MONTHLY CALENDAB. 681 



every dead leaf; tliin out and train the shoots ; shift late-flowering plants 

 into their blooming-pots ; keep pansies at the warmest end of the hovse, and 

 give fire-heat enough to drive out damp and enable you to change the atmo- 

 sphere during mild days or gleams of sunshine. 



2140. Orchids. — See that they are clean, kept in a temperature of 65°, kept 

 dryish, and let them sleep. — D. T. F. 



§ 6. —Forcing Pits and Frames. 



2141. Cinerarias and Calceolarias. — Eemove dead leaves (but there ought 

 never to be any on these plants) ; shift into larger pots ; pot off and prick out 

 late seedlings ; water forward plants with clear manure-water ; and smoke 

 with tobacco as soon as a single aphis appears. 



2142. Where the chief stock of budding i^lants is kept in pits, they will 

 require frequent looking over, to guard against damp, careful watering, 

 proper protection from frost, and all the air that the external atmosphere will 

 permit of. 



2143. Forcing-Pits. — ^Introduce a few more kalmias, azaleas, rhododendrons, 

 roses, sweet-briers, violets, kc. ; also, the first batch of the earliest-potted 

 hj'acinths, narcissus, and other bulbs, if the pots are full of roots, otherwise 

 leave them another week or two plunged in old tan in a cold pit, the best of 

 all positions for them while they are rooting. Nothing can well be easier 

 than the culture of these bulbs. The best soil for them is equal parts 

 turfy loam and well-rotted cow or horee-manure, at least two j-ears old, with a 

 sixth part sharp gritty sand. But they will grow in almost imj soil, or 

 indeed without soil at all, in damp moss, cocoanut-fibre refuse, water, or 

 sand. The great point is to choose good, firm, well-ripened, rather than large 

 bulbs, although, of course, the larger the better if they are also well-ripened, 

 and to pot or start them early. Then, by keeping the tops in darkness, and 

 the roots, if possible, a little warmer than the tops, get the roots as much in 

 advance of the stem as possible. If the pot or glass is once full of roots, 

 while the stem is only starting into growth, a good bloom, with ordinary care, 

 is almost certain. In this condition they may be removed to a forcing-pit, 

 with a temperature of 55°, to a conservatory shelf, pinery, or peach-house at 

 work, or a sitting-room or kitchen window, with almost entire certainty of 

 success. 



2144. A single bulb in a 48-sizcd pot, or one in the centre, or three round 

 the sides of a 32- or 2i-sized pot, look well. Drain the pots well ; fill 

 them with the compost, placing some of the richest and roughest lumps 

 over the bottom, and place the bulb on the top, slightly pressing it into 

 the soil. Some recommend a handful of sharp sand to be placed under the 

 bulb to insure thorough drainage. If the compost is dry, water after planting; 

 if it is in a proper medium state of moisture, this will not be necessary. 

 If water is used, leave the pots for a day or two, to partially dry ; then place 



