Mr. Doty:  I wish to say a word on this strawberry question.  Some years ago the postmaster at Monticello wanted to know of me what kind of strawberries to set out; I was handling nursery goods at that time.  I told him I would recommend to him the Wilson, the Warfield and the Haverland.  The Wilson I would set in the center.  He had six square rods.  He set them out.  The second year he invited me up to his patch and asked me to guess on how many strawberries he had raised on that patch.  I said:  “Six bushels”—­I thought I would put it high.  But he said:  “I have picked twelve bushels from that patch.”  I said:  “It can’t be possible,” and he said:  “Come right into my shop here.  I have a paper here and I put down every single quart of strawberries that I have sold here.”  I figured it up and found that he had twelve bushels out of that patch.  I told him to set the Wilson in the center, the Warfield on one side and the Haverland on the other.  He did so and that was the result, the best result that I have ever known.

The President:  How many years ago?

Mr. Doty:  Well, it was about fifteen years ago.

GARDEN HELPS

Conducted by Minnesota Garden Flower Society

Edited by MRS. E. W. GOULD, 2644 Humboldt Avenue So. 
Minneapolis.

October is one of the best months in which to plant shrubs.  After the leaves show them to be dormant they can be safely moved and will become established before very cold weather.

Each year we are learning that more planting can be done in the fall if done early enough, and by so doing one escapes a part of the rush that comes in the spring.  “Anything that is hardy can be moved in the fall,” an old nurseryman once said to me, and it has been a safe rule to follow.  But note the word “hardy” in his advice.  All stock, either shrubbery or perennials, that are planted in the fall should be well mulched.

The bulbs for the spring garden, except those that require early planting, will also need to be put in this month in order to make a good root growth before frost overtakes them.  Here we are able to achieve exact results as they very seldom disappoint us as to color or time of blooming as some other plants do.

Have you tried planting your bulbs with any of the ground cover plants that will take away the bare look that most bulb beds have?  The arabis with its snowy blossoms is beautiful beneath the early tulips.  The violas—­with such a wide range of color—­make lovely backgrounds for the later tulips, as also do the creeping phlox and the native lavender blue divaricata phlox.  A bed of this beneath pale pink Darwin tulips is one of the lovely memories of last spring’s garden.

Another snowy white flower is the perennial candytuft, Iberis.  Blooming at the same time and remaining lovely for a long period it combines well with any of the tall tulips or narcissi or daffodils.  Alyssum saxatile, with its sheet of gold, and the dear forget-me-nots, both grow well beneath the tulips.  The fine lacey tufts of meadow rue are lovely among the pink and white and rose tulips.  Surely the bulb beds need not be bare.