THE GREEN-HOUSE. 
Daphnes. — The green-house Daphnes are 
among the sweetest of plants, and they are ever- 
green. D. hybrids, with purple flowers, is 
always in blossom, and a large plant or two in 
any of the green-houses will give out a most 
agreeable and delightful odour. A quantity of 
small plants of this should be kept, forremoving 
to the drawing-room when in bloom : these are 
grafted on D. pontica, or D. Laureola ; the 
former is preferable. D. Cneorum, a pretty 
little trailing species, with pink flowers, though 
hardy, is one of the best of plants to keep in 
pots for forcing into early bloom : it is also 
very sweet. 
All these plants have thick leathery leaves, 
which are liable to become coated with dust 
and filth, and they are also subject to become 
infested with insects of the scale kind. This 
season of the year presents facilities for dis- 
lodging them, by carefully washing over every 
part of the plants with a sponge and clean water. 
This will at once remove the dust and accumu- 
lated filth by which the leaves become coated 
more or less, and by which theevaporating pores 
are obstructed or closed up : the plants will not 
only look fresher and more beautiful, but they 
will he benefited ; for the function of perspi- 
ration is with them, as with animals, of too 
much importance to be arrested with impunity. 
The presence of scale insects (Cocci) always 
betrays neglect, and they are besides filthy 
and injurious ; many recommend applications 
of sulphur, soft soap, snuff, and other ingre- 
dients for their destruction ; but if the plants 
are carefully gone over with a sponge and 
clean water, and the bisects carefully dislodged, 
there will not be much further difficulty about 
their destruction. Infested plants should there- 
fore be cleansed now, as the state of the weather 
which occurs at this time of the year, is more 
favourable for such in-door operations, than 
for more active employment out of doors. 
Geraotum-house. — The plants in this house, 
which consist of what are called soft-wooded 
plants, are more liable to suffer injury from 
frost than the preceding. They require a mean 
temperature of 45 degrees, which may be in- 
creased to 55 degrees in mild days ; air must 
be given every mild da}', and fire heat used 
to exclude frost. It is not desirable to induce 
the majority to grow until next month, as the 
days are dark, and the growth would not be J 
matured ; but the earliest plants should be pot- \ 
ted by the middle of the month. 
Pelargoniums. — Some of the good forcing 
varieties, such as Albamultiflora, Napier, Grace 
Darling, &c, may betaken to the flower forcing- 
house, to be brought forward for decorative pur- 
poses. The stopping of these plants is an 
essential point of practice : some must not be 
stopped after this time ; these will come earli- 
est into bloom : others must be stopped as soon 
as the shoots make two or three leaves, for some 
time to come, omitting some plants at each 
stopping, to follow the previous ones in bloom- 
ing ; thus a succession of bloom is maintained 
by a very simple process. The earliest forced 
plants, if partially cutback after their principal 
bloom is over, and brought into the green- 
house, will'hloom a second time. The aphides, 
or plant-louse, must be guarded against among 
all house plants, though Geraniums (or Pelar- 
goniums), Calceolarias, and other plants that 
associate with them, from their fleshy texture, 
are more liable to be attacked than plants of a 
more rigid nature. To prevent injury from 
them, it is best to fumigate every two or three 
weeks, which keeps them in check. Towards 
the end of the month the forwardest of the 
plants will require shifting. Use a rich loamy 
soil ; pots about two sizes larger should be 
used. 
Calceolarias. — These may be grown in 
the same house, and with the same general 
treatment : they are specially liable to be 
injured by the aphides, and therefore require 
to be carefully watched in this respect. The 
forwardest of the plants should be re-potted, 
as above. Seedlings sown in autumn should 
be potted off into separate small pots. 
Cinerarias. — The forwardest potted of 
these will many of them be in bloom, and they 
form one of the most striking winter ornaments 
of the green-house. Being in bloom, or 
rapidly advancing towards that state, they 
require more water than Geraniums. Those 
left over from the autumn in small pots will 
require to be re-potted in light, rich loamy soil : 
a few should be re-potted every week, so as to 
keep up a good succession of bloom. They 
are very subject to the attacks of aphides, 
which, of course, must be kept in check. 
Fuchsias. — These are better kept from 
growing as much as possible, by keeping them 
comparatively dry, and as cool as possible, 
consistently with the exclusion of frost. A 
few plants for early flowering may be placed 
in rather a warmer position, and regular!}' 
watered ; but, as well as all the other plants 
grown in this house, they require all the light 
that can possibly be secured to them, on account 
of their being in a progressive state. The old 
plants are better either pruned in close to the 
principal leading stem, when they throw out 
laterals all round ; or cut down to near the ground, 
with the view to secure a strong young leading 
shoot to each, which, if properly managed, will 
produce plenty of lateral shoots, and will form 
a handsome bush. Young plants are best 
managed in the latter way. The smaller kinds, 
such as microphylla and reflexa, — two beauti- 
ful little subjects, — require little pruning of 
any sort, but should be grown into neat com- 
pact bushes. 
