MONTHLY CALENDAE. 311 



846. Florists i^^z^Tfj-s.— Polyanthuses require protection from sudden storms 

 and cold winds. Auriculas are now come into bloom, and require great atten- 

 tion ; the trusses thinned, and deformed pips removed. Weak manure-water 

 should be applied in the mornings, shading the plant afterwards from the sun. 

 Seed should now be sown in shallow pans, and lightly covered with soil, and 

 tho pans placed in some gentle heat. Dahlia-roots may now be planted out 

 on the beds, three or four inches deep, and five feet asunder. Tulips pro- 

 tected from cold winds and frosty nights by netting thrown over hoops, and 

 by mats, in severe weather, on the beds, leaving plenty of light and air. 

 Ranunculuses require the soil to be loosened as they come up, and watering 

 with weak manure-water : a watering with lime-water will destroy any worms 

 in the beds. 



847. Carnations in pots should have the surface stirred, and a little new 

 compost added, and watered with lime-water, to destroy any worms in tho 

 soil. Sow seeds in pots or boxes during the month, place them in a 

 west aspect, and cover them with a sheet of glass. Some fine hybrids have 

 lately been raised, between the Anne Boleyn class and the other varieties. 

 Pansies will now be interesting : water the fresh-potted plants sparingly, 

 until the roots reach the edge of the pots : top-dress the beds with rotten 

 manure ; look for and destroy black slugs ; plant out seedlings, and put 

 in cxittings. Tulips must now be protected with canvas or mats in frosty, 

 snowy, or very wet weather, exposing them entirely during every hour of 

 genial sunshine. Stir the surface-soil, watch for mice and other marauders, 

 who seem as fond of the sweet roots as man is of the gorgeous flower of this 

 splendid bulb. Hollyhocks kept in pots during the winter should now be 

 planted out, about six feet apart, in deep rich soil. Cuttings of choice sorts are 

 more tender than seedlings, and would be safer with a little protection for six 

 weeks after planting. Seed may also be sown now in the reserve garden, for 

 autumn-flowering. 



848. Tender Annuals sown last month should now be pricked out three or 

 four inches apart on a fresh hotbed, prepared as described last month ; on 

 this they will gi'ow without interfering with each other for three or four weeks. 

 At the end of this time they must either be transplanted to a fresh hotbed, or 

 thinned by removing every second plant. A hotbed for this removal, made 

 as before directed, should have seven inches' depth of earth laid equally over 

 it ; the plants carefully removed with a ball of earth round the roots, and 

 replanted six inches apart, or singly in pots, to be plunged into hotbeds ; tho 

 whole being lightly watered to settle the earth about the roots. Shade from 

 the sun till rooted, after which give air every day, and water whenever the 

 plants seem to flag. As the plants approach the glass, let the frames be raised 

 about six inches, repeating the operation from time to time, so as to keep the 

 plants a few inches from the glass. 



849. Half -hardy Annuals may now be sown in warm sunny borders, giving 

 them the protection of hoops and mattings at night and in severe weather, and 

 hardier sorts in the beds and borders, in small patches, where they are to 



