52 
House & Garden 
December THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Twelfth Month 
Tar paper collars 
around the fruit 
trees will protect the 
bark from rodents 
Peaches and other 
tree fruits can be 
grown under glass 
if well pruned, etc. 
Carejid attention to 
insect pest control 
is essential in the 
winter greenhouse 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
TUESDAY 
WEDNESDAY 
THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
1. No time 
must be lost in 
putting the celery 
into winter quar¬ 
ters. Mound up 
the soil well to 
turn the water, 
and cover the 
whole surface 
thoroughly with 
leaves or litter to 
prevent the frost 
penetrating to 
and damaging 
the stalks. 
2. This is the 
last call to put 
away the root 
crops such as 
turnips, carrots, 
beets, salsify, 
parsnips, etc. 
These vegetables 
are best stored 
by placing them 
in deep outdoor 
trenches well 
mounded and 
covered with 
litter. 
3. Do not neg¬ 
lect to mulch, as 
described on 
pages 42 and 43. 
This practice not 
only protects the 
roots from ex¬ 
treme weather 
conditions, but 
prevents the soil 
from becoming 
impoverished. 
All types of 
p la n 11 n gs are 
benefitted by it. 
4. Tender 
evergreens, es¬ 
pecially those 
that have just 
been trans¬ 
planted or are 
not growing well, 
should be pro¬ 
tected from the 
sun. Pine 
boughs, burlap, 
corn stalks, etc. 
may be used, as 
described on an¬ 
other page. 
5. B u 1 b o u 8 
plants of all kinds 
that are planted 
in fall will often 
start into growth 
in a warm spell. 
To prevent win¬ 
ter damage to 
this class of 
plants it is ad¬ 
visable to cover 
the plantings 
with leaves or lit¬ 
ter late in the 
fall. 
G. All pottery 
or other orna¬ 
mental flower 
vases which re¬ 
main outdoors 
should be turned 
over so that there 
will be no danger 
of their holding 
water and pos¬ 
sibly splitting. 
Marble work 
should be cover¬ 
ed with boards 
or straw. 
7. What about 
some .sort of trel¬ 
lis for the cane 
fruits? There is 
no question but 
that this is the 
best way of 
handling this 
class of plants in 
the garden. Use 
spring coil wire 
and stout posts 
to prevent sag¬ 
ging under the 
weight of canes. 
8. Mushrooms 
are very easy to 
grow if the condi¬ 
tions are right, so 
why not try a 
crop in your cel¬ 
lar. Use fresh 
horse manure 
made into a bed 
12" deep and 
well firmed. Pure 
culture spawn is 
by far the most 
dependable kind 
to use. 
9. It is a good 
practice to tie 
some tar paper 
collars around 
the young fruit 
trees to prevent 
damage to the 
bark by the teeth 
of rabbits and 
other rodents. 
Never allow any 
litter to accumu¬ 
late at the base 
of trees and 
harbor pests. 
10. Birds are 
the natural ene¬ 
mies of insects, 
and you will do 
well if you at- 
t ract them by 
feeding them 
regularly in win¬ 
ter. Be sure to 
place the food so 
that no prowling 
cat can reach the 
birds while they 
are occupied in 
feeding. 
11. All the 
garden tools 
should be clean¬ 
ed and put away, 
if you have not 
already attended 
to this important 
task. A coating 
of some inferior 
grade of oil will 
prevent the 
handles from 
checking and 
Keep the steel 
bright. 
12. Why not 
build a few melon 
frames? They 
are not hard to 
make, and really 
high quality mel¬ 
ons are impos¬ 
sible without 
them li you 
have no garden 
frames of any 
kind this is a 
good time to build 
some for use 
laier on. 
13. Dormant 
fruit houses that 
are entirely with¬ 
out heat because 
of the lack of fuel 
should be pro¬ 
tected by cover¬ 
ing the grape 
canes or peacn 
trees in them 
with heavy wrap¬ 
ping paper to 
prevent the dan¬ 
ger of sun scald 
this winter. 
14. Paper 
White narcissus 
or other early 
bulbs which are 
intended for 
house forcing 
can now be start¬ 
ed into growth. 
Light applica¬ 
tions of liquid 
fertilizers will 
improve the con¬ 
dition of the 
plants and the 
quality of flowers. 
15# Trees that 
are infested with 
scale should be 
sprayed with one 
of the prepared 
oils. Do not 
postpone this 
work until spring, 
as two sprayings 
are necessary 
with trees that 
are infested. 
Strong solutions 
can be used at this 
season. 
16. Have you 
ever tried dark 
forcing in your 
cellar? Rhubarb, 
chicory, sea kale 
and asparagus 
are all adaptable 
to it. Plant the 
dormant roots in 
deep beds and 
keep them well 
watered, exclud¬ 
ing the light with 
boards or heavy 
paper. 
17. An abun¬ 
dance of protect¬ 
ing material 
should be on 
hand for the pro¬ 
tection of frames 
that are filled 
with vegetables. 
Do not make the 
plants soft by ap¬ 
plying this un¬ 
necessarily, but 
be ready for any 
emergency that 
may arise. 
18. Lawns 
that are very un¬ 
even and contain 
numerous small 
pockets can be 
easily corrected 
by covering with 
some good top 
soil. This can be 
scattered on with 
a shovel, and the 
rains will gradu¬ 
ally carry it into 
the voids and fill 
them. 
