Book of G 



e n s 



119 



December 



THE GARDENER'S CALENDAR 



Twelfth Month 



The interior twigs 



and small brandies of 



Ihc peach trees should 



he thinned out 



A thick covering of 



leaves will prevent 



frost getting into the 



relfrv trenches 



All nests of caterpil- 

 lars and other harm- 

 ful insects should be 

 destroyed now' 



SUNDAY 



MONDAY 



TUESDAY 



WEDNESDAY 



THURSDAY 



FRIDAY 



SATURDAY 



/ stood and 

 -watched by 

 the window 



The 7ioiscless 

 work of the 

 sky, 



And the sud- 

 den flurries 

 of stiowbirds 



Like brown 

 leaves whirl- 

 ing by. 



— Lowell. 



1. All tender 

 e verg ree ns 

 that require 

 protecting 

 should be at- 

 tended to at 

 once. Pine 

 boughs, corn- 

 stalks and 

 other coarse 

 material can 

 be used to pre- 

 vent sun scald. 

 Manure mul- 

 ches are best 

 for the soil. 



2. AU the 

 various types 

 of bulbs for 

 winter bloom 

 may be forced 

 in the green- 

 house now. It 

 is best to bring 

 the bulbs into 

 the heat in 

 small quanti- 

 ties so as to 

 keep a contin- 

 uous supply 

 of blossoms 

 coming along. 



3. Hyacinths. 

 Chinese sacred 

 lilies, paper- 

 wh i t e narcis- 

 sus Soleild'Or. 

 etc., may now 

 be forced in 

 bowls of water 

 for the house. 

 Place the 

 bulbs in the 

 cellar, for 

 about two 

 weeks after 

 planting so as 

 to form roots. 



4. A 1 1 new 

 plantings 

 should beheav- 

 ily mulched 

 with manure. 

 Ihis not only 

 serves to pro- 

 tect the plants 

 by red uc i ng 

 the pen e t ra- 

 tion of the 

 frost, but in- 

 creasesthe fer- 

 tility and pro- 

 ductiveness of 

 the soil as well. 



5. D o not 

 neglect to pro- 

 vide for those 

 friends of the 

 garden, our 

 birds, feeding 

 boxes may be 

 placed where 

 the birds will 

 be ont of the 

 reach of cats. 

 Suet tied to 

 the branches 

 is attractive to 

 several s p e - 

 cies. 



6. Low spots 

 in walks and 

 drives that are 

 invariably w^t 

 should be 

 raised to shed 

 water; or if 

 the earth is 

 taken out and 

 the roadbed 

 filled with cin- 

 ders it will 

 help to make 

 them dry and 

 passable in 

 bad weather. 



7. Trees that 

 are subject to 

 scale insects of 

 various kinds 

 should be 

 sprajed with 

 one of the sol- 

 uble oil mix- 

 tures. Fruit 

 trees of all 

 kinds, roses, 

 evonymus, and 

 nil smooth- 

 I'arked t rees 

 are suscep- 

 tible. 



8. A 1 1 the 

 gaiden tools 

 and imple- 

 ments should 

 be thoroughly 

 cleaned, coated 

 with a cheap 

 oil and put 

 away for the 

 winter. Those 

 that are in 

 need of repair 

 should be at- 

 tended to now 

 while outdoor 

 work is slack. 



9. Grape canes 

 can be cleaned 

 up and pruned 

 at any time 

 now. It is a 

 good practice 

 to remove all 

 the loo^e bark 

 and wash the 

 canes with a 

 good strong 

 soap insecti- 

 cide or spray 

 them with an 

 oil spray to de- 

 stroy larvEe.etc. 



10. T f cold 

 weather p r e - 

 vails it is well 

 to look over 

 the vegetable 

 trenches to 

 make sure that 

 the frost is not 

 getting in and 

 injuring the 

 roots. Plenty 

 of leaves piled 

 on top is the 

 best p rote c - 

 t i n for the 

 winter. 



11. Frames 

 in which semi- 

 hardy plants 

 are being win- 

 t e r e d, or 

 f ra m es that 

 are u s ad as 

 growing m e - 

 diums, should 

 have some 

 kind of cover- 

 i n g. Ij o o s e 

 hay may be 

 used, but the 

 best covering 

 is jute mats. 



