MONTHLY CALENDAR, 223 



can hardly be given ; but avoid cutting draughts of cold air. On genial days, 

 when the sim shines for a few hours, remove the lights entirely, and clean and 

 gently stir the surface-soil, removing every decayed leaf, spot of fungus, and 

 all impurities both from plants and frame. A dirty frame will soon en- 

 gender sickness and disease among plants ; and diseased plants will rapidly 

 infect the frame : hence the necessity of perfect cleanHness in both. "Whenever 

 a fcEtid, unhealthy atmosphere is discovered, the plants should be removed, 

 the plunging material thrown out, the whole interior of the frame painted with 

 hot lime-and-water, and fumigated with sulphur burnt over a hot coal. An 

 hour's reign of the sulphur fumes will suffice to destroy every living thing, and 

 drive out or neutralize the noxious malaria. The light or lights should then 

 be removed, and be thoroughly washed with warm water and soap ; fresh 

 plunging matter (nothing equals clean coal-ashes) introduced, and the plants 

 re-arranged. Such preventive and curative measures often check incipient 

 disease, and save valuable collections of plants. 



581. Top-dress auriculas and pinks with rich soil, and re-pot all pansies 

 that are intended to be bloomed in pots. Eight-inch pots are those most 

 generally used for this pm-pose, but the size must depend upon the strength 

 of the plants. To insm-e a good bloom, they should not be shifted into larger 

 pots after this period. — D. T. F. 



§ 3.— The Kitchen Garden 



582. The operations in the kitchen-garden this month depend very much on 

 the weather. In mild open weather, a sowing of radish is made, and to protect 

 them from birds and frost, cover lightly with straw or fern, uncovering the 

 beds occasionally in mild weather. Chaffinches are very fond of pulling up 

 these, and other seeds, as they appear through the ground ; so that they 

 should not be left improtected : netting stretched over them will admit light 

 and air, and exclude the birds ; white worsted will keep them off for a day or 

 two ; but they soon get used to it ; and scarecrows are equally ineffective. 

 A covering of tiffany canvas or calico stretched on laths, will be effective, 

 and resist the March winds more than straw or fern : they need be but a few 

 inches from the groimd. If the ground is in condition for treading, it is best 

 to do so, as, indeed, it is with nearly all seeds ; but if the ground is apt to 

 clod or bind, it should by no means be trodden, but covered with light soil, 

 or pressed in with the rake. The ground, in such cases, should be marked 

 into beds of convenient width, allowing a foot or 15 inches between, for 

 alleys, to stand in, never treading on the beds. This comes naturally enough 

 after a little practice ; but experience is a dear school to learn in, and the 

 most inexperienced, by following some such dfrections, may avoid failure as 

 certainly as the most practised. Some gardeners, whose ground is limited, 

 are in the habit of sowing parsley, carrots, onions, leeks, or some such crop, 

 which takes longer to grow, along with radishes, sowing both together, the 



