276 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
55° at night, and, as they break, to 60° ; the 
day temperature should range from 5° to 10° 
higher than that maintained at night. Keep 
a damp heat in the early stages, but as the 
Vines expand into leaf reduce the amount of 
atmospheric moisture. A gentle current of air 
should be given on most days, more or less 
according to the fineness of the weather. Pines. 
—Keep the main stock now dry at the root; 
we suppose these to he at rest, or nearly so. 
A moderate temperature, say 58° by night, 
with an increase of 10° or 15° in bright days, 
is only necessary. Pines in dung frames 
must have the necessary heat maintained by 
fresh applications of heated litter. The early- 
fruiting plants should now be started ; gradu¬ 
ally increase the top and bottom heat, and in 
a fortnight’s time give a little water. This 
start will, in all probability, bring them up 
by Christmas, or soon afterwards. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Clean and trench up vacant ground, digging 
it 2 feet deep, and leaving the surface either 
in ridges or very rough. Dung should be 
applied to the surface previously, and regu¬ 
larly mixed with the earth in digging. Attend 
to what crops are in the ground, and sow the 
first early crop of Peas on a warm border at 
once, if you wish to have them early, as well 
as a few Mazagan or Dwarf Fan Beans. A 
few Radishes or early Horn Carrots may like¬ 
wise be sown in a very sheltered place, cover¬ 
ing the beds with litter till the seeds come up. 
Look after mice, which are troublesome to 
the crops. Look over the root-stores. 
FRUIT GARDEN. 
There will probably be opportunities for 
proceeding with winter pruning during this 
month when other work cannot be advan¬ 
tageously carried on. Thin out the heads of 
standard trees, removing in the first instance 
dead branches, and then all those which are 
badly placed and obstruct the free access of 
air and light. Scrape off moss and rough 
scaly old bark from the stems ; for the former 
grows at the expense of the trees, and the 
latter serves as a hiding-place for insects and 
their eggs. To destroy scale insects apply 
Gishurst compound at the rate of 8 ozs. to 
the gallon of water. Shorten the shoots of 
espalier and pyramid trees so as to secure the 
development of the buds ; likewise the points 
of the secondary shoots, to favour the forma¬ 
tion of fruit-buds. In doing this, however, 
due. attention must be paid to the habit of the 
variety and the degree of vigour which the 
individual tree possesses, otherwise barren¬ 
ness instead of fertility may be the result, in 
consequence of the energies of the tree being 
directed towards the formation of shoots in¬ 
stead of fruit-buds. Prune and nail wall 
trees, and be careful not to encourage too 
much the more upright-growing branches, and 
those situated near the top of the tree, other¬ 
wise those which have a nearly horizontal 
position, or which are situated near the 
ground, will be apt to die off. When this 
is the case they are not easily replaced, 
and valuable wall space is wasted. Proceed 
with transplanting when the ground is in a 
favourable condition : if not, better defer 
planting till it be so. Mulch after planting. 
Prune, stake, and mulch Raspberry planta¬ 
tions ; and now is a good time to spread tan 
round Gooseberry bushes. A layer spread all 
over the ground to the depth of 2 inches is 
the best of all modes of preventing the attacks 
of the destructive Gooseberry caterpillar. 
Gooseberry and Currant bushes may now be 
pruned; it is good work for a frosty day. 
Unnail Fig trees, tie the branches up in 
bundles, and protect with mats and straw. 
FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERY. 
All that can be done here will be to pro¬ 
tect anything left in the ground from frost, 
and to preserve neatness and order. Plant¬ 
ing deciduous trees and shrubs may be done 
in mild weather. 
florists’ flowers. 
Auriculas .—Very little water and plenty of 
air will be the principal points to attend to 
this month, beyond keeping the plants clean 
both of dead foliage and green fly. If the 
soil become green on the surface it should be 
loosened, but not so deeply as to disturb the 
root j . Should we get severe frosts a slight 
covering will be necessary at night. Carna¬ 
tions and Picotees .—Keep the pits or frames 
containing these plants as open as possible. 
If they have only lights over them, without 
protection at the sides till Christmas, so much 
the better. The plants will require water but 
very seldom, there being sufficient moisture 
in the atmosphere at this season. Too much 
moisture and not sufficient air are sure to be 
injurious; the spot will be the result of such 
treatment. The plants will now require look¬ 
ing over, cutting away all decayed foliage. 
Dahlias .—Examine the roots of choice kinds 
occasionally, to see they are not rotting at 
the stem; if so it will be best to cut away 
the part affected, and to dry the root, if at ail 
damp. Much depends, however, on the con¬ 
venience at command for wintering them; 
under the stage of a greenhouse is most general, 
but here it is often too damp ; neither should 
they be placed in a situation that is too airy, 
as many kinds will dry up. They must be 
placed beyond the reach of frost. Seed will 
keep best in the chaff after it is thoroughly 
dried. Pansies .—Those in pots must have 
plenty of light and air; the lights should be 
taken quite off at every favourable oppor¬ 
tunity. The cuttings striking should not 
have much water, or they are liable to damp 
off. Tulips .—These being now safely under 
the soil, there will be but little labour for two 
or three months to come. The beds may be 
exposed to any weather, with the exception of 
very heavy rains. 
