54 
House & Garden 
He is so small, he docs 
Q not know 
2 The summer sun, the 
-\ winter snow; 
The spring that ebbs 
and comes again, 
All this is far beyond 
his ken. 
A little zvorld he feels 
^ and sees: 
His mother's arms, his 
Q mother's knees; 
yr He hides his face 
against her breast, 
y And docs not care to 
learn the rest. 
6. Go over jo u'r 
tools and repair any 
that require it. A new 
handle for the scuffle 
hoe, new bolts for the 
hedge shears—there are 
many little things that 
can best be attended to 
now. 
13. Wily not devote 
a good portion of your 
greenhouse to vegeta¬ 
bles? This is far more 
patriotic than closing it 
up. An oil stove will 
supply enough heat for 
the cooler vegetables 
like spinach, carrots, etc. 
20. Better order 
spraying material now— 
the bugs will be around 
later. Remember that it 
is poison for the bugs 
that eat, suffocation for 
those that puncture, and 
fungicides for the var¬ 
ious diseases. 
27. Every one of 
those innocent looking 
little bags on the twigs 
of the trees contains 
myriads of injurious 
eggs which should 
never be allowed to 
hatch. Burn them and 
all caterpillar nests. 
7. A top dressing of 
about pure sand on 
your grass tennis court 
will promote a growth 
of fine grass next 
spring. Lawns can be 
top dressed with ma¬ 
nure, or a covering of 
about 1" of rich earth. 
14. Garden furni¬ 
ture, stakes for the tall 
flowers, maybe a sun¬ 
dial, fences for the 
vegetable garden, a trel¬ 
lis for lima beans, a 
rose arbor, cane fruits 
or dwarf trees—all may 
be ordered now. 
21. Have you over¬ 
hauled your lawn mow¬ 
er, or are you going to 
wait until the first warm 
Saturday next spring? 
Better see that it is in 
good shape now, with 
plenty of oil to prevent 
rust. 
28. Large threes of 
all kinds can be moved 
with impunity now. Cut 
good sized earth balls 
and allow them to 
freeze solid. Trees 
handled in this manner 
need not be heavily 
pruned. j 
1. New Year’s Day. 
Sun rises, 7:14 A. M.; 
r-\ Sun sets, 4:22 P. M. 
W Start gardening plan- 
rj ning now. Lay out the 
S garden to scale, plan 
f—* systematically and de- 
r -1 cide now just what you 
will grow. 
8. House plants 
should be top dressed; 
half soil and half sheep 
manure makes a good 
mixture. The foliage 
should be sponged with 
tepid water, one spoon¬ 
ful of kerosene emul¬ 
sion to a pail. 
15. All the early 
bulbs may be forced 
now, whether in the 
dwelling or the green- 
house. Paper white 
narcissus, French grown 
daffodils, early Roman 
hyacinths should be fed 
with liquid manure. 
22. All kinds of 
winter protection such 
as leaf mulches, litter, 
etc. get matted down 
and lose their protective 
value if neglected. A 
little loosening up with 
a fork will give them 
new life. 
29. If you are for¬ 
tunate enough to have a 
greenhouse, you should 
start seed now of 
onions, leek, celery and 
French globe artichoke. 
The last will mature 
heads in one season 
from seed sown now. 
2. Do you realize 
Q that the food situation 
is going to be more seri- 
r T i ous this year, and that 
you owe it to the coun- 
y? try to do your bit? 
U-) Have as large a garden 
^ as you are physically 
able to care for. 
9. Did you envy 
your neighbor’s irri¬ 
gated garden during the 
dry spell last summer? 
Then why not plan 
some sort of irrigation 
for yours? There are 
different types to suit 
any purse. 
16. Old perennial 
borders that are to be 
changed should be 
studied and planned 
now. New perennial 
plantings should be con¬ 
sidered and the plants 
ordered. Early prepara¬ 
tion saves blunders. 
23. This is the prop¬ 
er season to overhaul all 
greenhouse plants and 
repot palms and other 
decorative plants. Ferns 
should be repotted and 
young runners taken 
off. Bougainvilleas, etc., 
should be pruned. 
