76 
House & Garden 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
TUESDAY 
WEDNESDAY 
THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
This Calendar of the gardener’s labors is 
planned as a reminder for undertaking his 
tasks in season. It is designed for an aver¬ 
age season in the Middle Slates, but its 
suggestion should fit the whole country if 
it he remembered that for every one hun¬ 
dred miles north or south, garden opera¬ 
tions will be retarded or advanced from five 
to seven days. 
Season of mists and 
mellow fruitfulness! 
Close bosom-friend of 
the maturing sun; 
Conspiring with him how 
to load and bless 
With fruit the vines that 
round the thatch-eaves 
run. 
—John Keats. 
1. Do not 
neglect the cane 
fruits, if they 
have not al¬ 
ready been at¬ 
tended to. Go 
over them care¬ 
fully, removing 
the old canes 
at the ground 
line and tying 
the young, vig¬ 
orous shoots 
into position to 
prevent dam¬ 
age by storms. 
2. Onions, 
parsnips, spin¬ 
ach and hardy 
crops of this 
character may 
be sown in the 
open with the 
idea of carrying 
them over the 
winter. This 
can be easily 
done with a 
little protec¬ 
tion, such as 
salt, hay or sim¬ 
ilar material. 
3. The last 
sowing of peas 
should be made 
the early part 
of this month, 
using only the 
hard round- 
seeded type, 
which is quick 
and vigorous 
in growth. If 
the ground is 
dry, water the 
drills well be¬ 
fore sowing the 
seed. 
4. Prune all 
deciduous trees 
before the 
leaves fall, as it 
is much easier 
then to deter¬ 
mine what part 
of the growth 
is to be re¬ 
moved. Cut 
the branches 
close, leaving 
no stubs, and 
paint the 
wounds im¬ 
mediately. 
5. Melon 
frames and 
other garden 
accessories that 
will not be used 
again this sea¬ 
son should he 
repaired, paint- 
e d and put 
away in winter 
storage, when 
well cared for 
they will last 
for several sea¬ 
sons of actual 
use. 
6. The or¬ 
chard that is 
not growing sat¬ 
isfactorily can 
be improved 
wonderfully by 
the sowing of 
cover crops, 
and subse¬ 
quently turn¬ 
ing them under 
in the custom¬ 
ary manner. 
No orchard 
should be 
grown in sod. 
7. Attention 
should be given 
now to bulb 
planting for 
this season. If 
not already 
pi iced, orders 
should be sent 
immediately, 
as early plant¬ 
ing means bet¬ 
ter results. It 
gives the bulb 
a chance to 
form a root 
system. 
8. The flow¬ 
er garden 
should be given 
a final clean-up 
for the season 
The walks 
should be prop¬ 
erly edged, all 
weed growth 
and the old 
stalks of plants 
removed and 
burned. This 
will destroy 
many insect 
larvae. 
9. Vegetables 
should be 
started in the 
greenhouse 
now for next 
winter’s use 
Caulifl ower, 
lettuce and 
string beans 
should be sown 
about every 
three weeks. 
Tomatoes 
and Swiss 
chard need but 
one sowing. 
10. This is 
peony month 
in the flower 
garden. If you 
want good re¬ 
sults next year 
it will be nec¬ 
essary to over¬ 
haul the plants 
now, digging 
up the clumps 
that are too 
large, cutting 
them into four 
pieces and re¬ 
setting. 
11. Where 
heated frames 
are available 
for them, there 
are a number 
of crops that 
can be started 
at this time. 
Radishes, spin¬ 
ach, etc., or 
some of the 
cooler flowers 
such as violets 
and pansies, 
can be sown 
in the frames. 
12. Ever¬ 
greens that are 
being trans¬ 
planted now, 
or have been 
transplanted 
recently, must 
be kept well 
watered. Al¬ 
though top 
growth has ter¬ 
minated, these 
plants are mak¬ 
ing consider- 
a b1e root 
growth. 
13. This is 
one of the best 
periods of the 
year for seed¬ 
ing down new 
lawns, the rea¬ 
son being that 
most weed 
growth is over 
and the grass 
will get suf¬ 
ficient start to 
carry it safely 
through the 
trials of winter 
weather. 
14. Do not 
neglect to sow 
down with rye 
and clover the 
vacant patches 
in the garden. 
Sowings can 
also be made 
between corn, 
cabbage and 
o t h e r crops, 
with the idea 
of remaining 
after these 
crops have 
been gathered. 
16. Evergreens 
that have been 
confined in 
growth, hedges 
and various 
other plants 
that are clipped 
frequently 
should be given 
a final clipping 
at this time. 
Do this before 
the foliage 
turns on the 
deciduous 
plants 
17. Do not 
stop cutting the 
grass until all 
growth has 
ceased. Failure 
to do this will 
result in a long 
growth, which 
when carried 
over the winter 
will turn brown 
in spring and 
be hard to 
eradicate when 
the lawn is put 
in order. 
17. Before 
the lea v es 
begin to fall, 
look the garden 
and grounds 
over carefully 
with an eye to 
cli anges in 
their arrange- 
m e n t. T h e 
reason for this 
is obvious-you 
can tell notv 
just where mis¬ 
takes in file 
scheme exist. 
18. Perma¬ 
nent pastures 
for grazing pur¬ 
poses should be 
sown at this 
time. Bear in 
mind that if 
properly put 
down, a good 
pasture will 
last for many 
years. Do not 
under any cir- 
cumstances 
plant inferior 
seed. 
