258 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ November, 
perament at bed-time! Thinking of some coveted gem, they have dispiritedly 
said:—“ No, I will not get it noiv. I will wait till spring. I may have none 
left by then. Here is a poor fellow who had not!” 
All this is nightmare terror. Of course mismanagement and carelessness are 
always dangerous, and not least so in November, when the fogs hang heavy, 
and the dews are clammy sweats of death on fading leaves. But with his 
plants in trim, under seasonable circumstances, looking happy, as they always 
do, even in the dullest time, if healthy, the florist will pass into these dark and 
shortening days with security, and a hope that lights them up. There may be a 
diminished breadth of beauty in his Auriculas; an air of sameness spreading 
over his bristling brood of Carnations and Picotees; it may seem many days yet 
that his Tulip-bed shall look a long brown blank before it grows green, and these 
Maytide flowers open with the apple-blossom. Still it is each thing to its work 
and ofiSce now as in the gayest times ; and so the florist, whose pleasure is not 
only in his flowers, but in the whole life of the plants that bear them, rests 
content. 
Work for the Month. —Auriculas here are now being removed from their 
summer quarters, in raised frames under a tall north wall, to their winter-house, 
which faces the south. I think the best form is a span-roof house, running 
north and south, with means of ventilation on every side. It is well worth while 
having Auriculas in such a house as will shelter the owner as well as his plants. 
There is the great advantage of getting among them in all weathers, and in the 
blooming time the proper enjoyment of the treat with a group of florist friends 
comfortably housed. And, not to be despised or wasted, is the delicious scent 
afforded by both foliage and flowers, which, however, soon escapes out of mere 
frames. 
The plants will now slacken in their growth, and begin to lose their leaves ; 
but there will remain a green or snowy nucleus above the line of autumnal 
influence. The hearts of the plants will slowly gather strength, while root-action 
will scarcely cease at all the winter through. 
The soil will keep at its seasonable moistness, just damp, without much 
watering, and the supply of air must be the fullest possible. If the plants are 
kept too close, many a green leaf upon the soil will decay before its time in a 
rapid rottenness, not even turning yellow first. Take the opportunity given by 
the removal to wash the pots outside ; to clear the foliage of any aphis (happily, 
our dear friend has seen his best days, and is getting “over”), and examine every 
visible part of the plant, to see that all is healthy. Clean little offsets of any 
unsound foliage, and plants of yellow leaves. The same for seedlings. 
Have everything sweet and dry and airy in the winter-quarters, and if these 
must be frames, raise them breast-high, and provide lengths of one-inch laths 
for the pots to stand on, and keep them well up to the glass. Whether in 
frame or house, heware of drip^ a deadly enemy ; the roof or lights should slope 
well to lessen the risk of this. Blow even a drop of water from leaf-axils, or a 
