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HENRY FIELD'S SEED SENSE FOR FALL, 1947—-Henry Field Seed & Nursery Co., Shenandoah, Iowa 5 

Storing Root Crops | 
Storing vegetables after frost need not 
require any considerable equipment. An 
unheated shed or garage will serve to 
keep root crops, including beets, carrots, 
turnips, rutabagas and potatoes, 
Carrots, beets, and turnips may be put 
in boxes packed in soil, peat moss or 
sphagnum moss, and this should be kept 
moist. Until outdoor temperatures fall 
much below freezing, this storage will be 
satisfactory. 
Parsnips and salsify may be dug, sorted 
into lots, and placed in paper bags. These 
bags may be placed in a box and left out- 
doors in a place sheltered from rain. The 
vegetables will be improved by freezing. 
Squash ‘and pumpkins should be kept 
in a temperature higher than 60 degrees 
for a week after harvest, to harden them; 
then stored in a dry basement or attic in 
a temperature not lower than 40 degrees. 
Store onions in a dry place protected 
from freezing where the air can circulate 
freely around each bulb. 
_ If your garden surplus of root crops is 
so large that it will last until low tem- 
peratures and make an unheated garage 
or shed risky, a. shallow outdoor pit in- 
sulated against freezing by heavy layers 
of straw or excelsior, and covered with 
earth will keep them sufficiently moist to 
prevent drying and shrinking. This pit 
can be made by selecting a space’ from 
which water drains quickly and making . 
an excavation between 6 inches and a 
foot deep. Line with a foot of straw or 
- excelsior, and pile the vegetables upon 
this in a mound 2 ft. high. Then cover 
with a foot of straw, excelsior or dead 
leaves and throw over this at least 6 
inches of soil... Then another foot of 
straw or leaves and enough soil to hold 
it down. The insulating material should 
emerge from the soil at the top to allow 
some ventilation. 
ATER Dahlia!!! 
SD 
“Dear Mr. Field: Our rainbow collections 
of dahlias and cannas were both fine. Hada 
big white dahlia which towered 7 ft. and 
had flowers as big around as a milk bucket. 
We had beautiful flowers.”—Mrs. James 
Henry Williams, Oxford Manse, Georgetown, 
eerese 

™ 

1,2&3 
? Yes, these are triplets all right. 
are Dale, Dean and John Fahnestock,. 
2% yr. old grandsons of Mrs. B. F. Lebo, 
r 
They 
Rt. 1, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They are 
holding ernie. grown an their mother’s 
garden, — 
‘ 
“ 
clean cuts and leaving no stubs. 
Through an Oyster’s Eyes 
An oyster house in Hartford, Conn., recently marked its 100th anniversary. 
By way of celebrating the event, it published a menu comparing conditions 
then and now. Said the menu: 
“We opened in 1846, when women wore hoop skirts, frilled cotton drawers, 
did cleaning, washing and ironing, raised big families, went to church Sundays 
and were too busy to be sick. Men wore whiskers, chopped wood, bathed once 
a week, drank ten-cent whiskey and five-cent beer, worked 12 hours a day and 
lived to a ripe old age. Stores burned coal oil lamps, carried everything from 
-a needle to a plow, trusted everybody, never took inventory, placed orders for 
goods a year in advance, and always made money.” 
- This, of course, was the era which orators have in mind when they talk 
about progress. We have progressed since then. What have we progressed to? 
The centenary menu makes it perfectly plain: 
“Now women wear an ounce of underwear, smoke, paint, powder, drink 
cocktails, have pet dogs and go in for politics. Men have high blood pressure, 
little hair, bathe twice a day, are misunderstood at home, play the .stock 
market, drink poison, work five hours a day and die young. Stores have 
electric lights, cash registers, elevators, never have what the customer wants, 
trust nobody, take inventory daily, never buy in advance, have overhead, 
mark-down, stock control, Dollar Day, Founder’s Day, Economy Day—and 
never make any money.” 
Pruning Roses 
In the fall Roses should be pruned 
back from 18 in. to 2 ft. to prevent being 
whipped by strong winds which would 
loosen the plant and break the newly 
formed feeding-roots. They should be 
hilled up 12 inches with soil and the tops 
covered with leaves, evergreen boughs, 
or some material which will not pack 
into a wet, soggy mass. When the cover- 
ing is removed in the spring, cut out all 
diseased and dead wood first, making 
The 
more severely a rose is pruned, the more 
vigorous the resulting growth. 
A Lb. Average 
“Dear Mr.» Field: We sure had grand 
onions from the Sweet Spanish plants we 
ordered from you. Most of them averaged 
about a Ib. apiece. Our strawberries sure 
done well last year. They were the Min- 
nesota 1166 and Senator - Dunlap.”—Mrs. 
Chas. A. Foster, Box 72, Peru, Nebraska. 
NEW Apple Coming 
Can’t tell you about it yet, but I’ve got 
a brand new Henry Field Apple coming 
for next spring. It’s different, and you’ll 
sure want at least one tree. Watch for it 
in the big catalog next January. 
Perennials Bloom Earlier 
When Fall Planted- 
Since most perennials are early bloom- 
ers, they are ideally suited to fall plant- 
ing. Not only will they do better when 
set out in the fall, but in this way you are 
sure of blooms the first year. Most people 
wait until spring to plant them, and dur- 
ing a normal spring season this is per- 
fectly all right. During a late wet season 
it oftentimes happens that perennials get 
set so near their blooming season that 
they do not have time to develop to their 
full beauty. 
When you plant perennials in the fall, 
do not expect them to make much top 
growth. With few exceptions they con- 
fine growth to the roots, which is what 
you want. Cover them completely with 
soil late in the fall. Uncover them in the 
spring, and they’re ready to grow and 
bloom with full vigor. 
Enjoyed the Contest Melon 
ee EET REET TRIAS SNM BS ASE RO EDO TE ARETE EE IRS oe SET MR Om 
“Dear Sir: We were among those who got 
a few of your contest melon seeds last year. 
Whey were wonderful, absolutely delicious, 
wonderful flavor and of very fine texture. 
As fine a melon as we ever tasted.”—Mrs. 
_C. A. Buttleston, Box 25A, Coeur d’Alene, 
\ ht ll 

Appreciates Gift 
“Dear Mr. Field: Received my flowers all 
in the nicest condition. The gift was great- 
ly appreciated. Thank you so much for giv- 
ing such a small order such nice attention.” 
—Mrs. Lawrence Williams, Rt. 11, Box 426, 
Fort Worth, Texas. 
Direct from Holland 
You'll. remember the beautiful tulip, 
hyacinth and daffodil bulbs I sent out 
last fall. Well, this year I’m going to 
send bulbs that are even better. They’re 
direct from Holland, where our growers 
tell me, bulbs are in perfect condition. 
As usual, they’ll be mailed to you in late 
October or November, but again as usual, 
it will be the earlier order that gets the 
choice. Some of the newer varieties will 
be in short supply, so don’t delay sending 
in your orders. 

H.F. Glads in Georgia 
This picture was sent in by Mrs. John 
Wofford, Rt. 8, Summerville, Georgia. It 
is her daughter, Mary Francis, age 6, 
taken with some gladiolus from Field’s. 
Mrs. Wofford says, ‘‘The one Mary Fran- 
cis has ahold of measured 614 inches 
across,”’ 
