Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-11-19

With the advent of cold weather be
sure to give young fruit trees some
protection against the ravages OF rab-
bits. Usually a liberal coat of white
wash containing crude carbolic acid
will keep these and other pests away,
the rabbits refusing to attack trees
strongly favored with the acid rms
also keeps borers and similar pests
away and likewise prevents the raw
ages of fungi to a marked degree 1T,
however. the carbolized whitewash
does not prove effective in keeping
rabbits from gnawing the tender Dark
of the young trees, make small GYM
ders of fine-mesh poultry netting TO
place about the trunks, allowing the
netting to rest on the ground and TO
extend a foot or more up the trunks
Rabbits do a great deal of damage in
young orchards, seeming to like the
bark of the trees better than almost
any other kind OF food during the WIN
ter, and owners of unprotected Or
chards may expect to find their young
trees girdled or badly gnawed by the
time spring arrives.
MANY uses may be found for sifted
coal ashes on the country or SUBURBAN
or gravel and clay makes first class
walks There is nothing the chickens
like better for dust bath than box
Of thoroughly dry sifted coal ashes.
II there are places In the sarden "nea a.
the soil is wet. tough or sour the coai
ashes VIII tighten and sweeten the SOIL
almost as well as lime. Nothing Is
better for drainage layers In mower
beds than cinders ana cankers ieit
behind in sitting the ashes.
Oupers suburban or country
homes who make practice of raklng
up the fallen leaves and burning them
display lack of knowledge Of the
value of the leaves Nothing makes
better litter in the poultry houses than
dry leaves, in which the hens delight
to scratch, dig and walloW. Cattle ana
horses also like such material for bed
ding The leaves in either case must
be used deep; many poultrymen cover
the floors of the laying houses with
them to the depth Of two feet or even
more, the work of the hens rapidly re-
ducing the depth Of the litter Used as
bedding for cattle the leaves should be
a foot deep in the stalls. The old ma
terial when removed from poultry
houses or sta oles and added to the
compost heap is rapidly converted into
the best OF humus; indeed, gardens or
some country places where leaves have
been so utilized for a number of years
appear to be composed Of leaf mold 10
the depth of several inches to "a foot:
As soon as the ground is frozen give
the bulb beds a mulch of straw or OF
strawy manure. Cover the beds to the
depth of "A couple of inches with the
mulch, II necessary weighing it down
with poles to keep 1t from being blown
away during the winter. For the straw
berry bed it is best to straw
rather than strawy litter from the
stable Cover the plants an inch or so
! deep and lay poles along between the
I rows to keep the straw in place. The
! idea in waiting to do this work until
| after the ground is frozen is to keep
! field mice from taking up their homes
IN the litter; this is also the reason
for making the mulch no deeper than
a couple Of inches. If applied too soon
the mice will make nests and burrow S
in and under II. devour the crowns OF
the strawberry plants, thus running
them, and attack the young shoots
from oulbs soon as they peep above
the surface of the round
Housewives in the country, at this
time Of year. are often greatly trou
bled with mice, which come into the
houses as soon as really cold weather
arrives Rats do the same. but not to
rodents may be depended on to do a
great deal of damage in the house II
they are not fought as soon az their
presence is detected. Poisons of the
out Of doors to die, or that cause the
bodies of the rodents to become mum
mi.ed in a few days. may be used.
though care must be taken to see that
such poisons are not placed where
children. valuable poultry or pets can
get il.
Traps of many types are on the mar
iet and these usually work well for a
time. though the rodents seem soon to
learn their dangers and avoid the traps
/ after q few victims have been canght.
, Prevention is the best method to en-
ploy in fighting rats and mise. Just as
| ii is in other matters. Properly built
houses will he frAa from the uasfa. tn n Z