Evening star., 1934-09-29
Home Gardener
Practical and Seasonal Hints
for Beautifying Surroundings
of the Home.
BY J. w. WELLINGTON.

Freeman Weiss of the United States
Department of Agriculture brings
timely advice on the importance OF
cleaning up the garden at the close
Of the growing year.
In order to attain the hygienc
conditions that are so important a
thorough annual cleanup should be
carried out in all greenhouses and
gardens so as to dispose of weeds,
discarded plants, and general litter;
and orderly and sanitary conditions,
including the prompt disposal of dis
carded or diseased plants, prunings
and fallen leaves, should be main
tained throughout the growing season.
Plant remains are fertile breed
ing ground for all sorts of organisms
of decay, some of which may also at
tack living plants under congested, in
sanitary conditions. Many plant
disease organisms produce resting
spores or other bodies in the plant
tissues that they attack by means of
which their preservation is insured
sometimes for several years after the
host plants perish. To avoid much
of the damage caused by insect and
fungous pests, all dead plants and
remains should be promptly collected
and burned. They should not be al
lowed to accumulate in proximity to
living plants nor should they be added
to the compost pile from which soil
Is later to be used. BY this means
alone several of the most troublesome
diseases in the flower garden, for ex-
ample, leaf spot of iris and leaf blotch
of peonies, can largely be avoided.
THE damage which certain dis
eases, for example black spot of rose
and leaf spots of chrysanthemum,
geranium, hollyhock, phlox and violet,
may do once they become established
in garden, may be avoided to con-
siderable extent by maintaining
careful watch for the earliest appear
ance of the disease and promptly re-
moving infected plant parts as soon
as they are discovered. 1t is often
easier to prevent these diseases en-
tirely than to mitigate their effects
apprciably after they have obtained a
foothold.
''Aster wilt, gladiolus CORN dis
eases, tulip blight, root-knot COR ne
matode galD of numerous plants, and
many other diseases of garden plants
tend to increase if the same or re-
lated kinds of plants are grown in
one site repeatedly, even though care
is taken to remove diseased plants
promptly. In some cases it may be
more practicable to change the plant
ing site each year. in others to pre-
serve the site but remove the soil
- NF
place it with fresh SOIL"
Autumn Pruning.
Although Spring is the accepted
season for pruning, something may
be said in favor of late Autumn for
removing dying and weakened limbs.
At this season these injured branches
may be distinguished by brown leaves
or other off-type growth, but in Win
ter it may be difficult. AS some horti-
culturiSts have written, dead and
dying limbs may be removed at any
season. One must be more careful
to dress Autumn pruning wounds than
those made in Spring, because of the
fact that no healing will occur until
Spring. However, small cuts do not
require painting. Cuts that are To-
Gated in the crotch of the tree need
particular care,
e. e : ssssy 5s DSss4s5: ts aa *,XtTsMlM
ter the heart Of tNt\ NsS@A
a tree at this NS( N
point. Strangely tG IN
enough, where v
e, g.: g.: ;::; !: !: :. :: i: i: j: w
ter they were [
q; 8: J: :; !: = !: !;
more often the ~
central limbs. ~
These central fNIA 0W1s
limbs were ap- WN \$N
well nourished as sN>-~oMs |t3
the outer limbs.
which obtained full sunlight and, as
result, could not resist the cold as well.
Grating wax and paraffin are use
full substances for temporarily seal
ing cuts. AS mentioned elsewhere,
raw linseed oil, thickened with bor-
deaux powder, is good dressing for
wounds.
The Desirable Abelia.
The aoe1ia is not a new shrub, by
any means. but its popularity has