30. All kinds of 
really hardy trees and 
shrubs can be pruned 
now. Don’t cut the 
spring flowering shrubs 
at the top. You can re¬ 
move old wood at the 
base, but top cutting re¬ 
duces the flowers. 
1 3. Make out your 
^ seed order early, so 
2? that you will get a bet- 
U-4 ter selection. Study 
^ the varieties carefully; 
QC don’t suppose that all 
3 are the same. Good seed, 
catalogs give the quan- 
tities of seed required. 
10. Have you started 
the early grapery or 
peach house? Frequent 
spraying of the wood is 
essential to assure an 
even “break.” Remov¬ 
ing about 2" of top soil 
and replacing it with 
rich earth is advisable. 
17. The ordinary 
turnip forced in the 
dark either in the cellar 
or greenhouse makes a 
growth which is palata¬ 
ble and delicious. In 
fact, it is as good as sea 
kale, which is highly 
prized in England. 
24. The shoots of 
Japan quince, pussy¬ 
willows, golden bells— 
in fact, any shrub or 
tree that flowers befere 
the foliage appears—can 
be forced into flower by 
plunging them in water 
in a warm room. 
31. Sun rises, 6:59 
A. MSun sets, 4:56 
P. M. 
The manure supply 
will be inadequate this 
year, so order yours 
now. It improves with 
age, and a turning or 
two. Do not waste it. 
4. How about order¬ 
ing some fruit trees 
. now? If you haven’t 
r* room for large trees, 
<! plant some dwarfs. Re- 
Q move all loose bark on 
•—> 1 old fruit trees, as it 
CC harbors the pupae of in- 
sect enemies. 
11. The moss that 
accumulates on the 
trunks and branches of 
trees such as elms, 
maples, etc., is unsight¬ 
ly and injurious. A stiff 
brush will remove it, 
especially during a spell 
of wet weather. 
18. Whether in the 
dwelling or greenhouse, 
flower pots should be 
scrubbed occasionally to 
remove the moss and 
slime that collects on 
them. No plant can be 
expected to do well 
under such conditions. 
25. Why not build a 
hotbed or coldframe for 
your garden? You can 
get a couple of sash and 
build it now. It will 
give you a garden two 
or three weeks earlier 
than would be possible 
without it. 
This Kalendar of the 
gardener’s labors is 
aimed as a reminder 
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 re¬ 
membered 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 op¬ 
erations. The dates 
given are, of course, 
for an average season. 
S. Wet, heavy snow 
is destruction to soft 
<£ evergreens such as re- 
Q tinosporas, junipers 
|V* biotas, etc. Remove it 
•—s with a wooden rake and 
1 shake the. branches 
gently, as they are easi- 
**5 ly broken. 
cn 
12. You should al¬ 
ways keep a barrel of 
liquid manure in the 
greenhouse to feed all 
kinds of pot plants. Cow 
manure, sheep manure, 
guano, nitrate of soda, 
etc., are good. Give the 
plants variety. 
Robert E. Lee born, 1807. 
19. Dark forcing of 
all kinds is in order. 
Chicory, asparagus and 
rhubarb force well from 
old roots. They can be 
grown in the cellar or 
under the greenhouse 
benches. 
26. All benches in 
t h e greenhouse should 
be top dressed with a 
mixture composed of 
equal parts of sheep 
manure and soil. To¬ 
matoes, cucumbers, let¬ 
tuce, roses—in fact, all 
plants—respond to it. 
First Month 
J arm ary 
THE GARDENER’S KALENDAR 
Good-sisecl trees can be 
moved this month if 
taken up with a large 
ball of earth 
With a wooden 
rake keep the 
damp, heavy 
s n o w fro m 
breaking down 
the evergreens 
Bean poles 
may well be 
cut and 
b r o u ght in 
now. C c d a r 
poles are best 
A machete, the jungle 
knife of Latin America, 
is ideal for cutting pea 
brush 
A well 
planned 
garden is 
e s p e c i - 
ally neces¬ 
sary this 
year, when 
crops are 
so impor¬ 
tant 
The hot¬ 
bed, well 
manage d, 
m e a n s 
earlier veg¬ 
etables 
Both hot¬ 
beds and 
cold-frames 
should be 
built this 
winter 
Don’t forget the water¬ 
ing, especially of young 
plants, now that the 
greenhouse is heated 
