373 



DECEMBEE. 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS FOR THE FLOWER 

 GARDEN, SHRUBBERY, AND GREENHOUSE. 



Now we arrive at a period when 

 all directions must be conditional. 

 It is in this country as likely to be 

 wet and warm as frosty and snowy, 

 and, which is far more important, 

 to change from one to the other 

 in a few hours. It is necessary, 

 therefore, to make preparations for 

 protecting by some means all that 

 will not bear such great changes, 

 and never to trust a single night 

 to the mild weather continuing. 

 Frequently do we have four-and- 

 twenty hours' frost, and a total 

 change to warm, close, damp 

 weather for days ; and vice versa, 

 from warm to frost. These changes 

 injure even hardy things, and al- 

 ways disturb small plants, whe- 

 ther it be Pinks, Tansies, Carna- 

 tions, Picotees, small Polyanthuses, 

 or Primroses; in short, nothing 

 small, however hardy, is secure 

 from being uprooted by the con- 

 traction and expansion of the 

 soil, which inevitably accompany 

 these changes. We have simply, 

 therefore, to make up our minds 

 whether all these things shall take 

 their chance or we intend to pre- 

 vent it. In the latter case we 

 must have hoops and mats, litter, 

 cloth, or some other material to 

 cover them with ; in the other, 

 the gi'ound looks neater, for we do 

 not require to have anything ly- 



ing about for the purpose : we 

 will, however, touch upon various 

 modes of protection. First, then, 

 we will mention — 



Dry Litter. — Peas haulm is the 

 very best of these if well hai-vested 

 and hardened. It lies much 

 lighter, and endures the wet much 

 longer than any other kind of lit- 

 ter, so that really good peas 

 haulm will endure three months 

 of wet and changeable weather 

 without becoming close or soft 

 and rotten, but it should always 

 be spread lightly to diy when the 

 weather permits. This should lie 

 all ready between the beds, and 

 be every night spread upon the 

 beds to be protected, and in frost 

 it must not be removed. There 

 should be a sufficient quantity to 

 lie four inches thick on the bed 

 to keep out frost ; less than this 

 would not be effective. Straw is 

 the next best, perhaps, but it 

 should be broken so as to lie 

 rather light and loose, and not be 

 used in its straight length, for it 

 would lie too heavy. Tares, hay, 

 and even the long litter of dung 

 are used, but we prefer the first to 

 anything. 



Hoops and Mats. — If beds are to 

 be protected with mats it is requi- 

 site to place hoops across the bed, 

 or bent sticks of some kind from 



