62 
House & Garden 
White Statuary Marble Group by Bouchardon 
( 1678-1762 ) 
OBJECTS OF ART 
OLD ENGLISH INTERIORS 
ENGLISH PERIOD FURNITURE 
TAPESTRIES 
718 Fifth A v enue 
New York 
LONDON—27-29 Brook Street, W. 
CHARLES 
of 
LONDON 
A night covering of loose straw 
will save the spinach from frost 
In the October Vegetable Garden 
WILLIAM C. McCOLLOM 
T HE first question which is apt to 
be asked when anyone is advised 
to sow some of the hardy vege¬ 
tables in the fall is, “What would be 
the gain—why sow now when spring 
plantings yield the same returns?” 
Plenty of gardens are never started 
until the first of May, but if their re¬ 
sults could be compared with those 
from gardens started some time pre¬ 
vious, they would be far outclassed. 
One of the biggest advantages in fall 
sowing of those vegetables which are 
hardy enough to withstand the winter 
is the fact that a large root system is 
established which becomes active just 
as soon as growing conditions are re¬ 
sumed in the spring, resulting in more 
vigorous and productive growth. 
Onions, spinach, turnips, smooth peas 
and leek may all be sown in the fall 
if slight winter protection is given them. 
The best protecting material is loose 
hay, which can be shaken up occa¬ 
sionally to prevent its matting down 
and damaging the plants. It is well to 
bear in mind, however, that a spell of 
damp weather is more likely to dam¬ 
age the young seedlings than cold 
weather, so during wet periods it is ad¬ 
visable to rake the protecting material 
aside, leaving the plants exposed. 
It is not an infrequent occurrence to 
have a killing frost in what might be 
termed late summer. It often happens 
that gardens are destroyed as early as 
the middle of September in the latitude 
of New York, whereas continued freez¬ 
ing weather does not prevail until after 
the middle of November. This means 
that a little foresight in the matter of 
protection would prolong the life of the 
garden some two months. 
It is not an infrequent occurrence to 
start now to accumulate quantities of 
covering materials for this purpose. Old 
rolls of building paper, burlap, boxes 
or any cast-off material of this nature 
which will prevent penetration of the 
frost will give the desired results. A 
wire should be placed along the row 
of such plants as string beans to hold 
up the covering material. This cover¬ 
ing should be applied only when frost 
appears imminent. When the ther¬ 
mometer approaches 40° on a still night 
and the smoke rises perpendicularly, it 
(Continued on page 64) 
A burlap cover will keep early 
frost from damaging the egg¬ 
plant and peppers 
When the pumpkins are gath¬ 
ered they should be stored in 
a warm, dry place 
