240 
OPERATIONS FOR NOVEMBER. 
this Number regarding the use of fire-heat, are of special application at the present time, in two 
ways. First, if fire-heat is now withheld, except in case of extreme need, it will be less necessary 
during the severer winter months. Plants will be rendered less tender, and will therefore require 
a less amount of protection. Secondly, if every opportunity is taken for hardening further, and 
yet more completely, the wood of exotics, by exposing them liberally to the open air, in dry 
weather, if it be not too cold, this will be another safeguard against frost, and a mode of econo- 
mizing fuel. In well -cultivated collections, we have repeatedly seen the greenhouses quite open 
throughout the middle of the day at Christmas, even though there was three or four degrees of 
frost at night. It may be taken as a rule, that whenever the sun shines, or the air is perfectly 
dry, and not blowing too keenly from a very cold quarter, while it does not absolutely freeze, 
greenhouse plants are all the better for having the sashes in the house set open. Of course the 
same rule embraces pits and frames in a yet more stringent manner ; for the plants in these are 
commonly of a less susceptible nature than those in greenhouses. And as to stoves, although we 
would not recommend quite so much exposure, the plants in them will, if duly hardened, be much 
improved in real health, and in their capability of flowering abundantly in the following year, if 
they are kept without a fire as long as possible, and the temperature reduced by opening the lights 
whenever it is so sunny as to raise it materially, if the external air be likewise calm. No stove 
plant that is not in an improperly excited state will be otherwise than profited by being sub- 
jected to a frequent temperature of 40° Fahrenheit. It must be distinctly understood, however, 
that to warrant this reduction, there should be that absence of moisture in the air of the house, 
and that freedom from succulence in the plants, which can only be brought about by the careful 
preparation spoken of in a former page. 
With regard to tender plants in the open air, it is alike requisite that the means of shelter 
should now be ready ; and it is equally important that this shelter should not be applied per- 
manently, if the plants be small enough to admit of the protection being moved at pleasure. No 
plant in the open ground ought to be covered an hour more than is absolutely necessary ; for the 
undue continuance of any covering inevitably blanches and weakens it, or at least has a tendency 
to do so, and thus almost as much injury is done it as if it had been left quite unprotected. It is 
of the first moment to bear this in mind, in the case of all evergreens, and those kinds which may 
readily be prematurely excited into growth. The proper mode of sheltering an open-air exotic is 
to have the covering entirely moveable, where this can be done, and when such a plan is imprac- 
ticable, there should be large doors left in the covering capable of being opened at pleasure, to 
admit the sun on the one side, and a current of air through the whole. 
As this is the season for planting all kinds of bulbs, we may suggest again the desirableness of 
having a bed of hyacinths in the flower-garden, or in some part of the pleasure-ground. The 
trouble of sheltering a tulip-bed slightly during winter and in spring is thought nothing of ; and 
assuredly a good bed of hyacinths, while not demanding quite so much protection, is fully as orna- 
mental. The soil for them should be of a peculiarly light description, and considerably enriched. 
A good deal of leaf mould, mixed with a sandy loam, would form an excellent compost. 
Dahlias, and such kinds of plants, must now be taken up. It is not desirable to cut down 
their stems before the frost has injured them, nor to remove them from the ground before there 
is a real necessity for doing so, as the tubers continue maturing so long as they are not exposed 
to frost, or to excessive wet. Many plants with tuberous roots will also require to be put by for 
repose in the stove. These, however, are not to be taken from the pots, but merely kept in a 
very dry state. 
All the leaves which are now falling from trees, and bestrewing the lawns of pleasure-grounds, 
should, when collected, be carefully laid by for the formation of leaf-mould. This is the most 
valuable of all soils in the culture of potted plants generally ; and yet there are very few places 
where it is cared for or preserved. Every barrowful will therefore be of use. If there be no 
immediate service which they can render, in creating a moist bottom-heat, they should be thrown 
in a heap, ready for such a purpose in the spring, prior to their being decomposed. Indeed, this 
is a good time for collecting soils of all descriptions, and spreading them out in flat heaps, to be 
mellowed and pulverized by the winter's frosts. 
