J. Coleman: ‘The Sheep and Pigs of Great Britain; being a series of articles on the various breeds of sheep and pigs of the United Kingdom, their history, management, &c.’ London. 18s.
I. E. B. C.: ‘The Farm.’ London. 5s.
I. E. B. C.: ‘The Stable.’ London, 5s.
[THE GARDEN.]
Gardeners’ Calendar.
January.—Wheel out manure, trench and make ground for crops, mend fences, clean the stems of fruit-trees, do rough pruning and felling, and complete all arrears in winter work, as weather may permit. Every effort should be made to lay up as much land in the rough as possible; the more it is frozen through, the greater will be its fertility. In hard frost, wheel out manure; in rain, clear up all rubbish and let it smoulder in a heap, using the ashes as manure. Make ready for sowing peas, beans, cabbages, lettuce, silver-skin onions, radishes, carrots, and spinach in warm borders or frames. Protect artichokes. Manure asparagus beds without digging. Sow beans in rich deeply-dug ground in the open in the last week. Plant out cabbages. Sow cauliflower in frames for putting out in March-April. Plant crowns of horseradish 15 in. deep in dunged trenches. Sow peas in wooden or old zinc troughs in frames, and put out in the last week. Sow mustard and cress (separate) in pans or boxes in frames. Cover seakale with pots or plenty of litter.
Lawns should be well rolled after wet weather, and kept clear of rubbish. Walks should be re-gravelled and rolled, and the edgings kept level and regular. In favourable weather all empty borders may be manured and deeply dug, leaving them as rough as possible on the surface, so that the soil may be acted on by frost. Rose-beds should receive a heavy dressing of a mixture of pig-dung and horse-dung, lightly forked in during dry open weather; and see that the plants have the necessary protection. Planting may still be done when the soil is dry, but November is the best time for planting roses. Standard roses must be well secured to stakes. After severe frost, carnations, pinks, wallflowers, alyssum, arabis, pansies, and other spring flowering-plants should be examined; if heaved or loosened, the soil when dry should be made firm round them. Hyacinths, tulips, and kindred flowers will be benefited by a mulching of old mushroom-dung or leaf-soil, and must be protected from heavy rain. If slugs are troublesome, occasional dustings with soot and dry wood-ashes will keep them in check; but hand-picking, resorted to early on mild mornings, is the best remedy. Examine crocuses frequently to see if they are discovered by mice. Keep conifers and evergreen shrubs free from snow, to prevent them from being broken or disfigured by its weight; and prune any deciduous trees and shrubs that may require it. Choice trees, shrubs, and any herbaceous plants that were set out in autumn or early winter should have their roots protected from frost by a mulching of fern or litter. Keep shrubberies free from fallen leaves and weeds; but digging amongst shrubs cannot be too severely condemned, for many of the fibrous feeders must be destroyed, and the plants injured in consequence. About the middle or end of the month place stock bedding plants (ageratums, alyssa, heliotropes, lobelias, verbenas) in moist heat, when they will readily furnish cuttings, which can be propagated in a hotbed of leaves and dung if no house is available. Calceolarias and pelargoniums must be kept cool and dry by ventilation, and decayed leaves should be picked off. Dahlia roots should have rotten portions removed with a sharp knife. Sow lobelias early in heat, and prepare to sow all subtropical plants. Get ready for potting pelargoniums.