MONTHLY CALENDAR. 359 



formed, and the value of manure much reduced by in- 

 attention to turning and breaking it up during winter. 

 Sometimes it is injured by being thinly scattered, so that 

 it freezes solid ; and again, if thrown into large heaps, 

 and left unturned, it burns by violent heating, getting 

 in the condition which gardeners call "fire fanged." 

 It is always an indication that the manure heap needs 

 turning when it is seen to emit vapor, no matter how 

 often it has been turned previously, for it should always 

 be borne in mind that it quickly loses by heating, while 

 it always gains by a thorough breaking up in turning. 



January is usually the month in which we have our 

 heaviest snow storms, which often entail on us an im- 

 mense amount of necessary, though unprofitable labor, 

 not only in clearing roads, but also in clearing off the 

 snow from our cold frames and forcing-pits, for even at 

 this season of dormant vegetation, light is indispensable 

 to the well-being of our vegetable plants ; unless they 

 are in a frozen condition, that is, if we have had a con- 

 tinuation of zero weather, all our plants of Cabbage, 

 Lettuce, Cauliflower, etc., are frozen in the cold frames ; 

 if in this state, the glass is covered up by snow, it is un- 

 necessary to remove it, even for two or three weeks, but 

 if the weather has been mild so that the plants under the 

 sashes have not been frozen when covered by snow, then 

 the snow must be cleared from the glass as soon as 

 practicable. In the greenhouses, hot-beds, or forcing- 

 pits, where artificial heat is used, the removal of the 

 snow from the glass is of the utmost consequence. 



If not done in December, the final covering up of Cel- 

 ery trenches, root-pits, and all things requiring protec- 

 tion from frost, should be attended to in the first week 

 of this month. 



Should the ground be open enough to allow of digging 

 (which occasionally occurs here ever in January), let 

 all roots remaining in the ground be dug up and pitted, 



