of the Cabbages in our experiment were injured in the least by an application containing nearly twice as much of the acid, and there is but little danger of its injuring the tenderest foliage of radishes, turnips or onions; if any injury manifests itself on these crops, dilute the emulsion with 40 or 50 or more parts of water, instead of 30. A knapsack or wheelbarrow sprayer would prove a very useful instrument in applying the emulsion on a large scale."

The carbon bisulfide is best injected into the soil by means of a long-nosed syringe. Slingerland (Cornell Bulletin 78) illustrates a specially made syringe or injector for this purpose: "Thus Cabbage plants can be treated once, and once is usually sufficient, at the rate of about 10 plants for 1 cent for the liquid, using about 1 teaspoonful to each plant. As the injector will last for years, and several neighbors might join in the purchase and use of one instrument, its cost would practically not influence this estimate of the cost of killing the maggots. We believe it is the cheapest, most effective, and most practicable method yet devised for fighting this pest on crops of Cabbages and cauliflowers; on crops of radishes, turnips, or onions it will probably be too expensive except where choice or new varieties are attacked. The carbolic acid emulsion will prove the most practicable on these last crops."

The club-root, which causes the roots to become greatly thickened and distorted, is difficult to manage if Cabbages or allied plants are grown continuously on land in which diseased plants have been raised. Changing the location of the Cabbage or Cauliflower patch is the best procedure. If very different crops, as corn, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, etc., are grown on the land, the disease will be starved out in two or three years.

CACALIA. TASSEL FLOWER. LADIES' PAINT BRUSH. A quaint old annual, in two colors, scarlet and orange. It is easily grown, and makes a fine second-row plant for a border, contrasting well with Browallia or Ageratum. Sow where the plants are to stand. Let plants stand 10-12 inches apart. Grow 1-1/2 to 2 ft. high.

CACTUS. This class of plants is often seen in small collections of house plants, to which they add interest, being altogether different from other plants. All Cacti are easy to grow, requiring but little care and enduring the heat and dryness of a living room much better than most other plants. Their requirements are ample drainage and a sandy soil. Cactus growers usually make a soil by mixing pulverized plaster or lime refuse with garden loam, using about two-thirds of the loam. The very fine parts, or dust, of the plaster, are blown out, else the soil is likely to cement. They may be rested at any season by simply setting them away in a dry place for two or three months, and bringing them into heat and light when they are wanted. As new growth advances they should have water occasionally, and when in bloom they should be watered freely. Withhold water gradually after blooming until they are to be rested.

Some of the most common species in cultivation are the Phyllocactus species, often called the Night-blooming Cereus. These are not the true Night-blooming Cereuses, which have angular or cylindrical stems, covered with bristles, while this has flat, leaf-like branches; the flowers of these, however, are very much like the Cereus, opening at evening and closing before morning, and as the Phyllocacti may be grown with greater ease, blooming on smaller and younger plants, they are to be recommended. See _Cereus_.

The Epiphyllum, or Lobster Cactus, is one of the best of the family, easy of culture. It bears bright-colored blossoms at the end of each joint. When in flower, which will be through some of the winter months, this requires a richer soil than the other Cacti. Opuntias, or prickly pears, are often grown as border plants through the summer. In fact, all the family may be planted out, and if a number of varieties are set in a bed together they make a striking addition to the garden. Be very careful not to bruise the plants. It is better to plunge them in the pots than to turn them out of the pots.

CALADIUM. Tuberous-rooted, tender perennial plants which are used for conservatory decorations, and also for subtropical and bold effects in the lawn. The plants which are commonly known under this name are really Colocasias. The plants should be rested during the winter, being kept in a warm cellar or under a greenhouse bench, where they are not liable to frost or dampness. The roots are usually kept covered with earth during the winter, but they are kept dry. Early in the spring the roots are put into boxes or pots and are started into growth, so that by the time settled weather comes they will be 1 or 2 feet high and ready to set directly into soil. When set out of doors, they should be given a place which is protected from strong winds, and one which does not receive the full glare of direct sunlight. The soil should be rich and deep, and the plants should have an abundance of water. Caladiums are most excellent plants for striking effects, especially against a house, high shrubbery or other background. If they are planted by themselves, they should be in clumps rather than scattered as single specimens, as the effect is better. See that they get a good start before they are planted in the open ground.

