No danger of losing ninety per cent. here! 
and hybrid teas will bloom here. 
Getting Ready for the Winter—By N. R. Graves, 
All next summer and fall these teas 
Mr. George Eastman’s, Rochester 
shiver. 
In front yards or on lawns wrapped rose bushes look unsightly and seem to 
In these secluded, sheltered gardens they look neat and snug 
Rochester, 
Nowe 
THE CHEAPEST WAY OF INSURING ALL YOUR PLANTS AGAINST WINTER KILLING—PRECAUTIONS THAT EVERY ONE 
SHOULD TAKE—HOW TO GROW SOME OF THE CHOICEST PLANTS OF WARMER CLIMES WITHOUT A GREENHOUSE 
| Bese is no such thing as an “‘abso- 
lutely hardy” plant. Even plants, 
native to the arctic regions, like the Iceland 
poppy, will sometimes winter-kill. | Every 
tree, shrub, and perennial that you have 
bought and planted this fall is “tender” to 
this extent—you ought to mulch it the first 
winter. After that it becomes ‘“estab- 
lished.”? But even then you ought to mulch 
every single plant you grow—the straw- 
berry bed, the hardy border, and even your 
tall old trees and shrubs. 
The reason for this is that the mulch 
tends to prevent the alternate freezing and 
thawing, which does more damage than 
zero weather, because the contraction and 
expansion breaks the roots of plants, espe- 
cially shallow-rooted ones like strawberries. 
Mulching is the cheapest form of insurance 
against winter-killing. Everybody can and 
ought to practise it. 
The time to put on this mulch is a few 
days after the ground has frozen to the 
depth of an inch or so for the first time. If 
you do it before, the field mice will nest in 
the mulch and eat your bulbs. Besides, 
the object of the mulch, as a rule, is not to 
keep the frost out, as most people imagine, 
but to keep the frost iz. This it fails to do 
in the mildest winters, and that is why the 
mildest winters are so deadly. A mulch 
cannot keep the mercury from being in the 
seventies for three or four days in January 
or protect everything from a drop to zero on 
the next day. But it puts the brakes on 
both processes and, therefore, we cannot 
afford to be without it. 
The best mulch, as a rule, is straw that 
has some manure in it, because then you 
feed your plants and there is not a tree or 
shrub which will not do better for you if 
you give it a top-dressing every year. But 
good manure usually is hard and costly to 
get and it is not essential for winter pro- 
tection. Any kind of litter will do, with 
two exceptions. Don’t use anything that 
has weed seeds in it or you will multiply 
trouble for yourself. And don’t use autumn 
Tie and trim straw before putting over 
Distribute evenly. Tie with twine every foot 
Wrap well at base. Tie low down 
ONE WAY OF PUTTING ON A STRAW OVERCOAT 
174 
