THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



45 



Look over the stock of seeds, and de- 

 termine what will be required for this 

 season's sowing, and, in good time, fix 

 upon the style and method of bedding- 

 out you will pursue, so as to raise 

 stock for the purpose, for the season of 

 propagating is now at hand, and, for 

 the next two or three months, the 

 chief work of the whole ensuing season 

 will have to be got through. 



Kitchen Garden. — Sow the main 

 crops of peas and beans at the first 

 favourable opportunity ; a few of the 

 earliest sorts, on well-drained slopes, 

 facing the south, to come on quick ; 

 or, if a small successional supply is 

 required, get in a few rows of the 

 earliest sorts of each, and sow again as 

 soon as the first come up, and so on, to 

 the end of March. Sow spinach be- 

 tween the rows of peas. A little of 

 everything in the edible way may be 

 got in now in good positions — small 

 sowings of Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, 

 Carrots, Turnips, Parsley, Radishes, 

 and Lettuce, but the main sowings of 

 most things should be deferred. Get one 

 pan of celery forward in heat, and some 

 lettuces for planting out. Where ground 

 in good heart was ridged up over win- 

 ter for potatoes, the whole may be 

 planted now. Trench them in, in 

 preference to using the dibber ; but if 

 the weather should be wet, or the 

 ground frozen, get in a few early sorts 

 only, and also some early kidneys in 

 frames, for the first supply. Prepare, 

 by trenching and manuring, the plots 

 intended for seakale and asparagus 

 next month. Turn out potted cauli- 

 flower-plants on well-manured stations, 

 four plants under each hand-light, 

 choosing a very sheltered position. 

 Edgings and plantations of strawberries 

 may now be made, and old beds must 

 be dressed. Prune and tie raspberries, 

 leaving but three or four shortened 

 canes to each stool. Heap half-rotten 

 dung over the old stools of rhubarb, 

 to promote early production. 



Flower Garden. — The old direc- 

 tions for sowing hardy annuals and pe- 

 rennials in February, do not altogether 

 suit our seasons of late, and it is seldom 

 advisable to sow any before March, ex- 

 cept in frames and hot-beds; but, 

 with artificial heat, sowings of most 



things may now be made, both for 

 blooming in pots in the greenhouse 

 and conservatory, and for turning out 

 into beds and borders. Do not forget 

 Phlox Drummondii, Delphinium for- 

 mosum, cinerarias, Chinese primroses, 

 stocks, asters, auriculas, and balsams, 

 for all of which a moderate heat is 

 sufficient. Most perennials, and even 

 Chrysanthemums and Dahlias, sown 

 now, and hardened off as soon as 

 pricked out, will flower the present sea- 

 son. Top-dress auriculas, polyanthuses, 

 and pinks, if not done last month, and 

 make up dung-beds for propagating, 

 as the demand for bedding stock is 

 frequently greater than the room de- 

 voted to wintering them can supply. 

 Soft-wooded and free-growing plants 

 maybe multiplied rapidly with the help 

 of a frame. Fill up to within twelve 

 inches of the glass with dung that has 

 been previously turned, to remove its 

 rankness, and upon it spread four 

 inches of dry sandy soil, and put in 

 the cuttings as fast as the plants supply 

 them. 



Greenhouse. — The stock here will 

 now be starting into spring growth, 

 and though air must be given as much 

 as possible, cold draughts and frbsts 

 must be guarded against, as, during 

 this month, most greenhouse plants 

 are more susceptible of cold than at 

 any other period of the year. Shift 

 such things as require it; see to the 

 drainage of plants well established; 

 give water pretty freely to such as are 

 making free growth ; azaleas and 

 camellias must have plenty. Camellias 

 done blooming should be put into a 

 temperature averaging 65 degrees, with 

 a moist atmosphere, and partial shade, 

 by means of tiffany, or canvas, over 

 the glass, to promote the growth of 

 new wood. Epacrises, correas, les- 

 chenaultias, polygalas, &c, should 

 have a little extra warmth, and be 

 brought into free growth for flowering; 

 the latter like a little old mortar mixed 

 with the peat in potting them. Houses 

 devoted to collections of plants should 

 now be carefully looked over, as some 

 things may be doing badly, owing to 

 too low a temperature, while others 

 may require it to be reduced. A free 

 increase of fire-heat for a few hours at 



