GARDEN WORK FOR NOVEMBER. 671 



women to manage a garden, believing rather that 

 because one woman made an everlasting muss in the 

 garden of old, it follows that her descendents should 

 keep out of gardens altogether. In the second place, 

 they hate to be "bossed by a woman." Cranky old 

 fellows who think what they do not know about garden- 

 ing is not worth knowing, are apt to get "riled up" if 

 required to depart from ancient methods and follow 

 modern ideas. For such a man to admit that a little 

 woman with her head full of "book farmin' " knows 

 better than he how this or that crop should be man- 

 aged, is out of the question. 



' ' To stand your ground like a man " says one, ' ' and 

 have your work done as you want it, is simply to pose 

 for a shrew before the public ; you will be called a 

 ' hard woman to get along with ' the minute your back 

 is turned, and the man will most likely plant everything 

 on a bias and pocket the balance of seeds besides, in 

 revenge." Such extreme cases are the exception, not 

 the rule, and much of the difficulty may be obviated by 

 (■he exercise of tact. Happy is the woman, in this or 

 any other callin.g, who possesses that precious gift ! 



In behalf of the sterner sex allow me to say, that the 



masculine skull is not so thick or his nature so depraved 

 that he cannot see the tendency of the times in spite of 

 prejudice. The business ability of woman has long 

 been recognized in other callings, and if we read the 

 signs of the day aright, Pat and Joe will soon cease to 

 choose employers according to sex — unless it be to give 

 the preference to the weaker party, as might be properly 

 done. 



"Bein' as you're a woman, I thought I'd do your 

 work first and let the other fellows wait," said one son 

 of the soil, as he presented himself promptly on time in 

 the garden of a lady accustomed to promises and long 

 delays. 



A blissful day will it be for women when all garden- 

 ers feel like this one. There is considerable food for 

 thought, which my lady readers will do well to note, in 

 the answer of a sturdy fellow who was gayly whistling 

 on his way home after a hard day's work in the garden 

 of an energetic woman. 



' ' Well ; John, how do you like your new boss ?" 



' ' First rate ; knows what she wants and how she wants 

 it, and that's more'n half of 'em do ! " 



Vermont. G. A. WoOLSON. 



GARDEN WORK FOR NOVEMBER. 



.HIS MONTH closes up the sea- 

 son out of doors. Parsnips, 

 horse-radish, salsify, dandelion 

 are hardy in those situations 

 where water does not remain 

 on the land during the winter 

 months. Spinach, corn salad, 

 kale, in the latitude of Massa- 

 chusetts, are rather uncertain, yet often remain in- 

 tact. The best protection is pine boughs brought 

 from the woods and scattered thinly over the crop. 

 They keep it better than anything else, but the 

 labor of applying is considerable, and would be 

 quite expensive over a large area. Perfect heads 

 of cabbage buried in pits keep well ; for imperfect 

 heads, those not quite hard, pull them up with the 

 dirt on, and set at once close together in a trench 

 four ' feet wide, just below the surface of the 

 ground ; cover with leaves from the woods, and 

 later, lightly with earth. These will be hard heads 

 in the spring. Last winter I wintered several hun- 

 dred successfully. They should be used at once 

 when uncovered. 



Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, endive, kohl rabi and 

 celeriac will keep for a time in a winter house. Dan- 

 delion and rhubarb roots for forcing should be kept 

 cold after digging till the time when they are wanted. I 

 consider fall as good a time to set rhubarb roots for a 

 new plantation as any. Cut the roots in pieces having 



one or two large eyes each, and set in holes dug at the 

 required distance, which is usually four feet apart each 

 way. Cover the rhubarb crowns with manure ; also 

 asparagus, after burning the old stalks. Bring bean 

 poles under cover, if possible ; set them on and around 

 a central support if nothing better can be done. 



Leeks will keep well in the winter house, and if 

 banked up with the stalks will sometimes winter out of 

 doors. Green scullion onions will sometimes winter 

 successfully in the same way on the spot where they 

 grew. The Egyptian onion is sure to live and make an 

 early growth in spring. Endive, lifted with the dirt on 

 the roots, will keep two months in a cellar. Spinach 

 and kale, cut and brought into the cellar, will keep 

 quite well for two or three weeks. Celery cannot be 

 left in the field after November loth with safety. If 

 not bleached, bring it into winter quarters on some dry 

 day when the ground is not frozen, if possible. I saw 

 300 roots kept till April, in fairly good condition, near 

 a hatch-way in an unheated cellar that was opened 

 daily all winter. The celery was set against the wall, 

 and the earth in which it grew was drawn half way up 

 the stalks With us, all roots left in the ground after 

 November ist are in danger of freezing in, yet they 

 often remain out up to the 20th, Squash with a hard 

 shell will keep better than those without, and should be 

 used last. 



Applying manure in fall is now considered a wise 

 thing to do if the ground is level. 



Lettuce not yet half grown may be carefully lifted, 

 set under glass over hot manure, and fairly good but 



