7J4 GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



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I 



Work for the Month in the Garden | 



SAMUEL GOLDING I 



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NUVEAIBER terminates the growing season. This 

 Fall has been truly remarkable for its wonderful 

 weather, and has been favorable to all gardens. 

 The ab^ence of frost has been a real asset to our Winter 

 supply of vegetables, while the 1-^all flowers have been 

 exceptionally beautiful and the lovely coloring of trees 

 and shrubs have been most pleasing to the eye. 



Although the growing season is ended, there is still 

 much to be accomplished. Therefore, such crops as beets, 

 turnips, cabba.ge. etc., should be lifted and stored away 

 in the root cellar, but failing this, they may be placed in 

 shelters constructed outside, which are easy of access and 

 frost-proof, and they can be made so by leaves and corn- 

 stalks. Cabbage can be lifted and placed head down- 

 wards, forming a conical stack, and covered with pro- 

 tecting materials if one lacks a cool cellar. 



After the first killing frost, we realize the great value 

 of a good supply of celery, to enable us to carry on dur- 

 ing the long Winter months before us. No chances 

 should be taken by leaving it without adequate protection 

 in case of sudden frost, and therefore it should have been 

 earthed early in the month. Opinions differ somewhat 

 on the matter of procedure for Wintering celery. To 

 lift or not to lift is the question. Celery that is protected 

 in the trenches as grown and lifted when wanted for use, 

 is, in my humble opinion, superior for table use, retain- 

 ing its flavor and crispness in a marked degree over those 

 which may be stored in cellars or packed in the pits. On 

 the other hand, it saves much time and is more convenient 

 to handle when in the cellar. If left outside, the rows 

 should be filled with dry leaves, with some planks along- 

 side to throw off water, and to admit air during mild 

 weather. When this is covered with Nature's blanket 

 of snow, it will defy many degrees of frost, but one must 

 bear in mind the nature of soil, and the situation before 

 deciding to leave it undisturbed. It might prove disas- 

 trous should the site not be well drained or flooded during 

 sudden thaws. 



Lift and store in a cool place a supply of parsnips and 

 salsify before the ground becomes frozen too hard. Frost 

 does not injure these roots, so they can be left in the 

 ground and lifted when needed, providing a heavy mulch 

 is used to keep the ground open. 



Lift horseradish and seakale. The last named should 

 be cut into convenient lengths for forcing, four to five 

 inches, bringing it into heat in successional batches 

 throughout the Winter. The same conditions of culture 

 will suit this excellent vegetable as one adopts for forcing 

 chicory. Some bottom heat is preferable, and if it is not 

 perfectly blanched it is practically useless. 



Lift asparagus crowns for forcing when needed : cover 

 spinach with salt hav when severe weather sets in, and 

 bring in successional batches of rhubarb and chicory as 

 the wants of the particular establishment demand. 



Push forward with digging and trenching at everv op- 

 portunitv when conditions and time permit. This brings 

 its own reward by improving the rooting medium for next 

 year's crop. 



Give abundance of air on every favorable day to pits 

 and frames. Have an abundant supply of covering ma- 

 terial on hand in case of severe weather. 



Cover strawberry plants with a mulch of rough litter. 



Leaves can be used, providing enough cornstalks are used 

 to prevent them from being blown away. Naturally, 

 some judgment must be employed when to apply this pro- 

 tection. To enable the subjects to withstand the rigors 

 of Winter, it should be deferred as long as possible, ac- 

 cording to the climatic conditions prevailing, and the 

 ground allowed to be frozen before applying the mulch. 



Push on with anv planting in the flower garden. Get 

 in all bulbs of tulips, narcissi, etc., without delay, and if 

 lily bulbs are on order, it is a good plan to cover the site 

 where they are to be planted with leaves or litter, to pre- 

 vent the ground from becoming frozen hard, so that they 

 can be planted as soon as possible after they are received. 

 Preparation also can be made for protecting the more 

 tender subjects, roses, rhododendrons, box bushes, etc. 

 Arrange wind-breaks of cornstalks, and draw up some 

 soil around the base of the most tender tea roses. Should 

 the beds be in an exposed situation, wire netting can be 

 placed around the beds to be in readiness to receive a 

 covering of leaves. Should it be necessary to add this 

 protection, tie straw around the standards, or lift, and 

 cover over with soil in a cold frame. 



Give a mulch of litter to newly planted stock. This is 

 better than heavy manure, as the light and air can pene- 

 trate and does not hold the moisture in the same way. 

 Manure, under some conditions, may be more of a men- 

 ace to the health of the plant than the protection it was 

 intended to afford. If one has supposedly hardy plants 

 in the garden and finds Winter conditions unfavorable 

 to them in that particular locality, it is a good plan to 

 lift them and place them in some temporary shelter where 

 extra protection can be given them ; for instance, the 

 border chrysanthemums, tritonias, artcniisia lactiflora, 

 nipatoriuni ccclestinuni, plumbago larpente, to mention a 

 few. These may come through well some Winters, ac- 

 cording to the nature of the soil in which they are planted, 

 and if well covered with snow. Since many failures can 

 be attributed to successions of frost and thaws, a little 

 extra trouble involved is worth while. Place Canterbury 

 Bells, myosotis, etc., in a cold frame, where they can be 

 protected when necessary. 



Cut over the herbaceous border ; tie up all stakes, and 

 store away for future use, making everything as neat and 

 trim as possible. Burn all the rubbish collected, for the 

 ashes are a valuable fertilizer. Collect all leaves and 

 place in a pile for future use for making up hotbeds and 

 forming leaf soil. 



Plant deciduous trees while the ground is open and 

 api)ly a nuilch to newly planted trees and shrubs. Push 

 on with any ground work when conditions permit. 



I have noticed that folks are generally about as happy 

 as they have made up their minds to be. — Abraham Lin- 

 coln. 



=:: -^ * 



Life, for most of us, is full of hurdles. Our success, 

 or failure, depends on whether we learn to overcome diflfi- 

 culties or permit difficulties to overcome us. 



?iIost men who have risen to high places have had to 

 face more than an average number of obstacles ; at least 

 they have succeeded in getting over more obstacles than 

 the rest of us. — Fnrbcs. 