19. Don’t you 
want an arbor 
over that garden 
entrance? One 
will not be very 
expensive to buy, 
but if you cannot 
afford this you 
can build it. The 
woodwork should 
be bolted to lo¬ 
cust posts which 
will not decay at 
the base f ojr a 
long time. 
20. There are 
many useful gar¬ 
den articles of 
home manufac¬ 
ture which can 
be made now, 
when outdoor 
work is slack. A 
good measuring 
rod, markers of 
various sizes, 
stakes for the 
flower gar¬ 
den, may be 
mentioned. 
21. House 
plants should be 
sponged regular¬ 
ly to keep the 
foliage free from 
dust which im¬ 
pairs the breath¬ 
ing processes of 
the plants. Use 
tepid water with 
just a drop or 
two or kerosene 
mixed;in to give a 
little gloss to the 
leaves. 
22. If you ex¬ 
amine the fruit 
trees while dor¬ 
mant you will be 
surprised at how 
many cocoons 
you will find. 
Most of these are 
of harmful speci¬ 
es and should be 
gathered and de¬ 
stroyed. Burn 
caterpillar nests 
with along 
handled torch. 
23. Winter is 
the best season 
to prune grapes. 
If left until spring 
they will invari¬ 
ably bleed where 
the cuts are 
made. Grapes 
fruit on new 
wood and it is 
therefore advis¬ 
able to cut them 
back quite 
severely at this 
time. 
24. House 
plants shoul4 
never be repot¬ 
ted during win¬ 
ter: those which 
show the need of 
fertilizing can be 
stimulated b y 
mild applications 
of liquid manure 
or concentrated 
fertilizer. Keep 
all the moss 
scrubbed from 
the pots. 
25. Do you 
intend to graft 
some good varie¬ 
ties on any of 
your fruit trees? 
If so, you had 
better get the 
scions ready and 
buried in the gar¬ 
den so that they 
will be properly 
retarded for the 
grafting next 
spring. Attend to 
this now. 
26. Have you 
looked over the 
potatoes since 
you put them in 
the cellar? A few 
bad potatoes will 
cause a serious 
loss if they are 
not removed. If 
they are sprout¬ 
ing it shows thift 
the storage place 
is too warm, and 
thetroubleshould 
be remedied. 
27. Winter is 
the best time to 
remove trees that 
must come down. 
After cutting, the 
stumps can be 
removed with 
stump pullers: or 
where possible to 
use it, dynamite 
makes a clean 
job, especially 
when the ground 
is thoroughly 
frozen. 
28. With stock 
that is perfectly 
hardy and where 
there is no dan¬ 
ger of winter kil¬ 
ling, p runing 
operations of all 
kinds may be 
carried on 
throughout the 
winter. Always 
paint the large 
scars with tree 
paint to prevent 
decay. 
29. New land 
may be cleared 
this month. 
Underbrush and 
timber are best 
removed when 
the trees are dor¬ 
mant and when 
other work is not 
pressing. Save 
the ashes from 
the brush fires, as 
they are excel- 
1 e n t fertilizing 
material. 
30 It is a good 
practice to look 
over all outside 
trenches where 
vegetables are 
stored to make 
certain that the 
rain is not pene¬ 
trating them. 
Covers made of 
tar paper are a 
good protection 
for these storage 
places, and are 
easily arranged. 
31. The freez¬ 
ing method is one 
of the best for 
the transplanting 
of large trees. 
Trenches can be 
dug around the 
trees, and when 
the ball of earth 
and roots is fro¬ 
zen solid they 
can be moved 
with perfect 
safety and good 
chance of success. 
This calendar of the gardener’s labors 
is aimed as a reminder for undertak¬ 
ing 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 per¬ 
forming garden operations. 
I intended an Ode, 
And it turn'd 
to a Sonnet. 
It began a la 
mode, 
I intended an 
Ode\ 
But Rose cross'd 
the road 
In her latest 
new bonnet : 
I intended an 
Ode; 
And it turn'd 
to a Sonnet. 
—Austin Dobson 
J FEEL kinder shut in an' lonesome when winter comes—durned if I don't. ’Tain't only because I 
± have to keep indoors more 'count of the weather an’ my rheumatiz, neither. I got to studyin’ 
about it last night, watchin’ the steady little flames from the hickory logs in the settin’ room fireplace 
after the folks had gone to bed an the lights was all out, an’ I calc’late the trouble’s mostly because 
the garden’s buried in the snow an’ there’s nothin’ to do in it any more. Ye see, ye can’t never be 
alone in a growin’ garden. It’s a town, like ; full of all kinds of life an’ business — flowers, birds, 
butterflies, worms—each with some partic’lar work to do, an’ doin’ it. Ye get to workin’ in a garden, 
an first thing ye know ye feel like ye was a part of the life of it — helpin’ the live things that need 
help, an fight in’ them that’s ag’in ’em. No, ye can’t never be downright lonesome in a garden: nor 
shut m , neither . 
—Old Doc Lemmon 
Winter scrubbing of 
the trunks will de¬ 
stroy the eggs of 
harmful insects 
Practically every 
type of planting, as 
well as the soil, is 
helped by mulching 
All transplanting or 
potting work calls 
for firming down 
the new soil 
Do not neglect the 
winter bulbs. Forc¬ 
ing of many kinds 
may be started now 
Tulips add so much to the beauty of the 
indoor garden at so slight expense that they 
should be in practically universal instead 
of exceptional use 
/I heavy covering of salt meadow hay will 
protect the vegetables growing in frames. 
If exposed to heavy winds, keep the hay in 
place with branches 
A right angle nozzle 
will make it easier 
to spray the under 
sides of leaves 
