HOUSE AND GARDEN 
June, 1911 
437 
nure and wood ashes. Chives are as ornamental as they are use¬ 
ful. Being perennials that make a thick growth of leaves, and 
produce a quality of decorative blossoms in June, they can well 
be used for an edging in the vegetable garden where they will be 
handy to cut freely for use in soups, stews and salads. They re¬ 
quire the same treatment as onions ; it is best not to sow the seed 
too deep. Leeks, for fall and winter eating, may be sowed in 
June. As soon as they reach the proper size they should be 
thinned to four inches apart and later earthed up to blanch the 
stems. When cold weather comes they may be left to pull as 
needed, being very hardy, but it is probably better to dig them 
up and store in a coldframe, on account of the difficulty of pulling 
when the ground freezes. 
Lettuce, sowed for late use and properly treated, rewards the 
gardener with some of the choicest heads of the season. A piece 
of ground must be carefully prepared with rich old manure, at the 
rate of a bushel to a square yard. If there should be no location 
available where the soil is moist and partially shaded, artificial 
shading will produce good results. Seed should be sowed a half¬ 
inch deep. When a couple of inches high the seedlings should be 
thinned to an inch apart, and kept thinned, just as fast as they 
grow to touch each other. These thinnings need not be despised 
for table use. Light doses of nitrate of soda will encourage rapid 
growth. In order to give a late sowing every chance of success, 
There is no need whatever of allowing the garden to be unproductive 
late in the autumn. This bunch of varied products was gathered 
several days after frost had laid low the tender plants 
a six-inch trench can be prepared and filled with water; as this is 
absorbed it should be refilled several times, until the soil is soaked. 
Then the trench should be filled with soil that is merely moist and 
the seed sowed. A board, raised two inches on bricks, will give 
the required shade for the first few days; later the bricks can be 
turned to raise the board four inches. When the sun gets low in 
the afternoon, the board may be removed till the next morning, 
and as the plants increase in size, the shade can be dispensed with. 
August 1st is a good time to sow fall lettuce; even an early Sep¬ 
tember planting has produced good results. 
Parsley may be made to send out a new growth for the em¬ 
bellishment of a frost-proof garden, by cutting back in the mid¬ 
dle of September. Seed stalks must be cut to prolong the bearing 
season of old plants. 
Spinach can be added to the frost-resisting garden. When 
gathering the early sowings, instead of pulling up the entire 
plant, each one should be cut back, and they will send out a new 
growth that will flourish till frost. A satisfactory kind is the 
New Zealand type, well cultivated and kept free from weeds. 
Salsify, of iron-clad hardiness, may be left in the ground all 
winter and used in early spring before growth begins. Some of 
the crop should be stored in sand, for use in cold weather. Gen¬ 
eral treatment should be the same as for carrots. 
Brussels sprouts is one of the iron-clad vegetables for the cold-weather 
garden. Picked outdoors Dec. 20th 
Parsnip, another hardy inmate of the frost garden, also re¬ 
quires the same treatment as carrots and other root crops. 
Turnips for the fall garden patch should be sowed from the 
middle of July to the middle of August. A moist, loose soil will' 
suit them best. For fighting off the flea-beetle Bordeaux mixture 
is excellent. Although hardy, turnips are better dug for fall pro¬ 
tection before any severe frosts. The rutabaga type of turnips 
should be sowed the last of June and harvested in October. 
Celery requires a good garden loam and plenty of water. A 
soil that is sandy, and rich with manure in the proper condition to 
hold moisture well, will agree with this vegetable. The amateur 
gardener may sow seed in April for fall use. In June the plants 
will be ready to cut back and transplant. For home storing, boxes 
containing a few inches of soil for the roots, and holes in the sides 
for ventilating, will be all-sufficient. 
Radishes may be used for early fall sowings in soil that is rich 
and loose. Wood ashes, sprinkled after the sowing, will keep off 
insects. Store radishes are never worth buying, for they should 
not be more than an hour from garden to table. 
Chard retains its good looks after frost. Both leaves and 
stems are used, cooked like greens and asparagus. The stems are 
also packed in brine, for winter use. Lucullus is a choice variety. 
Endive, sowed in June or later, will add another hardy sort to 
the frost-defying garden. 
Kale is a worthy member of the cold-weather family. Left in 
the garden, for use in the cold months, it will keep up an extended 
supply of greens. It should be sown in June and transplanted to 
stand a half-yard apart. Freezing improves it, and its decorative 
(Continued on page 470) 
Victoria spinach and White Egg turnips were among the survivors ini 
the frost-resisting vegetable patch 
