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Farm and Garden Operations for December.

In Europe June. Average temperature

Auckland 66.8, Wellington 61.5, Christchurch 60.8, Dunedin 56.4.

Farm.—This is the haymaking month, with fine, clear, warm weather; but if the weather is unsettled leave it for a time, far better standing than cut down. Mould up potatoes after flat hoeing, also maize. Carrots, hoe and thin. Mangolds—hoe, thin, and transplant. Swedish turnips, hoe and thin. Drumhead cabbage, plant out; hoe those planted last month; mould up; give plenty of room. Joseph May concludes his farming operations with the following:—Never stock pastures in spring, until genial showers have warmed the earth. Never allow the grasses to run to seed, nor any part of a field to be eaten bare, leaving other parts to get rank and coarse. Spread the Droppings; remove stagnant water and tall weeds. In moving stock from field to field, let the change be to better fare, never to worse. Never allow stock to remain long in one field; shift them often. Colonial-grown seeds are better than british. Keep good cats about your place. Plant a few fruit trees every year, procured from a practical nurseryman.

Kitchen Garden.—Plant-out brussels sprouts, savoys, broccoli, on very rich ground; early white cape to begin with, dilcock's bride, and mammoth, walcheren, cauliflower, and late london. Plant-out celery and leeks; choose showery weather for Wanting. Two more sowings of tall late peas this month; manure and water before sowing if ground is Dry. Another sowing of cabbage, cauliflower, round spinach, radish, lettuce, and small salading, Drumhead savoy; earth-up main crop potatoes; thin out advancing crops of carrots, turnips, red beet, and cabbage lettuce; sow early horn carrots and onions for Drawing young in autumn; train and stop tomatoes, pumpkins, pie-melons, and cucumbers.

Fruit Garden.—Cherries require looking over; pick fruit as it ripens; pears and plums, also thin fruit where necessary, also peaches and nectarines; when two are together, pick one off. All trees bearing a heavy crop of fruit, water with manure water; pinch tops off young shoots of figs; it hastens second crop.

Flower Garden.—Plant-out tender annuals, as well as stock of bedding-plants; finish planting dahlias, put stakes down, then give leach a good watering; rake ground between plants; hoe and rake gravel walks, mow lawns, pare edges, prune or clip hedges; camellias and azalias well Drenched with water once a week; put in cuttings of pinks, carnations, pansies, and stocks, for flowering next spring; also, antirrhinums, penstemons, phloxes, and japan pinks.

Greenhouse.—Most kinds of hard-wooded plants done flowering plunge in shady situation out of doors. Give liquid manure to fast-growing plants, as balsams, cockscombs, and fuchsias; remove plants done flowering to shady place out of doors. Chinese primroses for autumn and winter decoration. Put cuttings chrysanthemums in small pots; make fine plants for flowering in autumn and winter; heaths give another shift; stop all luxuriant shoots in time; regulate and tie up creepers and twiners growing fast.