THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 
e> 
that sickly land. Another nice hardy annual lor a 
bed is named Clarkia pulchella (pretty clarkia) ; an¬ 
other, Nemophila insignis (shevvy grove lover); and a 
bed of scarlet 10-week stocks. This list might be 
easily extended; and if you have room for more, 
look at the list given at page 137, and choose such 
as may suit your purpose. At the end of these beds 
you may set up your turf pit or frame, which we 
trust you will, if you have not already, procure as 
soon as you jiossibly can. You will find them ex¬ 
ceedingly useful. Do not forget to arch oyer your 
centre walk, as we directed at page 47. This would 
be very ornamental, and a delightful shade from the 
beams of a July sun. 
Routine Management. — Evergreen shrubs may yet 
be successfully removed and planted. Use puddle 
for the roots, stake firmly, and water occasionally, 
and they will be sure to succeed. 
Borders must be finished raking, and all annual 
flowers sown without delay. 
Cuttings may still be put in, and those that are 
rooted potted off and hardened gradually, so as to 
bear the open air by the end of April. 
Seeds, such as have come up and made some 
progress, should be potted off also, and after they are 
established be managed the same as the cuttings. 
Lawn. —This pleasing ornament, if well swept, 
will now require frequent rolling and mowing. If 
woi’m-casts appear procure some quick lime, and put 
in a common pailful of water a lump of lime about 
the size of a child’s head. The lime should be un¬ 
slaked. Let it stand till the water is quite clear ; then 
with a rather coarse rose water-pot sprinkle the grass- 
plot freely till the worms are all killed. The lime- 
water will more readily reach the worms if you rake 
off the worm-cast, and so open the holes the worms 
make to cast up the earth. If one pailful is not 
enough for your lawn, make the lime-water in a vessel 
large enough to bold sufficient. Should one applica¬ 
tion not kill all the worms, apply it a second time, 
which will generally quite destroy them. Should 
worms be troublesome in your flower-beds or plants 
in pots, lime-water will kill them there, as well as on 
the grass-plot, and will not injure the most delicate 
plant. 
Wicker Shelters. — There are some beautiful 
shrubs that open their magnificent flowers so early 
in the spring, that their splendour is often defaced, 
if not utterly destroyed, by late spring frosts. We 
mean the shrubby Chinese poeonia moutan and its 
varieties, and the Nepaul rhododendron, rhododen¬ 
dron arboreum, and the numerous garden hybrid 
varieties. To preserve these magnificent blossoms 
in all their beauty, by saving them from the cold 
frosty nights, too often prevalent at this season of 
the year, is very desirable. A very effectual, cheap, 
and not unsightly plan, of accomplishing this de¬ 
sirable end, lias been adopted at Messrs. Henderson’s, 
of Pine-apple-place. For the benefit of those who may 
possess some of these desirable plants, and to en¬ 
courage others who may have been deterred from cul¬ 
tivating them on account of this danger, we shall 
endeavour to describe it. A sufficient number of 
stakes, of such a length as that when they are driven 
into the ground their tops may be at least six inches 
or a foot above the side branches, are placed one foot 
from the outermost branches, and about two feet 
from each other, so that the mats, when they are put 
upon them, and the wicker work, to be described 
presently, may not touch any part of the shrub. 
Upon these stakes, and fastened to them with tarred 
rope, is then placed a circular frame of very open 
wicker or basket work, made of green willows. This 
is left on constantly, as long as there is any danger 
of frost. Every night, when there is the least ap¬ 
pearance of this enemy, the wicker work is covered 
with mats, which not only prevents the downward 
effects of frost, but the upward radiation of heat from 
the earth. An improvement might be made by 
having a covering of oiled canvass fitted to the size 
of each wicker tent, and fastened to the ground with 
loops and hooked pegs. The accompanying wood- 
cut will shew, at one view, what land of a shelter we 
have been trying to describe. We can confidently re¬ 
commend these shelters to our readers. They are so 
simple, that any labourer, with some ingenuity and a 
little practice, may make them; and during the sum¬ 
mer and winter season they should be put away in a 
secure dry place, and will last several years. The 
benefits of these shelters might be extended to the 
cottagers’ gooseberries and currants, and many other 
things. We think our good friend Mr. Errington 
will agree with us, that a good effectual protection to 
these fruits is a consummation devoutly to be wished. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
Sheltering. — Close attention to the more early 
blooming kinds, in the article of protection, must be 
constantly applied, for one night’s neglect would 
cause a complete failure, thus destroying all chance 
of success, and frustrating all your care during the 
season of winter. Watering. —Great caution is re¬ 
quisite in the application of this element to florists’ 
flowers at this season of the year, especially to those 
in pots. Plants are now growing and making their 
greatest effort to produce flowers, and ultimately 
seeds to reproduce the species; in consequence, now 
is the time they require more food, and when water 
is applied in suitable quantities the food of the plant 
is made soluble, the only state in which the plant 
can take it up into the system. Rain-water contains 
the greatest quantity of suitable food for the genera¬ 
lity of plants, therefore use this kind of water as 
much as possible. The grand secret is in the proper 
application of it, both as to time and quantity. Ex¬ 
perience is the best guide in this as in all other 
things. Observe your phtnts constantly; if they are 
growing freely, and the soil appears dry, they require 
water. When plants require water in this state, give 
it in sufficient quantity to wet the soil thoroughly: 
a dribbling system of watering is bad in principle 
and practice. Having wet the earth well, let your 
plant digest it before you apply any more. If you 
