26 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



sun) to E. ar J then to S., the barometer will probably fall but little, 

 and a dry tl aw may follow. 



There v:e few plants in flower now. If the weather is mild we 

 shall find a few primroses and violets, and the Christmas rose may 

 still present a few of its flowers like white lilies, but this fine plant 

 has usu.'.lly done flowering by the middle of the month. There is 

 nothing in the garden indeed to compare with the common dandelion, 

 "the suiflower of the spring," which we should surely cherish as 

 a "gem tf purest ray serene" were it but a rare exotic instead of being, 

 as it is, a weed of weeds and the most sturdy of floral vagrants. 



The garden-work of January is mostly prospective and prepara- 

 tive. It is not a good time for planting, and the circumstances must 

 be peculiarly favourable to warrant the sowing of seeds. But when- 

 ever the weather permits, ground work should be carried on, so that 

 "when the season returns for sowing and planting, there shall be well- 

 prepared quarters, mellowed by frost and ready to break down kindly 

 at a touch from the spade. It is the time too for a grand clear out 

 of rubbish heaps, and muck pits, and wood-yards, for a hard frost 

 favours wheeling, and manure may be got out on plots where it will 

 be required, and will take no harm if it lays some time before it 

 can be turned in. 



One of the most important matters to think of now is the stock 

 of seeds. Many people order their seeds a few days before they wish 

 to sow them, and have to wait weeks before they obtain them, owing 

 to the excessive pressure on the seed-trade in the spring. Procure 

 the seeds as early as possible, to have them at hand whenever is is 

 considered desirable to sow them. The weather throughout the 

 spring is so capricious that there must be no trifling, it" the best 

 results are to be obtained from the space at disposal. Every foot of 

 unoccupied ground in the kitchen garden must be manured, turned 

 up, and otherwise prepared, so that there may be no waiting about, 

 favourable opportunities lost, and the crops put in jeopardy. 



Flower G-arden. — Dress the borders with rotten dung two or 

 three inches thick, but do not dig or disturb the soil, or many bulbs 

 and herbaceous plants n^ny be injured. This is a good time to make 

 banks and rockeries, preparatory to planting them in spring. Save 

 all handsome loppings of trees for rustic work ; large boughs of 

 apple and oak are most valuable for such purposes. Planting had 

 best be deferred ; but if the weather is mild and dry, deciduous trees, 

 roses, and hardy bulbs may be put in. But this is the worst month in 

 the whole year for planting, for, if we have hard weather in February, 

 hundreds of recently planted valuable shrubs and trees will be lost. 



Geeekhoitse. — Use fire-heat with caution, but do not allow frost 

 in any of the houses. Hard-wooded plants never to be above •50'' ; 

 if any sudden bursts of sunshine, witii a west wind, give abundance 

 of air. Soft-wooded plants, such as primulas, cinerarias, etc., keep 

 near the glass or they will run weak. Shift cinerarias for exhibition 

 into their blooming pots and tie out. Ericas to be cleared of dead 

 leaves, and have a dry air ; those showing for bloom to have good 

 places, and be tied out. Pelargoniums for show to have their last 

 potting; keep near the glass, and look out for green-fly. Fuchsias 



