JANUARY. 



JANUARY. 



training plenty of room may be commanded 

 for such shoots as are retained. 



Fruit in Store. All fruits that are kept 

 in store during the winter months require 

 frequent examination as they come into 

 season for the removal of any that may 

 show symptoms of decay, &c. The 

 maturity of fruit for table use is hastened 

 by placing it in a warm and dry atmos- 

 phere for a few days before it is required. 



Grafting, &><:., Scions for. When prun- 

 ing, save all scions of vines and other trees, 

 which may be required for grafting. Put 

 them in by the heels in a sheltered and shady 

 place. Success in future operations with 

 the scions mainly consists in keeping them 

 dormant, as, if they can be kept in a state 

 of quiescence until they are wanted, the 

 better are the chances that they will grow. 



Old Fruit Trees, Stems of. These 

 should now be scrubbed with strong brine, 

 and dressed after scrubbing with paraffin 

 oil, in the proportion of I part of the oil to 

 100 parts of water, in order to remove the 

 dead bark, and to clear the trees of ail 

 insect life that may be lurking in the cracks 

 of the bark. Some recommend a com- 

 pound of lime, cow-dung, and soot, mixed 

 up to the consistency of thick paint, and 

 applied to the stems and principal branches 

 with a brush. This preparation is certainly 

 detrimental to insect life, but it is by no 

 means attractive in appearance. 



Planting. Planting in this month is not 

 safe less safe, perhaps, than in February. 

 For preference, November is the best 

 month for planting fruit-trees, and Decem- 

 ber the second best, and before Christmas 

 comes all planting should be done. If it is 

 absolutely necessary to do any work of this 

 kind in January, open weather should be 

 selected for the operation, and no longer 

 time than is absolutely necessary for the 

 transfer of the trees from one place to 

 another should be allowed to elapse be- 

 tween the taking up and the replanting, so 



that the roots may not be long exposed to 

 the chilly air and cutting wind, which are 

 most injurious to them, although they are 

 in no way detrimental to the parts that are 

 always above ground. When the work of 

 planting is complete, and the trees have 

 been staked, cover the ground over the 

 roots with a thick mulching of warm litter. 



Priming. The pruning of all the hardier 

 kinds of trees, whether standards, espaliers, 

 wall trees, or pyramids, should be carried 

 out during January. Among the hardier 

 trees are included all except those of a more 

 tender character mentioned in detail below. 



Raspberries. Fresh plantations of rasp- 

 berries may now be made, young stools 

 being chosen that are furnished with several 

 strong canes or shoots of last summer's 

 growth. These may always be obtained in 

 sufficient quantity from an old plantation, 

 as an abundance of young growth is always 

 sent up by the old stools. Preference 

 should be given to the stools which have 

 good fibrous roots : those which have naked 

 and woody roots should be rejected. In 

 planting, cut off the weak tops of the shoots 

 and any long straggling fibres of the roots, 

 and plant in trenches taken out with the 

 spade in rows, about 4 feet apart from row 

 to row, and 2 or 3 feet apart in each row. 



Strawberries. Point the surface of the 

 ground between the rows of plants with a 

 light fork, and then, if this has not been 

 done already, give the strawberries a 

 plentiful mulching with long litter, which 

 will form a clean and suitable bed for the 

 fruit to rest on while ripening, and keep it 

 from coming into contact with the ground 

 or getting spattered with mud during a 

 heavy fall of rain. The leaves of straw- 

 berries should not be cut off, and digging 

 between the rows must be avoided, as it 

 injures the roots. 



Vines. Grape vines in the open air 

 should be pruned as soon as the leaf falls, 

 and the work, if not done already, should 