CALCEOLARIA. Small greenhouse herbs which are sometimes used in the window-garden. They are not very satisfactory plants for window treatment, however, since they suffer from dry atmosphere and from sudden changes of temperature. In the window-garden they should be protected from strong, direct sunlight. They are grown from seeds. If the seeds are sown in early summer and the young plants are transplanted as they need, flowering specimens may be had for the late fall and early winter. In the growing of the young plants, always avoid exposing them to direct sunlight; but they should be given a place which has an abundance of screened or tempered light. A new crop of plants should be raised each year. There is a race of shrubby Calceolarias, but it is little known in this country. One or two species are annuals which are adaptable to cultivation in the open garden, and their little, ladyslipper-like flowers are attractive. However, they are of secondary importance as annual garden flowers.

CALENDULA. These are the well known POT MARIGOLDS, and add a bright spot to any garden. Annual. Especially are they fine in the cool days of the fall, when many of the annual flowers have gone to seed. The places of short-lived plants may be filled by sowing seed of Calendulas in May, scattering them through the border and allowing the plants to grow where they come up. Easy of growth and hardy. 1-2 ft. high. Should stand 8-12 in. apart. Colors, yellow and orange.

CALIFORNIA POPPY (_Eschscholtzia Californica_). Low perennial, poppy-like plant, grown as a hardy annual. It is certainly one of the best low-growing annuals, blooming through a long season and being at its best through the cool days of fall, after touched by frost. Most of the varieties have flowers of fine shades of orange or yellow, making a bright spot in the border at all times. They are like the pot marigolds, in that once planted they seed themselves. They are never out of place, and should be left to bloom wherever they may be. Flowers open only in sunshine. As cut-flowers they are excellent, a large bowl of them glowing like a golden ball, especially if they are emphasized by a few blue larkspurs or bachelor's buttons.

Propagated by seed, which would best be sown as soon as ripe, thus giving the plant an early start, and having bloom through the season. They make attractive mats of foliage. 12-18 in. high. Let the plants stand 10-20 in. apart.

CALLA (properly _Richardia_). EGYPTIAN LILY. All things considered, this is one of the most satisfactory of winter house plants, lending itself to various conditions. The requirements of the Calla are rich soil and an abundance of water, with the roots confined in as small a space as possible. If a too large pot is used the growth of foliage will be very rank, at the expense of the flowers, but by using a smaller sized pot and applying liquid manure the flowers will be produced freely. A 6-inch pot will be large enough for all but an exceptionally large bulb. If desired, a number of bulbs may be grown together in a larger pot. The soil should be very rich but fibrous--at least one-third well rotted manure will be none too much, mixed with equal parts of fibrous loam and sharp sand. The tubers should be planted firmly and the pots set in a cool place to make roots. After the roots have partially filled the pot, the plant may be brought into heat and given a sunny position and an abundance of water. An occasional sponging or washing of the leaves will free them from dust. No other treatment will be required until the flowers appear, when liquid manure may be given. The plant will thrive all the better at this time if the pot is placed in a saucer of water. In fact, the Calla will grow finely in an aquarium. The Calla may be grown through the entire year, but it will prove more satisfactory, both in leaf and flower, if rested through part of the summer. This may be done by laying the pots on their sides in a dry, shady place under shrubbery, or if in the open slightly covered with straw or other litter to keep the roots from becoming extremely dry. In September or October they may be shaken out, cleaning off all the old soil, and repotted, as already mentioned. The offsets may be taken off and set in small pots and given a year's growth, resting them the second year and having them in flower that winter.

The spotted Calla has variegated foliage and is a fine plant for mixed collections. This blooms in the spring, which will lengthen the season of Calla bloom. The treatment of this is similar to that of the common Calla.

CALLIOPSIS is a garden name for _Coreopsis_.

CALLIRRHOE. _C. pedata_ is a hardy annual which has large, graceful blossoms of violet or red. Is it a very free-blooming plant. Should be started in a frame and planted out where wanted. 2-3 ft. high and grows bushy. Plants should stand 1-1/2 to 2 ft. apart.

CAMELLIA. Years ago Camellias were very popular, but they have been crowded out by the informal flowers of recent times. Their time will come again. They are half-hardy woody plants, blooming in late winter and spring. During the blooming season keep them cool--say not over 50 deg. at night and a little higher by day. When blooming is done they begin to grow, then give them more heat and plenty of water. See that they are well ripened by winter. Always screen them from direct sunlight. Do not try to force them in early winter, after the growth has ceased. Their summer quarters may be in a protected place in the open air. Propagated by cuttings in winter, which should give blooming plants in two years. Use a porous soil for Camellias, with considerable leaf-mold.

