December Work in the Garden 



THIS is the time to prune roses. The 

 Teas and the Hybrid Teas do not 

 need as much pruning as the Hybrid Per- 

 petuals and others. No matter what class 

 of roses you have, however, never allow 

 them to go unpruned. If the roses were 

 planted last year, thin to about three main 

 stems, and cut back each of these about 

 two thirds. If the bushes are older, thin 

 out well, and cut back the branches left to 

 about four buds each. Use pruning shears. 



Examine all trees, especially the fruit 

 trees, for the nests of tent caterpillars. 

 The worms make a sort of tent out of a 

 white web and the young are inclosed in 

 this waiting for spring. Burn them, 

 branch, tent, and all, and do it now. Cut 

 off the branch on which the tent is found 

 and don't run any chances of the cater- 

 pillars escaping by breaking it. 



If the prunes were affected with the 

 red spider or the brown apricot scale, 

 spray them this month with crude oil 

 emulsion. Spray now with lime-sulphur 

 for apples affected with San Jose scale. 

 Or better still, write to your county horti- 

 cultural commissioner at the county seat 

 and ask him for some of the insects that 

 prey upon this scale. A few of these in- 

 troduced into your orchard will destroy 

 the scale even better than the spraying. 



For peaches affected with blight (or 

 shot hole fungus), spray now with bor- 

 deaux mixture. 



Daisies, sweet peas, and lily-of-the- 

 valley may be planted during December. 

 Sweet peas planted in the fall should begin 

 to bloom the last of this month; be sure to 

 keep the blossoms picked, for the plant 

 will soon stop blooming if you don't. 

 Plant lettuce, peas, and radish in the vege- 

 table garden rotation. If you have never 

 tried the Chinese White winter radish, 

 it is worth experimenting with. It is a 

 long white variety and may be cooked, 

 when it resembles the turnip. Icicle is 

 another long white variety that has done 

 well here. It has rather a mild flavor, and 

 grows rapidly. 



Alaska is a good pea for winter planting 

 but has not been used quite so much as 

 American Wonder. It is a dwarf, quick 

 growing, and does not rot in cold ground. 



Big Boston is the popular variety of lettuce 

 but Los Angeles (or New York) is worth 

 trying. Some prefer it to Big Boston. 



If you have a new lawn to make start 

 it now. Grass seed needs a very rich 

 loam, and if you don't have that, it is much 

 more economical to remove a foot of the 

 top soil and replace it with a rich soil with 

 plenty of humus (leafmold and roots) in 

 it. The seed is very fine, and must have 

 a well made bed. Pulverize the soil 

 thoroughly, and rake the surface and level 

 it carefully before the seed is sown. If 

 there are any spots where stumps of trees 

 have been removed or where the sewer or 

 water pipes have been put in, be sure that 

 the soil has finally settled. If there is 

 anything to lead you to expect more set- 

 tling, hasten it by running water on the 

 spot. As soon as any sinking takes place, 

 fill in the opening at once and soak again. 

 Keep this up until there is no sign of sink- 

 ing. 



In California, nothing has been found 

 that really equals Kentucky blue grass as 

 an all around lawn variety. Be sure to 

 get the cleaned fresh seed. Pay the best 

 price for the highest quality. If there are 

 any weed seeds mixed with the grass, you 

 are worse than wasting your money. You 

 will have more difficulty in ridding the 

 lawn of the weeds than the entire cost of 

 the seed amounts to. 



When the soil is in fine condition, roll it 

 and let it stand for about two weeks. The 

 first crop of weeds will have germinated by 

 that time. Hoe them out, every one, and 

 rake the lawn smooth and sow the seed, 

 one pound to 250 square feet. Select a 

 time for sowing when there is no wind; 

 the seed is so light that a little breeze will 

 scatter the seed unevenly. 



As soon as it is sown, roll the entire 

 lawn or gently beat it down. Be very 

 careful that you do not work the seed into 

 bunches, however. Sprinkle twice a day 

 with a spray nozzle unless there is plenty of 

 rain. When the grass comes up well, it 

 will be necessary to sprinkle only once a 

 day. Use plenty of fertilizer. There are 

 odorless brands on the market, which are of 

 course, preferable for a lawn. 



If you have any weeping varieties of de- 

 ciduous trees, prune them now. If they 

 do not have their branches thinned out 



193 



each winter, they will become an unsightly 

 mass of weak spindling branches. 



It is time to begin pruning fruit trees. 

 If you have plums or prunes, cut back the 

 annual growth from one-half to two-thirds. 



Cherry trees less than five years old 

 should be thinned out well. Older trees 

 should be pruned only as it is necessary to 

 remove broken or injured limbs, or limbs 

 that are interfering with others. 



Apples do not need to be shortened, but 

 there will be a great many surplus shoots 

 and some limbs that interfere with others, 

 that need attention every winter. 



Peaches are borne only on wood of 

 the previous year's growth. Remove all 

 the smaller branches or shoots that are 

 about one-eighth inch in diameter. Don't 

 allow the top of the tree to grow out of 

 proportion to the trunk. 



The more a pear is cut back, the more it 

 will put its efforts into producing wood. 

 See that the limbs do not get so thick that 

 they tangle, but, other than that, do little 

 pruning. 



Remove about half of the new growth of 

 apricots and thin out the branches. The 

 tree must not be allowed to become thick 

 and bushy. 



Almond trees less than three years old 

 should be headed back and pruned to make 

 the tree develop into a shapely form. Trees 

 older than that need no pruning except to 

 remove a broken branch or one that is 

 interfering with another. 



Stubs left in pruning fig trees are very 

 undesirable. Cut out the limb entirely, 

 or cut it back to a good strong lateral 

 branch. The fig needs little pruning after 

 it is once trained to a desirable shape. 



If your walnuts were frozen or blighted 

 last season, prune off the blackened por- 

 tions. If you do not remove all the dead 

 wood, there is danger of the branch dying 

 back a considerable distance. Other than 

 this, walnut trees need pruning only to 

 give them a good shape and to remove 

 broken or interfering limbs. 



Orange trees are naturally of a good 

 shape and as a rule need very little pruning. 

 If any branches develop a weeping habit, 

 remove them. The same applies to the 

 lemon and pomelo. 



No pruning is required as a rule for chest- 

 nut, persimmon, pomegranate, or quince. 



