August, 1915 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
43 
or anything similar has killed out the grass 
beneath it; or sod “shavings” made by 
taking up a thick, rich sod and with a 
sharp spade or an old knife shaving it 
off from the bottom in thin slices, which 
will be full of fibrous material. The 
manure can be got from one of last 
spring’s hotbeds, or from old flats, or from 
the bottom of the manure pile. The leaf 
mould should be well decayed — dug out 
from a corner of fence or wall or build¬ 
ing where the leaves gather. These should 
be thoroughly mixed together in about 
equal portions, in bulk, and enough sand 
added to give the whole a slightly gritty 
feel in the fingers. If manure of the right 
sort is not to be had, substitute for it pre¬ 
pared dry sheep manure or horse manure 
and fine bone meal, using about two quarts 
of the former and one of the latter to 
every bushel of the sod and leaf mould. 
A little hydrated lime, a pound or so, or 
two or three quarts of wood ashes, should 
also be added, not only because the lime 
is needed as a plant food, but because it 
helps to “blend" the mixture. 
Your compost should be run through a 
sieve and stored in a barrel or large box 
or a bin, if there is a considerable quantity 
of it, until needed, when you will find 
that plants will grow like weeds in it. If 
you have a greenhouse or several frames 
cut out sod three or four inches thick and 
make a square pile of them, placing the 
grassy sides together. Soak the pile occa¬ 
sionally with the hose if the weather is 
dry, to hasten rotting. If manure is avail¬ 
able it can be put in alternate layers with 
the sod. Late in the fall this should be 
“cut down" with a sharp spade, beginning 
at one end and cutting through the layers 
of sod and manure so as to mix them 
thoroughly, run through a screen, and 
stored for winter, adding a quart or two 
As August is a month in which weeds thrive, keep them 
down with the scuffle-hoe and the rake 
of bone meal to the bushel as it is shoveled 
over. 
Get Your Bulb Beds Ready Now 
The earliest of the hardy bulbs, such 
as the Madonna Lily, should be planted 
this month. Bulbs wanted for the earliest 
blooms in the house should also be potted 
just as soon as they can be obtained. Get 
your bulb order off as early as possible; 
there is less chance of delay or disap¬ 
pointment, and the earliest orders get the 
best bulbs. If you don’t yet fully know 
your needs get a preliminary order off 
anyway, including such of the lily bulbs 
as are ready for shipping in August or 
early September. Most of the bulbs are 
imported and shipped to customers “on 
arrival," and as there is likely to be some 
irregularity in consignments this fall 
owing to the war there is a special reason 
for early orders. 
While waiting for your bulbs to arrive 
make the beds ready. This gives a chance 
for any manure or fertilizer you may add 
to become partly decomposed and ready 
for the immediate use of the bulb roots — 
and the secret of success with them is to 
get them to make a quick, strong root 
growth this fall in the limited time between 
planting and hard freezing weather. The 
bulb beds should be well enriched, but not 
with manure that is at all fresh, as that 
often causes them to rot. Drainage should 
be perfect: it is throwing away money to 
plant bulbs where water after the fall 
rains cannot readily pass down through 
the soil to a level at least a few inches 
below the bulbs. 
Have You a Little Greenhouse in 
Your Home? 
Or if not in it, attached to it? The case 
for the attached greenhouse is a strong 
one — it combines all the advantages of 
both conservatory and greenhouse — and 
eliminates most of the disadvantages! It 
can be heated from the house heating sys¬ 
tem with verv slight additional expense. 
If the lean-to type is used one side is 
already built and the cost cut down 
comparatively. Moreover, with modern 
methods of construction the attached 
greenhouse can be made to harmonize with 
the house architecturally, or to seem an 
integral part of it. The modern green¬ 
house is built for the most part at the fac¬ 
tory, which reduces both the time required 
to put it up and the labor cost. 
Now is the time to lay plans if you 
want to enjoy fresh vegetables and real 
flowers all this winter. November to May 
—for at least half the year you have to 
forego the pleasures of gardening! And 
you may spend good money for wilted 
vegetables and for costly cut flowers that 
in many instances would amply cover the 
interest on the investment required for a 
small attached greenhouse. Why not look 
into it? More and more people are having 
combination greenhouse and garage build¬ 
ing, and it makes a very economical ar¬ 
rangement, both in construction and man¬ 
agement. 
Grow Some “Snaps” This Winter 
After many years of under-apprecia¬ 
tion, the snapdragon ( antirrhinum ) has 
at last come into its own. It was the “fad” 
at the last New York flower show. LTnlike 
some of the more aristocratic flowers, it is 
for every man and woman. It can be 
grown very successfully in the window 
garden, in an ordinary pot. The long 
spikes of flowers, in pure white, light and 
dark reds, deep wines, yellows and won¬ 
derful pinks are among our most beauti¬ 
ful flowers. One great point in their favor 
is that each spike stays in blossom such a 
long time, the individual flowers opening 
out in succession, from the bottom to the 
tip, like a gladiolus. They seem to stand 
almost any amount of abuse: I have had 
old plants that had been abandoned to their 
fate and thrown under a bench come to 
life again in the spring and vie with the 
new plants in size and number of blooms. 
They are also very hardy as regards tem¬ 
perature. “Snaps” are easily raised from 
seed; sown this month, they will bloom 
before spring, in the house, or can be car¬ 
ried over in a good, tight frame. Cuttings 
can be rooted readily now, if you have 
plants growing in the garden. Be care¬ 
ful to select wmod that is not too soft, as 
the tips of the new growth usually are; 
or so mature that it has become hollow. 
The new named varieties are the best to 
use for pot culture, if you can get them; 
if you start a batch from seed, let the first 
flower open on each stalk before selecting 
those you want to keep, and pinching back. 
The plants that are flowering in the garden 
also stand transplanting well. Use pots 
of ample size. Cut out the oldest stalks in 
the center and the newest ones well back. 
Any loose, dry material, such as straw or leafmold, may 
be used to mulch plants set in the fall 
