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GARDENING OPERATIONS FOR THE…

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GARDENING OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK. (From the Gardener s 2Ilagazine.) [An excellent weekly j"U1"11:1], containing much valuable information f, :1''1ltteur and professional gardeners.] KITCHEN GARDEN AN19 FRAME GROCNn. Celery to lIe SOW11 for Tery early supply. A small pan of seed will he sufficient fur the wants of the 1ar¡rest family for fI. 1ir3t.sowing- Let the soil be lich and fine, the seed tu be very lightly covered. If the wil is reasonably moist in the first instance, it will not require to be watered till the plants are up. To prevent evaporation, by a square of glass (lyer the pan after sowing the seeds, but remove it when the plants appear above the surface of the soil. lihubarb in the 011en quarters to have six inches of rotten dung heaped over the frown of each plant, fur it is im- pusslble to grow good crops without the aid of liheral dressings of manure. Rhubarb may he planted now, and old stools may be divided. Kitchen Crop* of eTery kin,1 required for spring sowing may be sown i!lvery small breadths, and with the exercise of jlHIgment as to the prospects of the weather. Warm sheltered situations should be selected. Cabbage occupying plots of ground which will be required shortly inr some other crop may be taken up and laid in by the heels in some out-of-the-way place till wanted for the kitchen. This remark applies of course only to cabbages of a size fit for table, and that would probably be cut for the kitehcn during February and the early part of March store plants for planting out in spring mnst be let alone for the present. If any likelihood of requiring early snpplies of summer cabbage, sow now a few of the earlj hearting kinds in boxes 01' pans, and start in a gentle heat. At the end of February these will have to be pricked out into a sheltered be1 out of doors, or, better 8till, into a bed over which a frame can be placed for a few weeks, to help them un and protect fronI frost. Cauliilou-evs.—Sow in pans or shaHow boxes, and treat as advised for cabbage, remembering that these are more fonder in constitution, and will require a little more nursing. Lettlla.-Sow a pinch both of CaDbage and Cos varieties in boxes, as advisell for cablJage and cauliflower. Peas and Beans pushing through the ground need some pro- teetiun buth against frost and vermin. If the weather is mild and open, sprinkle them slightly with soot, or plentifully with wood-ashes. This will keep oft slugs and snails, which, if they wake at all now, are sure to search out the peas and beans. If the weather is cold, and likely to be severe, strew over them any light, dry, warm material that may he handy, such as chutr, waste hay, or even dry tine earth. In places exposed to the wind, branches of spruce thrust in aslant so as to overhang the rows will be of considerable service, and may save many a prou1Ísing piece of plant from destruction. Potatoes of early kinds that have made short, hard, purple sprouts llIay be at once planted in a frame or pit for securing an early crop. To force potatoes it is only necessary to have I; gentle bottom-heat from a large mass of fermenting material, such as newly-gathered leaves, a bed of light rich earth contalllllJg a good proportion (If leaf-mould alld charred rubbish, and some old frames Rnd lights. Of course they must neyer be exposed to frost or excessive wet, and,.as SOOlIllS the season is sufficiently advanced, they must have as much light amI air as can be given with safety. It is most important to protect the roots from the steam of fer- menting dUJlg, aud fur that reason leaves are preferable, besides beilJ¡;( more steady and retauung their heat for a con- siderable period. FLOWER GARDEN. Pœn8be8 for exhibition will have to be repotted shortly, and it will be well to prepare for the operation by providing a suitable compost. The Pansy never thrives in a heavy soil; in all the pLaces where they master thIS flower they use a sandy loam, to. which is added a good proportion of leaf-mould and some thoroughly-decayed hothed manure. Let the mixtnre lay up for some time beíore using, as its qua t- ties will thereby hecome blended. As a recipe for It compost for pot Pansies may be useful to beginners, we advise that it consist ùf light hazel loam two parts, decayed turf lrom pasture-land or very sweet leaf-mould one part, two-year- old cucumber-bed manure one part, sharp saud one part. TtÛip8 pushing through will need some protection to pre- vent injury by frost. Light soil heaped in cones over the plants will suffice better still, cones of cocoa-fibre refuse. Puses to he planted as soon as possible. In light soils standards will thrive better if some clay is dug in with the manure. Roses on their. own roots necd It lighter soil than briars. Roses will never thrive unless the ground is effectu- aUy drained, deeply stirred, and liberally manured. Dahliat may be started in a gentle heat for cuttings. The simlJlest way is to lay the tubers on the wil over a tank in a propagating house, or on It bed of warm hops or dung, and when the shoots are two inches 10nK take them off and strike them. HolhihocTtx in cutting pots to have- a shift to 43-sized POti, and the soil to be chlefiy loam. Keep them in the green- house or warm pit for a week after shifting, then they may go to a cold frame. Strong plants in pots may be planted out. Herbaceous Calceolarias are one of the most gorgeous of all the herbaceous plants we possess for the decomtion of