20 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ January, 
not already done ; and tliey should he frequently looked over, as rats and 
mice are very destructive to many kinds of bulbs, especially Crocuses, so 
that in winter, when food is scarce, they make sad havoc among them if 
not trapped. The Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger), is a very useful hardy 
plant for furnishing a quantity of flowers for in-door decoration. To prevent 
the flowers from being spoiled, as they expand, by the rain, snow, or frost, 
hand-lights should be placed over the plants. Half-hardy plants of all 
kinds must be protected; also trees and shrubs on lawns, if they are in the 
least tender. 
Though I prefer the autumn for planting, still, if the weather is mild? 
especially towards the latter part of the month, trees and shrubs of all 
kinds may be safely planted; and if only moved from one part of the 
ground to another, and the operation be properly performed, they will do 
almost as well as if planted in the autumn. I have repeatedly removed 
large evergreen and other trees in January with the most complete success 
as regarding their growth afterwards. All such work as the making of 
flower beds or new gardens, the formation of new walks and the gravelling 
of old ones, should be pushed on whenever the weather is favourable. 
Very little in the way of cropping can be done in the kitchen garden 
during the continuance of frost, but in mild weather a sowing of early Peas 
and Beans, and also of Early Horn Carrots and early Radishes should be 
made on a warm border where they can be protected. Jerusalem Arti¬ 
chokes and Horseradish may be planted. 
In mild weather fruit trees may be planted. Before, however, fruit trees 
are planted, the soil, if cold and wet, must be thoroughly drained, other¬ 
wise the result will end in failure. If the land be of a stiff, heavy nature, 
it should be improved by the addition of fresh turf, or chopped straw, 
leaves, tan, ashes, sand, or anything that will keep it open. In planting 
in heavy land the trees should be kept well up, so that the soil over the 
roots should be a little above the level of the surrounding soil. In the 
case of light sandy soils having a gravelly subsoil, the first thing to be 
done is to deepen the borders by the addition of good strong loam, and in 
planting the frees should be kept rather low, so that the soil over the roots 
should when finished-off, be a little below the level of the surrounding soil. 
When fruit trees are planted in light, shallow, sandy land, having a 
gravelly porous subsoil, they suffer much in hot dry summers from red 
spider, much of the fruit falls off, and that which remains is small and in¬ 
ferior, while the wood is weak and bad; but by deepening the borders and 
planting the trees a little below the level of the surrounding soil, they 
stand the dry hot summer better, and ripen fine fruit and make good wood. 
The advantage of planting rather below the level of the surrounding soil is, 
that the rain water which falls at the very hottest season of the year, 
