50 . THE GARDEN 



Now, the unfortunate occurrence is quoted so that others who have 

 these same old favorites, may hie them to the garden and see how their 

 stock is conditioning for the winter. There is but one thing to do in this 

 case and that is to get down on our knees, cultivating fork in hand, and 

 slowly, patiently, lovingly, cuddle the brown earth as closely, as firmly, and 

 as high up around those poor brittle stems, as it is possible to do. We must 

 almost bury the whole little grey dwarf bushes in the warm earth. This 

 done, we must cover with layers of manure, and hope for the best. 



ODDS AND ENDS 



October is one of our most important months In the garden. It is the 

 month of the year when a successful gardener keeps his eyes open every 

 minute of the time, to attend to an infinite number of odd jobs. He is on 

 the alert constantly. 



A few long trailers have developed here and there since the last clip- 

 ping of the shrubs, leaves now falling every day must be husbanded for 

 mulching and protective purposes; lawns must be kept trim and neat; 

 borders must absolutely be looked after as carefully as in the middle, of 

 summer, or there will be a terrific muddle to clean up in the spring. All 

 litter and rubbish must be put out of sight; also keep the beds well watered. 



November is such an erratic month that one cannot depend upon the 

 weather she may give us. Therefore, do all that can be done, while yet 

 there is time. Every gardener knows his own needs best, and wastes no 

 precious minutes. 



There are many odds and ends that may be left until just before the 

 last minute before being attended to. By the last minute, we mean the 

 minute when the hard frosts have set in; when it is no longer possible to 

 work comfortably outdoors; when one cannot in wisdom, kneel upon the 

 damp ground to heel up a whole row of neglected pinks or sweet wMliams. 



All these should be attended to by the end of October. The things 

 to be done are legion. 



Take your weeding fork, get down upon your knees and loosen the 

 earth all around such plants as sweet Williams, dianths, irises; all the lily 

 bulbs that bloom in mid-summer; clematis bulbs, columbines; and, in 

 short, every perennial, or biennikl, that you are desirious of wintering suc- 

 -ces-sfully. After the earth is well loosened, just as you have been doin^ 

 every week, all summer long, heel the earth firmly and closely up around 

 these roots, piling the moist soil well up against the tender main stalks. 

 Nothing is more disastrous to plants than to^have their upper roots half 

 exposed to the weather. This happens invariably to .all plants that are 

 not carefully looked after in this very respect: The rains wash away the 

 Boil around them,, the sun dries it into powder, and it is blown away, the 

 frost, alternating with the milder weather, forces the roots upward — 'and. 

 in short, all sorts of things happen. 



This being done, the beds are ready for their mulching later on. 



GARDEN PESTS— REMEDIES 



Leaf bug of the dahlia. 



This is a wicked wretch that brings despair, disaster and death to our 

 healthiest dahlia plants. 



As a rule dahliaS are remarkably free from these troubles. However, 

 they will be attacked occasionally by mildew, especially when their sur- 

 roundings are not satisfactory and when they have received a setback from 

 some unfavorable condition. A copious spraying with copper solution will 

 deal successfully with this. Apply twice a week for two or three weeks, 

 or until all signs of the trouble disappear. 



