52 
House & Garden 
February THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Second Month 
Grass an Teplitz is 
still one of the best 
hybrid tea roses. 
Rich scarlet 
A good tree clipper 
is the easiest tool 
for pruning h i g h 
branches 
By the end of the 
month branches of 
flowering shrubs can 
be forced 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
TUESDAY 
WEDNESDAY 
THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
Like the tints on a crescent 
sea beach 
When the moon is new 
end thin. 
Into our hearts high yearn¬ 
ings 
Come welling and surg¬ 
ing in — 
Come, fro m the mystic 
ocean. 
Whose rim no foot has 
trod — 
Some of us call it longing. 
And others call it God. 
— W. //. Carruth. 
1. No one 
can garden 
well with dull 
or poor quality 
tools. This isthe 
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. 
2. Better 
get out the 
sashes for the 
hotbed and 
cold-frame,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. 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. 
4. All plants 
that have been 
in the same 
pots for any 
considerable 
time, such as 
palms and oth¬ 
er decorative 
things, should 
be repotted be- 
fore their 
active grow¬ 
ing season 
starts. Top 
dressing is the 
alternative. 
5. Summer 
flowering bulbs 
such as cannas, 
gladioli, dahl¬ 
ias, 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. 
6. Have 
you ordered 
your supply of 
seeds? 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. 
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 
produced 
only where in¬ 
telligent prun¬ 
ing is prac¬ 
tised, so your 
labor will be 
well repaid. 
8. 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. 
9. 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. 
10. Decid¬ 
uous trees and 
shrubs also re¬ 
quire pruning 
to keep them 
in good health. 
Early flower¬ 
ing subjects 
such as the 
lilac or spireas 
are best 
pruned after 
they have fin¬ 
ished flowering 
along in the 
spring. 
11. 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. 
12. Bay 
trees, hydran¬ 
geas, oranges 
and other 
plants of this 
type that are 
used for deco¬ 
ration outside 
in the summer 
should be 
looked over to 
see if the tubs 
will stand up 
through an¬ 
other season’s 
use. 
13. It 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. 
14. If you 
like golf, you 
should have a 
practice green 
constructed on 
your grounds 
— some 
screened cor¬ 
ner where you 
can practise 
when you want 
to. Sow it with 
fescue and 
creeping bent 
grass in equal 
quantities. 
15. Start 
sowings now in 
the greenhouse 
of the hardy 
vegetables 
such as cab¬ 
bage, cauli¬ 
flower, lettuce, 
celery, toma¬ 
toes, etc. Use 
flats or seed 
pans for great¬ 
er convenience, 
and provide 
plenty of 
drainage. 
16. 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. 
17. 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. 
18. Have 
you studied 
the merits of a 
fruit border? 
No place is 
complete with¬ 
out one. Rasp¬ 
berries, cur¬ 
rants, goose¬ 
berries, black¬ 
berries, grapes 
— all 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. 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. 
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. 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. 
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 im¬ 
proved as well 
as other 
things, so look 
them over. 
25. Garden 
arbors as they 
are now made 
are very at¬ 
tractive and 
necessary ac¬ 
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. 
26. 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. 
27. 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. 
28. All dor¬ 
mant trees and 
shrubs that are 
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. 
This calendar of 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. 
T\’YE know, thar’s somethin’ kinder sneaky about cold weather. Not the blusterin’, howlin’ kind 
^ that comes a-ridin’ dozen out o’ the nor’west on a fifty-mile gale, but the real bitter, silent sort we 
git this time o’ year, ’specially at night. Ain’t likely to be no wind at all when the mercury slips 
dozen to fifteen er twenty belozv — jus’ a still, sparkly night zuith a million stars bright as di’monds an’ 
the shadders o’ the trees lyin’ blue-white on the crust — ye don’t realise how almighty cold it is, it 
steals in that easy an’ onsuspected. Cornin’ back from the barn after beddiW dozen the bosses fer the 
night the snow squeaks dry an’ fine underfoot, an’ yer nose stiffens up inside with ev’ry breath. Ye 
stop to drazv a pail o’ water at the zeell, takin* care yer bare hand don’t touch the iron handle o’ the 
zeindlass an’ freeze fas’. How quiet ev’rythin’ is — p’inted spruces ag’in the sky, light from the kitchen 
winder streamin’ ycller across the snow. Then, ’way back yonder in the woods, a tree splits with the 
frost, a poppin’ crack in the distance. Purty soon ’nother one, louder an’ nearer. ’Thout no noise er 
fuss, sayin* nothin’ to nobody afore he gets a-holt, the cold is tightenin' his grip. 
— Old Doc Lemmon. 
“in-. 
Tulips grown in 
fibre instead of earth 
can be flowered in¬ 
doors 
Sweet peas can soon 
be started in pots 
indoors for early 
setting out 
The soil for early 
seed planting should 
be made light and 
fine 
When watering seedlings care must be taken 
not to wash the soil from their roots. A 
fine spray is needed 
The polyanthus narcissi, of which the 
paper-white is best known, flower six weeks 
after planting in pebbles and water 
If the greenhouse walks are of concrete it 
is a good plan to hose them so as to increase 
the moisture in the air 
