46 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[February, 



ble garden is a hot-bed for starting seeds early. 

 The end of the month will be time enough for 

 those who have not command of a large supply 

 of stable manure, as the very low temperature 

 we often get at the end of the month soon ab- 

 sorbs all the heat the hot-bed possessed. It is in 

 any event best to put up the beds in the warmest 

 and most sheltered spots we can find, and to 

 keep cold winds from the manure, by covering it 

 with branches of trees or mats ; and the glass 

 should always be covered with mats at night. 

 Tomatoes, Egg-plants, Pepi^ers and Cucumbers, 

 are the first seeds to be sown this way. Cooler 

 frames can be got ready for Cauliflower, Lettuce, 

 Beets, Celery and Early York Cabbage, a little 

 of which may be sown about the end of the 

 month for the earliest crop. The Cauliflower is 

 a particularly valued vegetable, and no expense 

 spared to get them in perfection will be regretted 

 when one's eff'orts are successful. 



In the open air, should the weather prove 

 favorable, as it often is about the end of the 

 month, Peas and Potatoes may be planted. 

 Frost seldom gets deep enough in new dug 

 ground to injure them after this date. 



In the more southern States, the gardener will 

 lose no time in getting in his Potatoes, Beets, 

 Carrots, Parsnips, Peas, Spinach, Radishes, Let- 

 tuce, Onions, and Salsafy. These should be the 

 first crops put in after the season breaks up for 

 good. The earlier they are in the better. As- 

 paragus, Rhubarb and Horse-radish Iteds may 

 now be made. Asparagus roots are generally 

 planted too thicklj- to produce fine shoots, — they 

 starve one another. A bed five feet wide should 

 have three rows, and the plants set about eight- 

 een inches apart. A deep soil is very import- 

 ant, as the succulent stems require every chance 

 they can get for obtaining moisture. About four 

 inches beneath the soil is sufficient to plant 

 them. Rhubarb also requires a deep, rich and 

 moist soil. Horse-radish beds are best made 

 by taking pieces of strong roots, about one inch 

 long, and making a hole about a foot or fifteen 

 inches deep, with a dibble, and dropping the 

 piece to the bottom of the hole; a clean, straight 

 root will then rise up through the soil. Crowns 

 or eyes are better than i^ieces of roots, — where 

 they can be had — and a rich clayey soil better 

 than a light, sandy one. 



About the middle or end of the month, or still 

 later in the North, — say the middle of March, — 

 Celery and late Cabbage may be sown. Here, 

 we usually sow the second week in March. 



In the Northern States, Broccoli, and Cauli- 

 flower when sown in March as recommended, do 

 not head early enough in Fall. It should be 

 sown about the time of Early York Cabbage, in 

 the hot-bed, during this month. 



Pruning of fruit trees, when required, should 

 be proceeded with at favorable opportunities. 

 We write when required, for in our climate more 

 injury is done by the knife than by the neglect to 

 use it. Gooseberries, for instance, are usually 

 ruined by pruning. In Europe, it is customary 

 to thin out the centre well to " let in the sun and 

 air." Here it is the sun and air that ruin them, 

 by inviting mildew ; and so the more shoots, the 

 better. Our country farmers are the best goose- 

 berry growers, where weeds run riot, and giass 

 and gooseberries affect a dose companionship. 

 Wherever, in fact, the gopseberry can find a cool 

 corner, well shaded from the sun, and with a soil, 

 which, is never wet, nor yet by any means dry, 

 there will gooseberries be produced unto you. 

 The English kinds mildew so universally as to 

 be almost gone out of cultivation south of the St. 

 Lawrence. Nor, indeed, is it to be so much re- 

 gretted, since the improved seedlings of large 

 size and fine quality, raised from the hardier 

 Ameiican species, are becoming known, and 

 their merits appreciated by growers. 



The rule, in pruning grape-vines, is to shoi;;ten 

 the shoots in proportion to their strength ; but if 

 the advice we have given in former summer hints 

 has been attended to. there will be little dispro- 

 portion in this matter, as .«ummer i)inching of 

 the strong shoots has eciualizcd the strength of 

 the vine. Those who are following any particu- 

 lar system will, of course prune according to the 

 rules comprising such system. As a general rule, 

 we can only say, excellent grapes can be had by 

 any system of pruning ; for the only object of 

 ])runing in any case is to get strong shoots to 

 push where they may be desired, or to increase, 

 with the increased vigor of the shoot, which 

 l^runing supposes will follow the act, increased 

 size in the fruit it bears. 



All fruit trees like a rather dry, rich soil. On 

 a cold, clayey bottom, diseases are usually fre- 

 quent. Do not plant deep ; cut off' tap roots, and 

 do all you can to encourage sin-face fibres. Sur- 

 face manuring is the best way of doing this after 

 the tree is planted. Do not allow anything to 

 grow vigorously around your trees the first year 

 of planting, nor allow the soil to become hard or 

 dry. Let trees branch low, and prune a little at 

 transplanting. 



