282 THE SMALL COUNTRY PLACE 



be best to rake off as much of it as possible on a very 

 dry day, or when there can be no danger to buildings it 

 may be burned off without injury. This old material, 

 too, may be cut off with a very sharp lawn-mower and 

 used as a mulch about the trees or put in the compost 

 pile. 



Trees and Shrubs. After the ground will work up fine 

 and mellow, the earlier trees and shrubs are planted, 

 the better. If any pruning remains unfinished it should 

 be attended to at once. Roses and other tender shrubs 

 should be uncovered and the former be severely pruned. 

 The best roses are produced upon strong new shoots 

 that come from near the ground, and the flowers when 

 gathered should be cut with long stems that strong 

 buds may start out below the cut and produce a con- 

 tinued bloom. The covering about rhododendrons or 

 other evergreen shrubs should not be removed too 

 early, but may be thinned out and finally removed a 

 week or two later. Shrubs that bloom early in the sum- 

 mer, like golden bell, spiraeas, and Japanese quinces, 

 should not be pruned until after flowering. The manure 

 placed in piles about the trunks of trees and shrubs 

 should be spread about under the branches and if on 

 the lawn raked off later. When fertilizer is depended 

 upon for the growth of trees or shrubs on the lawn, 

 now is the time to put it on. 



Spraying for the San Jose scale should be done before 

 growth begins. The lime-and-sulphur scalicide and 

 the scale destroyer have proved effectual in keeping this 

 pest in check if not wholly destroying it, the former 

 proving a good fungicide as well as insecticide. 



The Flower Garden. Transplanting of hardy herba- 

 ceous plants like peonies, iris, astilbe, phloxes, pinks, 

 etc., may be done at this time of the year. If the 

 plants are large they may be divided as shown in 