CAMPANULA. BELL FLOWER. But one of the Campanulas commonly listed by seedsmen is an annual,--_C. macrostyla_, a clean-leaved plant, growing 2 feet high, spreading over the ground, and bearing a profusion of large, violet, bell-shaped flowers. The Canterbury Bell is the best known. It is biennial, but if started early and transplanted will bloom the first season. The perennial Campanulas are most excellent for borders. _C. Carpatica_ is particularly good for edgings.

CANARY BIRD FLOWER. See _Nasturtium_.

CANDYTUFT. Well known sweet-scented hardy annuals, in red, purple, and white; easy of culture and fine for cutting. One of the best of edging plants for the front row. The plants grow from 6 in. to 1 ft. tall. Sow seeds where the plants are to grow, letting plants stand 6-12 in. apart. They do not last the entire season, and successive sowings may well be made. There are also perennial kinds.

CANNA is now the favorite bedding plant. The improvements made in the past ten years, in size and markings of the flowers, have created a liking for the plant. The tropical effect of a large bed of Cannas, either mixed or of one color, is not surpassed by any other plant used for bedding purposes.

The Canna may be grown from seed and had in bloom the first year by sowing in February or March, in boxes or pots placed in hotbeds or warmhouse, first soaking the seeds in warm water for a short time. Attention to transplanting as needed and removal to the ground only when it is well warmed are the necessary requirements. The majority of Cannas, however, are grown from pieces of the roots (rhizomes), each piece having a bud. The roots may be divided at any time in the winter, and if early flowers and foliage are wanted the pieces may be planted in a hotbed or warmhouse in early April, started into growth and planted out where wanted as soon as the ground has warmed and all danger of frost is over. A hardening of the plants, by leaving the sash off the hotbeds, or setting the plants in shallow boxes and placing the boxes in a sheltered position through May, not forgetting a liberal supply of water, will fit the plants to take kindly to the final planting out. After frost has injured the tops, the roots may be dug, choosing, if possible, a dry day. The soil is shaken off and the roots stored in a warm, dry place through the winter. If the cellar is too dry the roots are liable to shrivel, in which case it would be best to cover them with soil or sand, filling in around the roots to exclude the drying air.

Cannas grow 3 to 7 ft. high. For dense mass effects, plant 12-18 in. apart. For individual plants, or for best bloom, give more room. Fine clumps may be had by planting out the entire old root, not dividing it. Cannas want a rich, warm soil and a sunny place. They are very easy to grow.

CANTERBURY BELL is a _Campanula_.

CARBONATE OF COPPER. See _Bordeaux Mixture_.

CARDIOSPERMUM. See _Balloon Vine_.

CARNATIONS are of two types, the outdoor or garden varieties, and the indoor or forcing kinds. Normally, the Carnation is a hardy perennial, but the garden kinds, or Marguerites, are usually treated as annuals. The forcing kinds are flowered but once, new plants being grown each year from cuttings.

Marguerite Carnations bloom the year the seed is sown, and with a slight protection will bloom freely the second year. They make attractive house plants if potted in the fall. The seeds of these Carnations should be sown in boxes in March and the young plants set out as early as possible, pinching out the center of the plant to make them branch freely. Give the same space as for garden pinks.

The winter-flowering Carnations have become prime favorites with all flower lovers, and a collection of winter house plants seems incomplete without them. Carnations grow readily from cuttings made of the suckers that form around the base of the stem, the side shoots of the flowering stem, or the main shoots before they show flower buds. The cuttings from the base make the best plants in most cases. These cuttings may be taken from a plant at any time through the fall or winter, rooted in sand and potted up, to be held in pots until the planting out time in the spring, usually in April, or any time when the ground is ready to handle. Care should be taken to pinch out the tops of young plants while growing in the pot, and later while in the ground, causing them to grow stocky and send out new growths along the stem. The young plants should be grown cool, a temperature of 45 deg. suiting them well. Attention should be given to spraying the cuttings each day while in the house to keep down the red spider, which is very partial to the Carnation. In the summer, the plants are grown in the field, and not in pots. The soil in which they are to be planted should be moderately rich and loose. Clean cultivation should be given throughout the summer. Frequently pinch out the tops. The plants are taken up in September and potted firmly, and well watered; then set in a cool, partially shaded situation until root growth has started, spraying the foliage often, and watering the plant only as it shows need of water.

