Nothing has more discouraged the cultivation of flowers than the supposed difficulty of preserving them in winter; and as this apparently formidable obstacle disappears as the amateur acquires experience, I shall endeavor to detail some of the methods I have employed, and their successful results. Of course, my remarks are intended for those who garden on a small scale, and who have not greenhouses for winter protection. At the same time, the principles of the treatment about to be described will apply to the largest collections, and may be of service to all whose object is to secure the beauties of the spring and summer from the desolations of winter.

Those whose stock of flowers consists of a few greenhouse plants, which they have cultivated in windows, have a very easy task to perform in protecting their favourites, as far as frost is concerned; for a very small amount of care will suffice when the plants are in a dwelling-house. The temperature of an occupied sitting-room will always be sufficiently high to keep out the frost in the day time, even if the plants are close to the light, and they may easily be removed in the evening to that side of the apartment which is furthest from the window. If the the amateur has a large number of plants (young Pelargoniums, for instance) arranged on shelves close to the window, to remove these would be troublesome, and they may therefore be allowed to remain in their places in ordinary frosty weather, the precaution being taken to interpose the blind between them and the window. I once preserved 200 plants in good health through a severe season, in a room having only one large window, which admitted a good deal of sun. Some of the pots (which were all small 60's) were placed on narrow shelves, ascending to the top of the window, and as near the glass as possible; the others were set on a table.

An Arnott stove was lit when required either by very damp or very cold weather; air was given as often as possible; the whole collection was often moved, that light might bo equally dispensed, and advantage was taken of mild rains. I succeeded in preserving the whole, without any sickly growth being developed, and was rewarded by having an abundance of strong plants for bedding out in the spring. Most of these were Pelargoniums.

Many plants may be more summarily dealt with. Cactuses and Scarlet Pelargoniums will do well in any dry cellar, provided no water is given them. The latter, when taken up from the flower-garden, I have preserved by shaking off the soil, and hanging them, root upwards, in a shed or coach-housse, from which frost could be excluded. In the srping they were found in full possession of their vital powers, and on being trimmed and potted, mode handsome plants. In all the cases to which I have alluded, it will be seen that care and forethought are the requisites demanded of the amateur. Attention must not be remitted for a day. I have always found that more plants are lost in the winter by damp than by frost. Much water, therefore, must not be given; indeed it should be altogether withheld so long as the plants do not flag. A plant in a moist growing state will yield easily to frost; while, if it had been kept dry and dormant, its powers of resistance would have been great.

But no plan of preserving plants from frost, independent of a greenhouse, is equal to a well-regulated pit or frame in the open air. I hare tried this in various ways and always found it succeed, if properly attended to. At the present time, all my plants intended to be put into the borders next year, or brought into the house, are in a large two-light frame, the management of which I will endeavor to describe. The frame stands about two feet from the ground, sheltered by a south wall, on an exhausted hot-bod, on which Cucumbers were growing in the spring. The mould of this bed having been kept from rain in the early autumn, at the close of October the pots were sunk into it up to the rims. A double light was then put on, by which wet and frost are more effectually excluded, and in the following December the soil around the pots was quite dry. Around the frame long stable dung is piled up about eighteen inches in width, and level with the top. Over the whole an old carpet is thrown when necessary; and I have no apprehension that I shall lose anything if dampness does not defeat my efforts. Every day when it is not frosty, air must be freely admitted, and dead or mildewed leaves must be carefully removed.

When frost sets in, two or three extra mats may be laid on, and the whole kept on till a thaw takes place. On no account remove the coverings until at least a day after the frost is gone. This is a very important rule, for the admission of light may be fatal if any of the leaves should be frozen. When plants are found frozen in windows, etc., let them thaw in a dark cellar, and they will often sustain no injury. In this way I have preserved Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, Verbenas, Hydrangeas, etc.; and the freshness of the whole collection after the winter has passed away has always been encouraging. Ordinary greenhouse plants may therefore be preserved by every one during the hardest winter.