December la, 1897. 1 JOURNAL OF HOBTICUIiTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



447 



may be covered up for a lengthened period without injury. 

 The coolness, however, in such a case is the p;reat point of 

 safety. Ilence, in cold weather in winter it is well to let Cauli- 

 flower plants be crusted with the frost before thoy are covered 

 up, and then they will not be injured by a week or even a 

 month of darkness ; and they being slightly crusted with frost, 

 and the ground crusted on the surface, fewer visitors will come 

 to prey upon thciu. Our great dread for all covered-up and 

 protected vc};etable3 is of rats and mice, especially the former. 

 It is vexing when you see the hearts nipped out. 



A press of work had prevented us Inking up all our Beet, 

 and fearing it might be injured, we threw some litter over the 

 bed and then took it up in tlio middle of ono of the best days. 

 Of Celery, we lifted a few scores, in case of frost, but our beds 

 are so well protected that it will re(iuiro an unusually severe 

 frost to do much injurj-. 



Put a lot of AyjKiiiiiiiis into a mild hotbed, and, as we wished 

 to clear the ground, placed a lot of roots in a shed, covering 

 them with earth and litter, to come in successionally, for when 

 the supply is not overabundimt it is bad policy to have a glut 

 at one time and then none afterwards. Put in also more Sea- 

 kale and Kluibarb, and made-up a fresh piece in the Jlusbroom- 

 house. To produce a moist heat turned in a load or two of 

 droppings on the floor, which will do no harm, as the beds in 

 bearing and coming on are slightly covered. Secured, also, a 

 lew barrowloads of Swedish Turnips under cover, as the 

 blanched tops in the Mushroom-house make an agreeable 

 change with Sea-kale, Brussels Sprouts, and young Cabbages. 

 Put, also, a good supply of Mint, Fennel. Tarragon, &c., into 

 pots to be placed where there is a mild heat. We find these 

 do rather better in pots than when planted out in mild hot- 

 beds. Looked over roots in their shod, and made it a point 

 this stormy Saturday to secure from an anticipated frost. The 

 barometer kept so well up notwithstanding the high boisterous 

 winds, that we thought it more than likely that when a little 

 snow fell and the clouds dispersed we should have a clear at- 

 mosphere, in which there would be a great radiation of heat 

 from our earth, and that the consequence would most likely 

 be good ice for the icehouse in the beginning of the week. 



As we have alluded to the matter of jirotcction, we may here 

 prominently notice the complaint of a " Tuodhled One," 

 who is perfectly peri>lexed with the contradictory advices he 

 receives in the various journals on this point, one telling him 

 to uncover as early as he can, and others, like ourselves, 

 making uncovering a secondary matter in severe weather. 

 Now, as already alluded to, we would say, we have no objection 

 to uncovering everything for a short time every day, provided 

 there is time for it, and the covering is put on again soon 

 enoagh to prevent all injury. The very moving of the covering 

 will do good, as breaking the linos of direct conduction and 

 radiation of heat. What we wish our inexperienced friends 

 clearly to understand is, that a continued thick covering during 

 the day will only injure those objects where they are placed in 

 a temperature sulliciently high to make them grow. Even 

 when the temperature shut in is not high enough to make 

 them grow much, as 40° and a few degrees less or more, that 

 heat in places banked-up will often cause an accumulation of 

 moisture on the foliage which would not be good for it ; and in 

 that case, either uncovering, or a little air given when the 

 external air is a few degrees above tho freezing point, will be of 

 importance, so as to dry tho foliage in some degree. In all 

 cold frames and pits where the object aimed at is to exclude 

 frost, we believe that continued daily uncovering in cold, dark, 

 frosty weather is little better than labour thrown away ; but 

 when covering is continued for several days, or several weeks, 

 it is absolutely essential that the plants covered up should be 

 in an atmospheie cool enough to prevent growth, and warm 

 enough to prevent frost penetrating. This desirable point of 

 safety may be set down at from 34' to 38', and even 40° if the 

 latter heat is not too long continued. 



We have had Calceolarias shut up for seven weeks in a tem- 

 perature ranging from 33° to 37', and when the weather changed 

 they were as good as the day they were covered up. If the 

 temperature had been from 4.5' to 50', or more, we should have 

 expected so many spindling wrecks ; and so of other things. 

 However, we have no fault to find with those who take the 

 htter from their Cauliflower hghts, ,tc., every day, be it as 

 rough and as cold as it may. We only show that a different 

 plan may be adopted with advantage in continued cold weather, 

 and, provided the plants are cool under the protection, it 

 matters little whether they have a night of sixteen hours or a 

 longer one of a himdred hours or more. 



