94 
THE FLORIST. 
off they should be kept rather close for a few days; after that they 
should be gradually “ hardened ” off. With care and attention the 
plants of Verbenas, &c., struck now, make the best for “ bedding.” 
Variegated Geraniums strike freely in heat at this season ; if the stock 
of any of them be short, cuttings should be got in immediately. 
Forcing Ilardy Shrubs. —Introduce plenty of Roses—they force 
well from this time forward ; keep them near the glass; give them 
plenty of air when the weather admits. Syringe two or three times 
daily. Maintain a moist growing atmosphere. Keep a temperature 
of 55 degrees by night, with a rise of ten or fifteen degrees by day. 
Introduce fresh plants of the things mentioned last month. 
Forcing Ground. —Make fresh sowings of French Beans every ten 
days or a fortnight, according to the demand for them. Attend to the 
earthing up of the plants. Give them plenty of water, and syringe 
daily until they come into bloom. Earth up the early frame of 
Potatoes, give them a good watering before doing so. Ventilate freely 
when the weather permits. Plant out for successional crops—but be 
sure you do so on a nice steady bottom heat. Set some more Seakale, 
Rhubarb, and Asparagus to work. Sow Salading. 
Fruit {Hardy). —Rather than lose a season, we would still plant 
young trees, that is if we could get good ones ; but there is generally 
a difficulty to obtain them in the nurseries at this season, as the best 
plants always go first: and, after being picked over the whole autumn 
and winter, nothing very first-rate can be expected now ; it is there¬ 
fore the best plan to wait till next autumn, and then select from among 
the best in good time. All pruning and nailing should be brought to 
a finish as soon as possible. Make timely preparations for protecting 
the wall trees. Do not be drawn into a false security from the extra¬ 
ordinary fine weather we have at present. Have everything in 
readiness, so that they can be put up in a short time, when they are 
needed ; they should be always removed during the day time, unless 
the weather be very wet or snowy. See an excellent article on 
“ protection ” in the last month’s Florist, by the Rev. W. F. Radclyffe. 
Kitchen Garden. —All vegetables require a good depth of soil to 
grow them well. We once saw some Endive planted on a border, that 
had been trenched three feet deep; it (the Endive) had grown to a 
most extraordinary size ; upon examination, it was found that the 
roots had penetrated to the bottom of the border. When the roots of 
vegetables have a good depth of soil to run into, the crops never suffer 
to any serious extent from dry weather. We strongly urge the im¬ 
portance of deep culture at this season. Sow successional crops of the 
following Peas :—Dickson’s Favourite, Fairbeard’s Nonpareil, Champion 
of England, Auvergne, Harrison’s Perfection, Hairs’ Dwarf Mammoth, 
Veitch’s Perfection, Reliance, British Queen, &c. Draw up some soil 
to those that are above ground, and rod to protect from frost and 
winds. Sow early Mazagan and Johnson’s Wonderful Beans. Sow 
Parsnips at the beginning of the month. Sow the principal crop of 
Onions at the beginning of the month ; the following are good sorts :— 
Brown and White Globe, Deptford, James’s Long Keeping, and 
Reading, and a little of the Silver-skinned should be sown on poor land 
