THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
133 
j November 28 .] 
prepare a plot of stubborn clayey soil, in the month of 
March, for seeds, &c. The farmers may do with such soils 
l on part of a farm, but the cottager can never succeed with 
them as he ought to do. 
As advice peculiar to the season, we suggest that the store 
roots be well looked to. Many throw a little temporary 
covering over their potatoes at the getting-up time, in order 
I to suffer their perspiration to pass away. Now, however, all 
I fear that way is over, and the principal danger to be appre- 
[ hended is from frost. Let all pits or bags therefore be now 
well sorted over, at least six inches deep. Seed potatoes 
which have been laying thinly on room floors should now be 
got together and piled in heaps, well protected all round, 
j They will do exceedingly well in pits, if not introduced until 
the middle or end of November, by which time a real rest 
state has been induced, and the ground being cold, there is 
I no inducement to sprout. As for mangold, Swedes, and 
! such roots, they of course are either in some outhouse or 
i piled up in a sharp ridge if out doors. When the latter is 
the case they should be thatched, for wet is the great enemy 
! to be avoided. What keeps out the wet thoroughly will also 
| keep out frost. 
j Most cottagers will now have a bed or two of cabbage 
I plants pricked out, and perhaps a bed of lettuces, or a few 
I cauliflowers in some snug comer. The latter should have 
I some sticks thrown across, and an old mat or carpet at hand 
i to cover them with. Until hard weather comes he may 
cause them to protect themselves by placing a few of his 
I old pease sticks over them, and strewing thereon a little of 
the old pease haulm or straw. As for the cabbages, the best 
way is to let them get pretty well frozen, and then to put 
plenty of litter over them, to keep them in that state as long 
J as possible. 
Where the allotment man has a stock of the coleworts, 
which we have so often recommended,—that is to say, nice 
! little fresh-hearted cabbages from a .Tune sowing,—he would 
do well to bunch them and get them into market, where they 
ought to fetch a capital price. If it is desirable to keep 
them until February, they must be taken up and “ heeled ” 
I quite close together. A'small bed will thus hold hundreds 
of them; and a moderate amount of straw or litter will 
securely cover a vast quantity. This is a plan we have 
practised for years, and hope to continue it as long as we 
grow a colewort. By so doing the cottager may realize 
double profit; for in the event of a hard winter, such things 
will command very high prices in the neighbourhood of our 
best towns. 
Rhubarb. —If any spare chimney-pots, old tubs, or large 
garden-pots are available, they should be placed over some 
I of the best crowns of rhubarb before they are frozen ; first 
| taking the precaution to cover the crowns with some dry 
leaves or litter, sufficient to keep out frost. Soil may then 
1 be heaved round the sides of the vessels, aud a wisp of hay 
or straw stuck in at the top. Thus managed, the produce 
will be three weeks earlier than by having it exposed. If 
i the cottager keeps a cow, he may as well place some of his 
' warm manure round the pots. This, however, he need not 
| do until Christmas lias fairly passed, as the roots bud very 
' sulkily, and of course weakly, at too early a period. By the 
i latter plan, there is no reason why good rhubarb should not 
; be enjoyed from the end of January until it comes in 
naturally. This is so useful a root, and of such easy cul¬ 
ture, that no poor man who has ground should be without 
it; and if he cannot produce an apple-tree, he can in this 
root find a very able substitute. 
Shallots and Garlick. —There is nothing like autumn 
planting for the shallot, which is very useful as a condiment 
in the poor man’s diet. Choose a bed of soil of an open 
texture; throw up the alleys so as to raise the bed three 
inches ; then apply a good coat of very rotten manure, and 
dig it in rather deep. The shallots are merely stuck in with 
the thumb and finger, for although near the surface, the 
frost never does them any injury beyond throwing them 
‘ out; and this is easily avoided by shaking some littery stuff 
I on the surface after planting, removing it clear away in the 
early part of February. 
