T here will be many good days 
for outside work this month — ^ 
a little chilly perhaps, and the 
sun gets behind the horizon at an 
early hour; but if 3 0U are on the job, there 
are many tasks which you can get cleaned up 
which you will be mighty glad to think of 
as done and out of the way when real 
winter sets in. If your garden time is 
limited to a few hours a day, try to decide 
in advance just what you will accomplish 
each afternoon. Have ready }'our tools 
or whatever you will need, and get at the specific job just as early as 
possible. If you do this, you will be surprised at the amount of work 
you can accomplish in the odd moments which would be frittered away 
to little purpose if you worked without a plan. 
' I 'HE most important work for November will be putting the garden 
to bed for the winter. It is not as simple a proposition as it may 
seem at first, because the different parts of it have to be covered with 
different kinds and thicknesses of bedclothes, put on at different times. 
P . -R Knowing what kinds of mulching to use, and when 
For W^ter ^ **■’ almost as important a part of 
the garden routine as a knowledge of seed sowing or 
the use of fertilizers. 
In the first place, a great many people have a misconception of the 
purpose of mulching. At a seasonable time of the year they read 
instructions to mulch this or that on the approach of freezing weather; 
and naturally it seems that the mulch 
is to protect the plant or plants 
covered from severe weather. 
Almost always the purpose of the 
mulch is not to keep the plants from 
freezing, but to keep them frozen. 
.Alternate freezing and thawing of 
the ground will tend to loosen the 
plant in the soil, or, even, in extreme 
cases, to “heave” it out. Or the 
roots or the stem of the plant may be 
injured or split from the same cause. 
Or a spell of warm weather, 
especially, in the spring, may start 
the sap flowing or even begin to 
swell the buds prematurely, with the 
result that the cold weather which 
would not have hurt them at all if 
entirely dormant, may be fatal. In 
the case of such things as may have 
their foliage or flower buds injured 
by late frost after they have begun 
active growth, it is important to 
hold them back m the spring so that 
an extra early start in March or April may not be the cause of serious 
injury later. 
In other cases the mulching or protection is given not to shield the 
plants from frost or cold, but from the sun. In still other cases, the 
protection is to be neither from cold nor sun, but from the wind. Pro- 
tection from wind is of the greatest importance with such things as are 
liable to be winter-killed. 
' I 'O PROTECT any parts of your garden or new plantings from injury 
by winter winds where nothing as permanent or as unsightly as 
a high board fence is wanted, a temporary windbreak may be con- 
structed of wires and evergreen boughs. Such a wind shield will be 
not at all unsightly and is very effective. Put 
up a number of stout posts, such as ordinary 
wood fence posts, where the “break” is desired. 
I he two end posts should be braced from the inside with two-by-fours 
or good stout saplings, ten or twelve feet long. On the posts stretch 
several strands of strong, plain, twisted wire. These should be about 
ten inches apart, and need not be stretched as tight as if on a regular 
fence, because the boughs are to be stuck down through them, the 
lower ends, which are pointed, being shoved into the ground for several 
inches. .Start at one end, and as each bough is put into place crowd 
it over against those already in. In this way a very neat, tight, and 
cheap construction may be made that can be removed in a few minutes 
in the spring. A little soil thrown up against the bottoms of tlie boughs 
on either side will freeze and help to make the whole a solid and effective 
shelter. 
A NOTHING which is light, dry and not likely to pack or to mat 
-‘^down into a solid mass when it gets wet, will do for your winter 
mulching — bog hay, straw, leaves, strawy manure or light, spongy 
manure that is thoroughly “spent.” In fact, if you have much winter 
HE MONTH 
REMINDER 
NOVEMBER, 1916 
For reckoning dates, the latitude of New York City is generally 
taken as a standard. In applying the directions to other 
localities, allow six days’ difference for every 
hundred miles of latitude 
*S 
poses 
to be 
had 
Mulching 
Materials 
Plant this Month 
^Vegetables, inside: Lettuce, radish, beans, tomatoes, 
cucumbers, melons, beets, carrots, spinach. 
Outside: “Dormant” plantings of hardier crops for 
spring growth (see October Reminder). 
^Flowers, inside: Sucession plantings for winter bloom 
of annuals and perennials, such as Gypsophila, An- 
tirrhinum, Stocks, Mignonette, Sweet Peas, etc. 
