S6 
IF 
Tar paper bands 
around the fruit 
trees protect their 
bark from rabbits 
Indoor bulbs grow¬ 
ing in soil need 
water to keep them 
at their best 
Do not forget to 
prune the roses be¬ 
fore active gro.wth 
is resumed 
Narcissus bulbs are 
among the best and 
easiest for indoor 
forcing 
Flats for starting 
the early garden 
seeds should have 
good drainage 
The hotbed is one of the best aids to earlier 
and better crops. If possible, it should be 
built in a protected, sunny place where it 
will be sheltered from the wind 
Winter is the time 
for pruning, except 
of the spring flower¬ 
ing shrubs 
The soil for startmg seeds should be 
well sifted and free from all lumps. 
Otherwise, the tiny sprouting roots can¬ 
not develop properly 
Watch all the greenhouse plants for green fly, 
red spider and other pests. Timely spraying 
and dusting with powder will do much to 
control them 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
TUESDAY 
WEDNESDAY 
THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
1. All plants 
that have been 
in the same 
pots for any 
considerable 
time, such as 
palms and oth¬ 
er decorative 
things, should 
be re - potted 
before their ac¬ 
tive growing 
season starts. 
Top dressing Is 
the alternative 
to this. 
2. Better 
get out the 
sashes for the 
hotbed and 
cold-lrame.and 
see that they 
are in good 
condition. 
Broken glass 
may need re¬ 
placing, and 
the wood 
should be 
painted to pro¬ 
tect it from the 
weather. 
3. N o one 
can garden 
well with dull 
or poor quality 
tools.Thisisthe 
time to do any 
repairing that 
may be neces¬ 
sary. All edged 
tools must be 
sharpened; 
kerosene and 
grease will 
check the rust 
on all the metal 
parts. 
4. Summer 
flowering bulbs 
such as cannas, 
gladioli, dah¬ 
lias, caladium, 
etc., should be 
looked over 
carefully. Ex¬ 
cessive heat or 
moisture will 
start them into 
growth: damp¬ 
ness with a low 
temperature 
is apt to cause 
decay. 
5. Have you 
progressed any 
further than 
your mind 
with that rose 
garden you 
have been con- 
sidering all 
these years? 
Each year that 
you postpone 
establishing it 
means that 
you are losing 
just that much 
pleasure. 
6. Plant 
stakes are 
necessary evils; 
we all wish 
that the plants 
would not re¬ 
quire support¬ 
ing, but they 
do, and we 
must accom¬ 
modate them. 
Order stakes 
now. If you 
can’t do this, 
cut some in the 
woods. 
7. Have you 
pruned your 
fruit trees? 
They will pro¬ 
duce if left in 
a natural state, 
but not nearly 
so well. Good 
fruit is pro¬ 
duced only 
where intelli¬ 
gent pruning is 
practiced, so 
your labor will 
be well justi¬ 
fied and repaid. 
8. Have you 
ordered your 
supplybfseeds? 
They should be 
on hand now. 
An old bread 
tin makes a 
good mouse- 
proof storage 
for them. Don’t 
let the seeds get 
damp—a cool, 
dry place is the 
Ideal storage 
place until 
planting time. 
9. Bay trees, 
hydrangeas, 
oranges and 
other plants of 
this type that 
are used for 
decoration out¬ 
side in the sum¬ 
mer should be 
looked over to 
see if the tubs 
will stand up 
through an¬ 
other season’s 
use. If not, 
repair now. 
10. Have 
your trees 
looked over 
carefully to de¬ 
termine their 
true condition. 
It takes a life¬ 
time to grow 
good trees but 
they are sub¬ 
ject to injuries 
of many kinds. 
A little tree 
surgery at the 
right time will 
save them. 
11. Decid¬ 
uous trees and 
shrubs also re¬ 
quire pruning 
to keep them 
in good health. 
Early flowering 
subjects such 
as the lilac or 
spireas are best 
pruned after 
they have fin¬ 
ished flowering 
along in the 
spring. This 
saves blossoms. 
12. If you 
like golf you 
should have a 
practice green 
constructed on 
your grounds 
— some 
screened corn¬ 
er where you 
can practice 
when you w'ant 
to. Sow it with 
fescue and 
creeping bent 
grass in equal 
quantities. 
13. Pea 
brush, bean 
poles and to¬ 
mato stakes 
are necessities 
of a productive 
garden. A few 
hours spent 
with an axe in 
the woods will 
furnish you 
with these 
needed acces¬ 
sories. Gather 
them before 
they leaf out. 
14. Start to 
prepare your 
hotbed now. 
At least 12 
inches of good 
hot manure 
will be neces¬ 
sary for mak¬ 
ing it. Tramp 
this firm and 
cover it with 
about 4 inches 
of good garden 
soil that has 
been well 
screened. 
15. Start 
sowings now in 
the greenhouse 
of the hardy 
vegetables, 
such as cab¬ 
bage, cauli- 
llower, lettuce, 
celery, toma¬ 
toes, etc. Use 
flats or seed 
pans for great¬ 
er convenience, 
and provide 
plenty of 
drainage. 
16. It i iS 
much easier to 
overhaul your 
lawn mower 
now in the 
garage than it 
will be next 
summer on the 
lawn. At least 
the gear boxes 
must be 
cleaned out 
and repacked 
with vaseline, 
and the other 
bearings oiled. 
