354 



alion will be saved by consulting with men who 

 make it their business to study such matters. — 

 Every one can, of course, design and lay out his 

 own garden, just as well as he could make his own 

 coat, or design the pattern of his own chandelier ; 

 but he will find, in the end, that his landscape-gar- 

 dener, his tailor, or his manufacturer of lamps, 

 would have done the work much more satisfactorily 

 for him. Many suffer from ill-fitting garments and 

 ignorant pretenders ; but the man who has not tact 

 enough to discriminate in this respect, through em- 

 ploying botches, deserves to suffer by badly designed 

 gardens. 



Nothing "pays " like surface-dressings of manure 

 or good soil to Evergreens and ornamental trees. 

 Life is too short for mere natural growth. It is a 

 pardonable vice to wish for large trees. Put on 

 two inches of good stuff, and see how they will go 

 ahead. 



Where Evergreens have been planted late, they 

 will suffer from keen, cold winds. Any loose brush 

 thrown around and over them will help them much. 



The winters experience will no doubt show how 

 much the comforts and pleasures ot a place will be 

 added to by liberal planting, and while the sad ex- 

 perience is on one is the time to decide on the de- 

 tails. Good resolutions put off, likedeath-bed repen- 

 tances, generally end in smoke. 



The great effort of piant-growers seems now to 

 be to have the greatest a-mount of flowers possible 

 during the winter months. To have plants bloom 

 freely at this season, heat, moisture and fresh air 

 are essential. It is even good economy to lose some 

 heat in order to gain the advaiita^ e of opening ven- 

 tilators, or windows, if the weather outside be not 

 fiivorable enough without. The Camellia, Azalea, 

 Daphne, 8tevia, Poinsetta, Euphorbia, Violets, 

 Tree Carnations, Lopezla, Eupatorium, Cineraria, 

 Perennial Candytuft, Deutzia gracilis, Tea and 

 Noisette Hoses, Epiphyllum truncatum, Hcrman- 

 nia odorata. Acacia, Bletia, Scarlet Geraniums, 

 Strelitzia, Chorizema, and most kinds of Austra- 

 lian plants, Verbenas, Bouvardia, Heliotrope, are a 

 few of the best things to grow for cutting, that 

 occur to us as we write. The temperature should 

 not often be below 55° to be secure of a good bloom. 



Insects are apt to be troublesome in growing 

 houses,— particulatly Ped-spider, Green-fly and 

 Mealy-bug. A free use of the syringe is a good 

 preventive. Tobacco tnioke, in two or three light 

 doses, is still the best thing for the Green-fly. The 

 Pted- spider, fortunately, shows his depredations 



more villianously than most insects, — light yehow 

 lines or spots marking almost at once the scenes of 

 its depredations. If one has good eyes, the finger 

 and thumb will keep him down, as a slight and 

 rapid passing of the finger over the leaves easily 

 crushes his little body. When he becomes an 

 'army with banners," more scientific approaches 

 must be made to give any show of success. 



Felargoniums become "drawn," spindly, and 

 worthless, ir they are not allowed to occupy the 

 lightest and most airy part of the house. If fine 

 specimens are desired, the shoots should now be 

 tied down to the surface of the pots and pinched off 

 so as to induce them to shoot freely ; but a too fre- 

 quent use of "finger and thumb " is bad, — nothing 

 renders a Pelargonium weaker ; rather encourage 

 them to grow bushy, by the free use of light, air 

 and manure-water. 



A good supply of young Fuchsias should be 

 coming on now. Ee-pot as their roots fill each pot ; 

 let them not want for moisture or light; do not 

 pinch off their tops, but let them grow rapidly. The 

 temperature in which they are grown should not 

 exceed 55°. A turfy loam, moderately enriched 

 with well-decayed manure, and well drained witli 

 charcoal, suits them admirably. 



The Mimnlus is receiving m^ore attention than it 

 has been. Where they are grown, they are much 

 impraved by having pans of water kept under their 

 pots. 



Epipliyllums, as continue to flower, will re- ' 

 quire the warmest part of the house, and a fair sup- 

 ply of moisture. 



The most interesting tribe of plants at this sea- 

 son of the year is, undoubtedly, the Camellia. The 

 buds frequently drop off before flowering ; this may 

 spring from tiiree causes— from the plants being 

 kept too dry, or from the drainage being bad, 

 whereby the soil becomes sodden, or from the 

 house being kept too warm by insufficient ventila- 

 tion. As the leaf-buds burst, the plants are bene- 

 fited by occasional syringings ; and, indeed, an in- 

 creased supply of water altogether, in order to 

 accommodate the demands of the young growth. 



Cinerarias will soon be the chief attraction. The 

 least frost kills them, yet they will not do well if 

 kept in a high temperature. They love moisture, 

 yet are very impatient of damp. No plant is more 

 improved by the use of charcoal in potting than 

 this. 



The Calceolaria will require the same conditions 

 as the Cineraria. d 



llyaciutlis that have been out of doors, or in any ^ 

 reser\e place for protection, maybe brought in a 



