I873-] 



CALENDAR. 



241 



feature in such a work. It is illustrated by hundreds of well-executed wood- 

 cuts. Altogether this is a work that we commend to all who are desirous of 

 becoming acquainted with a selection of hardy plants. We hope the author 

 will carry out his intention of doing for tender i^lants what he has here done so 

 well for hardy ones. 



Choice Stove and Greenhouse Flowering Plants — Comprising descrip- 

 tions of upwards of eleven hundred species and varieties, with instructions 

 for their cultivation, &c. By Benjamin Samuel Williams. Second edi- 

 tion, enlarged, illustrated, and revised. Published by the Author. 

 This is a great improvement on the first edition of this work, excellent as that 

 was. Mr Williams's name is guarantee sufficient for the judicious selection of 

 plants and their cidture, for he is well known as one of the best plantsmen of 

 the day. Everything connected with the successful culture of these plants is 

 here plainly and minutely detailed. Plant-houses, cisterns, glazing, heating, 

 hybridising, potting, propagating, soils, &c., are ably handled, and we heartily 

 commend the work as an excellent companion to the author's excellent Orchid 

 book, both of which books should be possessed by all who are interested in hot- 

 house plants. 



We have received : — A General System of Botany, Descriptive and Analyti- 

 cal. By Emm Le Maout & J, Decaisne. With 5500 engravings. Translated 

 from the original by Mrs Hooker, and arranged by J. D. Hooker, C.B., &c., 

 &c. A splendid volume, to which we will refer on another occasion. 



©aUn&ar* 



KITCHEN-GARDEN. 



This has been one of the coldest and 

 dullest springs, on the whole, which we 

 have known for years, and vegetation 

 has made very slow progress generally, 

 except seeds, which I never remember 

 ever seeing grow with greater vigour. 

 Our earliest positions for early vege- 

 tables to succeed those in frames are 

 on ridges thrown up sharply to the 

 sun ; borders imder high walls have 

 not been so favourable. A number of 

 old lights laid fiat on the surface 

 have brought the seedlings on rapidly, 

 gaining a fortnight on those by their 

 .side which remain uncovered. They 

 are raised on bricks as the plants ad- 

 vance in size. Plant preservers have 

 also done good service. They can be 

 carried through doorways and placed 

 in any position without trouble ; they 

 bring on Lettuce, Cauliflower, Carrots, 

 Eadishes, &c., very quickly. They 

 are very useful for early Potatoes and 

 French Beans, both being easily de- 

 stroyed by frost. Many early crops 

 will require frequent attention, as they 

 may have been destroyed by fly, slugs, 



or birds. Dustings of lime or soot may 

 do much to keep depredators in check. 

 Sowing seeds with red lead dusted over 

 them does much to keep birds off them. 

 Crops of every sort sown early may 

 require thinning soon. If seed has 

 been sown very thickly, thinning should 

 have attention as soon as the seed- 

 lings can be handled ; thin them out 

 piecemeal so as to prevent the young 

 plants from being drawn up weakly. 

 This applies to Carrots, Turnips, 

 Onions, Parsnips, Beet, and Parsley ; 

 the thinnings of these can be planted 

 out for a crop. Let all crops be thin- 

 ned so that sun and air can get freely 

 among the leaves, and to the soil. On 

 strong soils more thinning is required. 

 Chicory and broad-leaved Dandelion, 

 if not already sown, should now have 

 attention. Sow fidl crops of Peas 

 (two or three times in the month), 

 Broad Beans, Scarlet-runners, French 

 Beans, and Beet. Keep up successions of 

 salads by sowing in small quantities at 

 short periods. Radishes, Spinach, and 

 similar crops may be sown between 



