JANUARY. 



588 



JANUARY. 



be raked away, and a fresh top dressing 

 should be spread over the beds, consisting 

 of half-rotted farmyard manure from 4 to 

 6 inches thick. 



Beans. Beans, like peas, can be sown 

 in October, where the soil is light or well 

 drained and well sheltered. Where the 

 ground is heavy, they may be raised in a 

 pit or frame. To do this a number of 4- 

 inch pots should be obtained, and the 

 beans placed there in each pot. Beans 

 thus sown in January may be planted out 

 in March. Beans, and peas also, that are 

 sown in January, niust be protected against 

 the depredation of mice by suitable traps, 

 and against severe frosts by mulching or 

 covering with long litter, or by covering 

 the ground with branches of spruce, fir, and 

 similar material, or by protectors especially 

 devised for the purpose. 



Broccoli. Early varieties, such as the 

 Walcheren broccoli and others, when 

 nearly fit for table, should be taken up 

 before the central leaves unfold and placed 

 in a shed or cellar, where they may be pre- 

 served from frost until they are required 

 for use. If the flower of the broccoli, 

 which is the part that is eaten, is exposed 

 to even a slight frost when it .is in a wet 

 condition, it is fit for nothing. Hence the 

 utility of plant protectors for broccoli, 

 which at all events shield them from wet, 

 although they do not exclude frost. 



Carrots. A little seed may be sown on 

 a hotbed for an early supply, and radishes, 

 kidney beans, and anything else that is 

 likely to be needed before the time that it 

 will arrive at perfection in a natural way, 

 may be similarly treated. If no hotbed 

 is available, the seeds may be sown in the 

 ground in a south border or some sunny 

 spot, under protectors, frames, or even 

 handlights. 



Celery. Sow a small pinch of celery 

 seed in a patch for the purpose of flavour- 

 ing oups in the early part of the summer, 



when full-grown sticks cannot be had. 

 Earth up celery as it advances in growth, 

 and when performing the work see that 

 the soil is well broken up and laid round 

 the plants lightly, that they may not be 

 crushed or bruised, raising the earth very 

 nearly to the top of each. 



Cleanliness and Order. Remove all 

 stumps of broccoli or cabbage as soon 

 as used, and gather up all dead and de- 

 caying leaves. If weeds are perceptible 

 among growing crops, run the hoe over 

 the ground, that the weeds may be cut up 

 and so perish. 



Endive. Full-grown plants should be 

 well covered with slates, tiles, or even 

 pieces of board, and litter heaped over all, 

 in order to blanch and preserve them. 

 Crops for succession should be placed 

 under protectors ; and fresh sowings 

 should also be protected. It is better 

 and safer to sow on a slight hotbed than 

 in the open air at this early period of the 

 year. 



Letttices. In every garden it should be 

 possible to obtain a salad at any season of 

 the year, but to do this, and to maintain a 

 constant supply, recourse must be had to 

 frequent, say fortnightly, sowings. Sow 

 this month in a warm border under a 

 south wall or fence. They are better if 

 sown at this season in a frame, if one can 

 be spared ; even a handlight is better than 

 no protection at all. Wanting either, it is 

 advisable to cover the seed when sown with 

 straw or light litter, taking it off some- 

 times to give a dusting with lime, in case 

 any slugs may be harboured. The ground 

 should be well dug over one spit deep, a 

 dressing of manure being turned in, as 

 lettuces require a rich soil in order to grow 

 them to advantage. Advancing crop* 

 must be well protected. 



Mushrooms. Mushroom beds, in 

 general, should be carefully attended tc* 

 at this season that is to say, they should 