17. If you 
cannot afford a 
greenhouse 
there are nu¬ 
merous styles 
of plant pro¬ 
tectors that are 
helpful to gar¬ 
dening. They 
should be or¬ 
dered now, as 
their greatest 
value is in the 
early season. 
Glass ones are 
excellent. 
18. Have 
you studied 
the merits of a 
iruit border? 
No place is 
complete with¬ 
out one. Rasp¬ 
berries, cur¬ 
rants, goose¬ 
berries, black¬ 
berries, grapes 
—a 11 these 
make excellent 
border plants 
for the gar¬ 
den. 
19. No gar¬ 
den is com¬ 
plete without 
some well se- 
lected and 
properly ar¬ 
ranged garden 
furniture. In 
formal garden¬ 
ing pottery is 
very necessary 
to the com¬ 
pleteness of the 
scheme. Make 
your selection 
and order now. 
20. Now 
that the war 
is over let us 
think again of 
greenhouse 
construction. 
Greenhouses 
certainly raise 
the standard of 
any grounds, 
whether they 
be for fruit or 
flowers. Early 
planning 
means fewer 
errors. 
21. Have 
you ever given 
a thought to 
the comforts of 
our greatest 
garden friends 
the birds? 
Why not get 
a few houses 
where the birds 
can nest? A 
bath for the 
birds will give 
even more 
pleasure to you 
than to them. 
22. Stock 
plants of all 
kinds of bed¬ 
ding subjects 
should now be 
started into ac¬ 
tive growth so 
that the neces¬ 
sary quantity 
of cuttings will 
be ready for 
taking when 
the proper 
time for them 
comes in the 
spring. 
23. Flower¬ 
ing plants of 
all kinds that 
are wanted for 
Easter must be 
started into ac- 
tive growth. 
By postponing 
this and then 
trying to rush 
them along the 
plants are in¬ 
variably grown 
too warm and 
in many cases 
ruined. 
24. Before 
work is started 
outside you 
should make 
an inventory of 
your tools. 
Any new ones 
necessary must 
be ordered 
now. Tool de¬ 
signs keep on 
being i m - 
proved as well 
as other 
things, so look 
them over. 
25. Sweet 
peas may be 
started now in 
the hotbed or 
greenhouse. 
Paper pots are 
excellent for 
them. After 
the seeds have 
germinated the 
plants must be 
kept rather 
cool to prevent 
their getting 
soft and weak 
stemmed. 
26. Sprays 
of all the early 
flowering 
spring shrubs 
can be cut and 
placed in water 
in the house 
where the 
flowers will 
quickly de¬ 
velop. Pussy 
willow, golden 
bell, Japan 
quince, etc., 
can be forced 
in this way. 
27. Garden 
arbors as they 
aie now made 
are very at¬ 
tractive and 
necessary at- 
cessories of the 
garden. If you 
wish to enjoy 
them this sum- 
m e r they 
should be or¬ 
dered now, as 
well as the 
roses or other 
vines for them. 
28. All dor¬ 
mant trees and 
shrubs that arc 
subject to the 
attacks of San 
Jose scale 
should be 
sprayed with 
one of the solu¬ 
ble oils. Trees 
that are al¬ 
ready infested 
must have at 
least two 
thorough 
sprayings. 
29. All the 
necessary 
pruning must 
be attended to 
now. Foliage 
trees and 
shrubs, all the 
flowering types 
that blossom 
on the term¬ 
inals of the 
new growth, 
such as roses 
and fruits of all 
kinds require 
attention. 
This calendar cf the gardener’s labors is aimed as a re¬ 
minder for undertaking all his tasks in season. It is fitted 
to the latitude of the Middle States, but its service should 
be available for the whole country if it be remembered 
that for every one hundred miles north or south there is a 
difference of from five to seven days later or earlier in 
performing garden operations. The dates given are, of 
course, for an average season. 
The red rose 
whispers o f 
passion. 
And the 
white rose 
breathes of 
love; 
0, the red rose 
is a falcon, 
A 71 d the 
white rose 
■is a dove. 
•^John Boyle 
O'Reilly 
"VrOUNG ED HOPPER he come home fer Chris’mas this year {ye know, he got him a job down to 
JL New York right after his dis-charge from the A. E. F. come through) an’ fer two-three days he 
held a reg’lar ree-ception in Jake’s groc’ry store at The Corners. 'Course, he had a lot to tell ’bout how 
folks live in the city an' what they do an' say, but there warn’t nothin' he told that took me more 
a-back than his claim that hardly any o' the houses he seen had any real fireplaces into "em — nothin’ 
but little measly ones with fake iron logs that burns gas coinin’ outer holes bored through ’em. Now, 
how do ye suppose that can be? Ain’t they got no cordwood in the city, or don't the fellers what 
builds tile houses know how to make an honest fireplace? Anyhow, them city people is missin’ a 
lot o’ human comfort an’ cheer, like. I don’t reckon I could get along ’thout my hick'ry an’ hard 
maple logs a-glowin’ in the settin’ room drefildce these long evenin's. It’s most es/rythin’, an open tire 
is—warmth an' light an’ easy talk an’ frien ship. I wonder if them city folks know how much they’re 
missin’? Did Doc Lemmon. 
February 
THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR 
Second Month 
