THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



[Dec. 



PROTECTING-FRAME DEPARTMENT. 



Look carefully over the cauliflower, lettuce, cape broccoli, 

 radishes, and salading of every description, that are under 

 frames, hand-glasses, or other shelters. Remove all decayed 

 leaves, weeds, or other rubbish from them ; give plenty of 

 fresh air in fine days, by removing the glasses, either wholly 

 or partially, as circumstances may direct, and cover them from 

 rains, snow, or frost, by adding a covering of litter, bass-mats, 

 j)r reed-mats, as may be most convenient. 



PROTECTING CULINARY VEGETABLES. 



Protect celery and cardoons as directed in November, and 

 lay some long littery dung over the roots of rhubarb, sea-kale, 

 and asparagus, intended to be taken up to force in the forcing 

 department. Protect endive in the borders by branches of 

 trees, or in severe weather, by straw or reed-mats ; also ra- 

 dishes and other salads, in the open borders, and crops of 

 carrots for spring use. Parsley, and every other production 

 of the garden that are likely to be destroyed by frost, should 

 also be protected. 



WORK TO BE DONE IN THE CULINARY GARDEN. 



The operations of trenching, digging, and ridging, should 

 be continued, if dry weather, if not, it were advisable to find 

 employment for the men in some other department. Deci- 

 duous hedges may now be cut ; any fences connected with the 

 garden put in repair, if necessary. The onions and other 

 roots stored, should be occasionally examined in bad weather, 

 and all that show symptoms of decay, removed, before they 

 contaminate the remainder. If frosty weather, wheel out 

 manures of all sorts, and lay them in neat heaps in different 

 quarters of the garden ; it will save much time in the spring, 

 when they are to be dug in ; but, in doing this, by no means 

 divide the manure in small heaps of a wheelban'ow-load 

 each ; this is the next thing to wheeling it into a river. Let 

 each heap contain as much manure as is supposed will be 



