44 



THE FLORAL WOULD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



take good cutting9 from the bush fruits, 

 set out new rows of asparagus and 

 seakale, and do not get rid of any ex- 

 cept the evidently worthless stuff, until 

 you have new to take its place. Re- 

 member the laundresses' motto, about 

 " throwing away dirty water." The next 

 thing to look to, is the drainage and 

 walks, and the winter storms will soon 

 enable you to judge if the ground needs 

 help to get rid of superfluous water. 

 Where the soil remains damp, and sour, 

 and soddened after rain, no good can 

 be effected in any kind of gardening. 

 Then, as to the walks, see that they 

 are conveniently disposed, and if you 

 mean to alter them, do it at once ; put 

 down a good rough bottom, and wait 

 till spring before you give them a final 

 coat of gravel, for there will be much 

 heavy wheeling, and this will settle 

 the new foundation ; but if they are 

 gravelled at once, the barrow will cut 

 them to pieces speedily. But the 

 working soil should be the subject of 

 chief attention. Ten to one, it has 

 never been dug more than one spit 

 deep ; the top may have been well ma- 

 nured or cropped to death, but it is 

 almost certain that as to digging, it has 

 merely been played with. Here, then, 



is a field for your energies; use the 

 pick, the fork, the spade in earnest; 

 ridge up every bit of it that is not 

 occupied ; be careful not to go too near 

 the roots of trees, but make up your 

 mind that daylight and fresh air shall 

 make acquaintance with that hard, 

 impervious stuff that lies just ten or 

 twelve inches below the surface. 



It seems almost idle to say anything 

 as to the proportions of ground to be 

 allotted to various kinds of crops, be- 

 cause the wants of families and the 

 tastes of individuals differ so much. 

 As a general rule, however, where 

 there is ample space for growing every 

 thing, one half will not be too much to 

 assign to permanent standing crops of 

 all kinds. Say one-sixth for fruits 

 generally, another sixth for raspberries, 

 and another for strawberries ; another 

 sixth for seakale, rhubarb, artichokes, 

 and asparagus, — the latter deserving 

 quite a twelfth of the whole ground, 

 on account of its high value, whether 

 for home consumption or market. The 

 other half is for routine cropping, as 

 potatoes, cabbage, turnips, and the 

 various other things that come in re- 

 gular rotation, the culture of which 

 will be described in future chapters. 





FEBRUARY WORK IN THE GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE. 



We have had some beneficial frosts, 

 and those who "took time by the fore- 

 lock," and got their shrubs planted 

 before Christmas, have the advantage 

 of the two months' rooting they have 

 made since ; for newly- planted trees 

 and shrubs work vigorously under- 

 ground, however hard it may be freez- 

 ing on the surface, and, if well mulched, 

 produce immense masses of fibres be- 

 fore spring. There is still time, how- 

 ever, in the intervals between frosts 

 and rains, to complete planting, and 

 alterations. Finish fruits and roses 

 before you move a single evergreen; 

 and, in filling in the holes, take care 

 not to throw in any frozen soil or 

 snow, which would do great injury to 

 the roots, and, for a long time, keep 

 the trees back. Indeed, if the soil 

 used contains a little fibrous matter, 

 not quite decayed, the stirring will 



cause a slight fermentation, the warmth 

 of which will promote a vigorous root- 

 action. Plant firmly. Put stakes to 

 such things as are likely to be shaken 

 by March winds, and, in all cases, 

 plant not quite so deep as before — 

 certainly, not an inch deeper. Go over 

 orchard trees, prune where neces- 

 sary, and scrub, with a brush dipped 

 in strong brine, any that were effected 

 with American blight last year. During 

 open weather, edgings of all sorts may 

 now be made, both live and dead ; new 

 beds maybe prepared, and the borders 

 forked, to sweeten the soil, before new 

 perennials are planted. During frosty 

 weather, wheel out manure on kitchen 

 plots and allotments, char rubbish, get 

 in clinkers, or flints, for rockwork, and 

 complete any other jobs that necessi- 

 tate wheeling, as the barrow does less 

 harm when the ground is frozen. 