Swede Turnips for Sprouts. —A mellow and rich bed 
of soil is well employed at this season in this way. Draw 
drills close together, and place some of the strongest 
Swedes close in the drills; then crumble the soil in the alleys, 
and cover them all over six inches deep with it. Cinder 
ashes or sawdust are capital materials, being more easily ; 
removed; for it is necessary to scrape the covering away j 
from the crowns in the act of cutting. Thus may beautiful j 
heads be cut in abundance from the beginning of February j 
until the end of March; and which (being blanched 
of course) are, in our opinion, equal to the finest sea-kale. 
We might show how the cottager could now plant Swedes, : 
onions, &c., for seed, but we are perfectly satisfied that, by a j 
good course of culture of his other crops, it is far cheaper j 
to buy what little seed he requires. 
Brocoli. —If any of these stand in the allotment, let the 
owner immediately lay them with their heads to the north. J 
They will assuredly be much safer by this plan; and he may i 
pile the soil close up to then- very necks. 
Celery. —Give the celery one more earthing up when ; 
dry, if it will take it, and press the soil close to the stems. 
The Cow.—The supply of refuse from the garden which 
has proved of so much use during the previous months, is 
now gone of course, and she will be tlnown on to root-diet, 
in part, of some kind. The first roots to work up should be 
the crooked, deficient, and cankered carrots, parsnips, run i 
Swedes, &c., &c. These should always be sorted from the i 
rest when the crop is stored away. Oat straw is very good 
where obtainable ; and those who are short of good hay had 
better purchase a little. If the hay has been badly got, it 
will be found good practice to sprinkle a little salt and water 
on it in the manger, aud then strew a handful or two of 
sweet bran over it. We have known cows thus readily eat j 
inferior hay, which otherwise would be rejected. Much care | 
should be taken over the fodder : some people waste a great j 
portion of it through neglect. Some cows are notorious for 
treading it under foot; and the best way is to feed little and 
often. Another point of good cow management necessary 
during the winter months, is to be sure and kefep a bucket 
of water in the cow-house. This placed there every afternoon 
may be offered to the beast at raking-up time, when the 
chill will be off it. It must be remembered that in bad 
weather the cow has not the same means of getting access 
to water as in summer. Cows generally contrive to make 
known their wants, whether as to meat or drink, by what is 
termed a “ hashing ” cough; which frequently denotes some 
want. 
Cleanliness is most important with this animal, both in its 
own body and in the stall. All cow-houses should be cleaned 
out every morning at least, and the manger kept particularly ! 
clean. If the cow begins rubbing against a tree or post the j 
moment she is turned out, it is more than probable that her 
coat is foul and she feels uneasy. 
It is very capital practice for cottagers to eke out then- 
limited diet by means of mashes. We would have one 
given every evening before going to bed. We have been in 
the habit of putting a good pinch or two of salt in the 
water, the mash being composed of bran, with about two 
moderate handsful of linseed meal. This may be given 
instead of the clean water, for which in this case there will 
be no occasion. 
There is a great plague with the cottager’s cow at times | 
in getting her to go away to pasture in the morning. Some ! 
cottagers' wives are very fond of giving the cow potato 
peelings, or other nick-nacks,near the door or at the gate or 
hatch. This is foolish policy. We have known cows thus j 
treated which would not go out to pasture, although the 
latter was close to their heels, but would hang constantly 
about the hatch. These peelings, or any other dainties, 
should be reserved for stall work; and we would always give | 
the best food in the evening, and a little dry food to go 
through the night with. They are thus prepared for moist 
food again; and if care is taken that they get nothing by j 
hand, except in the manger, they will soon be cured of the 
bad habits alluded to. Those who rear their own cows should 
begin thus systematically with the calf itself. 
THE APIARIAN’S CALENDAR.— December. 
By ./. H. Payne, Esq., Author of “ The Apiarian's Guide." 
Those persons who have been so fortunate in this un- j 
toward season as to obtain a few glasses of honey from their 
bees, must now look well to their stocks, and, by judicious 
