SEASONABLE HINTS. 
To the superficial observer or the novice, 
this month may not, at a first glance, suggest 
gardening work of much importance. Yet 
the gardener who neglects to take advantage 
of the opportunities the winter season offers 
for thorough preparation is apt to fall behind¬ 
hand throughout the year. Although noth¬ 
ing can be done in the fi’ozen ground, the 
ever-ready field of our mind is as amenable 
to tillage and culture now as at any time. 
With the increased leisure which the long 
evenings and the cheerful influences of a cozy 
winter home afford, no one should fail to 
sow the seed and reap as rich a 
harvest from his intellectual gar¬ 
den as lies in his power. 
Plms for all contemplated gar¬ 
den work should now bo carefully 
considered, matm’ed, and as fully 
prepared as circumstances per¬ 
mit. 
A Map or Sketch of the garden 
plot, roughly di-awn on paper, is a 
material help, and saves much 
time at “garden-making season.” 
The rows for the diff’erent kind 
of vegetables to be planted may 
be marked on the paper, and the 
amount of seed required of each 
ascertained fcoin the dkectioTis 
given in most catalogues. 
Seech should be ordered as soon 
as the varieties and quantities 
heneeeson-s white plume cele^^ 
With the introduction of the cw< ^ 
half-dwarf varieties. Celery cultiuj ha b _ 
come so much ^ ' 
ceived so powerful an 
gardensof any pretensions nowbe fomi 
tvithont at least one row of this delicious 
vegetable. The number of excellent vane- 
ties adapted for general cultivation i& 
already large, so that one not over-sanguine 
should hardly have expected improvement 
in this direction, yet this new variety, repre¬ 
sented in our illustration, is as decided an 
improvement over the old kinds as the la 
dwarfs were over the giants. 
The principal superiority of the White 
Plume Celery consists in its inner leaves and 
stalks being naturally pure white, so that by 
faU and early winter use, as the delicate ^ 
ure of its stalks and leaves does not afi. 
it for keeping till spring. Pt 
ASHES AS A FBBTILIZEE. 
Under certain conditions ashes are 
Very 
wanted have been determined. 
The earlier this is done, the surer 
one may be of receiving promptly 
Just what is ordered, and of the 
best quality, thereby frequently 
avoiding much vexation and de¬ 
lay at a time when every hour is 
precious. 
Fixed Sales are well enough, 
and necessary in certain opera¬ 
tions; but the idea that every¬ 
thing in gardening has to be done 
according to invariable rules and 
unalterably established rotes is 
to many a great hinderanee': it 
dims observation and dulls Judg¬ 
ment, both of which are more 
essential to successful gardening 
than all precepts. 
Coal-ashes .—With every year 
we become more and more con¬ 
vinced of the value of coal ashes. 
Some of their fertilizing effects may be due 
to the wood that is occasionally used in 
connection with the coal; but that sifted 
coal-ashes alone are of considerable value 
on heavy land we have become fully satisfied 
in many instances. On such lands all crops 
are benefited by their use. Some parts of 
our prden which had received a liberal 
dressing of coal-ashes during the previous 
•winter, suffered much less from the severe 
drought of last summer than the adjoining 
ground which had not been so treated. By 
scattering the sifted ashes over the gi’oimd 
during winter, full benefit will be derived 
from them the following season. 
Vegetahles stored in cellars require occa¬ 
sional attention dui-ing winter; they should 
be examined from time to time, and have 
all decaying matter removed. 
COPYRIGHT 1C0D. 
HENDERSON'S WHITE PLUME CELERY. 
closing and tying the outside stalks together, 
and drawing a small tpiantity of soil against 
the plants, the work of blanching is com¬ 
pleted with luirdly a quarter of tlie labor 
necessary with the older kinds. In'market 
gardeners’ parlance, they require only to bo 
handled.” 'I’his is surely a very gre.at im¬ 
provement, which will make Celery growing 
as easy as the culture of any other vegetable. 
Its other groat merit is its exceedingly 
handsome appearance, to which oven so ex¬ 
cellent an illustration as tlio accompanying 
one can do but faint Justice. As a table 
ornamo7it it is as attractive as a vase of 
flowers almost. In quality it is equal to tho 
best, bmng crisp, solid, yet tender and of a 
vciy pleasaiit, mild flavor, free from 
rankness. 
The White Plume Cele. 
valuable as a garden man-ui-e, but some % 
crimination must be used in their applijjj, 
cation. My experience with them-is that 
they should be applied and well worked inte 
the soil, before planting the seed. LasV 
spring I tested them in the hill with Pota, 
toes. I planted two rows manured -with a 
liberal quantity of ashes, another -with lime, 
and another with well-rotted poultry manure. 
All were aj^plied in the hill. The Potatoes 
in the rows where the ashes were 
applied were scabby, more so 
than I would like,—the rest were 
entirely free, nice, and clean. In 
previous trials, where the ashes 
were scattered broadcast over the 
land and then thoroughly worked 
into the soil, they proved very 
beneficial, without injuring the 
Potatoes, as w'hen applied in the 
hill. 
Last spring I planted my Sal¬ 
sify in a place where a large 
brush pile had been burned, leav¬ 
ing a heavy coat of ashes all over 
the soil, which was afterward 
well plowed and harrowed and 
laid off in drills in which the seed 
was sown. I ne'ver had a finer 
crop. The roots were large, nice, 
and smooth. The soil was new 
black loam. ' Scarcely a weed 
made its appearance; while, the 
year before, the weeds were very 
troublesome, and as the land had 
never been in cultivation they 
were allowed to matiu-e their 
seed. 
A good top dressing of un¬ 
leached ashes is especially valu¬ 
able for Onions, if not applied too 
thick ; but to some tender vege¬ 
tables they do more harm than 
good when used as a top dress¬ 
ing. They are especially good 
for loosening a stiff soil, on which 
their effect will be apparent for 
a long time ; and, in the orchard, 
I do not know of anything more 
valuable. 
The saving of ashes will pS'I 
manifold, even at an -expense of 
building a place for the piu’pose of storing 
them. But to obtain the most profitable 
results, they should be thoroughly worked 
into tho soil, especially in tho garden, and 
sliould not be applied directly to root crops. 
Finalljq it should bo borne in mind that 
their effects are more apj)arent on a stm 
clayey or hard-pan soil than on a black 
sandy loam, N. J. SHEPHERD* 
all 
ry IS now first in- 
DESTEOTINQ the PEA-WEEVIL. 
A correspondent from Leicester, Masa*» 
recommends camphor against the ® 
weevil. Ho keeps his Peas together 
lump of tho gum in a tin yessel, a^ 
them all sound at planting time.— [ 
tried camphor repeatedly for this pihT® 
without satisfactory results.— Ed.] 
