246. Addresses of Pet.i.tions, &c.

i. _Queen in Council._--All applications to the Queen in Council, the Houses of Lords and Commons, &c., are by _Pet.i.tion_, as follows, varying only the t.i.tle:

To the Queen's most Excellent Majesty in Council, The humble Pet.i.tion of M.N., &c., showeth That your Pet.i.tioner.... Wherefore Your Pet.i.tioner humbly prays that Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to.... And Your Pet.i.tioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray.

ii. _Lords and Commons._--To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal (To the Honourable the Commons) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament a.s.sembled.

The humble Pet.i.tioner &c. And your Pet.i.tioner [or Pet.i.tioners] will ever pray, &c.

247. To those who Write for the Press.

It would be a great service to editors and printers if all who write for the press would observe the following rules. They are reasonable, and correspondents will regard them as such:

i. write with black ink, on white paper, wide ruled.

ii. Make the pages or folios small, one-fourth of a foolscap sheet is large enough.

iii. Leave the second page of each leaf blank; or, in other words, write on one side of the paper only.

iv. Give to the written page an ample margin _all round_; or fold down the left hand side to the extent of one-fourth the width of the entire paper so as to leave a broad margin on the left side of the paper.

v. Number the pages; in the order of their succession.

vi. Write in a plain, bold, legible hand, without regard to beauty of appearance.

vii. Use no abbreviations which are not to appear in print.

viii. Punctuate the ma.n.u.script as it should be printed.

ix. For italics underscore one line; for small capitals, two; capitals, three.

x. Never interline without the caret (^) to show its place.

xi. Take special pains with every letter in proper names.

xii. Review every word, to be sure that none is illegible.

xiii. Put directions to the printer at the head of the first page.

xiv. Never write a private letter to the editor on the printer's copy, but always on a separate sheet.

248. Hints to those who have Pianofortes.

i. Damp is very injurious to a pianoforte; it ought therefore to be placed in a dry place, and not exposed to draughts.

ii. Keep your piano free from dust, and do not allow needles, pins, or bread to be placed upon it, especially if the key-board is exposed, as such articles are apt to get inside and produce a jarring or whizzing sound.

iii. Do not load the top of a piano with books, music, &c., as the tone is thereby deadened, and the disagreeable noise alluded to in the last paragraph is often produced likewise.

iv. Have your piano tuned about every two months; whether it is used or not, the strain is always upon it, and if it is not kept up to concert pitch it will not stand in tune when required, which it will do if it be attended to regularly.

v. An upright instrument sounds better if placed about two inches from the wall.

vi. When not in use keep the piano locked.

vii. To make the polish look nice, rub it with an old silk handkerchief, being careful first of all to dust off any small particles, which otherwise are apt to scratch the surface.

viii. Should any of the notes keep down when struck, it is a sure sign that there is damp somewhere, which has caused the small note upon which the key works to swell.

249. Gardening Operations for the Year.

250. January.--Flowers of the Month.

Christmas Rose, Crocus, Winter Aconite, Alyssum, Primrose, Snowdrop.

251. Gardening Operations.

In-door preparations for future operations must be made, as in this month there are only five hours a day available for out-door work, unless the season be unusually mild. Mat over tulip beds, begin to force roses. Place pots over seakale and surround them with manure, litter, dried leaves, &c. Plant dried roots of border flowers in mild weather. Take strawberries in pots into the greenhouse. Take cuttings of chrysanthemums and strike them under gla.s.s. Prune and plant gooseberry, currant, fruit, and deciduous trees and shrubs. Cuc.u.mbers and melons to be sown in the hot-bed. Apply manures to the soil.

252. February.--Flowers of the Month.

Snowdrop, Violet, Alyssum, Primrose.

253. Gardening Operations.

Transplant pinks, carnations, sweet-williams, candy-tuft, campanulas, &c. Sow sweet and garden peas and lettuces, for succession of crops, covering the ground with straw, &c. Sow also Savoys, leeks, and cabbages. Prune and nail fruit trees, and towards the end of the month plant stocks for next year's grafting; also cuttings of poplar, elder, willow trees, for ornamental shrubbery. Sow fruit and forest tree seeds.

254. March.--Flowers of the Month.

Primrose, Narcissus, Hyacinth, Wallflower, Hepatica, Daisy, Polyanthus.

255. Gardening Operations.

Seeds of "spring flowers" to be sown. Border flowers to be planted out. Tender annuals to be potted out under gla.s.ses. Mushroom beds to be made. Sow artichokes, Windsor beans, and cauliflowers for autumn; lettuces and peas for succession of crops, onions, parsley, radishes, Savoys, asparagus, red and white cabbages, and beet; turnips, early brocoli, parsnips and carrots. Plant slips and parted roots of perennial herbs. Graft trees and protect early blossoms. Force rose-tree cuttings under gla.s.ses.

256. April.--Flowers of the Month.