2SQ THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. [ Deckmbeb, 



gai-doners anxious to win their way in the world, ho soon left Scotland tor London, and entered 

 the garden at Chiswick House, under Mr. Lindsay. In the late Mr. Loudon he found an 

 attached friond, who hailed him with delight as a contributor to the Gitrdener's Magazine ; 

 indeed, as a constant contributor to tho Gardeners' Jonrnal, and subsequently to the Journal 

 of Horticulture, ho has left his mark on the garden literature of the ])ast forty years. At 

 Putteridge Bury, in his ordinary professional pursuits, he had a full measure of success, 

 excelliug, especially in flower-gardouing, and doiug much to outlive the fallacy that a good 

 writer must needs bo a bad gardener. 



GARDEN WORK FOR DECEMBER. 



FLOWERS. 



^Oo^UT-OF-DOOES the flowers are at last ahiiosfc gone. It is better so. For 

 Jt}] tlie last month they have yielded more pain than pleasure, struggling with ^ 

 r^n difficulties ; flowering to the rough, ungenial accompaniments of howling 

 fcK|) winds, driving hailstorms, suffocating fogs, nipping frosts, cold battering 

 '^ rains, and showers of dead and dying leaves, they have seemed a cruel 

 emblem of living beauty bound by the iron fetters of fate to the dying and 

 the dead. The last lingering Michaelmas Daisy has faded, the last Eose of 

 autumn has passed away, and the last sturdy Tritoma has had its neck 

 broken by the frost. December has, in a word, swept the dead and the dying 

 into one common grave, and made a clearance of the surface of the garden. 

 The bare earth is far more cheerful than the lingering look of the dead and 

 fading beauty. Early decapitation inures the crowns gradually to the cold, and 

 they get hardened to it before it reaches its maximum. Clear early, manure 

 and dig or point the surface, as surface roughness baulks the penetrative force 

 of the frost, and also mellows and enriches the soil ; in this way early clearing 

 and early cultivation become of the highest service. Much underground work is 

 also done by plants this month ; early bulbs and other spring flowers are pre- 

 paring themselves to come forth by and by with vigour safiicient to enable them 

 to lay their blanched or painted cheeks against the thick-ribbed ice without flinch- 

 ing. There is one beautiful December flower, the Christmas Eose, that ought to find 

 a place in every garden ; though perfectly hardy, the purity of its white is enhanced, 

 and its earliness promoted, by the shelter of glass. Choice beds of Hijacinths or 

 Tulips should be mulched with leaf-mould, spent tan, or cocoa-fibre refuse. 



Continue to make new Eoseries, or renovate old ones. The ground should be 

 well trenched and enriched with manure. Top-dress established rose-beds or 

 borders. Plant Briars for bedding, if not already done. Collect and sow seeds 

 for rose stocks, or put them in earth to save a season, as the seeds take two 

 years to vegetate. In gathering the hips, choose those of strong plants with 

 brown bark, in preference to those with lighter rind. Finish planting all 

 deciduous Shrubs and Trees, and also Evergreens, if likely to be pressed for time 

 in the spring. Sweep up dead leaves ; mow every fortnight as long as the grass 

 continues to grow. Sweep and roll walks, and let cleanliness be everywhere 

 apparent. 



All specimen plants in stove and greenhouse should be kept cool and quiet. 

 Chrysantliemums must have all the air possible, and be freel}' watered until the 

 flowers are fully expanded ; but a dry atmosphere is best for the preservation of 

 their flowers. The same remark applies to Chinese Primroses, &c. Cyclamens 

 make a charming addition to cool houses at this season of the year ; and so do 

 Eoman Hyacinths, vvdiich are so early and so sweet, Violets, early patches of 

 Myosotis, and forced Primroses. 



In the Plant Stove and Orchid House, Calanthes, Begonias, Poinsettias, 

 ExiphorUas, Jvsticias, Thyrsacanthus^ Gesnera, &c., will enliven this nionth. 



