A YEAR'S WORK IN THE GARDEN. 609 



of ground from behind each plant, then throwing the plant 

 on to its side and laying the spit of soil from behind the 

 next plant on to the stem to keep the plant down. Finish 

 earthing up Celery, well patting down the sides of the 

 ridges to exclude rain and air. Where spare portions of 

 ground are to be trenched it is well to get on to them 

 liberal dressings of manure, then, as the trenching proceeds, 

 bury the manure between the upper and lower spits of soil, 

 as that furnishes the crops with food and moisture during 

 the summer season. 



The Fruit Garden. — Generally October is the best 

 month for planting fruit trees and bushes of all descriptions. 

 The soil being yet warm root action is created and the 

 trees soon get hold of the soil. 

 Planting in all cases should be 

 done only where the soil has 

 been deeply worked and well 

 cleaned. The addition of fresh 

 manure is not needful if the 

 ground has been previously 

 manured and cropped. In any 

 case such applications are best 

 given to fruit trees on the sur- 

 face. Do not plant deep, and 

 always have the holes amply 

 large to enable the roots to be 

 laid out thinly. Late Apples 

 and Pears should be gathered 

 by the middle of the month. 



If the season be dry trees carry- 

 ing late crops of fruit benefit 



much by liberal waterings. 



Store all Apples and Pears in a 



cool shed or house, where some 



ventilation can be given, but 



where the temperature at any 



time does not fall below freezing 



point. It is also a capital time 



to commence root pruning of 



trees that make excessive wood 



growth and produce little fruit. 



Cuttings should be taken from 



Currant and Gooseberry bushes 



so soon as the leaves have fallen, 



and should be properly made and 



planted, as early planting en- 

 courages early rooting. Rasp- 

 berry suckers may be lifted and 



planted in clumps of three, in 



rows 4ft. apart, on good fresh 



soil, to make new plantations. 



Strawberry beds should be well 



cleaned, have the soil gently 



loosened and some manure laid 



over it. Plants in pots for winter 



forcing should have some of the 



earliest stood in a cold frame, 



and the rest stood on a dry ash 



floor and well packed with 



ashes for the winter. Cut bare 



back now all inside or outside 



Vines that have dropped their 



leaves. Also if new Vines are 



to be planted, do that speedily. 



Fruit trees under glass mav be untied from the wires and 



pruned, and any planting required may be done now. 



NOVEMBER. 

 The Flower and Indoor Garden.— Bulb planting 



should be fully completed this month. Hyacinths, Tulips, 

 Narcissi, and many smaller hardy bulbs can be liberally 

 planted in all directions, both in beds and borders and on 

 grass. Specially should many be put into pots, one large 

 Hyacinth root into a 5m. pot and five Tulips into a 6in. 

 pot. Narcissi or other bulbs should be proportioned to the 

 size of the roots. When potted stand on a dry, hard floor 

 outdoors, and cover up thickly with ashes or cocoa-nut fibre 

 refuse for several weeks to cause roots to be formed ere the 



GLADIOLUS GANDA I'ENSIS 



leaves develop. Take up Gladiolus bulbs that have 

 ripened, dry them, save the small bulblets at the base of 

 the bulbs, and keep them separate for sowing in drills the 

 following spring. Store the large bulbs in dry sand in 

 boxes for the winter, as these are generally tender. Plant 

 small and especially evergreen variegated shrubs and 

 conifers in otherwise empty beds, and add clumps of bulbs 

 in plenty and in variety. Clear up all leaves that will 

 cease falling by the end of the month, and thus leave the 

 flower garden neat. Work in planting or renovating left 

 undone from October should be completed now, as it is 

 undesirable to have pleasure gardens in an untidy state all 

 the winter. In greenhouses and frames ample preparation 

 must be made to protect tender 

 plants from frost and also from 

 damp. In the greenhouse give 

 fire heat when the temperature 

 is low or the air is very damp, 

 giving a little top air at the 

 same time. In frames let the 

 lights be thrown open on dry 

 days, but be close shut on wet 

 ones ; cover these up well at 

 night if frost prevails. Chinese 

 Primroses, Cyclamen, Roman 

 Hyacinths, Chrysanthemums, 

 and various hard-wooded plants 

 should be flowering freely in a 

 warm house. Water at this 

 time of the year somewhat 

 sparingly and with care. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



— Work this month is more 

 restricted, but yet plentiful. 

 There should be activity in 

 manuring and trenching all 

 vacant plots of ground to have 

 them in good condition for 

 spring cropping. Heaps of all 

 descriptions of garden refuse, 

 especially such as have been 

 used to grow Vegetable Mar- 

 rows, should be turned, have a 

 good dusting of soot given in 

 the process of turning, and then 

 be utilised as manure. Go over 

 Asparagus beds and remove all 

 decayed growths, then, forking 

 off 3in. or 4m. of the top soil, 

 place on the surface a thick 

 dressing of half-decayed manure, 

 and recast over it some of the 

 soil to leave the beds neat for 

 the winter. It is desirable to 

 place some long litter or Fern 

 round the young sucker growths 

 of Globe Artichokes, adding a 

 little soil to keep it in its place. 

 Draw ridges of soil over 

 Celeriac to keep it secure from 

 frost. Also do the same to 

 White Turnips in drills, and 

 over Parsnips left in the ground. 

 Complete the moulding up of 

 Celery, leaving the ridges very firm and neat. Trench 

 out Seakale and Horse-radish, putting the strong roots into 

 soil thickly for use as needed, and saving side roots to make 

 cuttings for future increase. Some Seakale may be put 

 into a warm dark place in soil to produce early blanched 

 heads. Give Potatoes that are stored in pits or clamps 

 additional covering in case severe frosts come. Go over 

 late Giant Cauliflowers, and as they show small white 

 heads break down the outside leaves over them to protect 

 from frost. Have covering material ready to protect frames 

 in which are Endives, Lettuces, Cauliflowers, etc., or to 

 place about similar plants that may be growing in the open. 



The Fruit Garden. — The month of November should 

 be largely utilised for the purpose of getting fruit trees and 



