NOVEMBER. 



NOVEMBER. 



point of considerable importance at almost 

 any season ; at this, it is a question of life 

 or death to many plants. Chinese prim- 

 roses, for instance, double or single, will 

 speedily fog off and perish if the needful 

 water is poured into the centre, or per- 

 mitted to trickle down wet leaves to the 

 same vulnerable point no less the centre 

 of beauty than the seat of danger. Other 

 plants surfer in the same manner, although 

 few, perhaps, to the same extent. The 

 water given to plants should always be 5 

 or 10 higher than the house in which they 

 grow. Never water a plant until it is dry, 

 and then water thoroughly. The quantity 

 given must be regulated by the state of 

 growth and drinking capabilities of each 

 plant. For example, a chrysanthemum 

 coming into flower will require three times 

 the quantity as a camellia in the same 

 state. 



Water, Quantity of. As the quantity of 

 external air admitted may now be safely 

 reduced to its minimum, so may also be 

 the quantity of water. The fact is, the 

 power of a plant to use water to any good 

 purpose chiefly depends upon the intensity 

 of light and heat to which it is exposed. 

 When these agencies exert their maximum 

 power, water is profusely evaporated ; 

 when they are weak, as now, evaporation 

 and elaboration are both slowly performed. 

 Even a plant in vigorous growth requires 

 comparatively little water now, while those 

 at rest need scarcely any. It is of the 

 utmost consequence also that what is neces- 

 sary should be applied only where it is 

 wanted. 



November. Flower Garden, 

 Work in. 



Auriculas. These plants are now in 

 their winter quarters ; they require abun- 

 dant air and occasional inspection to see 

 that no worms are in the pots, the indica- 

 tions being castings on the surface ; if such 



appear, water them with lime water, 01 

 remove them by repotting. 



Beds, Manuring. During this month 

 the flower beds should be enriched with 

 manure or fresh loam, and the soil turned 

 up before frost sets in ; the edges of beds 

 in grass should be gone over with the 

 edging-iron to preserve the form. 



Beds, Selection of Plants for. In the 

 selection of plants it is to be borne in mind 

 that duration of flowering should be the 

 first consideration, for few gardens will 

 afford the time or the cost necessary to 

 carry out the plan of a changeable flower 

 garden, in which the beds are decorated in 

 early spring with scillas, bulbocodiums, 

 erythroniums, hepaticas, sanguinarias, and 

 other precocious flowers, to be succeeded 

 by autumn-sown annuals, in masses, in the 

 summer months, and autumnal bulbs, 

 dahlias, hollyhocks, and chrysanthemums, 

 bringing us again to the verge of winter. 

 This system of gardening, however attrac- 

 tive when attended with high keeping, is 

 too costly and entails more trouble than 

 proprietors of the ordinary run of gardens 

 will incur ; therefore the gardener must 

 have an eye to the means as well as to the 

 end, and arrange his plans accordingly. 

 Erythronium dens cam's, Allium moly, 

 Anemone Appennina, Sanguinaria Cana- 

 densis (or Bloodwort), Scilla Italica, Phlox 

 verna, and a vast number of other hardy 

 plants introduced now, will add interest to 

 the flower garden by and by. 



Beds, Treatment of. When the beds 

 are cleared, trench them up ; manure and 

 add new soil where necessary, and plant 

 the bulbs for spring flowering. Hardy 

 annuals sown last month, if large enough, 

 may be transplanted at once to their 

 permanent beds, with pansies, al>ssums, 

 phloxes, primulas, and other herbaceous 

 plants from the reserve garden. 



Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks. Plants 

 layered in previous months should now be 



