Horticultural Operations for February. 95 



Our bright sun, in good weather, will raise the thermometer to 75° or 80°, 

 while, at the same time, the cold is so severe as to admit of only a small 

 amount of ventilation ; and, in a majority of houses, the heat must be so 

 excessive, to keep out the frost during night, that at one end the temperature 

 will be 60° and at the other only 30°. Under these circumstances it is 

 very difficult to maintain the proper degree of warmth ; but, if the work is 

 begun when the plants are put into the house, it is easy to inure them to a 

 cool atmosphere, much more favorable to their health and vigor than a 

 higher one. A writer in the Gardeners' Chronicle gives the following as 

 the proper degrees of night temperature : — Geranium house, 38° to 43° ; 

 stoves, 50° to 55° ; intermediate house, 41° to 50° ; heath house, 32° to 38° ; 

 and the day temperature, 5° to 15° higher. Now, here we see the reason 

 why heaths, which in our greenhouses are subject to the temperature of 

 what the writer calls the " intermediate house," do not do well in summer. 

 Their constant and rapid growth, in such a house, unfits them to stand our 

 hot sun, when removed to the open air ; a feeble habit is engendered, and 

 the result is a yellow and sickly plant, which the heat of summer augments, 

 and finally causes its death. Amateurs and gardeners then exclaim, "It's 

 no use making the attempt ; heaths can't be cultivated under our hot sun!" 



Camellias, in the height of bloom, will require liberal supplies of 

 water, and occasionally liquid guano. Shade from the sun, if it is likely to 

 burn the leaves. Young plants, showing signs of beginning to grow, may 

 be repotted. Now is the time to inarch and graft the plants. 



Japan Lilies intended for blooming in pots, in the Greenhouse or Con- 

 servatory, should now be repotted, and placed away in a cool situation, for 

 a week or two, until the shoots are an inch or more long, when they may 

 be brought into a better place on the stage. 



Pelargoniums will now be advancing rapidly, and good specimens will 

 require considerable care to keep them bushy, healthy, and fine. Keep 

 in a light, airy place, as near the glass as possible ; keep the shoots regu- 

 larly tied out, and water sparingly at present. 



Azaleas will now begin to flower, and will require more liberal supplies 

 of water, with occasional syringing. 



AcHiMENES and Gloxinias should now be potted, and placed in the 

 warmest part of the house, to give them a good start. 



Ericas will now require attention. Young plants, in particular, should 

 be kept on a shelf, near the glass, in the very coolest part of the house. If 

 they need it, repot them at once, and not delay till they become so potbound 

 as to injure their growth. 



Cinerarias, showing flower, should now be shifted into larger pots, if 

 they require it. Be sure to keep off" the green fly, so injurious to the plants. 



Fuchsias should continue to have attention, if early flowering plants are 

 wanted. Repot, and prune in the old plants, and they will make fine speci- 

 mens in June and July. Cuttings put in now will make fine plants for 

 blooming in August and September. 



Pansies in pots should now have a shift into the next size. Sow seeds 

 for a succession in the open air. 



