Place A Goldfish In The Bath

June is here and the moths are already busy. Try sprinkling a few flakes of Dichloricide in the folds of the heavy clothes that you are putting away. These flakes do not harm or stain materials in any way, and the gas which they generate not only is deadly to the moths but it disappears within an hour when exposed to the fresh air. You will have none of the unpleasant lingering odor of camphor. Watch your birdbaths to see if any tiny mosquito wigglers appear in the water. They are only about an eighth of an inch long, but they wiggle to the surface very often for a breath of air. If you discover any, place a goldfish in the bath for an hour. You will be providing him with a real feast and he will exterminate the mosquitoes before they change into the winged form.

If you have a moist, shady spot in your garden that is unoccupied but is also well drained to prevent sourness of soil, put the house fern outdoors. It will thrive in the soft summer rains, but must be guarded against any severe drought. When the weather becomes hot, mulch the sweet peas with grass clippings. Keep all the flowers cut so that the energy of the plant will not be wasted in forming seedpods. Cut the flowers in the early morning before the sun has dried them out, and immerse the stems in a deep bowl of water or even in a bathtub for an hour before arranging them in vases. You will find that they will last much longer. Every morning give them a change of water and clip off the tips of their stems.

Remove the side shoots of the tomatoes to make strong compact plants. Bordeaux Mixture applied every two weeks to the foliage will help to keep it free from insects. It has been said that weeds are a blessing to the garden. If there were no weeds to remind one to cultivate the soil frequently, we would be all too ready to neglect a very important duty. Soil must be cultivated not only to prevent caking but also to conserve the moisture. Any shrubs, which should be kept compact in shape or dwarf in size, should now be root pruned. To do this, force a spade to its own depth into the soil in a circle round the plant to cut off the small roots that are reaching out beyond the spread of the branches.