CALENDAR OF OPEEATIOKS FOR DECEMBER. 



O *- "f 



oi 7 



tbem in the greenhouse or pit | 

 free from frost. 



Gravel Walks. — When the gravel ', 

 is soft and spongy get two sieves, | 

 one that will not let a horse-bean i 

 through, and the other somewhat ; 

 larger, that will take away any 

 but one size bigger. Gravel thus i 

 cleared of the large and of the | 

 small should be laid on, and rolled j 

 in every time any wet comes, until 

 the surface is as sound as a stone, i 



Hyacinths. — The propagation of ! 

 Hyacinths in Holland is hastened | 

 by cutting the bulb in half hori- i 

 zontally, and offsets are developed i 

 in great plenty. All the top halves I 

 of the leaves being gone, and the | 

 bloom destroyed, the whole vigour 

 of the root goes to multiply the 

 otfsets, of which there is one at 

 the base of every leaf, though it 

 is often doimant until excited by 

 driving all the nourishment to it. 

 When a cut Hyacinth of this de- 

 sciiption is taken up there are 

 generally some very fine offsets, 

 and the larger of these are mostly 

 ready in another season. 



Pansies, Pinks, Picotees, and 

 Carnations in pots, under glass, 

 must be kept moderately dry — we 

 speak of those in store pots. The 

 Pansies in larger blooming pots 

 should be put in frames by them- 

 selves, that they may be kept 

 growing, as the object is the pre- 

 servation of early blooms, and 

 they must not have a check. 



Tulips, and all other flowers in 

 beds, unless perfectly hardy, must 

 be protected with hoops and mats, 

 or litter of some kind, as the 

 ground once frozen to the bulb 

 damages the flower, although it 

 may not destroy it. 



THE ROSE GARDEN. 



Little more than following up 

 all previous instructions has to be 



done this month, except that, as 

 those instructions comprised plant- 

 ing, removing, and making Roses 

 a feature, a few words to impress 

 the leading objects on the mind 

 will not be out of place. Great 

 pains are taken to produce strong 

 growth, and certainly, if size is to 

 govern, the flowers come the more 

 noble for the' increased vigour of 

 the plant ; but it is quite certain 

 that in the natural state the brier 

 grows on very questionable soil, 

 and we have frequently seen them 

 dug out of that which seemed ex- 

 hausted by the roots of thorn or 

 other hedge plants, and was as 

 dry as snuflf. Again, we have seen 

 them budded while growing wild, 

 with a view of removing them 

 after the bud was safe, and tlie 

 growth -was as vigorous as could 

 be wished; but these Eoses suf- 

 fered much on their ultimate re- 

 moval, and perfectly convinced the 

 experimentalist that it was a great 

 loss of time. The fact is that 

 the roots of the brier seek food 

 at a very considerable distance 

 from the trunk of the tree, and it 

 is impossible to avoid losing a 

 good deal ; therefore it is neces- 

 sary, in procuring the briers, to 

 prune the roots within a moderate 

 compass, and to thin off all the 

 branches, so that the briers be- 

 come so many upright sticks. 

 These planted in good ground re- 

 cover their roots, because the 

 growth of the stock is limited to 

 two or three single branches to 

 bud on, and by midsummer, or a 

 little after, they will have advanced 

 far enough to bud on. This done, 

 the ends of the branches are cut 

 ofi", and a very little growth is 

 allowed beyond the bud, and that 

 only while the bud is uniting. 

 After this the entire growth of 

 the stock is thrown into the bud, 

 '2 C 



