43-1 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
purpose, tlif fires must be occasionally lighted 
on even fine days, that the lights may be 
opened to allow the moisture to evaporate. 
Many hybrid Rhododendrons are fit for green- 
house culture ; they are rich in their bloom, 
and not absolutely tender in their constitution; 
but they llower so early, that a slight frost 
would spoil them, and it is even so when they 
are out of doors. The flowers advance in spite 
of cold weather, but the frost and cutting 
winds, though they hardly touch the plant, rot 
the bloom. Those placed in the green-house 
bloom in perfection; but they require no more 
moisture than will just keep them from 
flagging, until the bloom buds swell and begin 
to develop the individual pips for flowering, 
then they want plenty of water. IToveas, 
Acacias, and many Botany Bay plants, are apt 
to advance for flower and to bloom early ; 
Corrseas, in variety, are highly ornamental in 
a green-house, flowering from this month till 
the end of the spring. There is a pretty 
variety to be had at this time : Veredis (green), 
Speciosa (red and green), Pulchella (orange 
red), Bosea (pink), Alba (white), Grandiflora 
(crimson), and many of Mr. Milner's flowers, 
which are better than the originals : a white 
that beats Alba, a party coloured one better 
than Speciosa, a green one far superior to 
Veredis, and there are others ; these literally 
bloom the winter half-year, and all being 
abundant flowerers, make so great a show in the 
green-house or conservatory, that they ought 
not to be dispensed with. Cleanliness is more 
necessary than ever in winter time ; damp 
shelves and decaying leaves are destructive to 
plant life and health. The green -fly is not so 
constant a visitor now as in spring ; never- 
theless, it is to be found occasionally. The 
scaly-bug is also very apt to be found in the 
Oleander, the Magnolia fuscata, and some 
other strong growing plants. Soap and water, 
sponging, syringing, and brushing, must be 
resorted to for the rest ; but the green-fly will 
be got rid of by fumigation. In managing 
plants that want but little moisture, it must 
not be supposed that a small quantity at a 
time is to be given, because the soil must be 
wetted alike all over. It must be understood 
that they require water but seldom; when they 
have small quantities at a time, and the soil is 
only partially wetted, there is great danger of 
mischief. 
THE CONSERVATORY. 
This season it is rather difficult to keep up 
the interest of the conservatory without a tole- 
rable collection of plants. Some of the Corneas, 
as Ave have mentioned in the directions for the 
green-house, will be found ornamental in the 
course of the month, if not so already. Here 
and there among the Camellias there will be 
found specimens showing their blooms. Many 
autumnal Roses, and even the two com- 
monly called China, the light pink and the 
dark crimson, will be still flowering. Dahlias 
in pots will not be out of flower yet, if pro- 
perly cultivated. The stove and green-house 
both yield a few plants that will be orna- 
mental ; while the Chrysanthemums, culti- 
vated for late bloom, will add their mite to 
the floral beauty of the place. Camellias and 
other plants which are at the worst period of 
the year fine evergreens, may form the back 
ground, and give a cheerfulness to the place ; 
and by always cultivating a large variety of 
potted plants, a show of something like a 
garden may be kept up. Many herbaceous 
plants, some heaths, and various other subjects, 
will be found useful, and the arrangement 
must be made accordingly. Attend to cleanli- 
ness, for it is essential; clearing away dead 
leaves, keeping the shelves, stands, and floor, 
free from litter of any kind, and the borders 
neat, are such matters of course, that they are 
hardly worth mentioning. Give all the air 
you can in mild weather, and close against 
cold winds, wet, and frost. The conservatory 
only requires artificial heat to prevent damp, 
and keep off frost. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Peas. — Sow a few of any hardy early sort 
on the south-west side of ridges two feet apart; 
they may be sown rather thin than otherwise, 
but not too many at a time. The choice of 
Peas is so great at this period, that it is the 
better way to trust to the seedsman who 
should know the locality ; and any respectable 
dealer will serve that which is most likely to 
succeed : dwarfs are in all cases the best. For 
those who wish for very early Peas, it is not 
uncommon to sow in boxes made almost like 
water-troughs, just wide enough to take a 
row, and rather narrower at the bottom than 
at the top ; these should be two feet long, and 
sown with a good early kind ; they may be 
nursed in a frame or green-house till they are 
considerably advanced, and then turned out 
into rows. Turfs may also be cut, about four 
inches wide and three inches thick, in two 
feet lengths ; these to be turned wrong side 
upwards, and the Peas sown in the soil only 
just deep enough to be covered ; they may be 
placed any where in the green-house until the 
weather will admit of their being turned out ; 
they will grow well and yield well ; all that is 
required in these cases is not to plant them 
out until they are pretty secure from frost, and 
only to put out, indeed, only to sow, enough 
for a gathering at each time. Others have 
boxes of the dimensions we have mentioned, 
but made with bottoms that come out, and the 
boxes made wider at the bottom than the 