the conservatory amI greenhouse during summer, and to do justice to them they should never be put out in the open air. Plants in stole pots to be shifted, and the compost to be chiefly turfy loam, with not more than a fourth part of peat ami leaf-mould added. EqJe1"Íeuce hM taught us that a firm soil containing plenty of fibre causes them to throw finer trusses, and be less subject to red-spider, than when peat is largely used. lt is a good precaution against the possibility of damping at the collar to use a very sandy mix- ture at the top of the pots, about an ingh in depth. Annuaù to be sown in plenty for early bloom. There are a few choice kinds which should be grown to bloom in large paus or in pots for the drawing-room, such aSXemo- phila in8ignis, Fenzlia dianthlflora, Iberis kermesina, Gypso- phylla lJlurali8, Silene armeria, Mignonette, &c" itc. Sow also in beds awl borders any of the Californian kinds. HaLf- hardy annuals should be sown now in heat, such as Thun. bergia, Soliizanthus, Phlox Drummoudi, Balsams, Datura Wrighti, Eccremocarpus scaber, Ten-week Stock, Cockscomb, Celosia pyramidalis. It is a waste of seed and labour to sow Asters at this early season. Evergreen Shrubs should not be transplanted or in any way disturbed for a few weeks hence. After December we prefer not to move them till between March and May, as the ground is now 80 cold that they cannot make nelv roots in it. Layering of hardy shrubs may be practised now for in- crease of stock, and to furnish the lower parts of specimens on lawns in cases where they have become unsightly through the loss of wood at the bottoir. The operation is a very simple one. Draw down a suitable branch and peg it to the ground, to mark where the tongue should he cut. Then enter the knife on the under side and make an incision half throngh the wood, and turn the knife towards the top of the shoot, Illld cut a slit an inch or an inch and a half long. Re- move It little of the soil, and peg the hranch down with a bit of tile or pebble inserted in the cut to keep the tongue open, and peg it down firm, and cover the tongue with an inch ur two of soil. If the cut closes, it will probably heal; if the cut rem<1.ins open, it will in the course of the summer emit roots, and may either be left to throw up new growth to in- crease the balk of the specimen, or be removed to form an independeut plant. FRUIT GARDEN AND FORCING AND ORCHARD HOUSES. Cherries in the forcing house must be managed with grea care, or the flower-buds will fall wholesale. Keep a genial and regular temperature of about 45 degs., letting it down to 40 dcgs. at uight, and after they haye made a start raise the heat to 55 degs., which will suit them admira1.Jly for flowering. Let the atmosphere be rather moist at first, but drier when the flowers begin to open. Strawberries require as much air and sun as possible as soon as the fruit begins to colour. t-se no more heat than needful to keep tliem in free healthy growth, or the crop wíl1 be worthless thIS fruit cannot, in fact, be hurried. Usually a bottom-lieat of 75 degs. is advised, but from long observa- tion we have hecome convinced that 65 degs. is far better, becau; e we not only want fruit, but we waut it with colour and flavour, which we caunot have with hard forcing. A plunge-bed of G5 degs., and the air of the house 5) degs. to 60 degs., the latter of course with sun-heat, will be suitable temperatures. Feed them well with liquid manure alter the first few fruits are set; but beware of making them tOQ wet at the root, which will be injurious. Peaches and other trees in 1Iower may be greatly helped hy shaking the trellis, or whisking a light hrush ove. tlipni, to disperse the pollen. Any rough play with the trees wIll do more harm than good, but. any slight agitation, such as a stiff breeze on a sunny day would produce, wíl1 assIst mate- rially in setting the fruit. Vines not yet pruned must be pruned without delay, or the usual result of late pruning-that is to say, bleedillg- will follow, and this will injure the vines immensely. Vines started will require care during changeable weather to pre- vent injury to the young leave8by frost or fire, and especially to guard against too high a night temperature. All shoots not required for wood, and on which no fruit appears at the proper time, to he removed as soon as possible and in cases where fruitful shoots are much crowded some must be re- moved—as, for example, it is not well to allow two shoots at one joint, or a cluster of shoots where there is a bend in the leader, as it is quite common for extravagant growths to take place at such points. Fruit-trees will soon be OIl the move, and every delay now in planting and pruning will be injurious. Let any arrears of this work take precedence of every other. Wall Tree" may now be pruned and nailed in. Use shreds as small as possible, and prepare the nails by making them rect-hJt and throwing them into oil. GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. Greenhouse must have ventilation, or mildew and damping will prevail, an dmany plants pushing their flowers will cast them unopened. But to give air there must be gentle fire, so for the next few weeks keep the fire going steadily whether the tpmperature he mild or severe in the case of mild weather give plenty of air, and have a look round to see if any plants are suffering bv want of water. lie careful not to maintain too high a night temperature, as that Is most mischievous, and is the common failing everywhere, espe- cially in small gardens.

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