24 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



to Amaryllises, and all kinds of stove-roots that are started and starling,-— 

 pot and water them, if necessary place them in an increased heat, and he 

 sure to let them have plenty of light. All valuahle shrubs and plants which 

 may be deemed hardy, but the hardiness of which has not been sufficiently 

 tested, should be afforded some kind of protection, that the fearful ravages 

 committed by the frost in the preceding winter may not be reacted during 

 the present season. There are various modes of affording shelter to plants, 

 all of which are useful, but most of them are especially applicable to dif- 

 ferent kinds. Thus, litter for herbaceous plants, old bark for bulbs, and 

 mats or straw hurdles for shrubs and trees, are respectively found most suit- 

 able for those peculiar sorts. 



In making use of any kind of protection for plants in the open ground, 

 the first and principal point is to attend to the preservation of the roots; for 

 if this is duly affected, most plants will recover and sprout again, even 

 though the stems and branches should be entirely destroyed. This prac- 

 tice is very frequently neglected by cultivators, who appear to think only of 

 preserving the stems and branches, which is certainly sufficient where this 

 end can be fully accomplished, but where the protection afforded to those 

 parts proves inefficient, in nine cases out of ten the roots perish with them. 

 Hence the importance of sheltering the roots likewise. 



Whatever material is used for this purpose, the necessity of its being of it 

 dry nature, and also, if possible, capable of repelling- wet, should always be 

 kept in view. Moisture, where it exists in any quantity, is sure to attract 

 the greatest degree of frost, and therefore when the roots of plants are sur- 

 rounded and saturated with a superabundance of it, they will be much more 

 exposed to injury on that account. That covering, then, which is found to 

 be most impervious to rain, will undoubtedly prove most beneficial. By 

 thus piotecting the roots, we by no means wish to supersede the use of other 

 covering for the more exposed parts of plants, but merely to see these two 

 desirable objects distinctly yet conjointly effectuated ; and every practicable 

 method should by all means be adopted for preserving the upper portions 

 of shrubs. 



All in door plants should now be kept as near the glass as is consistent 

 with their safety ; for, even in this, there is a degree of propriety to be ob- 

 served, which, if exceeded, would greatly endanger the subjects of it. It 

 should not be foi gotten, that frost enters chiefly through a glazed roof, and 

 the plants should be placed at just such a distance from it as will secure 

 them from that destructive principle ; though it is better to keep them at a 

 trifling distance, and protect them by covering the house with mats in very 

 severe weather. 



Cold pits and frames will now be found among the most useful of plant 

 structures. Auriculas, Carnations, and Polyanthuses, with all tender plants 

 that have been removed from the flower garden, or are in preparation for 

 that department for the ensuing season, are by this time secured o in these 

 or similar erections. They should be carefully tended for the purpose 

 of admitting air in favourable weaiher, and duly protected with mats, hay, 

 or dry litter, during frosts. 



The beds and borders of the flower garden and pleasure grounds may still 

 be dug roughly over, if this operation have not previously been completed. 

 Shrubi of all kinds may be pruned if necessary, and especially climbing 

 plants which must also be nailed to the wall, or fastened against the trellis 

 to which they grow. Make, and plant, cuttings of any species of kibes, or 

 other similar plants, those shoots which are slipped off succeed best, and a 

 light loamy soil is most suitable. All the buds except those at the base and 

 the two uppermost ones, should be extracted, as they would only weaken 

 the plant if left, and in inserting them in the ground, care should he taken 

 to place the earth close around them. Remove any trees or shrubs which 

 require shifting, or that may he desired in any other part of the garden. 

 Always take them up with as much earth as possible about the roots, and 

 be careful to preserve the fibrous roots entire. 



