90 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



October, 1913 



and 1908 (p. 117) for the sort of planting tables that really 

 help. 



The following shrubs are especially worth planting, because they 

 bear bright, attractive fruits in October and occasionally all win- 

 ter, when garden colors are at a premium: Chokeberry (Aronia 

 arbutifolia) red; Photinia villosa, red; Ribes fasciculatum, red; black 

 haw (Viburnum prunifolium) , black; coral berry (Symphoricarpos 

 orbiculatus) , red; and snowberry (S. racemosus), white. 



As To Vegetables 



HPHE only vegetables to think of planting are rhubarb and 

 *- asparagus, unless you can keep the hotbeds warm enough to 

 raise more lettuce, radishes, etc. 



But don't delay your preparations for storing mature crops, 

 providing you haven't a cool, but frost free cellar. A concrete- 

 brick root-cellar is most certain and need not be costly; or you can 

 dig pits two feet or so deep, bury the roots in sand, and cover 

 with soil, straw or leaves, and (if you expect very severe weather) 

 a coat of manure. 



Affairs in General 



F^ON'T waste any of the leaves whatever you do, they make 

 *-* good bedding in the stable, good litter in the poultry house, a 

 good mulch along the borders, excellent compost, and a valuable 

 constituent of potting soils, after rotting two years or so. 



Young fruit trees may have to be protected from mice and 

 rabbits. If so do it now with wire netting, tar paper or strips 

 of veneer made especially for the purpose. 



The first dormant pruning can be done as soon as the leaves 

 fall. The sooner it is over, the sooner you can clean up all the 



litter and burn it together with the garden rubbish — thus des- 

 troying many insects and the possibilities of more. 



House plants plunged outdoors must be brought in if not 

 already taken care of. But accustom them to the indoor 

 heat gradually. A sudden high temperature is almost as harmful 

 — although in a different way — as an equally sudden cold snap. 



There is still time to create a lot of improved conditions 

 around the grounds. Where is your most travelled winter path- 

 way — to the stable, chicken house, back gate? Well, is it 

 cement, or well rolled ashes ■ — or just mud? Some cubic 

 yards of home laid concrete will make easier snow shovelling, 

 infinitely better walking, and highly increased healthfulness. 



Lawns can still be seeded, providing, as already emphasized, 

 the ground is drained. By mulching lightly after the ground 

 has frozen, the possible dangers of this rather late lawn making 

 can be largely avoided. 



Carnations, asparagus and other greenhouse crops are about 

 ready for trellises as soon as you have cleaned up everything 

 outdoors. 



But don't forget that this outdoor work includes one of these 

 treatments of heavy, sticky soil : 



(1) Add lime and work it in — up to thirty bushels to the acre. 



(2) Dress heavily with manure to leave all winter — all you can 

 get! 



(3) Spade or plow up, and leave as rough as possible, in order to 

 let the frost get in its loosening, pulverizing work. 



Finally before you go inside and shut the door on the winter 

 weather clean up all the tools and put them away. You might 

 even take an inventory so that when the ordering season comes 

 around you will know just what you need. 



HOW TO DO WITHOUT 

 CULTIVATION 



"r^EW places offer better oppor- 

 A tunity for the exercise of 

 economy and ingenuity than the small 

 vegetable garden. The writer of the follow- 

 ing letter is on the track of an admirable 

 and useful "wrinkle." He says: 



"I would like to know if there is a/ny 

 objection to thoroughly spading the soil 

 and then, after planting is done, covering 

 the whole with a good layer of manure to 

 remain on top and take the place of frequent 

 cultivation?" 



The dust mulch resulting from frequent 

 shallow cultivation is good, but a mulch 

 of manure is indeed still better. In addi- 

 tion to conserving the moisture in the soil 

 it will, with every rain, supply additional 

 plant food right where the roots can get 

 it most easily. But it will succeed only 

 under certain conditions: 



1. The manure used must be thoroughly 

 rotted or it will heat, perhaps injure the 

 plant, and probably dry out the soil faster 

 than the absence of any mulch would do. 



2. It must be kept loose so as to break 

 the capillarity of the soil, reduce evapora- 

 tion, and thus accomplish the main purpose 

 of all mulches. 



3. Some provision must be made against 

 the growth of weeds. An occasional hand 

 pulling should suffice; but the ground must 

 be kept quite clean before the mulch is 

 applied, and the reseeding of any weed 

 prevented at any cost. 



4. Of course the mulch cannot be applied 



A/ems JVbtes and Comments 



until the seedlings are well developed — say 

 six inches high. Nor would it be desirable 

 where a bulbous or root crop such as 

 onions, beets, turnips, radishes, etc., were 

 growing. In other words, its use will be 

 greatest among the larger annuals and all 

 perennial crops such as asparagus, rhubarb, 

 berries, corn, cabbage, beans, tomatoes, etc. 

 5. Finally, the soil must be naturally 

 loose and mellow or it will become com- 

 pacted and impervious and require cultiva- 

 tion notwithstanding the use of the mulch. 



NEWEST SWEET PEAS OF MERIT 



AT THE meeting of the American Sweet 

 Pea Society, held in Boston, July 12 

 and 13, Professor A. C. Beal, as Chairman 

 of the Trial Committee, reporting on the 

 new varieties, gave the following as among 

 those of special merit: 



"May Campbell, marbled carmine on 

 cream ground; Charm (Fordhook Fairy), 

 white, suffused with delicate blush lilac; 

 Orchid, rich, deep lavender suffused with 

 pink; Dobbie's Scarlet, brilliant scarlet, 

 Lady Evelyn Eyre, a very large blush 

 variety; Lila, a distinct variety, standards 

 faint lilac, deeper at midrib, wings very 

 light primrose; Orion, crimson; Mrs. Cuth- 

 bertson, rose pink standard and white 

 flushed pale rose wings; Walter P. Wright, 

 bluish lavender. 



"At the present date we would report 



i 



that Inspector is better than Mel- 

 ba, and that both are better than 

 Earl Spencer. The former shows 

 a good percentage of doubles. 

 Dobbie's Scarlet appears to be 

 the best of the bright scarlets, although 

 Red Star is good. Margaret Madison is 

 doubtless better than Flora Norton Spen- 

 cer. Leslie Imber and Southcote Blue are 

 no better than the latter. Helen Pierce 

 Spencer, May Farquhar, Lord Nelson 

 Spencer and Millie Maslin Spencer are 

 good, but we will report on them later. 

 Loyalty, Bertie Usher, and Blue Jacket are 

 blue striped varieties. Cyril Unwin re- 

 sembles Arthur Green." 



WATERING IN SUNSHINE 



RECENT investigations in Europe offer 

 some explanation of the long-standing 

 prejudice against applying water to growing 

 plants when the sun is shining. It appears, 

 as a result of these investigations, that there 

 is, under certain conditions of soil, a pos- 

 sibility of injury to the plants, more partic- 

 ularly on a clay soil containing a large 

 proportion of organic matter. When water 

 is added to such a soil and in a lesser 

 degree to other soils "a considerable quan- 

 tity of heat is disengaged. If, therefore, 

 water, be added to the soil, dried and 

 baked by the sun, the temperature of the 

 soil already high is raised yet more and may 

 bring about serious damage to the roots." 

 This increase in temperature may amount 

 to as much as 20 degrees. It is curious to 

 note in connection with this, that the great- 

 est danger exists in the best garden soils. 