12. Look over 

 the tender 

 bulbs that are 

 stored for the 

 winter, such as 

 dahlias, ca n - 

 n a s, gladioli, 

 etc. Frost will 

 surely destroy 

 them, while 

 too much heat 

 or mo i st u re 

 will start them 

 into growth be- 

 fore planting 

 time returns. 



13. D o not 

 scrape the 

 bark on trees 

 to destroy in- 

 sect pests— it is 

 impossible to 

 get into the 

 crevices where 

 insects hiber- 

 nate, and in 

 many cases the 

 tree is injured 

 by remov ing 

 the green 

 outer bark. 

 Use stiff brush. 



14. Asbestos 

 torches, or 

 torches made 

 of burlap and 

 soaked in 

 keroi^ene to 

 make them in- 

 flammable, 

 should be used 

 to go over all 

 the trees and 

 destroy win - 

 t e r i n g over 

 nests of cater- 

 pillars and 

 other pests. 



15. Su cces- 

 sional sowings 

 of those crops 

 in the green- 

 house that re- 

 quire it. such 

 as lettuce, 

 beans, cauli- 

 flower, s p in- 

 ach and rad- 

 ishes, should 

 be made. Khu- 

 barb and en- 

 dive may be 

 started under 

 the benches. 



16. Rhubarb 

 may be forced 

 in t h e cellar 

 or attic of the 

 dwelling by 

 planting good- 

 sized clumps 

 in barrels or 

 boxes and 

 placinp, them 

 beside the fur- 

 nace or chim- 

 ney. The soil 

 should be kept 

 m o'd e r a t e 1 y 

 moist. 



17. N e c t a - 

 rines, peaches 

 and grapes 

 which are 

 forced under 

 glass should be 

 pruned and 

 cleaned by 

 washing them 

 with strong 

 insect i cides. 

 Remove somr- 

 of the top soil 

 afterward and 

 replace it with 

 fresh earth. 



18. Plants 

 that are grovv- 

 ingin benches, 

 such as carna- 

 tions, roses , 

 antirrhinum, 

 etc. should he 

 mulched with 

 cow manure 

 orsoil madeof 

 equal parts of 

 top soil and 

 well-rotted 

 nianure with a 

 little bone 

 meal added. 



19. Boxwood 

 must be p r o- 

 tected, else it 

 is very apt to 

 winter-kill. 

 Burlap covers, 

 cornstalkn. 

 nine boughs or 

 a n y material 

 that will keep 

 out the sun 

 but admit air 

 may be used 

 for this p u r - 

 pose. Apply it 

 now. 



20. At this 

 season of the 

 year it is ne- 

 cessary to fer- 

 tilize indoor 

 cucumbersaiid 

 tomatoes to 

 assu re f r u i t . 

 Oo lie cc the 

 pollen in a 

 spoon and dis- 

 tribute it to 

 the other blos- 

 soms with a 

 camel's- hair 

 brush. 



21. Melon 

 frames, tomato 

 trellises, gar- 

 den seats and 

 other wooden 

 garden mate- 

 rial should be 

 painted. Use 

 good paint, 

 and where ne- 

 cessary apply 

 two coats. This 

 is considerably 

 cheaper than 

 constant r e - 

 newals. 



22. Ferns, 

 p a 1 m 3 and 

 other house 

 plants should 

 be top-dressed 

 occasion ally 

 with some of 

 the cone e n- 

 trated plant 

 foods sold for 

 the purpose. 

 Keep the sur- 

 face of the soil 

 lo o s e n ed so 

 that no green 

 scum forms. 



23. The foli- 

 age of house 

 plants must be 

 kept free of in- 

 sects. Spong- 

 ing the leaves 

 with a soap 

 solution to 

 which a good 

 tobacco ex- 

 tract has been 

 added will de- 

 stroy white 

 scale, red -=pi- 

 der, mealy bug 

 and green fly. 



. 24. Ch icory 

 is one of the 

 li e s t winter 

 salad plants. 

 It can De forc- 

 ed in any ordi- 

 nnry cellar by 

 planting the 

 roots in boxes 

 and keeping 

 them dark, 

 'ihey can also 

 be grown out- 

 side in trench- 

 es filled with 

 hot manure. 



25. The value 

 of the land 

 scaping de- 

 partments 

 maintiiined by 

 the big nur- 

 s e r y m e n 

 should not be 

 over looked. 

 They are pre- 

 pared to plan 

 all sorts of 

 plantings for 

 you and sub- 

 mit figures of 

 costs, etc. 



