THE FLORAL WOELD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



69 



otlaer plants th;it like moisture ; but they 

 must be iu the coolest and airiest part of 

 tli€ house, for much heat is an injury to 

 them. Give liquid manure once a-week. 



Cinerarias must have plenty of "light 

 and air, and all superfluous shoots and in- 1 

 jured leaves should be cut clean away. A 

 cool shelf near the glass is the best place 

 for them ; and they must be watched that 

 green-fly does not take complete posses- 

 sion of their succulent folitige. 



Carnations and Ficotees. — Clean up 

 the plants, and wash the outsides of the 

 pots. Make ready for potting in the 

 second week of the month, and search the 

 compost v/ell for vermin, or much mischief 

 may ensue. 



Dahlias should be got to work without 

 delay. Divide the old roots, one eye to 

 each piece, and pot iu light rich loam, 

 and plunge the pots in a warm pit on 

 the tank of a propugating-house. Those 

 started last month may be propagated by 

 cuttings, if stock ruiis short ; the cuttings 

 must be taken under a joint, and rooted iu 

 thumbs filled with poor sandy loam, to be 

 shifted into rich light soil as soon as 

 rooted. 



Hollyhoclcs not yet planted out must 

 be hardened by free exposure to the air, 

 but protected from severe frosts and 

 storms. Those ali-eady liardened should 

 be planted without delay, and stakes placed 

 for them at once, as driving the stake 

 down hereafter will do injury to the roots. 



Pansies may be planted out about the 

 second week, unless the weather is severe. 

 Cuttings may be taken of gi-een side- 

 shoots, and struck in moist lieat. Tie out 

 those that are to be bloomed iu pots, aud 

 give plenty of water as weather permits. 

 Green-fly will now be busy with these un- 

 less kept in check. 



Tulips must be kept hardy by free ex- 

 posure, but severe frosts, especially after 

 rain, will do them much harm. Protect, 

 therefore, as occasion may require, but be 

 careful not to retain the coverings one 

 hour after a change of weather has ren- 

 dered them unnecessary. 



Felargoniums must be stopped where 

 the growth is irregidar, and tied out to 

 good shapes for blooming. Give more 

 heat and more water as the days lengthen; 

 plenty of light, and manure-water once a- 

 week. The syringe and the fumigator 

 must both be kept in action to keep vermin 

 in check. Scarce kinds of pelargoniums 

 may now be propagated from pieces of 

 the roots put into sniall pots, leaving the 

 top just visible ; they must be in a moist 

 heat, and shaded till they show shoots. 



COLD FRAMES AKD PITS. 



Most kinds of tender annuals may now 

 be sown in pits and frames, where there 

 is not suflicientroom iu the greenhouse, or 

 no means of producing bottom-licat. A 

 good crop of early potatoes may be liad by 

 planting at once ash-leaf kidneys in old 

 frames ; and, if short of lights, cover with 

 hurdles or bean-sticks, which remove when 

 the growth shows above ground ; but 

 keep handy to cover with on frosty nights. 

 The hardier kinds of greenhouse-plants 

 may be got into brick pits to make more 

 room for young stock in the house, but 

 must have a little extra protection in case 

 of frost. 



PRUIT GARDEN. 



Begin grafting the middle of the month, 

 cut graft and stock to fit each otiier; tie 

 securely, and cover with grafting-clay, as 

 directed in another page. Wall-lruits 

 coming into bloom should be protected 

 with Haythorn's hexagou net, which ad- 

 mits light aud air, but keeps oil' a slight 

 morning-frost. Fir-branches also keep ofi" 

 frost, but weaken the trees by shading 

 them and obstructing currents of air, and 

 hence do as much harm as good. The loss 

 of crops where trees bloom freely is gene- 

 rally owing to the bloom getting nipped, 

 and a very slight protection is generally 

 sufficient to prevent it. Though the plant- 

 ing season is fairly over, fruit-bushes may 

 still be got iu rather than lose a season. 

 They must be strong ones, and be carefully 

 moved direct from the nursery to their 

 fruiting quarters with as little injury to 

 the roots as possible. Get nailing and 

 pruning finished as soon as possible. 



Cut down plants that have flowered ; 

 and put in cuttings in a good heat. 

 Newly-potted plants must be carefully 

 watered, to guard against soddening the 

 roots. Plant out achimines in shallow 

 pans, and plant out tliose that are an inch 

 high. 



VINEEY. 



Discontinue syringing as the vines 

 come into flower, and slightly increase the 

 temperature, and give air only when the 

 weather is mild. As soon as tiie fruit is 

 set, throw water on the paths, to make a 

 moist air, and use the syringe freely. Tie 

 ill the shoots before they get unmanage- 

 able, and stop laterals at the first eye be- 

 yond the bunch. Rods saved Irom the 

 prunings may be put in heat to strike; 

 hardy kinds will strike in the open air in 

 precisely the same way as currant canes. 