We took the opportunity of proceeding with some kitchen 

 garden work, and especially wheeling manure to places where 

 it would be wanted in frosty mornings and frosty days. Un- 

 less in severe frost, scattering a little litter over the ground or 

 walks to be wheeled on prevents the walks being so much 

 marked by the barrow-wheel as would otherwise be the case, 

 and keeps the wheel much cleaner ; th erefore, when the work 

 is done the walk is much more easily cleaned up. It is always 

 of imnortance in doing work to avoid making more work ont of 

 it. Even in picking leaves from plants much is gained by 

 placing the leaves at once in a pocket, apron, or bag, instead of, 

 as many have a pleasure in doing, throwing them down on 

 the path or floor, and picking them up again. 



Took also the opportunity of the c(dd weather and a north 

 wind driving smoke away from the garden and mansion, to 

 char and burn up a lot of rubbish, and root and seed weeds, 

 that we would not have wished to find their way to the rub- 

 bish-heap, which, after heating and steaming and being covered 

 with earth, would all be carefully restored again to the ground. 

 In covering our burning and charringheaps we used large 

 quantities of material from the flower garden, the beauty of 

 which, after the 2nd of the month, was completely destroyed. 

 A large heap of rough charred refuse, and of other still rougher 

 materials, and weeds, and lots of old earth, parings of walks, 

 clay, itc, reduced to ashes, make excellent dressings, and es- 

 pecially exercise a mechanical influence on heavy soils, whilst 

 the roughness of the materials and tho salts which they con- 

 tain are useful for keeping all slimy enemies from growing 

 crops. When turning over into heaps the collections of a 

 twelvemonth for this purpose, all prunings and pieces of wood 

 useful for burning and for lighting fires are placed aside under 

 cover. Where many fires have to be looked to it is very plea- 

 sant to have such a pile, or even a heap of dry chopped small 

 wood to go to ; and the prunings of Apple, Pear, and other 

 trees and shrubs, after lying in a heap fir the most of tho sum- 

 mer, cemo in thus useful in winter, and can be chopped np in 

 a shed during bad weather. 



FRUIT rEP.lBTJIENT. 



Besides protecting Strawberry-pots from the weather, as it 

 was rather cold to do much out of doors, our chief work was to 

 syringe our late orchard-house — trees, woodwork, and all to- 

 gether, with soft soap water at a temperature of from 100^ to 

 180", as hot as it well could be put on. In doing this we had the 

 house shut to keep the steam of the soft-soap water in. We 

 did the same with the trees on tho back wall in another house, 

 but we were obliged to confine our operations to the back wall, 

 and also to open the top ventilators te let the steam out, that 

 it might not aiYect a lot of Grapes still left in it. We worked 

 this wall, syringing both ways, backwards and forwards, so that 

 every hole and cranny in the wall was filled with the soap water 

 before setting a number of plants for partial protection in these 

 houses. We have long been convinced that such proceedings 

 as these, when the trees are in a dormant state, save much 

 trouble and labour with insects afterwards. These large houses 

 hardly troubled us witli an insect of any kind during the 

 summer ; and we should hear less of the wonderful powers of 

 some insect destroyers did we act more on the principle of 

 prevention rather than of cure. 



Provision may now be made for spring planting, and it is a 

 good time for procuring stores of loam and compost, when the 

 frost is not too severe, as it will be all the better of the frost. It 

 is bad policy, however, in forwarding work, making new lawns, 

 itc, to dig or trench down frozen soil, as it will not only be a 

 long time in becoming heated, but such frozen soil will also 

 sink very unequally. 



ORNASTENT.VL DEPARTMENT. 



We must refer to last and previous weeks for general direc- 

 tions and operations. We have already alluded to the flower 

 garden, which is not yet quite cleared of its summer occupants, 

 but which will be attended to ere long, as they are all eyesores 

 now. We almost envy those who have long cleared, dug, and 

 made all neat and pleasant-looking. To those who like our- 

 selves have most of this digging to do, we would say, where not 

 filled with bulbs and other plants, dig or trench the ground 

 deeply, and leave it for the air to mellow it ; but if tho subsoil is 

 not to your wish, loosen it. and leave it there. CoiJd we 

 manage it, we wi uld turn over such ground frequently in ridges 

 during the winter, and what manure we gave we would lay on 

 these ridges at the last turning over, so that the rotten mannre 

 should be thoroughly sweetened by exposure. Then in digging 

 and levelling finally, we would keep this mannre near the sur- 

 face. These are our reasons — the deep stirring is not only to 



