Work for the Month of January 



By Henry Gibson 



There is little that can be done outdoors at this time of 

 the year, save it may be the trimming of such of the 

 forest trees about the place as may need it. All cuts made 

 on limbs of three inches in diameter and over should be 

 painted over. W hen left unpainted they form excellent 

 means of access for fungous diseases, which only too 

 readily find means of entrance to the trees. 



In localities where the weather conditions permit any 

 plamiing and alterations that are deemed necessary may 

 be carried out. Where manuring and digging of the 

 vegetable garden has not been attended to, advantage 

 should be taken of the first favorable oijportunity of 

 having the manure wheeled or carted on tlie ground, in 

 readiness for spring digging. 



Seed Sowing. 



Some of the 1915 catalogues are now out, and ere these 

 notes appear many more will be in the mail, which is a 

 gentle reminder that with the advent uf the Xew Year 

 comes the time when definite plans for the year's garden 

 must be formulated. It is never a difficult matter to form 

 an approximate idea of the number of plants required for 

 the summer bedding and the same remark applies to the 

 quantity of seed required for the vegetable garden. 



Among the many seeds which can be advantageously 

 started now are : Aquilegias Delphinums, Petunias, 

 Verbenas, Thunbergia, Slrasta Daisy, Salvias, Sola- 

 nums, Sweet \\'illiams, Heliotropes, browalias, aspara- 

 gus. Begonias, in variety, Glormias, Tomatoes, Let- 

 tuce, etc. 



Tuberous Begoni.\s. 



These begonias make useful subjects for conservatory 

 decoration. A batch started up now will make fine plants 

 by the end of April and on through May, when a dis- 

 play of the different shades of white, yellow, pink and 

 red, will attract attention when ones employer comes from 

 the citv house to the country for the season. The tubers 

 may either be started in the propagating bench, or the\- 

 may be started in shallow flats on the bottom of which 

 has been placed about two inches of sandy soil. On 

 this plant the tubers close together and cover with 

 just sufficient sifted loam to fill up the spaces between 

 them. It is not even necessary to cover them if they are 

 well shaded, for as they come into growth they should 

 be potted into 3-inch pots. Bottom heat is an indis- 

 pensable factor in starting tuberous begonias and if there 

 is no room in the propagating bench place the flats on 

 the hot water pipes. If kept fairly moist no trouble should 

 be experienced in starting every one. 



Bedding Begoni.xs. 



Among the list of seeds that may be sown this month is 

 mentioned Begonia Erfordi, and those who use this plant 

 extensively as a bedding should not overlook sowing the 

 seed early. As a bedding this liegonia is hard to surpass, 

 its dense heavy growth is seldom affected by winds, it 

 stands the dry heat of summer well, and flowers right 

 through the season until cut down by the first heavy 

 frost. 



Immediate effect is what is wanted when planting out, 

 and by starting early first-class plants can be had in 

 4-inch' pots, by the end of May, with which small stock 

 cannot compare, no matter how thickly planted. Sow 

 the seeds carefully in well drained pans of light sandy 

 compost, and keep the little plants moving in a tempera- 

 ture of W degrees. They love heat and moisture, and a 

 rich well-drained soil when potted. 



Propagating. 



From January onwards conditions are ideal for pro- 

 pagating inu-]3oses. The fires are maintaining a steady 

 heat in the sand, and in most cases there is plenty of ma- 

 terial to propagate from. Therefore every inch of space 

 in the propagating bench should be kept filled until one 

 has worked up a stock of what is needed. Where roses 

 are to be propagated it is of the utmost importance that 

 the bench and the sand be perfectly clean and in condition 

 to receive the cuttings. Cleanliness is essential at all 

 times, but nowhere more so than in the bench intended 

 for propagating roses. Nearly everyone who propagates 

 roses has his own particular idea as to the nuiuber of eyes 

 a cutting should have. Personally, we think that for 

 ordinary purposes three is sufficient, cut just below and 

 just as close above the eyes as can be done without injur- 

 ing its vitality. When the cuttings are put into the sand 

 care should be taken to point the leaves all one way and it 

 will help considerably to prevent contracting some of the 

 man}' diseases if the leaves are not allowed to touch the 

 sand. There should be an air space between the leaves 

 and the sand, and a good way of accomplishing this is to 

 have small canes laid across so as to rest on the sides of 

 the bench and the leaves allowed to rest on them. For 

 beauty cuttings this device is especially valuable. 

 Carnations. 



Stock in a healthy growing condition is sending up 

 strong flower stems at the base of which is plenty of 

 material for the propagatory bench. Keep it going, as 

 with roses, a clean bench, a clean sand and clean cuttings 

 are the foundations of success. A bottom heat of about 

 56 degrees and the top heat that of a carnation house 

 temperature is what is needed. A carnation does not want 

 to lie a long time in the sand before it begins to root, or 

 you may look for a sickly plant. Although the propagat- 

 ing is as important as anything, yet the care of the plant 

 in the benches should not be overlooked. Carnations th^t 

 have been flowering heavily right along will have ex- 

 hausted the soil of its food supply, and feeding should 

 be resorted to in order to keep the plants going. 



Well decomposed cow manure is a good fertilizer to 

 use. Next comes horse and sheep manure. .A.void heavy 

 doses of either ; frequent and light applications are best 

 for the welfare of the plants. There will, however, be 

 less danger of setting up a soft growth from an overdose 

 of stimulants now that the longer and lighter days of the 

 New Year are near than has been the case during the past 

 two months. In the way of watering as the month ad- 

 vances they will need a little more than they required 

 during the short, dark days of the fall. Do not, however, 

 have them soaking wet, as this condition will soon finish 

 the best of plants. 



Geraniums. 



The potting of the geraniums that are needed for 

 bedding out should be pushed ahead. We find it is al- 

 wa\-s better to do this early so as to give the plants a long 

 season of growth. Any that are now in two-inch pots 

 can be moved to threes, and then later on they can be 

 transferred from threes to fours. A good growing 

 medium for geraniums is two-thirds turfy loam and one- 

 third of thoroughly decomposed manure and a five-inch 

 pot of bone meal to each barrow-load of soil. If, after 

 potting, thev can be placed on a bench that has heating 

 pipes beneath, so much the better as they enjoy a little 

 warmth after a shift. A temperature of 65 degrees dur- 

 ing the dav and 45 to 50 degrees at night is sufficient. 



