in raised letters and before the garden is covered each, plant 
is marked. It seems strange, that with the frequent and time- 
honored advice of Garden Magazines on the subject of labels, 
we should so persistently ignore it! "When I read — ■" "Winter 
"Work— labels" I am always reminded of an old Triangle Song, 
(that applied, if I remember, to Patent Medicines). "Freshen 
up the labels, it 's the thing you ought to do ! Give them some- 
thing old and make them think it's something new. Renovate, 
rejuvenate, and incidentally change the date; but don't forget, 
to freshen up the labels!" 
And now for the general blanket to keep the garden warm. Covering 
Opinions differ as to its necessity and the exposure must be 
considered. If we could count on a heavy, unchanging blanket 
of snow, I would cover only my half hardy treasures. But with 
the climatic conditions in this region I believe I cover more to 
keep the beds frozen than for anything else. We wait, of course, 
until the ground is well frozen, so the carting will not cut it up, 
and so the busy little field mice will have gone to board with our 
more fore-handed neighbors. Salt hay from some of the Jersey 
dealers is a. clean, cheap and excellent cover, making a valuable 
addition to the compost heap when raked off in the spring or 
stored for use again if clean. There is nothing, however, to 
dig into the ground. Horse manure with plenty of straw that 
will keep it from being too heavy and cause damping off, is an 
excellent cover. The objection to the seed in stable manure is 
more than offset by the value of the nitrogen and humus derived 
when the manure is worked into the bed in the spring. Cow 
manure contains too much water for a cover ; its value is in the 
body of the bed. The same thing applies to pig manure. Leaves 
are a most excellent covering, particularly in a small garden. 
They should be weighted with branches so they will not blow 
away. Never use Oak leaves, as they pack. One must naturally 
discriminate in the things to be covered and the way they are 
covered. Foxgloves, Anchusas and Sweet Williams are warm 
blooded, and Galliardias cannot endure a manure mulch. These 
should be allowed a breathing space, lest they damp off. 
Candidums will rot if too heavily covered. Salt hay or leaves 
should be used to cover Iris, not manure. Hollyhocks are better 
without any covering. Pansies and Violas need protection, as 
do. Anemones, Forget-me-nots and Dianthus. For early spring 
bloom the Pansies should go into the frame so that they will 
start blooming early, a rule that applies to Bellis Perennis, Prim- 
roses, Campanulas and Foxgloves. In regard to the latter I am 
convinced that if you can move them from the seed bed to the 
borders so that they are established during the fall you will 
have taller spires and better bloom. It is almost impossible to 
catch them at the right moment in the spring so that they will 
not check back. 
In our comprehensive housekeeping we must not forget that Lawns 
23 
