DECEMBER. 
275 
certificates from the Society of Arts for Men¬ 
suration, Book-keeping, Practical Geometry, 
Botany, Floriculture, or IPorticulture; also 
to those who can present a written recom¬ 
mendation from a Fellow of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, the President of any Floral 
or Horticultural Association acknowledged 
by the Society, or the Director of a public 
park or garden. There are other advantages 
offered to successful candidates under certain 
limitations, which it would occupy too much 
space fully to detail; but further information 
will be readily afforded on application to the 
Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
to whom, also, intending candidates should 
send in their names. The holding of such 
examinations is a step in the right direction, 
and may be made the means not only of ad¬ 
vancing the interests of the successful com¬ 
petitors, but of gardeners as a class. 
Manchester National Horticultural 
Show. —The schedule of prizes offered at the 
great horticultural Exhibition to be held in 
the Botanic Garden, Manchester, from the 
7th to the 15th of June next, is on a liberal 
scale, the total amounting to £984 10s. For 
plants the sum of £910 is offered—viz., £485 
to be competed for by nurserymen, and 
£425 1 Os. by amateurs; for fruit, which is 
open, only £74 is offered. The prices to bo 
charged for the admission of visitors not 
being members of the Manchester Botanical 
and Horticultural Society, who will be ad¬ 
mitted free, are 10s. 6d. on the first day, 2s. 6d. 
on the second, and Is. on each of the remain¬ 
ing days. 
OBITUARY. 
Dr. Von Siebold, to whom we owe the. in¬ 
troduction of many fine plants from Japan, 
died at Munich, it is said of typhus, on the 
18th of October, at the age of 71. 
Don Vicente Cutanda, Professor of 
botany, and Director of the Botanical Gardens 
at Madrid, died there on the 23rd of July. 
He was the author of a work on the flora of 
?he province of Madrid, and a member of the 
Royal Academy of Sciences. 
The Gardeners'' Chronicle also announces 
the deaths of Professor Gasparini, of Naples, 
an eminent botanist, and of Mr. Gerrard, a 
zealous naturalist, who died recently in Ma¬ 
dagascar of a pestilential marsh fever caught 
whilst collecting in that island. There, as 
well as in Natal and other parts of southern 
Africa, he had made large collections of plants 
and other natural objects; and in Harvey 
and Sonder’s “Flora Capensis,” besides 
many new genera, he added upwards of 150 
species. 
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 
STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE. 
Stove .—This department should now pre¬ 
sent a gay appearance with Justicias, Epi- 
phvllums, Begonias, Eranthemums, Bignonia 
venusta, Gesneras, Euphorbia splendens, and 
various other winter-flowering stove plants. 
To maintain these in perfection keep the air 
of the house moderately dry, with a tempera¬ 
ture of 60° by night. Some kinds now at 
rest, and which it is desired to bloom, may 
be started, ready for potting-on next month. 
Orchids .—Follow out the instructions given 
last month. Take care that no plant thall 
be exposed to drip, otherwise it will be sure 
to suffer. 
gbeenhouse. 
Remove all decaying leaves, and attend 
generally to cleanliness. Afford free ventila¬ 
tion in mild weather, using at the same time 
a little fire heat. Give no more water than 
is necessary to preserve the plants in a healthy 
condition, and apply it in the morning, so that 
the house may become dry before shutting-up¬ 
time. Cinerarias .—Give those plants intended 
for flowering in May their final repotting; 
they should have plenty of room, and the 
side shoots should be tied or pegged out as 
soon as long enough. Never use more heat 
than is sufficient to keep frost out of the house. 
Heaths and Epacrises .—Give air plentifully 
when admissible, and by degrees; so as to 
avoid draughts. The atmosphere should be 
now dry—that is, as dry as you can keep it 
without fire, which should not be allowed, 
except when the thermometer in the house is 
likely to fall below 32°. Water with caution. 
Frequently turn round the best specimens, 
and attack every appearance of mildew with 
sulphur. Pelargoniums. — Carry out instruc¬ 
tions given last month, and tie out the 
branches, using small neat willow sticks. In 
this operation care should be taken to form a 
neat round bush. Commence by tying out 
the side shoots, and distribute the other shoots 
at equal distances. Water now but sparingly, 
taking care not to wet the foliage. 
CONSERVATORY. 
This should be kept as gay as possible 
with Chrysanthemums, Epiphyllums, Salvias, 
Linum trigynum, &c. Towards the end of 
the month, the early-started Roman Narcissus, 
Hyacinths, and Tulips, will increase the dis¬ 
play. Avoid keeping much fire at this sea¬ 
son ; a moderately dry heat, just excluding 
frost, will be sufficient. Water in the morn¬ 
ing, for the house to become dry by the 
middle of the day. 
forcing. 
Forcing-house .—As the buds swell in the 
early vinery gradually increase the heat to 
