285 



JANUAEY. 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS FOR THE FLOWER 

 GARDEN, SHRUBBERY, AND GREENHOUSE. 



By the commencement of the 

 new year all our alterations, re- 

 movals, turf laying, gravel making, 

 box edgings, and other ground- 

 work should be drawing to a close. 

 We do not deny that tliey can be 

 carried on far later ; but an English 

 winter can be little depended on 

 for fine weather, and both wet 

 and frost in extreme will frustrate 

 our best endeavours. On this ac- 

 count we ought always to be ready 

 with our proper amount of labour in 

 October, and from that time until 

 all is done lose not a single tine 

 day. Again, as planting is always 

 a check upon trees, witii all ihe 

 care we can use, the ti-ees and 

 slirubs we require should never be 

 taken up till we are ready to plant 

 them ; for, in however few cases it 

 may be fatal, it is always more or 

 less injurious to keep the plants 

 out of the ground. No digging or 

 trenching can go on with advantage 

 in wet weather : it may go on well 

 in frosty weather, though when the 

 earth is frozen very hard there is 

 more labour attached to the job, 

 and it goes on slower. The work, 

 however, is quite as well done, and 

 often, if the men do their duty with 

 the pickaxe and break the lumps a 

 little, it is of great service to bury 

 frozen earth and bring up the lower 

 spit to freeze. However, lor pro- 



gress, dry moderate weather is the 

 most advantageous. Being ready 

 for the work in October, you may, 

 nevertheless, be stopped altogether 

 by excessive wet for a considerable 

 time, and the intervals of fine 

 Weather may not be long enough 

 to permit the soil to dry. All this 

 should be well considered, and no 

 work should be wilfully put ofi" to 

 a later period. January may be 

 mild open weather, or cold dry 

 weather, in which case wiiatever 

 is left undone should be done with- 

 out delay. All newly-planted trees 

 should be examined : their stakes 

 may have been disturbed, or their 

 fastenings come loose, and unless 

 these things are set to rights at 

 once they would sufler greatly. 



Collecting Manures. — This is a 

 general sort of duty in the winter 

 months. Peat eaith, road-drift, 

 dead leaves and vegetable matter, 

 sand, marl, loam, turves for rot- 

 ting in heaps, horse, cow, sheep's, 

 poultry, and pig's dung, and all 

 other stufis useful in composts, 

 should be gathered together, but 

 always in sepai'ate heaps, to lie 

 until wanted. The turves to lie 

 and rot ought not to be cut more 

 than two inches thick, and those 

 who carmot obtain them any other 

 or cheaper way should buy them 

 as if for laying down on a plot, 



