Conducted by The Editor will be glad to answer subscribers’ queries pertaining to individual problems connected with the 
F. F. Rockwell gardens and grounds. When a direct personal reply is desired please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope 
Work Outdoors 
UTDOORS there is little to be done 
at this time — but do that little well, 
for it is important. 
First of all, if the ground is not yet 
frozen hard, be sure to get out any pars¬ 
nips or oyster-plants you are likely to need 
before spring; otherwise you are likely to 
go without them during the winter, and 
have more than you can use when the 
ground does thaw out, and you have to 
get them out of the way for your spring 
planting. 
Then there is the winter mulching to 
look after — the mulching that has been 
waiting for frozen ground; for we may 
repeat here the fact, which most people 
do not comprehend, that the mulch is not 
to prevent freezing, but to keep the ground 
frozen, so there will be no alternate freez¬ 
ing and thawing, which is what does the 
damage. Strawberries require a mulch¬ 
ing with some material like marsh hay, 
which can be left on in the spring — simply 
pushing it aside to let the plants through. 
Roses, or any of the perennials which are 
not absolutely hardy, or have been re¬ 
cently set out or transplanted, may be cov¬ 
ered with dry leaves or dry manure, held 
in place along the edge if required by a 
strip of narrow chicken wire, supported 
on small stakes. This will prevent the 
leaves or litter from blowing about, and 
keep the general appearance of the place 
much neater. 
A way to keep house plants tidy is to train 
them on inconspicuous frames 
Winter Spraying 
HERE is nothing in which quality 
makes more difference than in fruit. 
No matter how carefully we tend the few 
trees of the home, we will not be able to 
have excellent fruit until that arch enemy 
of practically all fruit trees, the San Jose 
scale, is conquered. 
This scale is best fought in winter and 
early spring because the trees are then 
in dormant condition and stronger sprays 
can be used: there is. moreover, less sur¬ 
face to be covered. The secret of success 
with spraying lies in doing the job thor¬ 
oughly. Everything should be covered, 
top, bottom and both sides: a spray nozzle 
with a “goose neck” is the most convenient 
type to use, or you may go over the job 
twice, to make assurance doubly sure, 
spraying from opposite directions. For 
the home orchard of a few trees it will 
hardly pay to mix your own lime sulphur, 
but this can be bought ready prepared, or 
one of the miscible oils may be used. 
Pruning Hints 
RUNING may also be attended to at 
this time, as the weather is more like¬ 
ly to be agreeable now than later, and in 
early spring you will, or should be, busy 
with other things. In pruning in the or¬ 
chard, aim to maintain low, evenly spread 
trees. If you have old, neglected trees 
that you are trying to get back into shape, 
do not try to cut away all the new growth, 
but save a few of the newer limbs that are 
in the best position, and as these develop, 
the old branches higher up may be “de¬ 
horned,” but it will not do to cut out too 
much of this old growth all at once. Young 
trees should be cut out very sparingly; if 
they have been properly attended to from 
the first, practically all the pruning they 
need can be given with the jack-knife. 
The grape vines, on the contrary, will 
require quite severe treatment every year, 
if you care about having the very best fruit. 
Grapes fruit only on new growth —there¬ 
fore you are sacrificing no part of the crop 
by cutting the vines back severely. If 
you have them trained to lateral wires, 
as they should be for best results, only 
two to four “arms” are left, and these are 
cut back to not more than ten or twelve 
buds each—thus providing for a crop of 
forty to a hundred bunches, a sufficiently 
large one for a young vine to mature. If 
the main vine is trained over an old-fash¬ 
ioned arbor, cut back all the laterals each 
year to two or three eyes. 
A Suggestion for House Plants 
P LANTS that are to be used for win¬ 
dow decoration should receive a 
little attention before too late in the 
season. If taken from the garden in a 
hurry to escape a frost and then jammed 
into pots it will take a long while for them 
to recover from the shock and it is to 
avoid this that this treatment is advised. 
Pot them some weeks before being 
wanted and at the same time cut out super¬ 
fluous wood and shape them to fit the 
window. That is, make them tidy looking 
by cutting back and then put them back 
in the ground to make growth along the 
lines you desire them to grow. Between 
the time of cutting and when they have 
to be taken into the house they will have 
made great improvement in appearance. 
One of the best ways to follow out 
these suggestions is to train the plants on 
frames, which are to be made of stout 
wire with cross pieces arranged to suit the 
size and shape of the plants. The frames 
are not difficult to make and the arms 
may be soldered or wired to the uprights. 
On uprights of stout wire crosspieces of 
proper length are either soldered or wired 
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