THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



245 



the 1st of February ; about London 

 and the midland counties on the loth, 

 and in the north at the end of the 

 month. The soil for the seeds should 

 be fine and rich, say one shovelful of 

 rotten dung run through a riddle, one 

 shovelful of rotted turves or turfy 

 loam, chopped as small as hazel-nuts, 

 half a spade of charred sticks run 

 through a half-inch riddle, and a little 

 gritty stuff to keep it open and porous. 

 Fill a few pans with this mixture, 

 press it firm, sow on it thinly, and cover 

 with a thin sprinkling of fine dusty 

 stuff, and put the pan into a moderate 

 stove, on the greenhouse flue, or where- 

 ever it can have a steady bottom-heat, 

 and the plants will soon make their 

 appearance. I always manage to have 

 the soil moist enough at sowing, not to 

 require watering till the seeds are up ; 

 hue if water must be given after sow- 

 ing, take care that the seeds are not I 

 washed out in the operation. I never 

 water seed-pans on the surface, but 

 lower them into a vessel in just enough 

 depth of water to reach to the rim 

 without flowing over the pan. The 

 earth soon imbibes the water, and they , 

 are lifted out without the disturbance i 

 of a single crumb of the surface. As i 

 soon as the plants appear, get ready a 

 gentle hot-bed for the first pricking-out, 

 turn the dung well, so as to have the 

 heat sweet, and not too fierce; put a 

 few tiles or slates over the dung to ! 

 prevent the plants rooting down into 

 if, and cover them with six inches of, 

 fine rich stuff, similar to that used for 

 the seed-pans, but not sifted, and 

 merely broken fine and dressed up 

 neatly. Handle them tenderly in prick- 

 ing out, plant them six inches apart, 

 water, and shut close. Give air as 

 often as possible, but be cautious not 

 to chill them. If the heat soon goes 

 down, no matter, the frame will be in a 

 sunny position, and the plants near the 

 glass, and they are sure to come on 

 with proper watering, ventilating, and 

 shutting up early before the sun has 

 gone off the frames. 



A fortnight after the first batch 

 comes up, sow again, and it may be as 

 well to say, that one six-inch pan will 

 suffice for each of these two sowings, 

 even in the largest private establish- 

 ment, because the main sowing, to be 



made about the 10th of March, is that 

 from which the principal crop is to 

 be derived, and it may be as large or 

 as small as the wants of the place are. 

 This mid-March sowing is the only 

 one that need be made by possessors of 

 small gardens, who are not particular 

 about early supplies ; and the advan- 

 tage of deferring to this season is, that 

 bottom-heat is by no means essential 

 to get it forward quickly. The sowing 

 may be made in pans, and the pans put 

 into a cucumber or melon frame, or on 

 a top, sunny shelf in a warm green- 

 house, the pans covered with squares of 

 glass ; or if no such aids are available, 

 sow on the warmest border you have, 

 and either cover with hand-lights, or 

 put a small frame over the seed-bed. 

 I have some little fancy one-light 

 boxes, only four feet long by three feet 

 wide, very neatly made, and they are 

 wonderfully useful in turning sun- 

 heat to account in the spring of the 

 year, under a warm, boarded fence in a 

 south aspect. One such frame to cover 

 a seed-bed in March, would get up 

 celery, tomatoes, cauliflower, French 

 beans, and tender annuals enough for 

 most families, and most gardens of 

 middle class pretensions ; and a patch 

 of celery so situated, will be strong 

 enough to plant out in a month from 

 the planting, and give heads fit for use 

 very soon after the first February sow- 

 ing, only they will not be so large. 

 The ground should not be dug, but trod 

 quite hard, and on the hard surface lay 

 down three inches of well-rotted dung, 

 and on that, six inches of a fine rich 

 mixture, as directed, for the plants 

 pricked out from the first sowing. Sow 

 them and cover lightly. When the 

 plants are up, give air with caution, 

 and keep them always moderately 

 moist. Being raised above the gene- 

 ral surface, the seed-bed will not be 

 likely to hold too much wet, which 

 would cause the seedlings to damp 

 off; but as celery loves moisture, it 

 should never have a check by any ap- 

 proach to drought, but be kept well 

 aired and frequently watered. The 

 pricking out from this seed-bed may 

 be done without any further help from 

 glass, but it must be in a warm posi- 

 tion, best on a slope under a wall, or 

 i fence facing the south, and on a hard 



