THE GARDENER’S KALENDAR 
December 
Twelfth Month 
The proper 
way to store 
celery is to 
cover it 
well with 
dry leaves 
heldin place 
by board 
shutters 
jk . 
' L-' 
. L ^ /\ . % 
Tender 
vines should 
be protect¬ 
ed through 
the winter 
with straw 
or burlap 
coverings 
tied in place 
Heavy snow should 
be knocked from the 
evergreen branches 
Tap the tomatoes 
when in bloom to 
help pollcnization 
The staking of some 
greenhouse plants is 
necessary 
T reaching the 
garden helps in the 
fight against pests 
30. All tools should 
'P>-‘ be put away for the 
<£ winter. Before storing 
Q them, they should be 
properly cleaned with 
kerosene, and the hard 
steel tools should be 
tn given a coat of cheap 
vaseline. 
2. Cucumbers and to¬ 
matoes under glass must 
be artificially fertilized 
with a camel’s hair 
brush to transfer the 
pollen. Mulching is 
necessary when white 
roots show outside the 
hill. 
9. What about grow¬ 
ing some good varieties 
on your old fruit trees? 
Grafting will accomplish 
it. This is the proper 
time to gather the 
scions, and they should 
be buried out of doors 
until spring. 
16. Bulb plantings of 
all kinds should be 
thoroughly mulched 
after the ground is 
crusted by freezing. If 
applied early, mulching 
promotes _ growth and 
causes injury by late 
frosts in the spring. 
23. Some sort of cov¬ 
ering is necessary for 
the coldframes, if you 
would be successful. 
Salt hay or leaves can 
be used. Straw mats 
are very good. Water¬ 
proof canvas mats are 
the best. 
S_ 31. Do not neglect to 
shake the snow from 
evergreens, especially 
C-J after heavy storms. 
2 Such snow causes un- 
Q told damage if neg- 
lected, and it is very 
^ easy to take a rake and 
remove it. 
3. Beans and cauli¬ 
flower may be had all 
winter in the green¬ 
house by successional 
sowings about three 
weeks apart. The beans 
are sown in the 
benches; cauliflower in 
seed beds. 
10. Lettuce is one of 
the best crops for the 
frames. Sow it in small 
quantities three weeks 
apart in order to insure 
a constant supply. Big 
Boston and May King 
are good sorts for this 
sowing under glass. 
17. Why not grow 
some chicory in your 
greenhouse? This de¬ 
licious salad plant is 
easily cultivated. It can 
be grown under benches 
from mature roots and 
must be kept in the 
dark. 
24. This is an excel¬ 
lent time to move large 
trees. The trees should 
be dug with a good- 
sized ball of earth and 
allowed to freeze solid 
before attempting to re¬ 
move them. This ap¬ 
plies to deciduous sorts. 
Deep on the convent- 
roof the snows 
Are sparkling to the 
moon: 
L-J My breath to heaven 
like vapor goes: 
W May my soul follozv 
►D soon! 
f—• The shadows of the con¬ 
vent-towers 
Slant down the snowy 
sward , 
Still creeping with the 
creeping hours 
Q That lead me to my 
(/} Lord: 
[ T ] Make Thou my spirit 
y pure and clear 
As are the f rosty skies, 
Or this first snowdrop 
W of the year 
^ That in my bosom lies. 
— Tennyson. 
4. Why not make use 
of the space under¬ 
neath the benches in the 
greenhouse? Rhubarb, 
asparagus and mush¬ 
rooms are only a few of 
the possibilities. This 
space certainly should 
not be wasted. 
11. Pansies, calochor- 
tus, ixia and other 
slightly tender bulbs and 
plants can be wintered 
outdoors if they are 
thoroughly covered with 
1' or so of leaves, which 
must be shaken up oc¬ 
casionally. 
18. Anemones, incar- 
villea, anehusa and other 
tender perennial plants 
are best protected dur¬ 
ing winter by mounded 
sand over them. It is 
not advisable to apply 
this until now, as early 
covering starts growth. 
25. Christmas Day. 
Why not make a skat¬ 
ing rink out of the ten¬ 
nis court? A few boards 
on the side will hold 
the water, which is all 
that is needed. Tar can 
be used to make the 
joints watertight. 
5. Any pruning oper¬ 
ations that are being 
considered on a large 
scale, where hardy trees 
are involved, can be 
done during the winter. 
It is always advisable to 
paint the large wounds 
with waterproof paint. 
