OPERATIONS FOR NOVEMBER. 
239 
OPERATIONS FOR NOVEMBER. 
The long summer of bright sunny days and the unusual dryness of the ground have been in a 
high degree favourable in perfecting the maturity of new wood, and in the formation of flower- 
buds. We may, consequently, expect that those shrubs and other plants in the open ground— 
which after ordinary seasons are sometimes partially injured in winter, owing to the summer's 
shoots not being completely ripened — will receive little injury from cold, however severe the 
coming winter may eventually prove. And from the more highly elaborated state of the sap, we 
may also confidently look for a profuse display of bloom in another year. 
But, nevertheless, there are also other shrubs left exposed of a more delicate nature ; and 
although these will doubtless endure more hardily, yet some amount of protection will still be 
requisite. Sufficient, however, has been said respecting this in previous Calendars, and we will 
only now add, that whatever protection is placed over the leaves and stems, it must not be a 
permanent one, but should be removed whenever it can be done with safety. In fact, it should 
never be used only during severe weather ; for the more a plant is exposed, consistent with its 
due preservation from positive harm, the more hardy it becomes ; and the more it is wrapped up 
or covered, it becomes so much the more delicate and susceptible of injury. 
What is true of plants in the outdoor department, is equally so of those which require a 
greenhouse or a stove : debility and a greater susceptiveness of cold will always result from too 
much warmth. 
In greenhouses, if the directions of previous months have been followed, fire-heat will very 
rarely be required for the individual purpose of raising the temperature ; but, as this is 
frequently a damp month, there is sometimes a necessity for it, to expel excessive moisture. 
The state of the atmosphere must be continually watched, and whenever the leaves exhibit any 
mouldiness on their surface, it is a sure indication of supei'fluous humidity. In such cases, the 
temperature of the air may be moderately raised, at the same time, however, opening the sashes 
to admit fresh air. The fires, also, should be kindled early in the morning, in order that 
ventilation may be given in the most favourable part of the day ; and by allowing them to die out 
soon after mid-day, the house will not be shut up and kept too warm during the night. Error is 
too generally committed in this respect, by keeping the fires in too long, and thus raising the 
temperature to an immoderate degree, producing a condition the most impolitic possible, as 
regards the welfare of the plants, 
A constant circulation of air, and watchfulness against an excessively moist atmosphere, is yet 
more indispensable in structures devoted to the culture of Heaths, than to miscellaneous green- 
houses. And these plants, too, are also more impatient of fire-heat ; so that, Avhenever it is 
unavoidable, it must be very temperately and carefully introduced ; and never, without there is 
an unusual depression of temperature, unless at the same time admitting an abundance of 
external air. 
In stoves constant fires will, of course, be indispensable, and although it is advisable not to 
encourage vegetation to any great extent by a humid atmosphere, yet it will here be necessary to 
maintain a somewhat moist air, as many plants scarcely cease to grow during the whole year ; 
and if an arid atmosphere, in conjunction with a high temperature, is maintained, a serious check 
will be given to vegetation by the excessive drain exerted by the air upon their surfaces. A 
moderate amount of moisture then must be constantly preserved, regulating it by the clearness or 
cloudiness of the weather. In a clear atmosphere a greater degree of humidity will be 
admissible than in a dark cloudy one. 
In the forcing-house a still greater degree of moisture will be required than is demanded in 
the general stove, for here it is the professed object to stimulate growth. But as we have not, 
at this season, an equal amount of light to that of summer, neither must we employ other agents 
to an equal extent, or the growths will be weak, and the plants, instead of flowering vigorously, 
will be meagre and puny, and unfit for the show-house. Too much haste in forcing defeats its 
own purpose. 
A continued succession of plants, such as Persian Lilacs, Pceonies^ Dentzia scabra, Labur- 
