inks;
Josephine, Golden Mensa and Marion Sutherland the earliest yellows; and
Silvia Slade, Ceddie Mason and Brightness the earliest crimson and
bronze shades.

As soon as it is warm enough in the spring the plants should be set out
about twelve inches apart in rich garden soil, and kept pinched back
during May and June to insure a stocky growth. If one has old clumps in
the garden, they should be taken up and divided and set in new earth
just as any old perennial plant would be treated.

During the hot summer weather they should be well watered once a week
and sprayed in the cool of the evening. This will keep down the black
and green aphis, the worst enemies of mums. In case these pests become a
menace a spray of tobacco water will end the trouble. A little bone meal
or well rotted manure dug about the plants in August will help to
produce fine blooms.

A gardener who has never yet lost a plant through winter-killing treats
them as follows: After they have finished blooming he cuts them down to
about eight inches above the ground and lets the leaves blow in on the
bed, covering to a depth of six or eight inches. Then he lays pine
branches over the beds to prevent the leaves from blowing away. So
treated, the plants will remain frozen all winter. They should in all
cases be set in a well drained position, as they will not stand "wet
feet." Uncover with the other perennials in the spring.--Mrs. E. W.
Gould.

BEE-KEEPER'S COLUMN.

Conducted by FRANCIS JAGER, Professor of Apiculture, University
Farm, St. Paul.

The Minnesota honey crop of 1916 will probably be a record breaker. This
brings up the question of how to market this crop to the best advantage.
Let me state at once that the greatest obstacle to free and easy selling
of honey is the careless, untidy, sometimes unsanitary way some
bee-keepers put up their honey for the market--spoiling the appetite of
the public for this most delicious of nature's foods not only for
themselves but also for progressive and up-to-date bee-keepers. The
result of this big honey crop will be to eliminate the No. 2 and No. 3
bee-keeper and his honey from the market until No. 1 has sold out his
product.

A short article like this cannot make a good bee-keeper out of a poor
one, it can only serve as a reminder to those who know how "lest they
forget." Moreover, the most careless and backward bee-keepers imagine
that they are crackerjacks at their trade, thus putting them