12. Dormant fruit 
canes and trees in the 
greenhouse should be 
thoroughly cleaned. Re¬ 
move loose bark and 
paint with strong insec¬ 
ticide, such as wood al¬ 
cohol. All woodwork 
painting should be done. 
19. Pot plants in the 
greenhouse, such as cy¬ 
clamen, primula, schi- 
zanthus, etc., should be 
fed freely rather than 
potted frequently, as 
their chief beauty lies 
in a well-developed plant 
in a small pot. 
26. Don’t be afraid to 
top dress your lawns 
with good manure, as it 
will result in a healthy 
growth of grass which 
will choke out the weeds 
rather than encourage 
them. Get this on be¬ 
fore snow flies. 
^ This Kalendar of the 
gardener’s labors is 
^ aimed as a reminder 
for undertaking all his 
tasks in season. It is 
»—) fitted to the latitude of 
jT] the Middle States, but 
> its service should be 
available for the whole 
country if it be re¬ 
membered that for 
every one hundred 
miles north or south 
there is a difference of 
from five to seven 
/-n days later or earlier in 
[—| performing garden op- 
ry erations. The dates 
fT* given are, of course, 
^ for an average season. 
6. Chrysanthemum 
stock plants should be 
placed in a coldframe 
or some similar place 
where they can be kept 
very cool. Care should 
be taken that the plants 
are properly labeled 
when lifted. 
13. A collar of tar 
paper will protect your 
fruit trees from being 
gnawed by rabbits, field 
mice and other rodents. 
In summer it also pro¬ 
tects them from borers 
if placed about 4 inches 
in the ground. 
20. Sweet peas in the 
greenhouse should be 
fed freely. Mildew and 
aphis are usually the re¬ 
sult of too warm a 
place. Flowers of sul¬ 
phur applied to the out¬ 
side of the plants will 
cure mildew. 
27. Dahlia sticks, 
small plant trellises, 
rose arbors and other 
garden accessories 
should be painted. Any 
climbing plants can be 
removed from trellises 
or arbors now with the 
minimum of breakage. 
7. Ornamental grasses, 
such as eulalia, arundo, 
etc., are inflammable, 
and can now be cut and 
burned, especially where 
they are near buildings. 
Also keep leaves raked 
away from the base of 
buildings. 
14. Don’t neglect 
spraying for San Jose, 
oyster shell and other 
scale. Japan quince, 
evonymus, climbing 
rose s—in fact, all 
smooth - barked shrubs 
should be looked after, 
as all are susceptible. 
21. Never, under any 
circumstances, pot a 
plant in a dirty flower¬ 
pot. All pots should be 
thoroughly washed and 
dried before using. Al¬ 
ways place sufficient 
drainage in the bottom 
of the pot. 
28. Garden furniture 
should be put away for 
the winter. Most of it 
is lightly constructed 
and will not stand stay¬ 
ing out during winter. 
Even rustic furniture 
will keep better if 
stored. 
1. Insects of all kinds 
<£ thrive in the greenhouse 
Q when plenty of fire heat 
tT3 is used. Preventive 
measures are best. 
1 Spray weekly with a 
t— mild solution of to- 
<C bacco or kerosene emul- 
tn sion. 
8. Bulb forcing in the 
greenhouse can be start¬ 
ed now. Paper Whites 
are the earliest narcissi. 
French grown golden 
spurs and single tulips 
are also seasonable. 
Freesias, lilies, hya¬ 
cinths can be forced. 
15. Outside grapes 
should be pruned now 
in preference to spring. 
This eliminates the 
danger of harmful 
bleeding. Bear in mind 
that grapes fruit on 
new wood and heavy 
pruning is essential. 
22. All kinds of hard 
wooded plants, such as 
lilac, wistaria, deutzia, 
etc., can now be forced 
into flower. They should 
not be subjected to in¬ 
tense heat at the start, 
and frequent sprayings 
are necessary. 
29. This is an excel¬ 
lent time to prepare 
walks or to rebuild 
those which are unsatis¬ 
factory. Coarse cinders 
as a base, steam cinders, 
blue stone and slag 
screenings are the most 
common materials used. 
A salt hay 
cover¬ 
ing will 
protect the 
celery until 
you are able 
to store it 
The space 
under the 
benches is 
good for 
forcing 
bulbs 
A 11 litter 
that might 
harbor pests 
should be 
piled up 
and burned 
