November, 1912 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
3 2 9 
bilities offered by the unlimited quantities 
of autumn leaves to get a supply of loam 
either for renewing their garden soil or 
for potting their house plants. 
In the suburban sections of every east¬ 
ern city during the months of October and 
November, the fields and sidewalks are lit¬ 
erally covered with a blanket of leaves. 
Strange to say, they are looked upon as a 
nuisance and are carted away to be de¬ 
stroyed by burning. If the leaves were 
gathered in larger or smaller quantities 
according to one’s needs the benefits de¬ 
rived from them would more than repay 
the effort necessary to do the work. 
The first thing to do is to gather your 
leaves. This seems about as bright as say¬ 
ing to a person who has not thought the 
matter out to go out and gather feathers 
on a windy day. There is a number of 
ways to go at the work. If you have trees 
enough on your property the solution is 
easy. Just rake the leaves up and store 
them. If you have to go outside for your 
stock you will find them in every street, 
packed thick in the gutters and littered 
about sidewalks and yards, and there need 
be no fear of meeting objections to your 
removing them. City officials find the 
work of keeping the gutters open no small 
task and their teams are busy removing 
the leaves for days at a time. Any of the 
drivers of these teams will be only too 
happy to unload his leaves at your place 
provided the haul is not prohibitive. An¬ 
other way to get leaves is to pay boys to 
do it. Fifty cents will produce an abun¬ 
dance of leaves. Give the boys bags; po¬ 
tato or sugar bags are just the things. Into 
one of these a lot of leaves can be rammed 
tight and they also prevent much blowing 
away. 
A lot of leaves piled up on a small place 
is about as practical a proposition as hav¬ 
ing an elephant on one’s hands, yet there 
is a place for the leaves. Your object is 
to make them available for plant food. 
This is done by rotting them, changing 
them into leaf mold or humus, and humus 
is plant food. Leaves are reduced to this 
condition in several ways. If you have a 
lot of room pile the leaves and as 
they are being piled throw on loam and 
keep them moist by sprinkling water on 
the pile. When finished throw on more 
loam and prevent blowing by placing 
boards against the pile. If room is a ques¬ 
tion dig a hole in the ground and into it 
pack the leaves, trampling them and soak¬ 
ing with water. Cover with loam. Again, 
even should this means be impossible, you 
can get enough for your plants by using 
barrels. Pack the leaves in hard and 
water. 
It will take from six to twelve months 
properly to decompose the stored leaves, 
according to conditions. When uncov¬ 
ered they should be reduced to a friable 
condition, easily reduced to powder in the 
hands. In such condition they are avail¬ 
able for use. Spade the leaf mold into 
your flower beds liberally. Mix it with 
the loam you use for potting your plants 
and in each case it will better conditions. 
Look for the Name Yale on Locks and Hardware 
T HE YALE IDEA is the highest possible 
security in locks and fastenings, associ¬ 
ated with hardware of character, appropriate 
to its surroundings. 
Yale Door Checks Yale Night-latches 
Yale Door Checks shut the door TheYaleCylinderNight-latchNo.44 
silently,butwithafirm push which isacombination night-latchand dead- 
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four styles and all necessary sizes, form the highest security known. 
Yale Padlocks 
Every type of Yale Padlock 
is made to fill some particu¬ 
lar padlock need and is the 
best for its price and purpose. 
We have a beautiful and really interesting little book, “A Word About Yale Locks and Hardware ’ 1 
It will be of genuine value to you if you contemplate building. Let us send it anyway 
The Yale Towne Mfg. Co. 
Makers of YALE Products 
Local Offices 
Chicago: 74 East Randolph Street 
San Francisco: 134 Rialto Building 
11-2 
General Offices: 9 Murray Street, New York 
Exhibit Rooms: 251 Fifth Avenue, New York 
Canadian Yale £sf Towne Limited, St. Catharines, Ont. 
When in doubt about anything pertaining to the 
kennel, or about poultry, write our Service Depart¬ 
ment for information. We can probably help you. 
HOUSE & GARDEN Union Square, New York 
S AVE YOUR TREES and maintain the value 
of your place. We have the skill and experience to 
care for them properly. 
Appleton & Sewall Co., Inc., 160 Fifth Ave., N. Y. 
DO BUGS AND WORMS BOTHER? 
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OUR “The WHY and HOW of ORCHARD SUCCESS” 
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SEND FOR IT TODAY. ONLY FIFTY CENTS. POSTAGE PAID 
Our complete illustrated catalogue of Spraying Machinery is FREE for the asking, and a postal will bring you in 
touch with our nearest agent. 
FIELD FORCE PUMP COMPANY 601 Grand Avenue, Elmira, N. Y. 
In writing to advertisers please mention House and Garden. 