19. Chrysan¬ 
themums and 
other similar 
plants that are 
in bud should 
be fed freely 
with liquid 
manures of dif¬ 
ferent kinds. 
This operation 
however, must 
be discontinued 
as soon as the 
b u d s s h o w 
color and signs 
of opening. 
20. It is not 
too late to start 
a strawberry 
bed for next 
season, if potted 
plants are used 
for planting. 
Use pistillate 
and staminate 
types. Put in 
plenty of ma¬ 
nure and a fair 
amount of bone 
meal to stimu¬ 
late strong, 
rapid growth. 
21. A great 
deal of our so- 
called winter 
losses, especi¬ 
ally with ever¬ 
greens, is the 
result of these 
plants being al¬ 
lowed to be¬ 
come bone dry 
at this season 
when they are 
developing a 
root system 
to carry them 
over winter. 
22. Do not 
neglect to get 
cuttings of the 
bedding plants 
before they are 
destroyed by 
frost. This ap¬ 
plies to chry¬ 
santhemums, 
coleus, etc. 
Each variety 
should be kept 
separate, as 
mixed colors 
are disappoint¬ 
ing. 
23. Mush¬ 
room beds may 
be started in 
the cellar at 
this time. Be 
sure to get 
fresh droppings 
for this pur¬ 
pose, and by 
all means use 
new culture 
spawn, which 
is of high qual¬ 
ity and the 
most depend¬ 
able. 
. 24. It would 
not be amiss 
with late grow¬ 
ing crops such 
as celery, ruta¬ 
baga, carrots, 
parsnip and 
New Zealand 
spinach, or 
other crops still 
bearing, to ap¬ 
ply frequent 
dressings of 
m a n u r e a n d 
occasionally 
nitrate of soda. 
25. Celery 
should be 
banked with 
earth now. It 
is best if this is 
attended to fre¬ 
quently, as the 
soil should 
never be al¬ 
lowed to work 
its way into the 
heart of the 
plant. Hold the 
stalks together 
while banking 
them. 
26. C o 1 d - 
frames that can 
be protected 
throughout the 
winter should 
be used for 
sowing hardy 
vegetables like 
cabbage and 
cauliflower 
with the idea 
of carrying 
them over and 
planting out 
early in the 
spring. 
27. It might 
be advisable to 
build a fire in 
the greenhouse 
occasionally. 
Cold nights 
and hot days 
are productive 
of mildew. To 
overcome this 
have the pipes 
painted with a 
paste made 
from flowers of 
sulphur and 
water. 
28. Just as 
soon as the 
foliage turns 
yellow on de¬ 
ciduous plants 
it is safe to 
start trans¬ 
planting; in 
fact, the earlier 
in the fall this 
is attended to 
the better, as 
the roots will 
take hold be¬ 
fore cold wea¬ 
ther. 
29. Carna¬ 
tions that were 
planted out 
may now be 
put in the 
greenhouse. 
T ii e glass 
should be 
shaded slightly 
for several 
days, or until 
the roots have 
again become 
active. Over¬ 
head spraying 
is helpful. 
30. Wire 
grass, rye grass 
and other 
heavy growing 
grasses and 
weeds grow 
very rapidly at 
this season of 
the year, and 
if allowed to 
overrun your 
garden they 
will be a serious 
factor to con¬ 
tend with next 
spring. 
'PHERE are practical tests by which ycu may know if you arc really a gardener at heart, or merely a 
*■ common man, who thinks that he is a gardener. What, for instance, is your view of a nurseyman’s 
autumn list? Do you let these things seduce you every year? Do you linger over them when you should 
be reading Shakespeare or improving yourself in other ways? Do you make out long catalogues of plants 
and pretend to yourself that you are only doing it for a joke; and then pep your list into the post, and 
presently, when a box comes and there is half a crown to pay, declare that you had forgotten all about it? 
If you do these things, you may consider yourself a gardener, and I shake your hand. Nurserymen’s 
catalogues ought to grow upon a young gardener like drink. He must, of course, begin by believing every 
word. Only bitter personal experience extending ever many years should shake him. I myself still have 
faith in nearly everything but the pictures of vegetables. I ztiill not accept the illustrations of peas, and 
French beans, and melons. I can prove that most of the other things can be produced with an effort and 
a little management of the photographic apparatus; but I have never yet grown a green pea-pod a foot long 
with thirty peas the size of cherries in it, and I never expect to do so. 
-—Eden Philpott. 
Narcissi—-these are 
Empress and Em- 
peror-—should he 
planted before frost 
The trumpet narcis¬ 
sus belongs in moist, 
well drained loam. 
This is Mine. Plemp 
A wading pool walled 
in with ledgestone 
and fed by a tiny 
woodland stream 
Set the narcissus 
bulbs six inches deep 
in the ground to get 
the best results 
Daffodils should be 
scattered in informal 
drifts and clusters 
over the lawn 
A combination of ar¬ 
chitect ure and nature 
that suggests Paris’s 
Parc Monceau 
September THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Ninth Month 
With September comes the first faint 
sign of the transposition of garden inter¬ 
ests to the fascinating regions under glass 
This is a splendid time of the year to gather 
material for such an experiment in fencing as 
is suggested by this Japanese barrier 
No other flower melts so nicely into the 
hazy atmosphere of late September as 
the gray-blue bloom of the globe thistle 
