OCTOBER. 319 



CALENDAR FOR THE MONTH. 



Auriculas. — Continue the instructions given last month. The plants 

 should not be allowed to have rain. 



Cai-natiojis and Ficotees. — Potting the layers should not be delayed. 

 Get all done rs early in the month as possible, that the plants may have 

 time to harden after having drawn root, before winter sets in. The 

 plants should be grown as open and hardy as possible, with only suffi- 

 cient moisture to keep them going. 



Cinerarias. — Now is the time to make them gi'ow, by repotting 

 them as soon as the roots reach the sides of the small pots. The Cine- 

 raria has now got over the most critical time. During summer it is 

 not an easy matter, at all times, to keep them clear of mildew ; with 

 ordinary care, there is not now much to fear. Avoid drawing the 

 plants : this can be done by giving them sufficient room. 



Cucumbers. — The plants for winter fruiting should be planted out 

 without delay. Keep them growing freely by a moderate bottom heat. 

 Air liberally during fine weather. Plants still in dung frames should 

 be assisted by linings. 



Dahlias. — Secure any seed that may be ripe. Frost often sur- 

 prises us suddenly, which not only destroys the bloom, but greatly in- 

 jures the seed also. Seedlings for trial next season should also be 

 marked. 



Hardy Fruit. — The gathering of Apples and Pears requires some 

 judgment. It is wrong to take the whole crop off the trees at once, as 

 the fruit will vary in forwardness ; the choicest kinds should therefore 

 be looked over two or three times, taking each time those best ripened. 

 Again, many kinds of Apples and Pears (early ones especially), should 

 be taken in a few days before they appear ripe, or they lose their 

 briskness, and eat mealy and insipid. Let all the fruit intended for 

 keeping be hand-picked, and laid carefully on the shelves of the fruit- 

 room ; they may be placed three or four thick if room is scarce, but 

 will be better laid singly. As the fruit is deposited in the room, leave 

 open the door and windows, day and night, to allow the moisture 

 which new^ly-gathered fruit will give off, to escape. Late Plums — as 

 the Golden Drop, Imperatrice, aud the Quetch — may be preserved for 

 a long time, if gathered before they are fully ripe and suspended in a 

 dry, airy room ; or they may, after drying them for a day or two, be 

 wrapped in tissue paper, and placed on the shelf of the fruit-room. 

 The old bearing wood of the Raspberry should now be cut away, to 

 admit light and air to the canes for next year, which should at the 

 same time be thinned out. Where new borders are about being made, 

 now will be the time for commencing them, and preparing the mate- 

 rials for the purpose — dry, sound, healthy loam and rubble stone, and 

 finer waste to cover over with, should be in readiness. 



Hollyhocks. — Gather seed as often as it can be procured ripe, on a dry 

 day. Continue to put in cuttings. Roots of choice kinds should be 

 potted and wintered under glass, to produce cuttings in spring. 



Kitchen Garden. — Although not a busy time in this department, 

 there is much to be done to prepare for winter, and to bring forward 



