Evening star., 1916-12-24

The season Is at hand when the
seedsmen's catalogues make their ap-
pearance in the mails and the amateur
gardeners begin planning and figuring
on next springs gardens. The trouble
with a large number Of these garden
ers is that plans never seem to progress
beyond the figuring" stage. or if they
do get to the point of actual work
they are either so ambitious or so i'm
practical that results are rarely OBJ
tained.
The suburban gardener with a plot
of ground fifteen by thirty feet too often
tries to grow on 1t little bit of every
thing, the result being that he usually
grows nothing at all This is a foolish
waste of money and time. because the
only crop produced Is that hardy an
nual, the crop of disgusted gardeners
who declare there Is nothing to the
idea of growing ones own vegetables
in the back yard.
The exercise of little judgment and
common sense on the part of men who
think they want to grow things in
heir own yards would soon result in
cutting off this annua4 crop of dis
rruntled agriculturists. Instead of
trying to grow sugar corn, potatoes.
rabbages, rutabagas and all Of the
larger field crops" If they would con-
fine their attention to such things as
arly peas. lettuce. radishes. spring
onions, string beans and few early
5eets, they would do much better. OBJ
tain some tangible results and save
themselves the waste of money. ef-
fort and the certainty of ultimate fall
ure.
Seed catalogues. with their ailTlng
colored plates showing prize winning
vegetables in all the magnificence Of
the lithographers art. are tempting
nieces of literature: the trouble is, they
are taken too seriously by men Who
ith hazy recollections of the gardens
of their boyhood homes, have an idea
they can produce on the hard and
stingy soil Of the average suburban
sack yard the same kind of vegetables
that are shown in the gorgeous lftho-
graphs.
Right now, before the catalogues get
a firm hold on the imaginations of their
recipients. let the suburban gardener
take stock. Go over the list of Nege-
ia lies most used In the home, consult
ing the tastes of the others in the fam
lily. Let him Gull and select. leaving
out everything that is not cared Tor by
all of the family. Let him then meas
ure the available gardening space, so
that he may know exactly how much
ground he has for gardening. and theh
allot the snace according to the prohabie
requirements of the family Fear IN
mind that sugar corn. cabbage and Po-
tatoes require lots of room. while on
couple of hfteen-foot rows of peas
enough can be grown to supply the
needs Of the average family untll ma
summer. The proposition may be
summed up in a few words: Adapt your
ideas to your space and to the time you
have to give to gardening work. and to
he tastes Of the family. If this is done
there will he fewer disgusted amateur
gardeners six monthe from now.
Whenever il is possible to do so. in,
srect the Young fruit trees roses ana
ether shrubhery. to see that winter
storms or rabbits or field mice are not
iriurjng them If the advice gii en- In
this coiurln several weefs ago was fol-
'on ed ard the young fruit trees We're
-i-en a heavy coat of carb med white.
cash. the rahbits and field mice VIII
not bother them much. but II the adpiee
vas neglected 1t is likely the pests.
during the recent heavy snow. VIII ma e
attacked the tender bark II thls Is
true the injury may be alleviated ny
coating the harked places Wlth para
while warm and iuid. coat
ing of soft clay. thickly appied. Is an
old ~emedy that is often effcacious.
few days of warm weather usuatly
come along in the early part or -'anu-
ary and at such times many orchard'stS
make it a practice to dig away couple
of inches of the soil around the roots OF
.he Young trees to see il borers may De
lurking there This is good idea pro-
yidad the soil is replaced after 1t has b 'en
s!ue away If this is not done the freez-
tng weather that Is certain to come later
rriil probably kill the trees. The reason
for this as explained by the pomolo-
rists of the Department Of Agriculture. is
that the bark at the roots of the young
raes is much more tender than that
higher ND the trunks. If exposed to the
air and to freezing temperatures this
tender bark will certainly freeze. the ef,
feet being the same as If the trees had
been girdled.
Fron, time to time during the winter
cut away surplus wood from the young
trees and shrubbery. While the foliage
is off and the trees are dormant is
good time to work them gradually into /
shape: indeed. this work can be better /.
done then than at any other season of the |
year Even an amateur can see the /
general shape of the trees and shrubs !
better when there are no leaves than when !,
the growth is in full foliage and can bet /
ter shape the growth into desired form.
Be sure the wrappings have not been
torn or blown from the rose bushes or
from the bulb beds. and replace any that
nay have become disarranged or dis /
turbed. |
If wood is used in the range or in a I
6rorlocA xpr-oud al fhe aShea the he'd