328 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[November, 



protection of a cold frame, but is better taken 

 up and planted in the spring like the Gladiolus.' 

 Perhaps that is the better way to treat them, but 

 the bulb is as hardy as a Tulip, nevertheless. I 

 had a dozen and a half seedlings, which I grew 

 from seed sown in April, the labels got mis- 

 placed, and they were not covered at all last 

 winter. They were not over two inches deep, and 



one I found lying fully exposed, on the top of 

 the ground, in March. Every one came up — 

 that included — and made a strong growth, but 

 did not flower, I suppose not being old enough. 

 I do not know how old seedlings must be to 

 flower, but I think there can be little doubt 

 about the hardiness of a bulb that retains its 

 vitality in this latitude, on top of the ground." 



Greenhouse and House Gardening. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



The greenhouse will now begin to look more 

 natural, after having had the stock housed last 

 month. With many plants having probably been 

 taken up out of the open ground, dead leaves 

 will daily appear, requiring frequent removal. 

 Neatness is one of the chief beauties of a green- 

 house. Acacias, and Australian plants generally, 

 with hard wood and delicate roots, should be 

 placed at the coolest end of the house, where lit- 

 tle water will be required. These plants should 

 not be watered often; but when they are, it 

 should be thorough. Frequent waterings soon 

 render the roots of these plants unhealthy, when 

 it is very difficult to restore them to vigor. 

 Whenever the foliage becomes of sickly yellow 

 hue, the best plan is to plunge the plant in a 

 larger pot, filling the space with moss,— and 

 ■when the plant requires water, give it only 

 through the moss, unless the plant seems to be- 

 come so dry as to suffer, when it should receive 

 one thorough watering. Very little fire should 

 be applied to a greenhouse,— just suflScient to 

 keep it at about 45°. Unless very far north, but 

 little fire-heat will be required this month. 



Window Plants should not be kept very warm 

 at this season. They should have all the sun 

 and air, and as little of the artificial heat of the 

 room as possible. These remarks apply espe- 

 cially to Mignonette, which is very impatient of 

 in-door confinement. Succulents, such as Cacti, 

 are excellent window plants in this respect, as 

 the dry air does not affect them. To keep 

 the air about the plants moist, is one of the se- 

 crets of window culture. Some who have very 



fine windows well stocked with fine plants, make 

 glazed cases with folding doors of them, by 

 which, when the room is highly heated and very 

 dry, they can be enclosed in an atmosphere of 

 their own. In such cases, Ferns and Mosses can 

 be grown to perfection, and pendant plants in 

 hanging vases give a Brazilian forest appearance 

 to our happy Christmas homes. 



Hanging baskets, on the other hand, are gen- 

 erally too dry. Besides the daily waterings, 

 about once a week they should be immersed in 

 a bucket of water. 



Plants stored away for the winter in cold pits, 

 require more care for the first month or so than 

 at any other time through the winter season. 

 Many of them have unripened shoots, or shed 

 many of their leaves, and unless they be cut oS" 

 and removed, gangrene and decay commit dis- 

 tressing havoc. Air should be given at every op- 

 portunity, and nothing omitted that will, in any 

 way, tend to harden the plants, and send vegeta- 

 tion to rest. No more water should be given than 

 just sufficient to prevent withering, and the tem- 

 perature should be kept as near 40° as possible, 

 and every chance taken to render the air about 

 the plants dry. When frost actually does come, 

 no further care than protection from its em- 

 braces will then be required. Plants so hai'dened 

 may stay covered up for weeks, without any light 

 or air, and secure from the slightest injury. Mice 

 constitute the most troublesome enemy in a pit 

 closed for any length of time; but we have, as 

 yet, found nothing better than the recommenda- 

 tion given in back volumes, namely, to take 

 Peas and soak them twenty-four hours in water, 

 then roll in arsenic and sow in a pot, as if in the 



