879 CALENDAR JANUARY. 



JANUARY. 



Kitchen Garden. — Trench ana manure borders for early 

 crops. Sow early frame peas, preferring the Warwick 

 variety and early Charlton in the beginning of the month, 

 the Knight's dwarf marrowfat about the end of the month ; 

 Marshall's early dwarf, early mazagau, and long-pod beans, 

 during the first and last weeks ; a few onions, early horn 

 carrots, and round-leaved spinach for early crops, on very 

 light soils ; as also curled parsley, if not done in August, 

 on a warm border ; short-topped radish in two or three 

 sowings, at a week's interval, in the same situation. In 

 the last fortnight sow black-seeded gotte, hardy green and 

 brown Dutch lettuce. 



Plant fruit-trees in general, in open weather, mulching 

 the trees to protect them from the drought which may oc- 

 cur in spring. Plant shallot and garlic. All the above 

 one to two months later north. 



Prune all sorts of fruit-trees in mild weather or in 

 moderate frosts, nailing only in fine weather; wash those 

 trees infested with insects, with a mixture of soap-suds, 

 flowers of sulphur, and tobacco liquor.* 



* "We have not deemed it necessary to treat separately or at length of the 

 means of destroying insects ; many of the nostrums recommended proving 

 very efficient. The wash here mentioned is perhaps the best and simplest 

 for the stems and branches of wall fruit-trees. Some prefer making it of 

 the consistence of paint, and laying it on with a brusb. One advice we 

 would tender to all gardeners — not to bo anxious to kill the smaller kinds 

 of the feathered songsters, the soft-billed warblers of the garden, which are 

 often suspected of attacking blossoms of fruit when they are only picking off 

 caterpillars or aphides, their favorite food. Even the common sparrow and 

 the blue titmouse are useful in destroying the larvae of the moths which in- 

 fest the fruit-trees. In hot-houses, the keeping of the walls and frame- 

 work clean, by frequent white-washing and painting, is very important ; 

 and much benefit results from occasionally filling them with the smoke of 

 tobaoco-paper, and then thoroughly syringing the plants. 