^Bulbs, outside: Late arrivals of hardy Lilies and bulbs, 
as soon as possible. 
Inside: Sucession plantings of Gladiolus, Spanish Iris, 
Freesias, Lily-of-the-valley pips, and tender bulbs; 
also of hardy bulbs, such as Tulips, Hyacinths, Nar- 
cissus, Crocus. 
^Shrubs: outside: Hardy evergreens, or Box in small 
sizes, in window boxes; and dormant stock outside. 
protecting to do, you are likely to 
have use for all of them, because each 
one is better for some particular pur- 
than any of the others. Leaves are 
for the gathering, and in most 
localities you can get a 
combination load of ma- 
nure, straw, and bog 
hay for a small sum. 
A mistake very commonly made is to 
mulch before there is any need for it. 
After the first long continued real cold snap, 
get the mulching on, and then if there is a “relapse” to warm weather 
the mulch will serve the purpose for which it was used — to prevent 
alternate thawing and freezing of the soil. For the same reasons, how- 
ever, It IS important to get the mulch on as soon as possible after the 
first real winter weather and, therefore, it should be on hand and con- 
venient for immediate use. 
ITTYBRID Perpetuals will be killed back somewhat, and Hybrid 
-*--*-Teas to a great extent during the winter; mulching them is one 
of the important factors in their successful culture. The longest of the 
The Rose Bed canes produced through summer and fall 
may be cut back from a third to a half, to 
prevent their being whipped about by winter winds and possibly 
loosening the plants at the roots. It is a good plan to “hill up” for 
several inches around each plant before putting on the mulch. This 
not only makes an excellent protection for the roots but prevents water 
from standing or settling around the 
stems and in the case of an extra- 
ordinarily severe winter will save 
many of the tenderer sorts from being 
killed outright. A convenient and 
effective way of mulching Roses in 
beds or long borders is to first sur- 
round the bed with chicken wire 
eight or twelve inches high, supported 
by short sticks driven into the ground. 
The old bed may then be filled in 
with leaves, packed in between the 
plants and held in place at the outer 
edges by the wire. Even compara- 
tively tender varieties mulched in 
this way will come through severe 
winters safely. A few pieces of 
board or evergreen boughs laid over 
the leaves will keep them from blow- 
ing about until they settle down 
after the first few heavy rains or 
snows, when they will stay by them- 
selves. 
Climbing Roses present a more diffi- 
cult problem. Most of the varieties used in the middle and northern 
states are of the hardy types, but winter killing is not uncommon. 
This is due to the fact that they are almost invariably planted in a 
sheltered sunny position against the house, where they have the least 
possible chance to freeze and stay frozen — every warm spell will thaw 
out the canes if not the soil about the roots, and in the spring they will 
start days, if not weeks, before they should. Thorough mulching of 
hardy Roses of the climbing type is, therefore, desirable. In very 
severe climates, where the canes have to be protected from freezing, 
they may be laid down, being careful not to bend them too sharply 
so as to crack the bark near the base. The canes are pegged down 
and covered with straw, leaves or evergreen boughs. 
How To Make 
A Wind Shield 
P^OR 
Strawberries, Rasp- 
berries, Cane 
Fruits 
strawberries clean bog or marsh hay is the best thing to use. 
It will “stay put” through the winter, and makes a dry clean, 
springy mulch for the bearing season. Spread it several inches deep 
over the whole bed, making it a little deeper over the rows if there is 
danger of winter killing. If the ground is not 
frozen, an application of bone meal and wood 
ashes raked into the bed after this season’s growth 
has ceased will be helpful in giving them a strong, 
quick start in the spring without the necessity of disturbing the m.ulch. 
If the winter mulch is to be removed in the spring to allow cultivation, 
the top dressing can be given then. 
The rankest of the new canes on cane fruits should be cut back con- 
siderably, to forestall injury from high winds. A windbreak close to 
the patch on the north or northwest side, will be a great protection. 
In very severe climates, the canes may be bent over, just before the 
ground freezes, and laid nearly flat. They are held in place by soil 
or sods on the tips, and then covered with soil mulched. The 
.soil must be put on as late, and removed as early in the spring, as 
possible. 
UO 
