December 
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47 
.gf The Gardener'sCalendar ^ 
Morning Star: Venus 
DECEMBER, 1916 
Evening Star: Mars 
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31. Sun rises 7:24; 
Sun sets 4 :42. 
Why not flood your 
tennis court and make a 
safe skating rink? It 
will be fun for the 
youngsters and won’t 
hurt the court. 
ThisKalendar of the gar¬ 
dener’s labors is aimed 
as a reminder for under¬ 
taking all his tasks in 
season. It is fitted to the 
latitude of the Middle 
States, but its service 
should be available for 
the whole country if it 
be remembered that for 
every one hundred miles 
north or south there is 
a difference of from five 
to seven days later or 
earlier in performing 
garden operations. 
1. Sun rises 7 :05 ; Sun 
sets 4 :34. 
Mulching must not be 
put off any longer on the 
flower borders, fruit 
trees, roses, strawberry 
beds, asparagus beds, 
cane fruits, etc. 
2. Battle of Austerlitz, 
1805. 
Steps should be taken 
immediately to store cel¬ 
ery for the winter. If 
you cannot trench it at 
once, cover it with salt 
hay until you can. 
3. First Sunday in 
Advent. 
This is the last chance 
to put away root crops 
before they freeze. Store 
parsnips, leeks, beets, car¬ 
rots, salsify, etc., in cellar 
or trench. 
4. Thomas Carlyle 
born, 1795. 
Do not neglect to give 
your tender evergreens 
protection during winter 
with burlap, a few 
boards, a pine bough or 
two, or a sheaf of straw. 
5. Be sure all outside 
water faucets are shut off 
and drained. All sprink¬ 
ling systems should be 
looked after, and orna¬ 
mental vases overturned 
so they will not hold 
water and then freeze. 
6. Bulb plantings of 
all kinds should be heav¬ 
ily mulched. All are 
fairly hardy, but the frost 
heaves the unprotected 
ground and causes an un¬ 
even growth, sometimes 
destroying root action. 
7. Forcing of hardy 
bulbs in the greenhouse 
can now be started. Bring 
them in in small batches 
and place under the 
benches for a few days 
so as to lengthen the 
stems somewhat. 
8. Just as soon as the 
sweet peas show buds in 
the greenhouse, mild ap¬ 
plications of liquid fer¬ 
tilizer are advisable. If 
the plants are weak, 
pinch off the first flowers. 
9. Full Moon. 
All chrysanthemum 
stock plants should be 
labelled plainly and put 
in a coldframe or dor¬ 
mant fruit house. Keep 
them cool so as to get 
good cuttings. 
10. Philippines added 
to U. S., 1898. 
What about a bed of 
mushrooms under one of 
the benches in the green¬ 
house? A drop curtain 
attached to the bench will 
keep them dark enough. 
11. All fruit houses 
should have a good over¬ 
hauling. Cart out the 
surface soil and make a 
general clean-up of all 
nooks and corners that 
might harbor any pests. 
12. One of the finest 
of all pot plants is the 
beautiful amaryllis; you 
can start forcing it now. 
Force in small lots so 
that you will have a con¬ 
tinuous supply as they 
develop in succession. 
13. If you are troubled 
with rabbits or other ro¬ 
dents barking your fruit 
trees during winter, put 
a small strip of heavy 
tarred paper or tarred 
burlap around the bases 
of the trees. 
14. George Washing¬ 
ton died, 1799. 
If you need to paint 
piazzas or other places 
where vines are trained, 
attend to it now. The 
vines can be taken down 
best at this season. 
15. Do not neglect to 
look over potatoes and 
other vegetables, as well 
as fruit, stored in the 
cellar. A little decay can 
do considerable damage 
if not removed. 
16. Amundsen discov¬ 
ered the South Pole, 1911. 
Don 1 ’! neglect succes- 
sional sowings u n d e r 
glass of cauliflower, 
beans, lettuce, spinach, 
radishes, beets, carrots, 
and other vegetables. 
17. Go over all trees 
carefully for scale, spray¬ 
ing those that are in¬ 
fested. The scale do not 
multiply during winter, 
but they continue to 
bleed the tree while there 
is any sap. 
18. Slavery abolished, 
1862. 
There is still time for 
the fall pruning of 
grapes; spring pruning 
means bleeding. Prune 
heavily and remove all 
loose bark. 
19. Next to preventa- 
tives, fumigation is the 
best means to keep the 
greenhouse free from 
pests. Tobacco extracts 
are good; hydrocyanic 
gas is sure, but danger¬ 
ous if carelessly used. 
20. Ember Day. 
Do not neglect to stake 
tall plants in the green¬ 
house, to prevent break¬ 
age. Antirrhinum, lilies, 
roses, carnations, etc., all 
need support. Stakes can 
be bought for this pur¬ 
pose. 
21. Winter begins. 
Going to top-dress your 
lawn with manure ? An 
impoverished lawn means 
weeds, and good fertili¬ 
zation will make the grass 
strong enough to choke 
them out. 
22. When you have 
any voids in your lawn 
or you wish to make it 
perfectly level, you can 
top-dress it with soil. 
Use good earth—spent 
greenhouse soil is excel¬ 
lent, applied 2" deep. 
23. At this season com¬ 
plaints are frequent 
about cut flowers not 
lasting well. Remember 
that these are the short 
days of the year, and that 
greenhouse plants are 
soft and sappy. 
24. Fourth Sunday in 
Advent. 
Look over all tender 
bulbous plants such as 
dahlias, cannas, gladioli, 
etc. If they are showing 
growth they must be 
moved to a cooler place. 
25. Christmas Day. 
A splendid present is 
one of those garden 
baskets containing shears, 
trowel, gloves, scissors, 
twine and all the little 
items that make garden¬ 
ing real fun. 
26. This is an excel¬ 
lent time to move big 
trees. By trenching them 
out now and then allow¬ 
ing them to freeze solid, 
you can safely move 
trees as large as can be 
handled. 
27. After heavy snow 
storms make a practice 
of going over soft ever¬ 
greens and removing the 
snow. When it is wet 
and heavy it is very liable 
to break their branches 
with its weight. 
28. Holy Innocents 
Da} ? . Woodrow Wilson 
born, 1856. 
All garden tools should 
be properly cleaned and 
hung up. Hard steel tools 
should be painted with 
cheap vaseline to prevent 
rusting. 
29. Dark forcing in 
the greenhouse can be 
started now with rhu¬ 
barb, asparagus and sea 
kale. Spent manure from 
a mushroom bed, mixed 
with an equal quantity of 
soil, makes fine compost. 
30. Short days and 
fire heat are conducive 
to all sorts of pests in 
the greenhouse. Keep 
spraying with insecticides 
and do not give the pests 
a chance to get ahead of 
you. 
Heaped in the hollows of the grove, the 
autumn leaves he dead; 
4 hey rustle to the eddying gust, and to the 
rabbit’s tread. Bryant 
When froste and snowe are both together, 
Sitte by the fire and spare shoe leather. 
Do not forget the birds this month, espe¬ 
cially if cold weather and snow hinder the 
feeding activities of the seed-eaters. Suet, 
sunflower seed and smaller grain will at¬ 
tract them 
