==In managing Temperature==, there should be no violent alternations of heat and cold, for these bring speedy disaster; and, it is unwise to employ more heat than is actually necessary.  Deviations from this rule are generally traceable to neglect.  If the proper season for sowing seed of some important flower has been allowed to pass, an attempt is made to compensate for lost time by hurrying the growth in a forcing temperature.  Every needless degree of heat will be harmful, and result in attenuated growth, poverty of colour, or in the attack of some insect plague which the weakly plant seldom invites in vain.  It is wise always to employ the lowest temperature in which plants will flourish.  This necessitates the proper time for their full development, and will result in a sturdy growth capable of yielding a bountiful display of bloom.  Occasionally it is requisite to force some special subject, such as bulbs for Christmas festivities.  Even then it is advisable to augment the temperature very gradually, and to defer the employment of its highest power until the latest possible moment.

Plants are frequently taken straight from the forcing pit into a cold room, to their utter ruin.  A moment’s reflection will show the folly of such a proceeding.  They should be prepared for the change by gradual transfer through lower temperatures; and if only a few hours are occupied in the process it will help them to pass the ordeal with less injury.

It should be an established custom to examine the seed-pans at least once every day, and morning is the best time for the task.  If work has to be done, there is the whole day to arrange for its accomplishment.  Whereas, if the visit is not made until evening, there may not remain sufficient daylight to do what is necessary.  Just as seedlings are starting, a few hours’ neglect will render them weak and leggy.

When transferring plants from seed-pans, it is usual to put them round the edges of pots.  This is no mere caprice, but is founded on the well-ascertained fact that seedlings establish their roots with greater readiness near the edge of the pot than away from it.

In the following monthly notes, our principal object is to offer a series of reminders which will insure the sowing of various flower seeds and the planting of bulbs at their proper periods, and thus save the disappointment of losing some important display for a whole season.  Those who have command of large resources will sow certain seeds a month earlier than we recommend, and their intimate knowledge and abundant facilities justify their practice.  But we have especially in view the possibilities for an amateur, and of gardens moderate in extent, where appliances may not be of the most perfect kind.

When seeds are once sown or bulbs potted, the work is before the cultivator, and appeals mutely for attention.  Therefore it is not our purpose to give detailed and continuous instructions month by month for every flower.  Our remarks are limited to hints at the time for sowing or planting, and to some few points which may subsequently appear to demand notice.