JANUARY. 



579 



JANUARY. 



that finely pulverised, mellow, genial soil 

 in spring, in which plants delight to grow. 



B order $1 Trenching. All new flower 

 gardens must, of necessity, be trenched, 

 and the same treatment may be prescribed 

 for old ones. No soil, however rich in 

 ^quality, will go on producing flowers in 

 perfection for years, with an annual digging 

 in autumn or spring and frequent hoeings 

 and pointings in summer : this practice 

 soon exhausts the best soil. Nothing bene- 

 fits old gardens more than the entire re- 

 moval of the old plants, trenching up the 

 soil to the depth of three feet, liberally j 

 manuring it, and replanting. Gardens, or 

 rather beds and borders in which the bed- 

 ding-out system is put in force, should be 

 trenched every fourth or sixth year. The 

 plants would then be much less at the 

 mercy of the extremes of drought or wet, 

 .and have a more copious supply of suitable 

 food. 



Bulbs, Hardy. During this month 

 plant crocuses and any other hardy bulbs 

 for succession, the main crops having been 

 planted in October or November. The 

 usual mode of planting crocuses is to set 

 them in the soil in patches, varying from 

 half a dozen to a dozen. They are also 

 highly effective in rows or ribbons of 

 different colours. 



Carnations in Pots. Especial care 

 -should be taken to protect carnations in 

 pots from heavy rains, hard frosts, cold 

 winds, or snow, by means of frames, hand- 

 lights, &c. The carnation is perfectly 

 hardy, though liable to injury from deep 

 planting and excessive moisture, and can 

 -stand the winter in the open ground, but 

 by protecting the choicer sorts in bad 

 weather they are preserved in strong con- 

 dition for blooming in good order at the 

 right time. Those in frames should be 

 -examined frequently, and watered with 

 care if necessary. Pinks and carnations in 

 -beds should also be examined, and it any 



are heaved up by the frost they should be 

 pressed firmly down in the soil. 



Earth, Turf, &c., Transfer of. Earth 

 may be carried from one part of the garden 

 to another, turf brought in, and manure 

 wheeled to its destination, when the surface 

 of the ground is hardened by frost ; but 

 when the frost is over and the ground 

 begins to " give," or, in other words, to 

 soften, and lose its rigidity, boards should 

 be laid down to prevent the wheel of the 

 barrow from making deep ruts in the 

 paths. Boards should also be laid down 

 on lawns if it be found necessary to take 

 anything over them in the wheelbarrow. 



Grass Lawns, Walks, and Verges. 

 These should now be kept neat and trim 

 by frequent rollings, which should be per- 

 formed in open dry weather, when the 

 surface is not too moist ; and by equally 

 frequent mowings, which should be done 

 the first thing in the morning, when 

 the dew is on the grass. Turi may be 

 laid wherever wanted, provided that the 

 weather is favourable, and grass plots in a 

 dilapidated condition may be relaid or 

 patched. The best turf for gardens is to 

 be met with on commons or downs where 

 sheep are pastured. A fine dry day should 

 always be selected for cutting turf lor 

 lawns. 



Hardy Shrubs, Layering. Provided the 

 weather is open, layers may be made of 

 the young branches and shoots of hardy 

 shrubs, to raise a supply of new plants. 

 The branches should be laid into the 

 soil 3 or 4 inches deep, and be tightly 

 pegged down, the top in each case being 

 left out of the soil and brought as far as 

 possible into an upright position. These 

 layers will be well rooted by the following 

 autumn, and fit for transplanting. 



Herbaceous Plants. It will be found 

 that many kinds of herbaceous plants, and 

 such flowers as aubrietias, arabis, alyssum, 

 carnations, daisies, forget-me-nots or myo- 



