MARCH. 



617 



MARCH. 



cut into pieces, each piece having a 

 shoot growing from it. 



Scale. Now is the time to destroy scale, 

 so troublesome on the beautiful and grace- 

 ful plants named above. It has been said, 

 in advice already tendered on this subject, 

 that removal by hand is better than the 

 application of any composition yet devised 

 for this purpose. 



Temperature. Keep a nice growing 

 temperature of from 65 to 70. If the 

 sun continues very bright throughout the 

 day, houses containing variegated plants 

 will require shading for a few hours 

 about noon. This will be the more 

 necessary after re -potting. Cleroden- 

 drons, allamandas, stephanotis, ixoras, 

 &c., should now be pushed forward in 

 a sharp bottom heat. They may receive 

 a liberal shift, and be allowed to grow 

 rather loosely for a lime, to encourage 

 a rapid extension of parts. Ferns should 

 now be thoroughly overhauled, examined, 

 shifted into larger pots, or reduced, as 

 circumstances may require ; nice fibrous 

 peat, leaf mould, sharp sand, and 

 broken sandstone, suit them well. 



March. Kitchen Garden, Work 

 in. 



Artichokes, Globe, will be making offsets 

 about the end of this month, or during 

 next ; these should be taken off for 

 propagation. They bear best the second 

 or third year after planting ; so that it is 

 advisable to plant one or more rows every 

 year, and remove the same quantity of old 

 roots. The ground should be deeply 

 worked and well manured ; let the 

 manure be incorporated with the soil, 

 not laid in a mass at the bottom of 

 each trench. It is better to trench the 

 ground first, and fork the manure well 

 mto the surface spit, which gives the 

 plants a better chance of immediately 

 profiting by it. The offsets may be dis- 



severed with a knife, or slipped off and 

 cut smooth afterwards, and planted with 

 a dibber. Some plant in threes, a yard 

 apart, and 4 feet from row to row, or 

 they may be planted singly, 2 feet apart 

 in the row, and 4 feet from row to row. 

 They should be well watered, and the 

 ground kept loose between. 



Artichokes, Jerusalem, should be planted 

 not later than this month. The ground 

 for them should be rather deeply worked, 

 which gives them a firmer hold ; for the 

 plants, growing tall, are exposed to rough 

 winds, which they resist better where they 

 root pretty deeply. Almost any part of a 

 tuber will grow and form a plant ; but it is 

 advisable to select middling-sized tubers, 

 planting them a foot or 10 inches deep. 

 This may be done as the ground is dug or 

 trenched ; or they may be planted with a 

 spade or trowel, making a hole for each 

 set. They should be not less than a yard 

 apart ; 4 feet is better. The more open 

 the spot, the more likely they are to 

 prosper. As a rule, they produce a 

 great number from each set. No other 

 treatment is required than to keep the 

 ground well stirred about them, and 

 prevent the growth of weeds. Cut them 

 down when the leaves are decayed, but 

 not before ; otherwise the tubers will 

 cease to grow. 



Asparagus. Those who wish to raise 

 asparagus for planting out in beds should 

 sow now. Rich soil is required, and the 

 seed should be sown in drills about 15 

 inches apart. 



Basil and other Sweet Herbs. Basil, 

 burnet, and other herbs, require to be 

 sown at this season on slight hotbeds 

 of about 2 feet in depth ; but many 

 cultivators leave them till next month, 

 and sow in the open ground, unless they 

 are wanted early. Thyme, marjoram, 

 savory and hyssop, chervil, and cori- 

 ander, may be sown this month in dry, 



