HAKDY CONIFEROUS PLANTS. 
247 
gating bellows, however, is the best ; here the 
lighted tobacco is put into a canister, which is 
in the spout or nozzle of the bellows, and by the 
ordinary blowing through a hole into the 
house, it is soon filled with the smoke, which 
is left all night. The smoke, however, always 
rises, and if the house is not completely filled, 
all the upper portions are efiectively cleared, 
while the lower ones, and especially any on the 
ground, are hardly affected ; this, however, is 
an oversight, and must be guarded against. 
See how carefully the man feels the soil of 
every pot in the heath-house, greenhouse, and 
stove ; he knows he watered all that required 
it yesterday, but twenty-four hours make a 
good deal of difference, yet it would not do to 
water all alike, for it would do harm to those 
wet enough already. 
This place, which has a hard paved bottom, 
and is very nearly shaded by the distant tall 
trees, is selected for placing the greenhouse 
plants in when they have done blooming, and 
have made their growth ; it is less exciting 
than the sun, and enables the gardener to be 
sparing of water, whereas if the sun reached 
the pots, they would require watering every 
day, and would start oif to a second growth, 
which would greatly spoil their appearance 
now and their bloom hereafter. 
The last of the annuals should be planted 
out this month, though china asters and stocks 
are often planted out as late as July, because 
in a mild autumn they will last until the frost 
cuts them off. 
The fruit garden looks well, there is every 
appearance of crops too abundant, and the 
men are thinning the fruit even on the stan- 
dard trees, as well as the wall-fruit trees. The 
strawberries look well ; these stones laid down 
at the joint of the runner are to promote its 
rooting, and the portion beyond the joint has 
been taken off, to throw all the strength into 
the joint ; the sort is choice, and the gardener 
evidently wants young plants ; the trees on 
the walls, besides being thinned of fruit, have 
had their useless shoots rubbed off. The tree 
on which they are using the syringe is infested 
with grubs, and they are projecting tobacco- 
water all over the foliage ; this will clear it, 
and an immediate washing with pure water 
Avill remove all the ill effects of the tobacco. 
These standard fruit-trees must undergo the 
same discipline as the wall-trees, so far as the 
regulating of the quantity of fruit and re- 
moving useless shoots are concerned. 
In the kitchen garden there is a sort of 
routine business going on. They are prick- 
ing out small plants of cauliflower, brocoli, 
cabbage, and other greens, from the seed bed, 
a few inches apart to grow stronger, and 
planting out some of the strongest where they 
are to stand ; hoeing and thinning onions, 
turnips, carrots, beetroot, parsnips, and spin- 
ach, to give the rest room ; sowing further 
crops of salads, and successive crops of peas 
and beans, French as well as broad sorts ; 
earthing up the forward crops ; and generally 
clearing all the quai'ters of weeds. Here 
they are planting some of the strongest celery 
plants in deep trenches, well dunged at bot- 
tom, and forked a few inches deep. There is 
great sameness in the work of the kitchen 
garden. 
The conservatory is now at its very best : 
with the last of the plants brought forward 
out of their season, we have the first of 
the plants that have been left their natural 
time. Nothing can be more gorgeous than 
the rhododendrons and azaleas, nothing more 
pleasing to the senses than the exquisite 
perfume of the violets, mignonette, early 
stocks, pinks, and other scented beauties; but 
there is a good deal of labour required now to 
keep the beds and paths clean. The dropping 
of the petals of flowers declining bloom re- 
quires the I'ake every morning, and the paths 
want regular sweeping, to prevent the decayed 
leaves and petals from being trodden about ; 
the shelves too must be cleared, for the water 
that runs through the pots washes the mould 
with it a good deal, and unless constantly 
attended to, would make the prineipal show 
house look very bad. 
Here we are approaching the end of the 
month — the pinks and ranunculuses in high 
perfection, the pansies not less so, for although 
the earliest bed is not so good as it was, the 
succession bed is splendid.. The tvilips are 
taken up, and their places occupied by rows of 
carnations and picotees on shelves, which 
bring their flowers near the eye, but as yet 
they are only showing their buds, which have 
been reduced to three on each stem, and in 
some cases to two ; some three weeks hence 
they will make a very different appearance. 
The roses are much more fully blown, and 
more of them opened : the dahlias have 
begun to grow and look healthy ;. the little 
bits of plants that hardly showed in the kitchen 
garden now begin to hide the ground, and they 
are as busy gathering, peas, as they were 
some time ago sowing them. 
HARDY CONrPEROUS PLANTS. 
THE TAXODIUM, OR DECIDUOUS GTPRESS. 
Taxodium, Richard (the Deciduous Cy- 
press). — Coniferse § Cupressinfe. — The name 
of this genus is derived from Taxus, the yew, 
and eidos, resembling, — its appearance being 
like that of the yew tree. 
1. Taxodium distichum, Richard (Deci- 
duous Cypress). — Leaves deciduous, flat, in 
