2 
THE FLOBIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[January, 
here should be in a forward state ; but if from any cause it is not so, no time 
should be lost in bringing up all arrears. A covering of snow, and a few week’s 
frost, would no-w prove to be very seasonable. It would do little or no harm, and 
W'-ould do an immense deal of good, by giving things a salutary check. All 
vacant ground ought ere this to have been turned up by rough digging, trench¬ 
ing, or ridging, so that the frost and air may act on it. All plans and arrange¬ 
ments for the ensuing season should be considered and decided on. AVhen this 
is done, and everything sketched out, every operation can then be proceeded with 
in proper order. Lettuces and Cauliflowers in frames should be picked over, Seahale 
and Rhuharh covered for forcing, and some Mint put in a hot-bed to force. 
Soio : Peas and Beans for second crop, in open weather, when the soil is dry; Radishes and 
Early Horn Carrots on warm border; also a row of Parsley; Mustard and Cress in a hotbed ; 
also jMelons and Cucumbers in a hotbed. 
Forcing-Houses. —Air-giving and firing are very important matters to be 
attended to at all seasons of the year, but particularly so at the present time. 
Young cultivators sometimes make sad mistakes in firing and giving air; gener¬ 
ally they are inclined to fire hard at night, and to neglect it during the day, 
keeping the houses closed to get up the temperature, never thinking of giving air 
until forced to do so by a sudden burst of sunshine. I need hardly say how 
wrong such practice is. A safe night temperature should be maintained in all 
forcing-houses, but a very high one is as injurious as a very low one. Firing 
should be applied early in the morning and forenoon, so as to enable the culti¬ 
vator to give as much air as the state of the weather wdll permit. Vines : Those 
in the early house wdll now be in bloom or coming into bloom, and must, there¬ 
fore, receive great attention ; a steady night temperature of GO” must be main¬ 
tained ; this will be sufficiently high on cold nights, but on mild nights 65° would 
be better. On clear days, 70° should be the minimum from fire-heat, but 10° 
more from sunshine will be beneficial. Late ripened Grapes hanging on Vines 
should now be all cut, and stored away in bottles on the French system, so that 
the vines may be pruned at once.— Peaches: Abundance of air should be given 
in the day, and a little fire-heat; except in very cold weather, very little fire-heat 
should be given at night ; the inside borders should be well watered.— Figs: 
These do admirably well in pots and tubs, and there is this advantage in thus 
growing them, that they can be moved from one house to another at pleasure ; 
they should have plenty of water, and be kept well syringed.— Cherries: These 
also do well in pots and tubs ; they do best in a little bottom-heat, otherwise 
they are apt to fall off in stoning ; they like plenty of air at all times. — Straw¬ 
berries: These should be kept near the glass, be carefully wmtered, and especially 
wdien 'in flower, should have plenty of air ; a little bottom-heat to start the plants 
in is an advantage. Introduce a fresh batch of plants once a fortnight. 
Hardy Fruit Garden. — Operations here will depend on the state of the 
weather. In the absence of frost, fruit-trees of all kinds may be planted, the 
ground, of course, having been previously properly prepared. One uniform mode of 
