The Garden Magazine 



Vol. XIV — No. 3 



Published Monthly 



OCTOBER, 1911 



j One Dollar Fifty Cents a Year 

 ' Fifteen Cents a copy 



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£tt& 



[For the purpose of reckoning dates, New York is 

 generally taken as a standard. Allow six days' difference 

 for every hundred miles of latitude.] 



The Big Thing Now 



IF YOU live in the East, the South, or 

 the Far West, fall planting is one of 

 your greatest opportunities. In the Middle 

 West, don't attempt it. The winter is 

 too dry and too open, and the winds are 

 too strong and too severe. 



The article on page 106 is the first 

 published report of actual experiments 

 into the subject. Read it carefully to 

 get the principles and theory of the subject, 

 then apply them and the following practical 

 hints to your own conditions: 



What You Can Plant Now 



ALL deciduous ornamental trees except 

 thin-barked kinds, like the birch, 

 and spongy-rooted kinds, like the tulip tree, 

 magnolias, and the sweet-gum. 



2. Ornamental conifers, if they have a 

 good ball of earth about the roots. 



3. Broad-leaved evergreens if they have 

 a good ball of earth, and if the leaves are 

 stripped off before planting. Get local ad- 

 vice first. 



4. All hardy shrubs, especially those 

 that flower in the spring. 



5. All hardy Hybrid Perpetual roses, 

 ramblers, rugosas, and Wichuraianas, but 

 not the Teas and their hybrids or any varieties 

 known to be tender. 



6. All perennial and woody vines. 



7. All hardy perennials, such as del- 

 phmium, hollyhock, achillea, golden-glow, 

 iris, etc. 



8. Dutch bulbs for outdoor blooming, 

 before frost. 



9. All Cape bulbs for winter flowers 

 indoors, in pots or pans. 



10. All lilies: for instance, superbum, 

 auratum, longifolium, speciosum, Cana- 

 dense, etc. 



1 1 . All tree fruits except the stone species, 

 i. e., peach, plum, apricot, cherry. 



12. All small fruits except in some cases 

 the strawberry. 



13. Hardy perennial vegetables, such 

 as asparagus, horse radish and rhubarb. 



14. Lettuce, cabbage, mustard and 

 parsley seedlings in frames for winter use. 



15. Mushrooms. Seepage 115. 



Take These Precautions 



LJEAVY soil is not well suited to the 

 *■ ■* fall plantation of any but the very 

 hardiest sorts. If yours is a stiff clay 

 better work and prepare it thoroughly 

 than try to plant till next spring. 



In planting or transplanting always locate 

 the plant according to its nature: upland 

 species in the dryer soil, lowland sorts in 

 the damper places; forest trees in groups, 

 solitary growers in isolated positions. 



Prune back hardwood trees from 60 to 

 80 per cent; bush fruits to a few strong 

 shoots and these to three feet; vines right 

 to the ground; all broken and crushed 

 roots to clean surfaces. 



Mulch everything you plant in the fall; 

 but not until the ground freezes. If you 

 know your trees have come from a crowded 

 nursery row, wrap their trunks with straw. 



In buying, try to go to the nursery and 

 pick out your plants. 



Prepare for Winter 



THERE is no more disheartening sight 

 than a vegetable garden in October 

 with vines heavily laden, but killed and 

 blackened by the frost; with root crops 

 standing in their rows, probably to remain 

 there and rot over winter. It is not only 

 ugly to see, but it is symbolic of inexcus- 

 able wastefulness and poor gardening. 



Not a crop should be allowed to go to 

 waste. Pull, don't cut, the cabbages, 

 stand them upside down, close together 

 in a trench or coldframe, and cover them 

 closely with light soil or sand. 



Bury beets, turnips, carrots, salsify 

 and parsnips in a similar pit and be sure 

 to sift the soil between them. Parsnips 

 and oyster plant (salsify) will improve in 

 flavor if you leave them where they grew 

 until hit by the frost. 



In the small garden, cover the celery 

 rows with inverted V-shaped troughs, and 

 then in turn with leaves and Utter to keep 

 out the frost. The early crop may be 

 left uncovered during the days if protected 

 with straw at night. 



Young corn is almost sure to ripen if the 

 entire stalks are cut and stacked. Pick 



105 



all the green tomatoes; they make delicious 

 pickle and fried are the equal of eggplant. 

 If you are not sure how to can and pre- 

 serve the surplus from your garden and 

 orchard, write to the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture at Washington for Farmers' Bulletins 

 203 and 359. 



Bugs Don't Pay Rent 



THEREFORE, when your crops are 

 harvested, clean up thoroughly. 

 Every bit of trash about the place offers 

 an inducement to the insects and disease 

 spores to winter there. Cut the asparagus 

 tops now, and add them to the bonfire of 

 dead vines and other rubbish. 



When the ground is really clear, do one 

 of three things, according to the nature 

 of your soil: 



1. On level land and soil in good con- 

 dition, spread manure and leave it until 

 next spring. 



2. Heavy soil newly cultivated should be 

 trenched or ridged and left to the action 

 of the frost. 



3. On soil needing humus, or liable to 

 be washed down hill, sow rye to be plowed 

 under next spring. 



Whatever else you do, you should also 

 add some lime. It may kill some cutworms 

 and it will certainly correct any possible 

 acidity of the soil and tend to prevent club 

 root in crops of cabbage, turnip, etc. 



Clear out those wasteful and insect- 

 harboring hedgerows. Have fences only 

 where absolutely necessary, and let them 

 be as simple, and take up as little room, as 

 possible. 



Grub up rough, unused land with a grub- 

 hoe or mattock. It will cost you about 

 ninety cents and will prove one of the most 

 valuable tools on the place. 



This is the season for doing odd construc- 

 tion jobs around the place. Concrete is 

 the best of all materials for making troughs, 

 steps, paths, tanks, clothes, fence and 

 hitching posts. 



Two More Suggestions 



WHEN the hydrangeas in tubs outdoors 

 are well hardened (about the end 

 of the month) trim them back and put 

 them in a dry cool cellar for the winter. 



Did you ever read Thoreau's essay about 

 eating apples? If not, do so right away. 

 And if you want to have apples to enjoy 

 as he enjoyed them all winter, dig a hole, 

 line it with clean, dry straw, put in the 

 apples (sound ones, mind), then cover them 

 with more straw and earth, leaving a thin 

 place through which you can reach in. 



