378 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS FOR DECEMBER. 



by taking off all the other shoots 

 as they appear. There has been 

 some difference of opinion as to 

 the treatment of the bud when 

 shooting, and a question is raised, 

 which may as well be discussed 

 here as in the proper month for the 

 operation. The same thing has been 

 mooted as to fruit trees. The bud 

 of a Rose, if left to itself, will grow 

 on a single branch several feet, and 

 unless supported by something 

 would be assuredly blown out of 

 its place and destroyed. The 

 question is this — Ought the bud to 

 be permitted to waste itself in six 

 feet of wood, which has to be cut 

 all away; or by judiciously stop- 

 ping it as soon as three or four 

 eyes could be secured, should the 

 strength that would be wasted in 

 six feet to be cut away be dis- 

 persed or distributed in four or 

 five branches towards forming a 

 head ? This would save nearly a 

 year ; and the only pruning re- 

 quired would be to cut away the 

 smaller weak branches, and shorten 

 the others to two eyes each. But 

 the generality of nurserymen al- 

 low the single eye to grow as long 

 as it will, and we have seen them 

 at jNIr. Eivers's, of Sawbridge- 

 worth, with six or seven feet of 

 sound ripened wood grown from 

 an eye in one season. This cut 

 back to a certain number of eyes 

 makes as many branches the se- 

 cond 3'ear ; but it has been ascer- 

 tained that a more commanding 

 head can be formed, and if left 

 unpruned the second season the 

 same number of branches will con- 

 tinue their growth, and the shorten- 

 ing may be left till the next sea- 

 son. When the growth is very 

 strong, which is indicated by the 

 first six inches of a shoot, it may 

 be safely checked by pinching off 

 the end ; when it is weakly let it j 



all grow. Roses in pots and 

 stoves, being forced, must be well 

 smoked and syringed, and be 

 changed from smaller to larger 

 pots, according as they fill the pots 

 with roots. 



THE GREENHOUSE. 



The deeper we get into winter 

 the more care do we require in 

 the greenhouse. The sole atten- 

 tion should be devoted to keeping 

 out wet and frost. Dampness is 

 very fatal if not removed in good 

 time. To prevent dampness all 

 dead and yellomsh leaves should 

 be removed, not only from the 

 plants, but also from the shelves 

 and floor : eveiy part of the house 

 must be kept very clean and dry. 

 Cuttings of all the kinds of plants 

 may be taken off and struck, and 

 such as are struck should be potted 

 singly in pots, and treated accord- 

 ing to their intended form. 



Amaryllids may be examined, 

 and such as indicate growth may 

 be repotted, and set in a common 

 hotbed. 



Azalea Indica. — Young plants 

 should be shifted from time to 

 time to larger pots, and seed may 

 be sown in pans or boxes, or wide- 

 mouthed pots, and placed in the 

 greenhouse. 



Bedding-out plants whether kept 

 in pits or in the greenhouse, 

 mayj;)e put out singly in pots as 

 soon as they strike ; and when 

 once established they need have 

 but little water through the winter. 

 The less growth they make the 

 better; but if they take to grow- 

 ing, remove the tops to strike, 

 so that you double the number of 

 your plants, and improve the ori- 

 ginal ones by inducing dwarfness 

 and a bushy habit. 



Calceolarias require to be care- 

 fully kept from the frost, and at 



