16 
GARDENING CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY. 
now be kept more moist, the pots may stand 
in water. Plant lycopodiurus around the pot, 
they give the plant a more lively appearance. 
jSeriums must still be kept very cool ; the 
green-house will suit them ; but when wanted 
to grow, they must be put in heat, and have 
plenty of water as they advance in growth. 
Nympk&as (Water-lilies) and other large 
aquatics delight in a rich loamy soil, and 
should now be shifted : increase the heat, and 
fill up the tanks, applying tepid water ; keep 
them clean, and the pot in which they grow 
always covered with water. 
Palms. — Increase the temperature and 
moisture ; syringe frequently, taking care to 
apply the water as gently as a fine shower, 
and of the same temperature as the house. 
Polia?ithes (Tuberose). — Keep in a gentle 
bottom heat, giving no water until they show 
signs of growth. 
Thunbergias. — Pot off those sown last 
month ; and when they commence to run, 
have them staked ; shift the old plants, and 
have the trellises or stakes put to them early ; 
sow a few more seeds this month ; these re- 
quire a moist atmosphere. 
Vincas. — The old plants should have fresh 
soil composed of peat and leaf mould, adding 
a little loam and sand; give them a little bot- 
tom heat, and when in vigorous growth, top 
the shoots to produce a uniform head. 
THE ORCHID HOUSE. 
Temperature. — The warm or Indian house 
from 60 to 70 degrees by day ; 55 to 60 de- 
grees at night. The cool or Mexican house 
from 5 to 10 degrees lower. In dull w r eather, 
the lowest temperature should be adopted, 
and when sunny, the highest. 
Ventilation. — The sashes need not be opened 
except in very sunny weather, and then a 
little in the forenoon : cover up at night with 
mats, and should the weather prove stormy, 
the sides of the house may be kept covered 
until April. 
Watering. — Those which are to be shifted 
must be allowed to get rather dry ; indeed 
little or no water at the roots will be required ; 
increase the moisture as the light and heat 
advance, and syringe occasionally. 
Insects. — It is always necessary to take j 
means to destroy these, and the most effectual 
means should be resorted to on their first ap- 
pearance : if possible, check them instantly, 
and it will greatly facilitate this to go round 
with a candle at night, so as to observe their 
movements ; they are particularly injurious to 
the young growing shoots at this season of 
the year. 
Potting. — Those which are showing signs 
of growth, may be shifted. It is usual when 
using the common pots, to half fill them with 
drainage, and also to mix with the material 
used as soil, pieces of broken brick or char- 
coal. Those on blocks, and in baskets, must 
also be shifted by placing them on and in 
others of larger dimensions. 
Form of Baskets. — The best is that of an 
irregular round outline, made of any crooked 
and knotty rcood, as the oak, though both the 
square and the inverted cone forms, as well 
as the wire baskets, may be sometimes em- 
ployed. The former are as yet little known, 
and less in use, but they have a more natural 
appearance, and are so much the more beauti- 
ful. It is necessary, whatever material be 
used, to see that it is quite clean, and the prac- 
tice of charring the blocks and boiling the 
knotty chats before using, is commendable in 
this light. The bamboo cane is excellent for 
making baskets, for its durability ; and cork 
and willow blocks are recommended. In cer- 
tain situations, perhaps a large rustic branch 
might be introduced ; and those which delight 
on blocks, as the phalamopsis, might be con- 
veniently placed upon it. 
Plants in Flower. — Although these plants 
will retain their bloom much longer in a cool 
atmosphere, they must not be allowed to re- 
main any longer than is compatible with the 
future welfare of the plant : after the bloom 
is past, they must be dressed, and again re- 
turned to their place of growth, taking care 
to place them in a coolish situation at first, 
and inure them again by degrees. 
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 
Weeds. — No weeds should be suffered to 
grow either on the cultivated ground, the 
walks, or the spare corners of the garden, nor 
yet in the soil along with potted plants ; 
they should be hoed or pulled up, as the case 
may be, as soon as they appear. Above all, 
they should never be suffered to perfect and 
shed their seeds. The roots of perennial weeds 
should be thoroughly extracted, for in most 
instances, every little scrap left will grow, 
and thus the evil would become aggravated 
by imperfectly removing them. Always re- 
member, that where weeds appear among cul- 
tivated plants, they are robbing them ; if they 
grow on the walks, their appearance is un- 
tidy : if they are allowed to flourish in spare, 
out-of-the-way corners, they are likely thence 
to become disseminated over the whole garden. 
Tke genuineness of seeds is a matter of great 
importance to all garden cultivators : spurious 
seeds are neither so productive as genuine 
ones of good kinds, nor can the regular seasons 
of the crops be so well depended on. It is always 
most profitable to grow the best varieties of 
every kind of vegetable fruit or flower, and to 
pay a fair price for good articles, which are 
generally to be had of respectable dealers. 
