352 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
you cannot have it upon your table so soon as it may be obtained with the aid of 
fermenting materials or fire-heat. Lift a portion of the crowns at once, and after 
the whip-like roots have been removed, place them rather close together in the 
darkest corner of the cellar, with a little slightly moist soil between them. They 
should be buried to within half an inch or so of the crown. Crowns to be 
placed in the greenhouse should be packed together with a small quantity of soil 
between them, in arather deep box, and this must be put in the warmest part of 
the house, and be covered with hay or some textile fabric, to effectually exclude the 
light. Unless seakale is blanched properly, it will be very indifferent when upon 
the table. 
Earty Pras ann Breans.— Young Gardener.—Peas and beans for early crops 
may be sown in the course of the month, but there is considerable risk in sowing out 
of doors now. If you make up your mind to sow, choose a dry sheltered position. . 
If there is plenty of spare room in frames or pits, preparations may be made for 
early crops without incurring the risk of sowing out of doors. Fill a frame with 
turfs cut at the usual width, and laid grass-side downwards. Sow the seed pretty 
close together along the centre of each breadth of turf, and then sift over some fine 
soil just to cover them, and shut up. As soon as the seeds have started, pive air 
cautiously, and keep them as hardy as possible. As they rise, occasionally add 
more soil, so as to keep earthing them up; this will make them more strong and 
stubby than by covering them their proper depth in the first instance. In February 
the turfs may be lifted out, and the plants divided without any injury to the roots, 
and so planted out in drills of well-prepared soil, and protected with long dry litter 
and reed wattles until the weather allows of complete exposure, 
ManaGEMENT OF THE Prant Srove 1N Winter. —Regular Subscriber.—The 
occupants of the plant stove still growing freely must have fair supplies of water— 
not so many times a day, or so many times a week, but as they wantit. Plants 
that have filled their pots with roots, and now making new growth or pushing for 
bloom, will need more than those that have plenty of pot room, and are not 
thoroughly established. Plants in the warmest end of the stove will enjoy a mode- 
rate amount of vapour produced by sprinkling the floor and pipes. Plants at rest 
to be kept as dry and cool as possible consistent with safety, and moderately well 
aired. Achimenes and Gloxinias at rest should be packed altogether in a dry place. 
We suppose you are able now to furnish the conservatory with showy specimens of 
Euphorbia jacquiniflora, Poinsettia pulcherrima, Gesnera zebrina, Begonias, Lucu- 
lias, Camellias, etc., from the stove. But there must be a succession, and one of the 
first things to consider now is how to make the stove available, not only for the pre- 
servation of its ordinary iamates, but to forward furnishing plants for other struc- 
tures. Plumbago capensis, Cytisuses, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, lilacs, and hardy 
shrubs generally, should therefore be introduced at the coolest end of the stove, if 
there is room for them; a few roses may be forced with them, and many ornamen- 
tal-foliaged subjects will he found useful if in a clean and healthy state. Mixed 
stove selections must now be kept rather cool, as growth is not desirable. Keep 
the atmosphere of the house sweet by giving air on fine days, and be careful to 
remove dead leaves, mosses, and whatever impedes the circulation of air or 
engenders unwholesome vapours. All plants approaching a state of repose to have 
little or no water. Plants in active growth must be watered with caution; let 
them have enough, but see that they do not stand in pans with stagnant water 
about their roots, or in wet places in the midst of mildew. Temperature of the 
plant stove should during the winter season be 50° by night, 60° by day, with 
a rise of 10° during sunshine. 7 
CurysanTHEMuMs.—/’. S. M.—The chrysanthemums which are mentioned, and 
have been under cover for a fortnight or so, should be at once arranged in the con- 
servatory, and from the time the flowers hegin to expand a dry atmosphere should 
be maintained, but no more artificial heat must be supplied than is necessary 
for the purpose. A dry atmosphere and a temperature ranging from 40° to 45° 
are essential in the preservation of the freshness of the flowers, for as long a period 
as possible. Plants of the pompone varieties may be lifted from the borders and 
be turned to good account in the decoration of the conservatory, provided they 
are taken up with good balls of soil, and kept rather close for a fortnight or so 
after they are lifted. A portion of the leaves will turn yellow and fall off, but this 
is a matter of no very great consequence, for with a little ingenuity, the plants can 
be readily arranged so that the lower part is not visible. 
