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THE GAEDEN" GUIDE FOE DECEMBER 



It is at this time of year vre can best judge j 

 if the gardener thoroughly undcrstan.ls \ 

 his bus-.ness. During summer there is i 

 such a luxuriant growth tliac the most ! 

 carelessly planted crops oftentimes put on | 

 an appearance that wins for their possessor 

 much more praise than he deserves ; but j 

 nature is no longer in such a friendly and ; 

 lenient mood, and -where the work is badly 

 done the aspects of the place v^ill now 

 reveal it. We cxpeci to see in every 

 kitchen garden at this time of year an 

 abundance of winter greens of kinds suit- 

 able to keep up the supply till the spring 

 is considerably advanced, and among these 

 plots there ought not to be found a single 

 withered leaf. The ground not under crops 

 we expect to be clean and in ridges as if 

 freshly" dug, and, whatever the nature of 

 the soil, we expect a dry hard path to 

 ■walk upon and a breatk of wholesome air 

 to keep us cheerful. If we scent the odour 

 of rotting cabbage stumps and heaps of 

 other such rubbisii, we call the gardener a 

 sloven, for be ought to cover all putrefying 

 substances v/ith a few inches of mould to 

 absorb the gases tliat otherwise escape to 

 poison him and other people. If the place 

 is not clean and tidy, now is the time to 

 make it so by cutting in overgrown fences, 

 rooting up useless trees and shrubs that 

 intercept the li-ht and exhaust tlie soil, 

 and clearing the soil of all decaying 

 rubbish, both to economize all such stuff 

 for manure and avoid loading the atmo§- 

 phere witli gases that render it destructive 

 to human life. Many a village has been 

 half poisoned by a dahlia grower leaving 

 heaps of green stems on the ground for 

 weeks and weeks to rot , many a gardener 

 has to pay a doctor's bill through making 

 his ground into a brewery of stinks; and 

 at least nine-tenths of diseases in the 

 country arise through the diifusion in the 

 atmosphere of pernicious gases exhaled 

 from stagnant water, foul ditches, and 

 putrefying animal and vegetable sub- 

 stances. " Cleanliness is next to godliness" 

 in the garden quite as much as in the 

 house, and v,'e may be sure that the first 

 of gardeners would not have attained, to 

 the age he did unless he had paid more 

 attention to cleanliness than a good many 

 of his successors, who, in the present day, 

 seem to think that diit is essential to hap- 

 piness. 



Kitchen Garden. — Make plantations 

 of rhubarb, seakule, asparagus, and horse- 

 radish. Roots of dandelion, packed to- 

 gether in leaf mould and put into gentle 



heat, will furnish a delicate salad in five 

 or six weeks. Paskall's seakale pots are 

 best for the purpose. Keep dung and all 

 soluble matters under cover. Turn over 

 manures, and put aside in heaps to be 

 frozen, rotted leaves, and other materials 

 suitable for potting, and, v/hcn well sweet- 

 ened and pulverized, remove to bins in 

 the pottiug-shed to keep dry fur use. Get 

 sticks and stakes tied up in bundles ready 

 for use; wheel turf and weeds to the muck- 

 pit; get pots washed and sorted over, and 

 crocks sifted into sizes for the potting- 

 bench. Tiiis is a good time to make new 

 drains, improve v/atercourses, and plant 

 hedges. Sow early peas and beans on 

 warm dry slopes ; broccoli to be heeled 

 over with their heads to the north. 



Flower Garden. — Bulbs ought to be 

 all planted by this time; but, if any remain 

 out of the ground, get them in without 

 delay. Take up tea roses that are in ex- 

 posed situations, and lay them in by the 

 heels in a shed out of reach of frost. Cut 

 down fuchsias that are to remain out all 

 the winter, and cover their roots v/ith litter 

 or coal-ashes. Pansies, pinks, and other 

 choice things in open beds should have a 

 little light litter sprinkled over them in 

 frosty weather, or be protected with canvas 

 on hoops. Tulips protect in the same way. 

 Look over plants in frames, and take off 

 dead leaves, and keep the plants mode- 

 rately dry. 



Fruit Garden. — Dig round old fruit 

 trees, and lay down a layer of old dung, 

 six inches thick, in a ring, three feet round 

 the stem of each, and the size of the fruit 

 will be improved next season. Trees that 

 are sufficiently luxurious should not have 

 manure. Root-prune any trees that grow- 

 too luxuriantly to bear well. Give pro- 

 tection to any tender fruit trees, and lay 

 boards in a slope over vine borders to 

 shelter them from excessive cold rains. 

 Unnail from the walls the younger shoots 

 of tender wall-trees to prevent premature 

 breaking. Let nothing lie in by the heels 

 an hour longer than can be helped. Bush 

 fruits properly taken up and pr; perly 

 planted ought not to miss the move in the 

 slightest degree, but you are sure to lose 

 a whole season if they lie about waiting 

 to be planted. Strawberry beds may be 

 made this month, but it is not a good time 

 to plant straw-berries. 



Pelargoniums to be kept as much as. 

 possible without fire, but to dry the hoiise 

 it may be usefial occasionally. The fancies- 

 need warmth the most. 



