frame or pit, near the glass, and, when the pots fill with roots, shifted to larger. These may, in the course of the winter, be forward enough to occupy sixteen-sized pots, and bring early bloom in the spring as fine as in the open ground.

Roses.-Look well after suckers from the roots, and side branches from the stocks, of all the standards and worked varieties; examine them strictly, that no growth of the stock may escape notice. As the heads are heavy, and the wind has great power, look well to the fastenings and the soundness of the stakes, that they may be sufficient to get through the winter; if the branches have grown very long, it will be as well to shorten them.

Seedlings. Plants of this description, no matter of what kind, not yet disposed of, may be planted out if hardy, and potted off if tender.

Stocks. If you are desirous of, and particular in, saving seed, continue to remove every bit of growth, except the swelling of the first few pods that set.

Tender Plants.-All the kinds of plants in beds and borders that will not stand the winter out of doors, and are required to be preserved, should be taken up and potted, and headed in, to be kept through the winter under cover; the cuttings taken off may be struck for next year's stock. Fuchsias require a good deal of cutting down; Verbenas want cutting in. You can hardly have too large a stock of all bedding-out plants, so that you should make all the plants you can of the cuttings. All the plants that can be spared should be left where they are untouched, because they will continue to give flowers till the frost cuts them off, and that may be protracted for three months to come, though it is not safe to leave any that are wanted after the middle of this month.

Tulips. Examine those in the boxes at your leisure,

that you may correct all that are wrong; refer to your book in which you have made your remarks on the bloom of last year; take out the condemned bulbs, and replace them with others better adapted for their places. Let the bedif not already done—be dug out by the middle of the month, and the stuff be turned over a few times, to sweeten it, unless you are preparing new; the bed ought to be turned out two feet six inches deep, and with three feet of good soil it will be six inches above the ordinary surface. New loam from rotten turves is the best possible soil for the Tulip; it is the same as two-thirds plain loam and onethird of leaf mould.

Violets. If you have any that you are desirous of forcing, you may with safety pot them up for that purpose, any time during the present month.

OCTOBER.

Alpines. Any of these plants in pots should be plunged in a bed of sand or coal ashes, to protect their roots from severe frosts. The situation chosen for them should be moderately sheltered, and where they can be covered up to protect them from heavy rains; but, except in very severe weather, they require little other shelter, and this is best afforded by a covering of such open material as dried fern or pea-haulm, which does not impede the free circulation of air, while it protects them sufficiently from excessive frost.

Alterations. Any contemplated improvements should now be commenced in dry weather, and if there be rain come on, so as to make the ground clammy, work it no longer, for you will do more harm than good. Form your

paths, clumps, or borders with a line and pegs, or, if you design any particular shape that is not to be marked out by geometrical rules, lay a line along the ground about the form you want, and adjust it by pegging it inside and outside, according as you want to send it one way or the other. Dig the clumps two spits deep; when, if you find the bottom good, turn it to the top; if bad, merely loosen it and leave it at the bottom. If you are going to lay out a garden, begin by digging, trenching, and levelling before you mark a road or path, and then form these by laying a line down on one side, and adjusting it to the exact sweep you require. If you intend the edging or verge to be turf, lay down the turf carefully, with the best edge to the path side, that the line may be kept perfect; then, with the help of a rod the length that is intended for the width of your road or path, lay the turf on the other side, so that the smooth line is kept, and the width preserved uniform all the way. Next form the shape of your clumps, by first putting down pegs nearly to your mind, and then laying down turves with the best edge inwards, so as to mark the exact form you require. These being marked out, all the surface has to be covered close with turves, or, if on too large a scale for that, levelled with the verges already down, and sown with grass seeds, and rolled all over. The general planting must be left till November, for choice, because many evergreens have not completed their growth; and in fine weather planting is good from now until February, or even March, though much better in November than any month in the year.

Anemones. These are planted at two different seasons -October or November, and February or March. The coarser sorts are planted in autumn, and the more delicate are inserted in the spring. They thrive best in loam from rotted turves, which, of course, contain nearly one-third of

vegetable mould. The loam, however, should be clean and friable, of the sort usually found in good rich pastures. The tubers should be planted from two inches and a half to three inches deep, and the earth pressed solidly upon them. Very strong tubers should be nine inches apart every way, in beds not more than four feet wide, that they may be reached; therefore, five rows will go well in a bed. These must be protected during frosts, if double, but the single kinds may take their chance.

Annuals. The tender kinds have no business in the open ground, except those which, if the weather has been mild, will be still blooming; such as the last sowings of Asters, Balsams, Indian Pinks, Marigolds, and Stocks. The hardy sorts may be sown now. Whether they come up and stand the whole winter, or in two or three months hence, they will precede the spring-sown ones a month or more. But it is not every annual called hardy that is hardy; nor will every one called tender be found so. If flower-borders are left and not disturbed, it will be found that many of the seeds dropped from the plants will germinate, and that the plants will be so much stronger than those sown by hand; some, however, are so short a time coming into bloom, that they would be too forward to stand the winter.

Balsams. Gathering the seed is almost the only thing left to do with these plants, because they have passed their beauty; and if the seed be not wanted, they may be turned out of the pots, beds, or borders, as soon as their bloom falls.

Beds and Borders.-Clear off all decayed plants, cut down the stems of flowering plants that have done blooming, remove weeds wherever they appear, and leave everything clean and tidy, that they may require little else until the herbaceous plants and bulbs appear above ground in the spring.

Biennials and Perennials.-The former may be planted where they are to remain, but the borders should be loosened and the clumps well forked, to clean them and to get them ready to receive the plants. Any of the latter not parted last month may be divided now. Seedlings also, if not planted out before, may be got in now. Most of the subjects want a foot of room.

Carnations and Picotees.-These ought to be all potted off, and in their winter frames; they must not have much water, but in dry weather let the glasses be taken off, and the plants have all the air. Of course, any that are not potted off should be attended to directly; and if you have more than you can pot off, plant them in beds a foot apart every way, and choose a high and dry part of the garden, as they are easily destroyed by damp.

Chrysanthemums.-The potted plants should be now taken into the house, or placed in pits, if they are not already secured. If the blooms show, or rather the buds, and the plants are in the least cramped for pot room, you may shift them into pots one size larger, because they will not grow much higher, and the new life which will be imparted to them will be thrown into the size of the blooms; but if the buds do not show, continue them in the same pots. They should have all the air that can be given on mild days. The plants in the open border may require support, especially if they have not been shortened; one stake and a band of bass matting will be sufficient, placing the stake at the back.

Climbing Plants. Clematis, Honeysuckle, Pyrus japonica, Roses, and other plants used to cover arbours, fronts of houses, walls, etc., should now be regulated, all the waste and straggling growth cut back, and the loose branches intended to be saved nailed in their proper places. The fastenings of the main branches should be looked to,

F