lyi.] 



CALENDAR. 



533 



the seed than spring and summer sow- 

 ings. Sangster's No. 1 and " First 

 Crop " are both good ; Mazagan Beans 

 are generally used for early work. To 

 keep up successions of small salading, 

 frequent sowings should be made in 

 boxes and placed in heat till nearly 

 large enough for use, then exposed to 

 fresh air some days before it is cut. 

 American and Golden Cress, which are 

 excellent for winter use, should be pro- 

 tected to keep the leaves crisp and 

 eatable in frosty weather : a batch 

 of Parsley under hoops, or temporarily 

 framed to be protected in severe 

 weather, will be useful. Keep using 

 the strongjest first. Endive, Lettuce, 

 Autumn Broccolis, &c., may be taken 

 into sheds for protection in severe 

 weather ; turf pits or similar contriv- 

 ances are very useful for such purposes. 

 In damp, low - lying localities, winter 

 crops suffer severely from damp. It is 

 often necessary to lift Celery with root 

 entire, and store it under protection. 

 A quantity of dry litter should be at 

 hand to throw over the Celery ridges 

 in severe weather, but to be taken off 

 when a thaw sets in. Whenever op- 

 portunities occur, the surfaces between 



FORCING D 

 Pines. — Those suckers potted in 

 early autumn will now be well rooted 

 and established, and will require 

 cautious treatment, so as to rest them 

 ■without stinting them. After the 

 middle of the month the night tempera- 

 ture should never exceed 60' in mild 

 weather, and a few degrees less when 

 the weather is cold and calls for extra 

 firing ; and a little air should be given 

 every fine day when the temperature 

 exceeds 6.5°. The bottom-heat should 

 be steadily kept at 75°. The atmosphere 

 should be dry rather than otherwise, but 

 not by any means parching. Very little 

 or no water at the root will be required 

 if they are growing in a bed of leaves 

 and tan. The plunging material is 

 generally moist enough for the main- 

 tenance of Pine-roots in a healthy con- 

 dition, for the soil in the pots is regulated 

 at this season by the state of the plung- 

 ing material. Where the bottom-heat 

 is supplied entirely by hot-water pipes, 

 and the plunging material is shallow, an 

 occasional watering will be necessary. 

 Eecently-potted suckers should be kept 

 5° warmer till they are tolerably well 

 rooted, and if in very light pits may be 

 kept growiug gently through the winter, 



Cabbage, Spinach, and other growing 

 crops, should be well stirred. Seakale 

 forcing wil 1 no w require attenti on : wh ere 

 it can be lifted in quantity, and kept in 

 secure quarters to be taken into a house 

 with a little warmth, answers as well 

 as any system. Where covering with 

 warm manure and pots or boxes is still 

 practised, it has to be done cautiously, 

 as changes of weather affect it materi- 

 ally, and burning or sudden chills have 

 to be guarded against. Other means of 

 forcing may be practised, such as a 

 rough box with some soil in the bot- 

 tom placed near the manure - heap, 

 where tree-leaves or other warm ma- 

 terial can be placed over it. 60° is warm 

 enough for forcing Seakale ; less heat 

 will bring it on stronger, and better 

 fitted for the table. Rhubarb may be 

 forced along with Seakale, but does bet- 

 ter with light and air, while Seakale has 

 to be kept quite dark. Chicory may be 

 placed in a cellar or anywhere to spring 

 its tops for salad. Jerusalem Artichokes, 

 Parsnips, and other crops in the ground, 

 should have litter placed over them. 

 Globe Artichokes should have dry litter, 

 coal-ashes, or some other protection 

 i placed round them. M. T. 



EPARTMENT. 



especially if the condition of the stock 

 of young plants makes this desirable. 

 All plants intended to be started into 

 fruit soon after the turn of the day 

 should be kept at 60° at night, with a 

 few degrees more bottom-heat than has 

 been recommended for suckers. These 

 will require the same treatment with 

 regard to watering as has been directed 

 for suckers. Plants intended to fruit 

 in succession to these will do with 

 exactly the same treatment recom- 

 mended for suckers, only be very watch- 

 ful that they do not get dust-dry, and get 

 such a drying as is likely to cause them 

 to fruit prematurely when increased 

 moisture and temperature are given to 

 them by - and - by. Smooth Cayennes, 

 and other winter varieties that are 

 swelling off their fruit, must be kept 

 steadily moist at the root, with a 

 night temperature of 70°, and 8° or 

 10° more by day — the bottom-heat 

 to range as near 85° as possible. 

 Avoid syringing overhead after the 

 beginning of the month, but main- 

 tain a moist genial atmosphere more 

 by sprinkling the floors and surface of 

 the bed than from the steaming appar- 

 atus. An over -moist atmosphere at 