The usual living-room conditions as to moisture and heat are not such as the Carnation demands, and care must be taken to overcome the dryness by spraying the foliage and setting the plant in a position not exposed to the direct heat of a stove or the sun. In commercial houses, it is not often necessary to spray established plants. Pick off most or all of the side buds, in order to add to the size of the leading flowers. After all is said, it is probably advisable in most cases to purchase the plants when in bloom from a florist, and after blooming either throw them away or store them for planting in the spring, when they will bloom throughout the summer.

CARPET BEDDING. See _Bedding_.

CARROT, while essentially a farm crop in this country, is nevertheless a most acceptable garden vegetable. It is hardy and easily grown. The extra-early varieties may be forced in a hotbed, or seed may be sown as soon as the ground is fit to work in the spring. The stump-rooted, or half-long varieties, are sown for the general garden crop. Well enriched, mellow loam, deeply dug or plowed, is best suited to the requirements of Carrots. The seed for the main crop may be sown as late as July 1. Sow thickly, thinning to 3-4 in. in the row. The rows, if in a garden that is hand-worked, may be 12 in. apart. If the cultivation is done by a horse, the rows should be from 2 to 3 ft. apart. One ounce will sow 100 feet of drill.

CASTOR OIL PLANT. In the entire list of quick-growing plants there is none that excels this for rapidity of growth, grace of foliage and rich effect. Used either as a specimen plant, with cannas, caladiums, or for a tropical bed, or as a screen, it gives the most satisfactory results. Seeds sown early in the house, and the plants grown in the full light, make fine, stocky plants to set out about the middle of May. With rich soil and plenty of water, they will grow without a check until frost. Height, 5-12 ft. For screens, plant 3-4 ft. apart. There are varieties with differing shades of foliage.

CAULIFLOWER. The general culture of Cauliflower is much like that of cabbage, except that the Cauliflower, being more tender, should be more thoroughly hardened off before setting out. Still, it is essential that the plants be set out as early as possible, as the warm weather of June causes them to make imperfect heads unless the soil is filled with moisture. No garden crop will as well repay the cost and time of thorough irrigation, either by running the water between the rows or applying it directly to the plants. When it is impossible to furnish water, it would be a good plan to mulch heavily with straw or some other substance. This mulch, if put on just after a heavy rain, will hold the moisture for a long time. When the heads begin to form the outside leaves may be brought together and tied above the head, excluding the direct sunshine and keeping the head white and tender. No vegetable will respond more quickly to good culture and well manured soil than the Cauliflower, and none will prove such an utter failure when neglected. It is imperative that care be taken to destroy all the cabbage worms before the leaves are tied in, as after that it will be impossible to see or reach them. Cauliflower prospers best in moist soil and a cool climate. From 1,000 to 1,500 plants may be grown from 1 ounce of seed. Good Cauliflower seed is very expensive.

For winter crop, seeds may be started in June or July, as for late cabbage.

Erfurt, Snowball and Paris are popular early varieties. Nonpareil and Algiers are good late kinds.

CELERIAC, or TURNIP-ROOTED CELERY. This tuber has the celery flavor in a pronounced degree, and is used for flavoring soups and for celery salad. It may be served raw, sliced in vinegar and oil, or boiled. The culture is the same as given for celery, except that no earthing or blanching is required. About an equal number of plants are obtained from the same weight of seed as from celery seed. Celeriac is extensively used abroad, but, unfortunately, is little grown in America.

CELERY has become one of the favorite relish and salad vegetables, and is now very generally grown. The self-blanching varieties have simplified the culture so that the amateur, as well as the expert, may have a supply through at least six months of the year. The so-called new culture, which consists of setting the plants close together and causing them to shade each other, can be recommended for the garden when a supply of well rotted manure is to be had, and when any amount of water is available. This method is as follows: Fork or spade into the soil a large quantity of manure to the depth of 10-12 in., pulverize the soil until the ground for the depth of 4-6 in. is in very fine condition. Then set the plants in rows 10 in. apart and the plants but 5 or 6 in. apart in the rows. It will be seen that plants set as close as this will soon fill the soil with a mass of roots and must have large amounts of plant-food, as well as a large quantity of water; and the making of such a bed can be recommended only to those who can supply these needs.

The common practice in home gardens is to plow or dig a shallow trench, setting the plants in the bottom and hoeing in the soil as the plants grow. The distance apart of the rows and plants will depend on the varieties. For the dwarf varieties, such as White Plume, Golden Self-blanching and others of that type, the rows may be as close as 3 ft. and the plants 6 in. in the rows. For the large-growing varieties, as Kalamazoo, Giant Pascal and, in fact, most of the late varieties, the rows may be from 4-1/2 to 5 ft. apart and the plants 7 or 8 in. in the row.