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fine soil, then the whole surface should be well trodden, and 

 smoothed with the back of a rake. The young onions should be 

 thinned to a distance of 3 inches when large enough to pull, and 

 the seedlings thus removed may be transplanted, if desired. Later 

 on a second thinning will be necessary, when every second plant 

 should be pulled, leaving a distance of 6 inches between the plants 

 in the drills. 



Even to keep down weeds, deep hoeing is not advisable, as the 

 ground must be kept solid, but the soil between the drills should 

 be lightly hoed occasionally. 



When the bulbs have attained their full size, the leaves are bent 

 down at the neck of the bulb by the back of a wooden rake. This 

 checks the flow of sap and causes the leaves to decay, and the 

 bulbs to ripen more quickly. When the leaves wither, the onions 

 are taken up and left lying for 3 or 4 days to dry in the sun, with 

 an occasional turning over; they are then fit for market. 



PARSLEY. 



Parsley likes a good but not too rich soil, in a somewhat shady 

 situation. The seed should be sown in drills 1 foot apart, and 

 covered with fine mould to the depth of half an inch. The seed 

 germinates very slowly, often taking several weeks, and the drills 

 should be frequently watered till the young plants are well above 

 the ground. 



Qiianti:y of seed. — Half an ounce will sow a drill one chain in 

 length. 



Varieties. Carter's Fertted-Ieaved, price 1/6 per ounce. Carter's 

 Perpetual, price 1/ per packet. Champion Moss-Curled, price 1/ per 

 ounce, Covent Garden Garnishing, price gd. per ounce. Double Curled, 

 price 4d. per ounce, Henderson's Emerald, price 10 cents per ounce. 



PEAS. (English) 



Sow from beginning of September to beginning of March, once 

 a fortnight, or once a month, to have peas for market from No- 

 vember to May. 



Soil. — A good friable loam, in which there is plenty of lime, is 

 the best for peas. The soil should be dug to a good depth, and 

 left rather rough so that the rain water may not run off it, but pass 

 through the soil. 



Manure. — Well-rotted stable manure should be applied in greater 

 or less quantity according as the soil is more or less poor, and it 

 should be dug in about a foot below the surface. 



The ground having been prepared, the first thing to be done is 

 to mark the distances for the rows, and this will depend on the 

 heights of the varieties selected. Tall growing varieties require 

 to be planted not less than 7 or 8 feet apart, and in England they 

 are often planted at twice or thrice that distance apart, and other 

 low growing crops, such as turnips, etc., planted between the rows, 

 it having been abundantly proved that the further the rows are 

 placed apart, the better the yield and produce. As a rule, however, 

 the distance between the rows may be about the same as the 

 height to which the varieties usually grow. 



