THE FLORIST. 297 



THE LADIES' PAGE. 



The flush of the landscape is o'er, 



The brown leaves are shed on the way, 



The dye of the lone mountain-flower 

 Grows wan and betokens decay. 



All silent the song of the thrush, 



Bewilder'd she cowers in the dale ; 



The blackbird sits lone on the bush — 

 The fall of the leaf they bewail." 



Hogg. 



If the flower-garden has been cleared of all decayed vegetation, and 

 received its stock of spring bulbs, little will remain to be done during 

 the present month in the open air. If alterations are contemplated, 

 let them be finished as early as possible, that the plants which have 

 been removed may get a chance of rooting before frosts set in. It 

 is well at this time to take a general survey of the garden, to see if 

 any new trees or shrubs can be introduced with advantage. What- 

 ever you determine on having, get from the nursery-ground with 

 the roots as perfect and little disturbed as possible. The work of 

 transplanting is done far more effectually in autumn than in spring, 

 for the drying suns and winds of the latter "season will often render 

 success impossible. 



As most ladies who are at all attached to horticultural pursuits 

 have plants in pots which demand their care during the winter, their 

 arrangements should now be complete. Roses, Fuchsias, Verbenas, 

 and other flowers which are not easily affected by damp, will do well 

 in a frame, provided frost is excluded, and abundance of air given 

 on all practicable occasions. We set our frames for this purpose on 

 a rough wooden stage about eight inches from the ground ; this 

 allows of a circulation of air from below, and tends much to promote 

 the dryness so essential to success. The frames should be well 

 glazed, and coverings of oiled calico be at hand to put on during 

 rains, so as to prevent water from dripping on the plants, which is 

 often the cause of their destruction during the short and dull days 

 of winter. At the beginning of December we line the frames with 

 dry litter, about a foot thick all round ; and then, with old carpets or 

 mats ready to heap on as the degree of frost may demand, we have 

 no apprehension of losing our favourites. One rule must be observed 

 rigidly, and that is, not to remove the coverings and admit light too 

 quickly after a severe frost. A frozen plant will be destroyed by 

 the solar rays coming on it when in that state, which, if allowed to 

 thaw in the dark, would have taken no harm. Although this direc- 

 tion is so often given in works on gardening, and is founded on such 

 obvious natural principles, we find it is constantly being neglected ; 

 we therefore make no excuse for inserting it here. 



Plants in windows must receive no more water than is sufficient 

 to prevent their flagging ; as mere conservation, not growth, is now 



VOL. II. no. xxiii. z 



