An Outdoor Living-room 
N COLD weather, when the mercury 
hovers near the freezing point, how 
pleasant it is to sit in a veritable garden, 
surrounded by ferns and flowers, and enjoy 
a warm sun bath. 
Our dwelling, which is a plain country 
one, the west front being forty feet long, 
has an ‘‘L”’ wing in the rear thirty feet long, 
on the south side of which there is a narrow 
porch. The hall from the front of the 
house and two rooms in the wing open on to 
this porch, and in order to have the satis- 
faction and pleasure of keeping these doors 
open all the year, we enclosed this small 
piazza. 
We procured from a nearby church seven 
large window sash at a cost of one dollar 
and fifty cents apiece. The carpenter’s 
This enclosed piazza really added another room to 
the house at moderate cost 
contract of $1oo included all the materials 
used, which were as follows: umber for 
framing, ceiling, flooring, siding, casing, etc., 
one door with glass, tin roof and spouting, 
nails, hinges for the windows and other 
hardware. To this bill must be added the 
cost of the windows, $10.50, and the cost 
of painting, $4.50, making the total expendi- 
ture $115. The new, enclosed porch, when 
completed, measured twenty-four feet long 
and ten feet wide. 
As a rule the mercury in this latitude does 
not drop more than four or five degrees 
Here one may enjoy a warm sunbath even on the 
coldest days in winter 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
below zero and the heat from the house is 
sufficient to keep the plants from freezing 
during the night, but in very cold weather 
they are taken into the living-rooms. In 
summer the open windows are covered with © 
mosquito netting, making the porch an ideal 
outdoor living-room. 
W. Virginia WILL W. STEVENS. 
Protecting and Pruning Fruit 
Trees 
[° IS an easy matter to lose trees from the 
attacks of rabbits, mice, and other 
rodents. ‘There are a great many remedies 
for curing trees that have been girdled, but 
“an ounce of prevention is worth a pound 
of cure.” The danger of girdling is not 
so great as it is supposed to be, for the rodents 
attack only the young trees. When a tree 
becomes old enough to have a hard bark, 
or a bark that is ridged and seamed, the 
rodents will not attack it. Food, in order 
to satisfy them, must be young and tender. 
Apple trees of more than two inches in 
diameter are not likely to suffer. 
Trees are attacked by mice when the 
fields are covered with snow. The mice, 
deprived of other food, seek out a tree 
that has tender bark and will eat as far 
above the snow as they can reach and as 
as far below as they can dig easily. As the 
snow settles it gives the mice a chance to 
eat the bark still further down, and it some- 
times happens that a tree has its bark so 
badly eaten that it is impossible to save it. 
The best possible protection I have 
found to be a screen made of a few laths 
between which. wire has been woven in and 
out. The Jaths should be so small a dis- 
tance apart that the mice cannot get through. 
‘These screens can be made in the house and 
quickly adjusted to the trees. Pick away 
the snow or frozen soil from about the tree 
so that the laths rest on the ground. ‘This 
will keep the mice from getting under the 
screen. 
HOW TO PRUNE 
Pruning so as to maintain a balance 
between fruit production and wood growth 
is of vital importance. If the soil is very 
fertile or especially rich in nitrogen, the 
wood producing functions tend to crowd 
out the fruit producing functions; or if 
the soil is poor, fruit production is encouraged 
at the expense of wood production, and the 
vitality of the tree is affected. This may 
result in premature death. 
Prune regularly and lightly every year 
when growth is dormant, at any time between 
the fall of the year and the bursting of the 
buds, although this work is usually best 
done in the early spring — February or 
March — just before the sap rises. When 
pruning bearing trees, cut out all the dead 
wood, and if the top branches are thickly 
interlaced and form a dense mass through 
which the sun cannot penetrate, thin out 
carefully. When pruning a tree set out 
last spring, thin out all the weak shoots, 
leaving several of the strongest, which must 
be headed back about a third. 
NovEmMBER, 1908 
Too severe pruning frequently gives a 
backset to an old tree. The younger the 
tree the better it will stand being severely 
pruned. If the soil is very rich and the 
water supply good, the trees will stand a 
more severe pruning than if the conditions 
are otherwise. 
Wisconsin 
W. STENSON. 
Fall Workin Orchard and Garden 
LANT shade trees now, using small 
trees, which live better than large 
ones. 
best for the purpose in the South, as it not 
only casts a dense shade but is also the 
most beautiful flowering tree in cultivation. 
Prune fruit trees now and burn all the 
old brush, so as to be sure to destroy all 
possible insects and disease germs. Wrap 
heavy paper around trunks of the trees to 
prevent rabbits from gnawing the bark off 
during the winter. The best location for 
a fruit orchard is on the south side of sloping 
ground as the trees are then protected from 
cold north winds. ‘The fruit from these 
trees will be ripe a few days earlier than 
from trees planted on the north side. 
both fruit and shade trees from a nearby 
nursery so that they will be out of the ground 
as short a time as possible. 
Place all farm tools under shelter, but 
before doing so rub them with kerosene oil 
to prevent rusting. 
When plowing or spading up the garden 
have the chickens in the garden, too, to 
catch the insects that are turned up with 
the soil. The number of insects a dozen 
or more chickens can find and destroy in 
one day is astonishing. 
Blanch collard leaves early in the month, 
directions for which were given in THE 
GARDEN MAGAZINE for June, 1908, page 
29C. 
Plant out hardy roses at any time from 
the first of the month to the first of March, 
although you will have more time to do 
it now than later on. 
Prepare the soil for planting asparagus 
roots, early next month. The soil must be 
well fertilized with cow manure or other 
fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen. 
Harvest the sugar cane very early in the 
month and make it into syrup before heavy 
frost injures it. 
On rainy days thrash or pick off the pea- 
nuts from the vines, saving the best for 
planting. 
Georgia. THOMAS J. STEED. 
The magnolia in my opinion is the 
Order — 
