the lawn is better for a light top-dressing of good soil late in the 
fall or early winter. If your soil be heavy use sand, if light a 
heavier substance. Some advocate mushroom soil, but it must 
be borne in mind that it has no fertilizing value and much 
refuse to be raked up in the spring. Re-seeding is better done 
in the spring. Many good lawns have been ruined by cutting 
up to the last minute, a practice which is often advocated. 
Box New Box Bushes should have a covering to keep off the warm 
Evergreens February sun that plays such havoc with the cold green leaves. 
In this climate we suffer more from freezing and thawing than 
from the steady cold. If you have large Box pieces planted 
where the wind strikes them, a screen of boards or burlap on a 
frame or Southern canes is necessary. Ornamental Evergreens 
go through their first winter better if they are sheltered. Four 
stout poles and some burlap is enough. It is a bother, but if 
you have planted formal trees that "match," it is less expensive 
than replacing one in the spring. In covering both the Box and 
Evergreens you must be sure to allow sufficient space for the 
circulation of air, and newly planted stock should have a 
generous mulch of manure on their roots — if the fall is dry, 
water them freely. 
Old Trees Valuable old trees should have special attention — a thick 
covering of cow manure beyond their furthermost reach is 
excellent; let it lie all winter, dig it in carefully in the spring 
and re-seed the space. If you cannot do that, make a circle of 
holes eighteen inches to two feet deep, several feet from the 
base, with a crowbar. Fill with a generous quantity of bone • 
meal, then good soil — wash down with water and next day fill 
solidly with soil. Two feet from the first circle "stagger" 
another circle and so' on out to the extreme radius of the 
branches. It will bring about wonderful results. 
Rhododendrons and Laurel, which are better for a constant 
leaf mulch, should have the leaves piled higher, and if it is their 
first winter, an additional mulch of six inches of well-rotted 
stable manure over the leaves. Oak leaves can be used in this 
case. I might here add the caution that Rhododendrons destest 
lime — but they like Epsom Salts! 
Shrubs that bloom very early are best moved in the fall 
after the leaves are off. Be sure that they are firmly placed so 
as not to rock in the wind and are given a good mulch of manure. 
Go over your Ivy and other clinging vines and cut 
all the loose ends off so that the winds and ice will not drag them 
further from the wall. They could be tacked to the wall but 
they usually freeze anyway. A shovelful of manure at the root 
of each vine is a friendly act. 
Pools The Pool with the Lilies and gold fish cause us the least 
thought in return for the pleasure we derive from them. The 
ordinary white, pink and yellow Lilies can be left in their tubs 
where they are. and the tender kinds like Zanzabarensis azurea, 
24 
Rhododen- 
dron and 
Laurel 
Shrubs 
Vines 
