for a month at any rate. The three months in the winter can scarcely be calculated upon. They may be frosty, and you know what to do in that case. It may be wet, it may be fine, but the months are as likely to be one as the other. November may be frosty, December mild and fine, and January wet, or the weather may be reversed. All we can do under the circumstances is to take a cursory glance at the various departments, and give such hints as may turn out failures, or partially so, and our readers must take them for what they are worth. For instance, we may say, "Cover against frost," and there may be none; but it must be remembered that the most severe occasionally succeeds warm fine days. We may say, "Provide for fine weather," and it may be bad; or, "Look out for bad weather," and it may turn out exceedingly fine; still, we are not exactly to know to a day what the weather may turn out, and therefore, if we tell you to do a certain thing at a certain time and the weather prevents you, do it as soon as you can afterwards.

Small Salads.-These, of every description, may be sown and raised in hot-beds this month, or if you prefer it, and are in no immediate want of a succession, you may defer the work till next month.

Stocks. The seed of these may be sown at any time, and, with protection, can be had in bloom from February to October. They may be sown now, to be kept in cold frames through the winter, and treated as follows:-Take a pan, sow the seed thinly and evenly all over the surface, cover them lightly, and set them in a hot-bed to germinate. As soon as they are large enough, prick them out into other pans, not more than an inch apart, and continue growing them in heat until they are an inch and a half high, when they may have a shift. They should then be potted off, three in a forty-eight-sized pot, either for flowering or planting in the beds and borders.

CHAPTER IV.

TOOLS.

THE KINDS REQUIRED, WITH FULL INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THEM.

The Spade is an implement employed for digging and trenching; the former operation being the act of thrusting this tool into the ground as far as it will go, by pressing the iron blade with the left foot, and when the earth is lifted, by a twist of the right hand, turning it upside down. The latter operation is accomplished by first digging a row of spadefuls all along one end or side of the piece of land to be trenched, and removing the earth taken up, to the other end, then digging out a second row, which should be placed with the first. You will then be able to place the second top spits, or spadefuls, at the bottom of the ditch, if we may so term it, and the bottom spadefuls on the top of them, by which means the bottom soil is brought to the surface, and that which was the top put at the bottom. When you have completed the work, fill the last opening with the earth taken out of the first, and it will be ready for cropping.

The Rake is a tool used for levelling newly turned up ground, burying seeds, removing rubbish, and the like, by a series of backwards and forward movements, and should

be done with a very light hand, otherwise the operator will do more harm than good.

The Hoe is of essential service for clearing away weeds, thinning the various crops, loosening the surface of the soil, drawing drills, earthing up, etc. It should be handled somewhat like a chopper, but not with any great force, bringing it towards you at each blow given, in a slanting position. Of this implement there should be at least two sizes-one with a long handle, for weeding, removing rubbish, and drawing drills, etc.; and a short-handled, small bladed one, for thinning crops.

The Dutch Hoe is requisite for loosening the surface soil, and also for cutting up weeds. This should be pushed before you at a depth of from two to three inches, so as to cut up and divide anything in the shape of wild plants, or such things as you are desirous of removing from the various beds and borders.

The Trowel will be found very useful in transplanting, as by the aid of this tool you will be able to remove small plants from one place to another without injuring their tender fibres; it will also be found very convenient for lifting small quantities of soil, when it is necessary to place a little fresh compost of any kind round about a particular plant.

The Spud is in form not unlike a chisel, with a long handle, and is very convenient for cutting up Docks and other deeply rooted weeds, removing suckers round fruit trees, and other things which cannot be reached by the hoe.

The Barrow is useful beyond description, for the removal of manure, litter, and so forth for the purpose of protection against frost, and a host of other things too numerous to mention, which cannot well be moved about by hand.

The Hand or Rubbish Basket is second to the

barrow, and answers a similar purpose on a small scale; that is to say, it will be found very convenient for collecting stones, leaves, and other objectionable matter that you may come across when sowing, or raking the beds and borders previous to and after planting.

The Shears are necessary adjuncts to every department of the garden, namely, for clipping Grass verges, regulating Quick and other edgings, and, in fact, for every purpose where the knife cannot be used without waste of time.

The Pruning-Knife, as its name indicates, is used for the purpose of regulating and keeping in order fruit and other trees and bushes, so that we can ensure a healthy and prolific return for the labour bestowed upon their management.

The Small Saw is frequently needed in grafting, where the stocks are of a description too tough for the pruning-knife-the surface being afterwards carefully

smoothed with the latter instrument.

The Large Saw is required for the lopping of trees and branches which are too large for the small saw and the knife.

The Pick-Axe is a very useful tool for more purposes than one. In turning gravel walks, for instance, you cannot do very well without it; then, again, in removing heaps of stones or firmly imbedded rubbish, you will find it essential, for until the mass is loosened a bit, you will be unable to thrust the shovel into it; and as these operations must be performed from time to time, the easier they can be accomplished the better.

The Budding-Knife is used for budding, grafting, etc., and is positively indispensable in every well-regulated establishment. Its particular work could not well be performed with the ordinary garden knife, and should therefore never be attempted.

The Watering-Pot, of which you should have several sizes, is a positive necessity, for the purpose of giving moisture to plants both in and out of doors, and for want of which they would suffer very considerably in dry and hot weather. For indoor work a small one, with a three-feet spout and fine rose, will be found convenient, because you can reach plants on a back shelf; but for outdoor purposes a large one, with a short spout and rose, will answer every purpose.

The Line, as it is called, is necessary for drawing drills by, perfectly straight; for which purpose it must be stretched as tightly as possible. Then take the hoe, and with the corner of that implement draw the drill by the side of the line, when you will have a drill deep or shallow, according to the pressure you put upon it. It is also useful for planting straight rows of anything, and for cutting the edges of lawns and the like nice and even.

The Dibble, of which there are two sizes, is a tool we could not possibly dispense with. The small one, with a short spade handle, is useful for planting Cabbages, Lettuces, Stocks, and other plants. A special form of dibble, with a full-length spade handle, and a blade of iron projecting from the side, is employed for Potato planting, as by thrusting it down with your foot as far as the projecting iron will allow every hole made will be of a uniform depth.

The Turf-Cutter is an implement not unlike a cheese-cutter, with this difference, that it has a spade-like handle, for the convenience of using it without stooping. It will be found immensely handy in a garden where there is any Grass, for paring the edges of the lawn, and cutting turves for the purpose of repairs, etc.

The Garden Roller is likewise needed for keeping the surface of gravel walks nice and smooth, and rolling lawns; both of which should be frequently done in damp