MONTHLY CALENDAR. 841 



work of great difficulty, from the fact that on the brightest days the air is 

 often only a few degrees above the freezing-point. Unless provision is made 

 for introducing the external air through a heated chamber, no front air should 

 be admitted until the end of April or beginning of May. In fact, I scarcely 

 ever give direct air in front of vineries until the fruit is ripe. In the absence 

 of some better means of partially heating the air admitted at the back or 

 top of the house, before it reaches the plants, a close woollen net, or double 

 or treble Nottingham netting, might be fixed over the ventilators or open 

 spaces where the lights run down. The force of the cui-rent would be 

 broken, and the air would be partially heated as it was sifted through the 

 fine meshes of the netting. If it were i^racticable to keep this netting wet, 

 the rapid evaporation from it would tend largely to moderate the tempera- 

 ture of the air, and prevent its being so rapidly raised by the influence of 

 the sun. But an equable tempei'ature is scarcely more important than the 

 amount of moisture contained in the air. Hydrometers, although not yet 

 common, will soon be felt to be as necessary as thermometers. At present 

 every gardener worthy of the name is a living hydrometer, and it is 

 astonishing how perfectly the seasoned ones can gauge the amount of water 

 suspended in the air. 



961. Vinery. — As soon as the grapes begin to swell again, a rise of 10° 

 may take place, which may be continued until the first spot of colour appears. 

 The minimum may then be from CO" to Q5°, with a little air constantly in the 

 house, never omitting to close it at night. Successional houses will now require 

 great attention, — disbudding, thinning, and tying the shoots, &c. Raise the 

 temperature, through the difierent stages, as recommended last month. Stop 

 the young shoots a joint beyond the bunches, excepting always the leading 

 shoots on 3'oung vines. After a few stoppings, if the leaves become crowded, 

 take the young wood off at the same point at every stopping, as two or three 

 large leaves beyond the bunch are sufficient to supply its wants, and mora 

 useful than a number of small ones. 



962. Pines. — Shift all the succession plants as soon as possible. It will facili- 

 tate this operation very much if one man places his arms carefully round the 

 leaves and another slips a tie of soft matting roundlthe plant, sufficiently tight 

 to compress, without bruising, the leaves. This will render the plants manage- 

 able, and enable you to pot without gloves. I never tried the muffled system 

 myself, and don't believe that any one can pot a plant properly with gloves on. 

 Don't follow the barbarous disrooting system. If the plants have been 

 properly kept during the winter, remove the crocks, gradually unwind the 

 roots, take away as much of the old soil as possible, pull off from three to six 

 inches of the bottom ; place the plant two or three inches deeper in the new 

 ,pot than it was in the old, as pines root up the stem, and have no perma- 

 nent collar, press in the earth firmly, and the work is complete. Turfy loams 

 mixed with a little charcoal and broken bones, is the best compost, enriching 

 it with manure-water during the rapid gi'owing and fruiting stages. If fern 

 or leaves are used for bottom-heat ; this will uow require renewing. This work 



