178 GARDEN MANAGEMENT. 



disrooting the plants by a deep winter or spring digging, may be designated 

 the larharous starving regimen, Once shrubberies are properly established 

 on good soil, no rake should ever cross their surface ; and every leaf that falls 

 upon them should be merely dug in, any time from December to April, — the 

 earlier the better. Leaves are Nature's means of maintaining the fertility of 

 the soil ; and whenever or wherever art removes them, without applying a 

 substitute, the soil rapidly gravitates towards steriht}'. 



425. Planting is best performed in November, for every kind of deciduous 

 tree and shrub, and for most evergreens, although I have planted and trans- 

 planted evergi-eens in almost every month in the year. Whatever variety of 

 opinion there may exist in reference to evergreens, there is no doubt whatever 

 that the planting of all deciduous trees and shrubs should cease by the middle 

 of December. This work should therefore be pushed forward in mild weather. 

 One great point of success is to keep the roots of the plants as little exposed 

 as possible : a dry wind, or a cutting frosty au', is fatal to them. The tops of 

 plants are endowed, even when in a dormant state, with a wonderful power 

 of resisting cold. As Nature never intended the roots to be exposed, and 

 does not needlessly squander her resources, it is obvious that this power of 

 resisting cold is not extended to them. Therefore all newly-planted shiiibs 

 and trees should also have their roots protected during the first winter with 

 long litter, to prevent their being injured. When placed close together in 

 nursery lines, plants shelter and protect each other, and the massiveness of 

 their tops, and possibly their summer leaves, shield their roots from the frost. 

 Their condition is widely different when placed thinly, in newly-formed 

 shi-ubberies. Hence the propriety, and in many instances the necessity, if 

 their lives are to be saved and their health preserved, of what is termed 

 riiulching, that is, covering the sm-face with some good non-conducting material. 

 The next point of most importance in planting trees or shrubs, especially 

 of large size, is to firmly secure the top to a strong stake, or by any 

 other method, so as to keep it immovable in one spot. When it is other- 

 wise, the trees, both top and root, are the sport of every fresh breeze ; and the 

 probability is, that after the roots have made a feeble effort to grow, and been 

 forcibly wrenched from the soil, they will pei'ish. 



426. During this month, plant crocuses and any other hardy bulbs for succes- 

 sion : the main crops should have been planted in October or November. The 

 usual mode of planting crocuses is in patches, varying from half a dozen to a 

 dozen. They would be very effective in rows or ribbons of colour. The chief 

 self sorts are white, bl':e, yellow, and purple ; the striped varieties consist of 

 these shades of colour x-a eveiy vai-iety of distribution. Size, consistence, shape, 

 and distinctness of colour in the bloom, constitute the chief points in a good 

 crocus. Nothing can be more easy than their culture. They are increased 

 by offsets and seed, the former being the usual mode, as they increase rapidly. 

 Offsets are treated the same as old bulbs, and will bloom the second year. 

 Seed should be sown thinly, in well-drained pans of light sandy loam, as soon 

 as ripe, and placed in a sheltered situatioD out of doors until late in the autumn. 



