Dec] THE HOT-HOUSE. 59 A 
Melocactus or Turk's Cap, with many others of the most succulent 
kinds, should at this season have no water given them, except in 
cases of great necessity. 
When there happens to come a fine, sunny, calm day, it will be 
proper to admit some fresh air into the house, by sliding some of 
the glasses, in the warmest part of the day, a little way open, even if 
but for half an hour; but be sure to close them again in due time, 
and especially if the weather changes to cold or cloudy. This is 
best effected at this season, by sliding open a few of the roof-lights 
if it can be done with convenience. 
Pick off such decayed leaves as you perceive on the various plants, 
keep them free from insects and filth of every kind, and the whole 
house as sweet and clean as possible. 
Sprinkle your flues and walks occasionally with water, to raise a 
comforting steam of moisture in the house; especially when you 
are obliged to burn fires constantly night and day. This will pre- 
serve the plants from the bad effects produced by the parching in- 
fluence of a constant fire-heat, and also tend to prevent an increase 
of insects. 
You may towards the latter end of this month introduce into the 
Hot-House, pots of strawberries and flowering plants of various 
kinds; sow cucumber seed, and plant kidney-beans, as directed 
in January, in order to force them into early perfection. Pots or 
tubs of bearing grape-vines may also be now introduced for early 
fruiting, if there are none trained in from the outside. Such vines 
as are planted in front of the house and trained in under the lights, 
should have the parts of their stems which are exposed to the 
weather, well wrapped round with hay or straw neatly tied on, 
also, their roots covered sufficiently with long litter; for their 
juices being put into full circulation by the forcing heat, renders the 
exposed parts much more vulnerable to frost, than if the entire 
plants stood inactive in the open air. 
Having now gone through the work of the several months, and 
endeavoured to adapt the whole to the seasons and local situations 
of the different parts of the Union, to explain and simplify the va- 
rious operations, and to render the work of as much general utility 
as possible, it is offered to the public as the result of many years ex- 
perience, solely devoted to horticultural and botanical pursuits, with- 
out presuming to say that it is either infallible, or incapable of im- 
provement. 
