234 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Oclobef, igii 



without cutting the stalks. This allows 

 the plant to become well established and 

 subsequent care consists in forking in 

 annually the top dressing put on in the 

 fall and a good sprinkling of common 

 salt sufficient to whiten the ground. 



Rhubarb, another indispensable gar- 

 den necessity, should be planted now. 

 Six roots are sufficient for a family's 

 needs. Plant this in a sunny warm spot 

 in good rich soil, deep enough to cover 

 the crowns at least two inches and two 

 feet each way. 



Blanch your celery by earthing up and 

 before stiff frost place two boards V 

 shape, and cover over with straw or 

 leaves. When seveee frost sets in re- 

 move to a cool cellar, embedding the 

 stalks in clean, moist sand. 



Cabbage should be pulled, never cut. 

 Save the corn stalks to cover other 

 mulching. 



Clean up all litter, leaves, and other 

 decaying vegetable matter and bury in a 

 pit in the corner of the garden, which 

 every good garden should have, to save 

 weeds and garden refuse which, united 

 with ashes and kitchen slops, makes a 

 thick fertilizing material to be dug in 

 the garden next spring. 



Heavy clay or retentive soils should 

 be dug up roughly and left for the action 

 of frost and snow. This also allows 

 moisture to penetrate deeper in the 

 ground, also permitting it to be warmed 

 up earlier in the spring by the sun than 

 it would if not thus prepared. Leave 

 your garden in neat order. 



Now is the time to make cuttings of 

 currants and gooseberries, grajse vines, 

 and many flowering shrubs, as flowering 

 currants, .syringas, deutzias, dogwood, 

 privet, and so forth. Make them of well 

 ripened wood nine inches long, and plant 

 in rows in rich loose soil, pushing the 

 cutting down to the top bud ; fill in the 

 soil and tramp firmly and mulch heavily. 

 Mulching is indispensable, as it prevents 

 upheaval in the spring by frost. 



Fall Planting o{ Blubs 



John Gall, Inglewood, Ont. 



All kinds ol bulbs arc partial to a deep, 

 ri(-h, well drained soil. This is no small 

 part of their successful culture. The 

 site selected should be well drained, 

 either naturally or artificially. Again, in 

 flattish lands, the beds may be made 

 above the surface, some eighteen inches 

 high, and bordered with grass. A layer 

 of rough stones a foot deep is sometimes 

 used in the bottom of an ordinary bed for 

 drainage, and with good results, where 

 other methods are not convenient. 



The soil for beds should be well en- 

 riched with old manure. Fresh manure 

 should never be used in the soil about 

 bulbs. The addition of leaf-mould and 

 some sand also improves the texture of 

 heavy soils. For lilies the leaf-mould 

 may be omitted. Let the spading be at 

 least a foot deep. Eighteen inches is 

 none too deep for lilies. 



All kinds of bulbs look best planted 

 in masses, or at least in groups, and may 

 be planted any time from October till 



the middle of Nevembcr. During plant- 

 ing or previously, the surface of the 

 beds should be made somewhat round- 

 ing lo prevent water standing on them 

 in winter, which is always likely to play 

 havoc. A layer of sand below the sur- 

 face, or a generous handful about each 

 bulb, will also materially assist in carry- 

 ing away water from the bulbs. 



As the time of severe winter ap- 

 proaches, the ground planted with bulbs 

 should receive a mulch of leaves, manure 

 or litter to the depth of from four to six 

 inches, according to the latitude. It will 

 be well to extend the mulch about one 

 foot or even more beyond the border of 

 the beds. When cold weather is past, 

 half of the mulch should be removed. 

 The remainder may be left on till there 

 is no longer danger of frost. Upon re- 

 moving the last of the mulch, lightly 

 work over the surface of the soil among 

 the bulbs with a thrust hoe. If the wea- 

 ther happens to be very bright during 

 the blooming season, the duration of the 

 flowers may be prolonged by light shad- 

 ing — as with muslin or slats placed above 

 the beds. If planted where they have 

 partial shade from surrounding trees or 

 shrublx'ry, the beds will not require at- 

 tention of this kind. 



A Portion of the Vegetable Garden at Inglewood, Hamilton, Ont. 

 Notice how the garden U divided by a hedge from the reet of the grounds and also the 



made walks. 



wcU- 



Autumn Work in the Garden 



R. S. Rose, Pcterboro, Ont. 



Early in October, if you have roses, 

 you can start cuttings. I have found the 

 following method very successful. Take 

 the side shoots near the ground, you will 

 find them the best, and plant them where 

 you wish the bush to stand Press a 

 glass fruit jar down firmly over your cut- 

 ting and heap the earth around it un- 

 til only the top of the jar is visible. In 

 the spring, when all danger of frost is 

 past, remove the jar, being careful not 

 to disturb the tender plant. The first 

 few days it may be well to replace the 

 jar during the hottest part of the day. 

 I have found plants started this way give 

 lietter results than one year plants ob- 

 tained from the nursery or greenhou.se. 



Soon should come the general clean up 

 in the late autumn when all old growth 

 such as vegetable vines, stalks, and so 

 forth, should be piled in small heaps. 

 Let the air flow freely through the heaps 

 so that they will dry thoroughly. At the 

 end of a week or so they will lie dry 

 enough to burn. Do not remove the 

 ashes of the burnt up rubbish, as it 

 makes a splendid fertilizer. \\'hen 

 everything has been burned up dig 

 trenches all down your kitchen garden, 

 throwing up the earth to about six or 

 seven inches. Leave it in this condition 

 for the winter. In the spring level olf, 

 then dig up, and turn over the earth 

 twelve inches deep, the deeper the bet- 

 ter. By doing this the work is easier, 

 and the earth more mellow and freer front 

 hard lumps. 



