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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



November, 1907 



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This is where we manufacture our Monarch Porcelain Ware 

 Trenton, New Jersey 



Uniformity Design 



Architects DO appreciate the fact that by specifying 

 Wolff Plumbing Material exclusively they are 

 protecting their clients from the annoying con- 

 fusion of design and mechanical standards that 

 is sure to creep into even the most carefully 

 selected line of "assembled" plumbing equipment. 



L. WOLFF 



MANUFACTURING 

 COMPANY 



Established 1855 



Manufacturers of PLUMBING GOODS EXCLUSIVELY 



The Only Complete Line Made by Any One Firm 



Showrooms: 91 Dearborn St. 

 Denver CHICAGO Trenton 



Select 



Paints 



as you select their colors 



Oxide of Zinc 

 Paints 



are beautiful and lasting 

 THE NEW JERSEY ZINC CO., "nI^^^ 



We do not grind zinc in oil. A list of manufacturers of zinc paints sent on application. 



GARDEN WORK FOR 

 NOVEMBER 



By Eben E. Rexford 



ALL tender shrubs should be given pro- 

 tection now. It is not safe to put off 

 the work longer, for freezing weather 

 n-ay come at any time. Get ready for the 

 undertaking the day before, if possible, by 

 having all needed material brought together 

 upon the grounds. Choose a pleasant day for 

 the task, if possible. One can accomplish as 

 much again in a warm, bright day as he can 

 in a cold, disagreeable one, to say nothing 

 about the superior quality of the work done. 

 Before laying down any shrub, cut away all 

 weak branches, and all superfluous ones. There 

 is no good reason for attempting to carry 

 these through the winter. They will have 

 to be got rid of in the spring, and at this sea- 

 son it is wisdom to do all that can be done to 

 save work later on. 



If a bush seems stiff and unyielding when 

 you attempt to bend it over, remove a few 

 spadefuls of soil from close to its roots, on the 

 side toward which it is to be bent. This will 

 generally allow you to lay it down without 

 breaking it. 



Having spread it out on the ground, lay 

 some sticks across its branches to hold it down 

 until your covering can be put in place. Cover 

 it with dry soil if possible. Wet soil often 

 does harm. If you prefer to use leaves, make 

 a sort of pen of boards five or six inches deep 

 about the plant. Press the leaves down firmly 

 and cover them with something that will shed 

 rain. If soil is used as a covering, let it be 

 four or five inches deep, and roof it over well. 

 Water must be kept out if we would have 

 our plants winter safely. 



Pansies do not require much protection. 

 Scatter an inch or two of leaves over them, 

 and put on some evergreen branches to hold 

 them in place. Pieces of wire netting can be 

 used if branches are not obtainable. 



Hollyhocks seldom winter well unless water 

 can be prevented from getting at their crowns. 

 Their foliage is soft and thick, and absorbs 

 moisture like a sponge. Decay soon sets in, 

 and this diseased condition is soon communi- 

 cated to the crown of the plant. Few plants 

 survive after this takes place. I invert a box 

 over each plant, filling in about it with leaves 

 and banking up outside with soil. In this 

 way I succeed in wintering nearly all plants 

 safely. Plants not so protected generally come 

 through in spring looking well, but before 

 long they show signs of disease, and not one in 

 a dozen survives. 



Cover the bulb-beds with eight or ten 

 inches of coarse litter from the barnyard. 

 This will prevent heaving of the soil under 

 the action of frost. In an unprotected bed 

 bulbs will often be torn loose and greatly in- 

 jured, if not ruined. 



Go over the border and set stakes to mark 

 the location of all plants that die away wholly 

 in winter. If this is not done, they may be 

 trampled to death in spring. 



If any plants or shrubs have proved in- 

 ferior, root them up and consign them to the 

 rubbish-heap. We have so many excellent 

 varieties nowadays that one can not aHEord 

 to grow anything that does not have real 

 merit. It is just as easy to grow a good thing- 

 as a poor one. 



Mulch the peonies well. These plants are 

 entirely hardy anywhere at the north, but 

 they do enough better, when protected, to 

 make it well worth one's while to give them 

 this attention. All hardy plants are benefitted 

 by covering, because it enables them to get 

 through the winter without using up all their 

 vitality in fighting against the cold. 



The lawn will be greatly benefitted by giv- 



