DICTIONARY OF SEASONABLE GARDEN WORK. 



625 



Then beat them down firmly and smoothly. Get the 

 borders in shape for another season, planting them freely 

 with spring-flowering bulbs. Shrubs and lawn-trees 

 may now be planted. Rake leaves off the lawn and 

 other places, and store them for bedding-purposes, 

 mulches, or winter protection. Many of the flowers 

 now threatened by frost can be saved for several weeks 

 longer by covering them lightly during the first few 

 frosty nights. Be sure that the sheets, blankets, etc., 

 used for this purpose do not touch the plants they are 

 intended to protect, otherwise they will not save them. 



Lilies. — Reset, if desired, at the end of this month, 

 planting the bulbs six or more inches deep. Mulch with 

 leaves or other litter, 



Alignoui-ltc. — For early spring flowers sow seed in 

 pots of light, rich soil, and keep them in a warm place. 



Xarcissus. — Plant at once, like other hardy bulbs. 



Oleanders should go into winter-quarters. A dry, 

 partially-lighted cellar is a good place for them. 



Orchids, as a rule, now need less water and more air. 



Oxalis. — Place the plants in a light, sunny position and 

 water them freely. 



Pafisies. — Transplant from the seed-beds all seedlings 

 recently started as soon as the second leaves appear, and 

 set them in other well-prepared beds, two or three inches 

 apart each way. Water them carefully. 



Petunias. — Keep them near the glass, water them 

 carefully, and shift as needed. 



Poinsellias should be given a temperature of 60 or 

 more degrees, and liquid manure once or twice a week. 



Pomegranates. — Place them in a dry, light cellar, or 

 in a glass-covered pit for wintering. 



Requisites. — Haul sand, soil, manure, etc., that it 

 may be on hand when needed. 



Relinosforas and some other evergreens are liable to 

 be injured by heavy snowfalls in winter. Tie them up 

 by winding a string, fastened near the bottom, around the 

 branches spirally, in such a way as to draw the leaves 

 close together, and leave them in this shape until spring. 



Koses. — Plants to be used for cut-flowers should be 

 kept in a temperature of from 50 to 65 degrees at night, 

 and syringed twice a day in bright weather. Bring into 

 safe quarters the potted roses that were summered out- 

 doors. 



Shrubs for Porcijig. — Spiraeas, lilacs, daphnes, wei- 

 gelias, deutzias, flowering-plums, kalmias, and similar 

 shrubs wanted for forcing purposes may be potted by 

 October 30, 



Tigridias. — Lift the bulbs after sharp frost. Dry 

 and place them in paper bags. Store them in a dry 

 room, out of the reach of frost. 



Tuberoses. — Lift plants that are still in bud or bloom- 

 ing, place them in pots and bring them into the house to 

 flower there. 



I'iolels. — Keep runners and weak shoots pinched off 

 closely. Lift and pot plants for forcing by October 30. 



Give them an airy place for another month or more, all 

 the air possible during the winter, and pick off all decay- 

 ing leaves. 



II. GARDENING FOR TABLE AND MARKET. 



.Ipfles. — The crop for this year will probably be 

 light, and it will pay people who have apples to sell to 

 take extra care in picking and packing them. Use only 

 clean barrels and sort the fruit well, packing each grade 

 separately and marking it accordingly. Let no good 

 fruit go to waste. Dry what can not be marketed other- 

 wise. For winter-storage pick winter fruit when fully 

 mature, handle it as carefully as you would eggs, leave it 

 outdoors as long as safe from freezing, then put it in a 

 cool cellar. For home use in spring try packing some 

 fine apples in barrels or boxes of dry oats or cork-dust. 

 Pine sawdust, if used as packing material, imparts a bad 

 flavor to the fruit. 



.Asparagus. — Old plantations should now be cleaned 

 off, and the tops removed at once. This is a good time 

 to apply manure to the beds. For young plantations, 

 which may be started now as well as in spring, select a 

 warm soil and sunny exposure, and give each plant plenty 

 of room. We like to set them in rows five feet apart 

 and at least two feet apart in the rows. 



Beets. — Harvest them before severe freezing, cut off 

 the tops about an inch above the crowns, and store the 

 roots in pits or in sand in the cellar. If left without 

 covering beets will soon shrivel and become worthless. 



Blackberries. — For propagation by means of root- 

 cuttings, some time in this month select roots about as 

 thick as a lead pencil, cut them into pieces two inches 

 long, pack them in sand in flat boxes, and bury the boxes 

 in some well-drained spot outdoors. In spring sow the 

 roots rather thickly in furrows two inches deep and four 

 feet apart. Keep the rows free from weeds. 



Budded yyees. — Examine them carefully, and remove 

 the bandages before they can do injury. 



Cabbages. — The heads that will winter best are those 

 just fully formed, not the over-ripe ones. For family 

 use, bury an empty barrel in a well-drained spot, and 

 fill it with good heads. Place a lot of dry leaves on top, 

 and cover the barrel so that it will shed rain. Or, pile 

 some cabbages in a corner of the barn floor and cover 

 them with enough straw to prevent solid freezing. 



Ccd^bage-Plants started from seed last month, prick 

 out in coldframes, putting about 600 to the ordinary sash 

 and setting them quite deep. 



Cauli/loiccrs. — Treat plants as advised for cabbage- 

 plants. 



Celery. — Storing for winter may begin toward the last 

 of the month. Plants for this purpose need handling 

 only, not earthing up like those blanched for immediate 

 use. A frost-proof cellar with a damp bottom is a good 

 place to store celery in winter. Leave some soil adher- 

 ing to the roots, and place the plants upright upon the 

 floor. Small lots of plants may be stored upon a layer 

 of damp soil in boxes. Keep the roots moist and the 

 tops dry. 



