31G THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



by lifting them and planting in a cold frame. Deciduous trees and shrubs may be 

 planted during the early part of the month with every chance of success, but unless 

 the planting can be finished quickly, it will be well to leave it until the spring. All 

 unoccupied beds and borders should be dug up. and the surface left rough, to enable 

 the weather to act upon it. Now that the trees have all shed their leaves, clear the 

 shrubbery borders, to prevent their being blown about with every gust of wind, and 

 littering the walks and grass-plots. Protect tea and other tender roees with dry 

 litter or fern ; but where they are growing in a prominent position, this system of 

 protection will be objectionable, and, instead of adopting it, take the plants up care- 

 fully, and lay them in by their heels in a sheltered corner, and cover with litter or 

 fern. These can be planted again early in March, and will, if handled carefully, 

 scarcely feel the shift. 



KITCHEN GABDEN. 



It is an excellent plan to draw a little earth to the beans and peas now peeping 

 through the ground. In very sharp weather, cover celery with long litter, for it 

 soon rots in the centre after it has been frozen. Take up a supply of Jerusalem 

 artichokes and parsnips for immediate use, and place in the root-hou«e, and cover 

 with dry sand or soil ; but the principal bulk should remain in the ground for the 

 present, as they are firmer, and eat more mellow than when taken up at the begin- 

 ning of the wintee, and stored wirh other things. Frosty mornings must be taken 

 advantage of for wheeling manure on vacant quarters ; and when the weather is 

 unfavourable for out-door work, overhaul the root-stores. 



FBUIT GARDEN. 



Pruning of all fruit-trees, excepting the peach and nectarine, must be com- 

 menced in earnest. Lay in no more wood than is really required, for nothing is 

 gained by over-crowding, but much lost. Give apple-trees infested with American 

 blight a thorongh washing with strong brine, or the aphis wash, but avoid damag- 

 ing either fruit-buds or wood-buds. See that trees planted last month are properly 

 staked, and cover the soil immediately over the roots with six inches of half-rotten 

 stable manure, to prevent the frost loosening it. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



To keep the usual stock of greenhouse plants in health during the winter, main- 

 tain a comparatively dry atmosphere, which must be regularly changed by opening 

 the ventilators on all favourable opportunities ; and if there is any danger of the 

 temperature falling too low, apply a little fire-heat during the time the ventilators 

 are open. To economize fuel, as well as for the sake of the health of the plants 

 cover the glass with thick canvas, mats, or frigidomo, during very sharp frosts, to 

 prevent the escape of the heat. Water early, and choose a clear, bright day for 

 that purpose. It will be better to let the plants be dry for a day or two than 

 water them in damp weather. At the same time, the soil in which heaths and other 

 plants of like character are potted must not be allowed to get dust dry. Cyclamens, 

 and single and double primulas, now coming into flower, must have the warmest 

 corner the house sffords. Look sharp after green-fly, and fumigate immediately it 

 makes its appearance. Remove every decayed leaf, and keep everything as clean 

 and sweet as circumstances will permit. 



STOVE. 



Attend carefully to ferns, espscially the delicate kinds, like the Gymnogrammas, 

 Nothochla;nas, and Cheilanthes, the fronds of which soon decay, if wetted fre- 

 quently, or exposed to a damp atmosphere. All kinds should be kept as qniet as 

 possible. Sometimes the close-growing Selaginellas will rot at this season, and the 

 best way to stop its progress is to clear away the decayed portion, and then sprinkle 

 the plants with dry sand, and place them in a dry position near the glass for a short 

 time. The necessary precautions must, however, be taken to prevent the tender 

 growth flagging. 



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