26, T h i s is 

 the time to 

 plan and even 

 install some 

 sort of irrigat- 

 ing system in 

 your garden. 

 Don't wait un- 

 til summer for 

 dry weather is 

 just as sure as 

 taxes and you 

 had best be 

 ready for it 

 well in advance 

 of its arrival. 



27. Vegeta- 

 bles of all 

 kinds that are 

 stored in cel- 

 lars should be 

 looked over 

 with the pur- 

 pose of remov- 

 i n g any de- 

 ca ye d tubers 

 there may be- 

 A few bad ones 

 will soon cause 

 considerable 

 damage to the 

 rest. 



2S. P r u i t 

 trees, and es- 

 jtecially small 

 ones, should be 

 protected from 

 rats, rabbits 

 and other ro- 

 dents. O r di - 

 nary tar paper 

 wrapped 

 around the 

 stem from the 

 ground to a 

 height of 15 

 inches is suflB- 

 cient. 



29. The plant- 

 ing of decidu- 

 ous trees and 

 shrubs may be 

 continued just 

 as long as the 

 weather p e r- 

 mits. Mulch- 

 ing heavily 

 immediate! y 

 after planting 

 will prevent 

 the penetra- 

 tion of frost if 

 it should come 

 soon. 



30- M a s h - 

 rooms may be 

 grown in any 

 ordinary c e 1- 

 lar: the i m - 

 portant point 

 is fresh stable 

 droppings for 

 the bed. Don't 

 let them ever 

 pet really dry. 

 Use new cul- 

 t u r e spawn, 

 aa it is more 

 certain than 

 the old kind. 



31. Poor 

 lawns should 

 be cop-dressed, 

 using a CO m- 

 post made of 

 screened top 

 soil with about 

 20 per cent 

 bone meal and 

 « ood ashes 

 i.dded. This 

 may be applied 

 to the lawn 

 liberally now. 

 with some 

 glass seed. 



This Calendar of the gardener's labors is 

 aimed as a reminder for undertaking alt his 

 tasks in season. It is fitted to the latitude 

 of the Middle States, but its service should 

 be available for the whole country if it be 

 remembered that for every one hundred 

 miles north or south there is a difference of 

 from five to seven days later or earlier in 

 performing garden operations. The dates 

 given are, of course. Tor an average season 



* TyEARS to me like Christmas in the city must be a kinder gloomy time 'side o' what it is out here in the country. 

 /"^I hear as how they ain't no sleighs no more in the big towns like A'^' York, Boston an Chicago — only autymo- 

 biles, an' subways, an' the like o' that. Shucks! — what's Cliris'mas without sleigh-bells a-jinglin', an snow all 

 white an' sparkly along the road, an' big birch logs a-roarin' in the settin' room fireplace? Somehow 1 reckon city 

 folks 7n:ist find i'l kinder hard to git real Chris'masy when all they can see out their winders is rows an' rows o' stone 

 houses all jusl Ihc siDJir, suiters full o' dirty gray slush, an' pavemejits all wet an' sloppy without even a foot o' clean 

 snow with a rabbit track runnin' across it. Chris'mas ain't no day to spend indoors, nor to uade in mud when ye go 

 out. It's a day to go sleigh-riditi' , or skatiti' on the ice-pond, or zippin' down Kellogg's Hill on a big twelve-passenger 

 bobsled, with somebody standin' at the Corners to keep teams from turnin' in sudden from the side road jusl as ye 

 come kitin' along. Yes, an' by crickey Chris'mas ain't the time to wear your bes' clo'es all day, neither; fer a couple 

 o' hours, anvwav, ye want to wear felt boots, an' a fur cap with ear-mu^s, an' a pea-jacket, an' a red muffier, an' 

 mittens — good thick woolen mittens with wristlets to 'em. 



— Old Doc Lemmon. 



Tree planting may be 

 continued talc into the 

 fall. Only solid freez- 

 ing stops it 



To insure frrlilizalion 

 of greenhouse tomatoes 

 the pollen is trans- 

 ferred with a brush 



A spade is used to 



lift and divide the root 



clumps of various 



perennial flowers 



Chicory is one of the few vegetables which can 



be grown under the greenhouse benches or in 



the cellar of the dwelling 



Bulbs for indoor bloom should be forced in the 



dark for at least two weeks before bringing them 



into the light 



The general rule is to save the dead leaves for 



mulching, etc., but if they must be burned, 



spread the ashes on the lawn 



