MONTHLY CALENDAR. 143 



they will retain the heat through a winter night, whereas an 

 iron stove with its metal pipes will cool as the fire gets low, 

 and expose the plants to cold toward morning, which is the 

 time they most need protection. The heat from iron is, 

 moreover, too dry and parching, while an evaporation or 

 salubrious steam may be raised from bricks, by sprinkling 

 the flue occasionally, which would operate on plants similar 

 to healthful dew-drops. 



At this season of the year, sitting-rooms, or parlours, 

 are generally heated in the daytime to full twenty degrees 

 higher than what is necessary for the preservation of plants ; 

 consequently, as the heat decreases in the night season, 

 plants often get injured, unless a fire is kept up. Air must 

 be admitted to plants kept in this way, at all opportunities ; 

 and more water will be necessary for such plants, than those 

 kept in a green-house would require. For the management 

 of bulbous roots in pots or glasses, the reader is referred to 

 page 94. 



FEBRUARY. 



Like shivering orphans on the wide world cast. 

 They feel the rigour of the Northern blast, 

 Whilst Fortune's Favourites claim the florist's care, 

 And all the comforts of the green-house share. 



Having in the previous month discussed some important 

 points relative to the general care of plants, I now proceed 

 to notice a few of those kinds that require attention at this 

 particular season : 



Camellias^ or Japan Roses. There are numerous varieties 

 of this valuable class of plants, exhibiting every shade of 

 colour, from deep crimson to the purest white ; in some 

 imperceptibly blended, in others strikingly contrasted. They 

 are unrivalled objects of beauty from October to May, being 

 set in a fine glossy foliage. 



