where these vermin are suffered to carry on their work unmolested, the plants take a long time to recover the effects of their depredations. Pick off all dead leaves; never permit the soil to get dry, nor suffer them to become

too wet.

Rhubarb and Sea Kale.-These may be forced in precisely the same manner as advised for Asparagus.

Routine. The frame or frames should be kept very clean at all times. They-the old ones, of course-must be occasionally swept out, and the inside of the lights. properly cleansed. All dead leaves should be removed daily from the bottom, and where there are shelves so placed as to bring some of the plants near the glass, they must be cleared also. It is as essential to keep the flooring dry, as it is to dry the shelves, for the damp will rise up to them and settle on the plants, unless you are very particular in this respect.

Small Salads of all Sorts.-These, as well as Radishes, Lettuces, and Onions, if required before their proper season, may be planted or sown now on a hot-bed, should you have one at liberty for that purpose.

Tulips. The directions given for the management of Hyacinths and Narcissus will equally apply to these, and as such there will be no necessity to repeat the advice.

Violets.-These in frames, whether planted in the soil or in pots, will require to be cleaned frequently; that is to say, many of the under leaves will decay from time to time, and these must be removed as soon as discovered. Some of these plants will be ready for forcing, and when a few are wanted every now and then, they will flower considerably earlier in the cold frame than if grown in the open ground.

FEBRUARY.

Asparagus. If you have a hot-bed ready there is yet time to force a few roots in the manner described last month. The roots for this purpose should be three years of age,. otherwise they will yield but middling crops and puny buds. Let the crop that is coming through, no matter what the weather may be, have plenty of light and as much air as the temperature will permit of, for otherwise the produce will be pale and unsightly. Finally, let the water that is given at any time be of the same temperature as the bed, and be supplied through a rose watering pot.

Auriculas.-About the latter end of the month make it a practice to stir the surface of the soil as low down as the fibres, but without injuring them, and throw out the earth thus loosened; then, having removed the lower leaves that are discoloured, if any, fill up the pots with a mixture of cow-dung, well rotted into mould, and sufficient silver sand to make it porous, to within half an inch of the edge of the pot. This is an operation that should be performed on a fine day only; and having given the plants a good watering through a rose, so as not to disturb the soil more than possible, shut up the frame immediately. From this time they must be shut up close whenever the weather is cold, and be shaded from sun for a day or two, after which you may tilt the lights, or remove them altogether in mild weather; even a gentle shower will do them no harm previous to their showing for bloom, provided it does not get into the hearts. Repot seedlings and offsets that require a shift, water moderately, and close the frame for a day or two after the operation. Seed may be sown the latter end of the month, in pots or boxes, and placed in the frame with the plants, where they

must on no account be permitted to get dry. A little damp moss may be placed in the top of the pots or boxes for the purpose of ensuring a regular moisture until the seed. germinates, when it should be removed and the young seedlings shaded from sun.

Carnations and Picotees.-These must be kept closely covered during frosty weather, but on mild days air may be given, with as little water as possible. Provided the weather is genial and dry, the lights may be taken off during the warmest portion of the day, but be put on again at night.

Cauliflowers.-Seed may be sown in pans or boxes to be placed in the cold frame, where they can have the same protection as that recommended for the plants last month. Provided the weather is at all mild, the lights may be tilted, or taken off the forward plants entirely; it is only in severe weather that they require covering up.

Cinerarias. These, being far more tender than Pansies and Pinks, will require to be kept as warm as covering can make them; consequently no air must be given them during cold and windy weather. The frame is not exactly the place for them, but, in the absence of a greenhouse, it is the next best accommodation that can be found. With care, however, they may be kept in pretty fair health, and in the spring, when they begin to grow, they will very soon recover from their present stunted appearance.

Cucumbers and Melons.-A temperature of from sixty-five to seventy degrees must be kept up for these, by re-lining the bed with fresh stable-dung as often as it declines. Whenever you find the shoots growing too rambling, prune them back a trifle, particularly if there is no appearance of fruit. In a word, take off the branches to within three or four joints from the starting point. Those that remain should then be laid on the surface of the bed

up quickly, and the frame Do not let the fruit on the

in the best direction to fill it be closed up warm at night. former, when swelling, exceed four in number; and as regards the latter, three to a vine will be plenty if fine fruit is required.

French Beans.-Give air to those in pots in a pretty forward condition, if you can do so without lowering the temperature too much, and place them near the glass as a preventive against their drawing up weakly, otherwise they will produce a very meagre crop.

Pansies and Pinks.-Any of these in store pots must have similar treatment to Carnations, but such as are intended for blooming in pots should be shifted at once into six-inch pots filled with a compost of two-thirds loam from rotted turf, and one-third cow-dung rotted into mould, with a little silver sand to make it porous, if necessary. In potting let them be neither higher nor lower in the soil than they were before. As soon as shifted, shut them up for a day or two in a frame to themselves, because they will require to be frequently watered, and this would not agree with those in the store pots; besides, the plants intended for blooming in their new pots will require more warmth than the others.

Polyanthuses and Primroses.-Very little water is necessary for these when grown in pots; not that we mean a little at a time, but that moisture is only occasionally necessary. Whenever you do water, however, the entire soil in the pot must be saturated; anything short of this leaves some of the root dry, and the plant suffers in consequence. Take off all yellow leaves, stir the surface of the soil, throwing out the loosened earth, and fill up with a little fresh. Water them to settle the compost, and shut them up for a day or two that they may become established. These being by no means tender, unless over-nursed, they may have all the air that can be given them in fine weather afterwards.

Rhubarb and Sea Kale.-These may still be forced in the same manner as advised for Asparagus last month, if you stand in need of a further supply.

Routine. As a rule, frames are intended for plants not quite hardy, and for hardy plants in pots. For it must be remembered that plants capable of standing an ordinary winter in the open ground very soon die if exposed to frost when in pots; that is to say, a frost that would not enter the ground an inch would be fatal through the side of a pot, because it would very soon reach the tender fibres that grow round the outside of the ball of earth. For this reason, then, never pot anything in frosty weather unless you intend either to plunge the pot, or keep it under cover.

Small Salads, Radishes, etc.-All the various kinds may be forced in the hot-bed, which cannot be better employed than in helping one to small crops of these things at a season when it is impossible to produce them without the aid of artificial heat.

MARCH.

Asparagus.-Beds devoted to this root require nothing further just now than fresh linings where the heat is declining, for if that is permitted to go down, the supply will become scarce in consequence.

Carnations and Picotees.-As the present time is the most suitable for shifting these things, you cannot do better than see to them at once; but, that you may not make a mistake, we will show you how to set about it. Take twelve-inch pots, and having put sufficient crocks-broken pots-to form a good drainage, fill them up high enough to rest the balls of earth containing the plants on. Rub off