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"Come with me, then, behind the scenes, where we are concerned only with the joys of plant increase and rejuvenation" 



The Reminder is to "suggest" what may be done during the next few weeks. Details of 

 how to do each item are given in the current or the backissues of The Garden Magazine— it 

 is manifestly impossible to give all the details of all the work in any one issue of a magazine. 

 References to back numbers may be looked up in the index to each completed volume (sent 

 gratis on request), and the Service Department will also be glad to cite references to any spe- 

 cial topic if asked by mail. 



When referring to the time for out-door work of any sort New York City at sea level in a nor- 

 mal season is taken as standard ; but at best dates can only be approximate. Roughly, the sea- 

 son advances northward fifteen miles a day. Thus Albany, which is one hundred and fifty 

 miles from New York, would be about ten days later, and Philadelphia, which is ninety miles 

 southwest about a week earlier. Also allow four days for each one degree of latitude, for 

 each five degrees of longitude, and for each four hundred feet of altitude. 



DECEMBER — THE MONTH OF RETROSPECT 



IHERE isn't much actual gar- 

 ® dening to be done these days 

 in the North, except in the 

 greenhouse, but there are a 

 few odd jobs that may pos- 

 sibly be overlooked, for instance: 



Moving of trees and shrubs can be kept 

 up so longastheground remains "open." 



Attend to the various mulches — are 

 they heavy enough? packed down and 

 frozen solid? Sometimes it pays to lay 

 a few boards over a light straw mulch to 

 prevent it being blown away. If snow 

 comes before the ground freezes hard 

 enough to justify heavy mulching, don't 

 worry; Nature has done the mulching 

 job herself, but be ready to place a 

 little mulch when the snow goes. 



From the frames where you stowed 

 them late in the fall, bring into the 



greenhouse or cellar a few rhubarb and asparagus roots, mulch with 

 well-rotted manure, gradually thaw out, water, and start into growth, 

 and you will be rewarded with a real delicacy. 



Lift a few hardy perennial seedlings now in hotbeds, pot them, 

 keep in a cool place till February or early March; and then force 

 along for bloom before any of the outdoor flowers are out. 



Keeping up the Supplies 



Examine the root cellar, the onion sacks, the pump- 

 kins and squash — everything, in fact, so that if any 

 decay starts, you can get rid of the specimen. 



The canned and preserved goods should also be 

 looked at now and then; bubbles in the jars are a 

 sign of trouble. 



Plants that are Indoors 



This is a critical period in the greenhouse cycle. There is 

 a minimum of light, and, because the cold is increasingout- 

 side, there is likely to be a maximum of heat. Skill is re- 

 j^ quired to prevent trouble from such complications. See 

 to it: (i) that the temperature goes no higher than is 

 essential to the good growth of the plants; (2) that the night tem- 

 perature is sufficiently lower to make a distinct variation. 



It is not a constant, uniform, high temperature that is wanted in a 

 greenhouse; but nearly as possible natural conditions, in which sud- 

 den cold spells outside are accompanied by corresponding, though 

 much more moderate, drops in temperature under glass. 



In watering under glass, plan so that the foliage will be dry by 

 njght, and don't let the soil get so wet as to be muddy, at any time. 



In sowing seeds of vegetables in the greenhouse, for forcing, plant 

 much shallower than is advised for outdoor operations because the 

 soil and air can both be kept moist and as the soil is presumably rich 

 the roots do not have to forage deep for food. 



Taking the Count 



1. Look back over the past season and 

 consider both failures and successes; then 

 to turn each experience into capital for next 

 year. 



2. Don't do all your retrospecting indoors, 

 even though the ground be covered with 

 snow. 



3. Read garden books; and run through 

 the back numbers of the magazines to 

 refresh your memory. 



4. Give someone else the benefit of your 

 experiences; write to the Editor about 

 your results and perhaps send a photo- 

 graph. 



Window-box plants, not having the 

 benefit of controlled atmospheric con- 

 ditions that obtain in the greenhouse, 

 need special care. Water them often, 

 not too heavily at once; give them all 

 the fresh (not cold) air and sunshine 

 they need. 



Keep the house plants well fed. A 

 pinch of bone meal — the finer the better 

 — and a very little diluted ammonia are 

 good stimulants, the first supplying 

 phosphoric acid and potash, the second, 

 nitrogen. 



Insects in Winter 



Go over your old apple 

 and pear trees and see if 

 you can discover znycod- 

 lin moth cocoons under 

 loose bits of bark. Spread 

 burlap or an old sheet around the tree and give it a light scraping or a 

 stiff currying with a wire scrubbing brush. Then burn all the debris. 

 In the brown tail and gypsy moth sections look for the winter 

 stages of these pests. The former lives over winter in nests not un- 

 like small reproductions of the tent caterpillar tents, attached to the 

 tips of all kinds of trees. Prune off and burn. 



The gypsy moth tracks are small, grayish, oval egg masses, per- 

 haps an inch long, plastered on trunks of trees, the under side of 

 stones and bits of wood, in old tin cans, on the sides of houses, etc. 

 Paint each one of these masses with a daub of creosote. 



Tools and Equipment 



Keep at the pruning and spraying jobs. It is easiest 

 to finish the spraying at one operation; but the pruning 

 can well be done a tree at a time. 



If any pear trees show the blasted, blackened, with- 

 ered appearance of fire blight, dig them up and burn. 

 Study the whole tool question carefully. There are many modern 

 tool devices that are wonderful labor savers. 



Looking Backward and Forward 



Next month plans for next year's garden will be in 



actual preparation so before this month closes have 



a heart-to-heart chat with yourself, about the 



past season's work and its results. For instance: 



Was the garden a success? — Did it satisfy? Did 



it give joy to others? Did it make money? Did it win prizes? 



Did it reduce living expenses? Did it teach me anything really worth 



while? 



Did I make the most of my garden? — Did I use, can, dry, or utilize 



all vegetables and fruits, and share the treasures of the flower garden? 



Did I learn or discover anything new and worthy? — Have I told 



"The Garden Neighbors," about it with a view to helping others? 



190 



