JANUARY. 21 



The moist weather which generally concludes tlie year in our 

 climate tests the condition of garden- walks ; and as the enjoyment 

 of garden- scenery depends very much on our means of convenient 

 and comfortahle transit from one part to another, it will he advisable 

 to take advantage of the present dormant season to alter the direction 

 of objectionable, or to repair defective, walks. To ensure dryness, 

 without which walks are comparatively useless, a substantial layer 

 of stones or brickbats ought to be placed under the gravel ; and if 

 the ground slopes so much as to cause the surface-gravel to be 

 washed into channels by heavy rains, there should be a drain made 

 beneath one side of the walk, into which the surface-water can be 

 admitted at intervals. Work of this kind can be carried on in bad 

 weather without detriment to the ground. 



Although autumn is unquestionably the best time of the year for 

 planting successfully, yet, in a garden, it is not always possible to do 

 things precisely when they ought to be done ; therefore, if any contem- 

 plated work of this sort has been unavoidably deferred, it is better 

 to do it in the present month, if the plants are large and the weather 

 is open, than to wait till March or April, when numberless important 

 matters will demand attention : besides, at that late season, when 

 the power of the sun and the dryness of the air are daily increasing, 

 transplanted trees are much more likely to die. The principal cause 

 of death, however, is the loss of the fibrous roots by careless taking 

 up. The science of vegetable physiology teaches, and practice amply 

 confirms its truth in this instance, that the fine fibrous rootlets are 

 the mouths by which the sap is sucked up from the earth ; therefore 

 it is important to retain as many of these as is practicable. It is also 

 of consequence to prevent the roots from being much dried by ex- 

 posure during removal; and when this unavoidably happens, or when 

 the soil with which they are to be covered contains but little mois- 

 ture, a liberal watering should be given before the hole is quite filled 

 up with earth. Attention to these few rules will save the life of 

 many a valuable tree and shrub, 



January is the month when, in this climate, the severest frosts 

 generally occur ; it therefore behoves those upon whom the manage- 

 ment of greenhouses or plant-pits devolves to be upon the watch 

 against the intrusion of that very unwelcome visitor, whose presence 

 inside of those structures for only a short time might wholly destroy 

 our pleasing anticipations of a gay greenhouse in spring, and of a 

 showy flower-garden during summer. In frosty weather, then, give 

 air very sparingly, and always as early in the morning as the tempera- 

 ture of the external atmosphere will permit. Open the upper lights 

 only, by wliich a draught of cold air will be prevented, and close them 

 again early in the afternoon, by way of economising heat ; for it is 

 bad gardening, as well as wasteful management, to keep a plant- 

 house open till its temperature falls below the desired point, and then 

 to set the heating apparatus at work to raise it again. Too much 

 fire-heat is as injurious to plants as to their proprietor's pocket ; there- 

 fore an unnecessary expenditure of it should be guarded against by 

 timely attention. A considerable degree of cold can be excluded by 



