274 



THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



day and takini? it off by niglat. After the j 

 plants are up it should be gradually with- I 

 drawn, by taking it off during niglits and | 

 dull days. After the first watering, given I 

 immediately after sowing, water should ! 

 not again be applied to the surface, but 

 by settijig in a pan of water. It will then 

 rise to the root by capillary attraction, 

 and not cause "shanking" of the stem. 

 A moderate temperature of from 45° to 

 65°, and a situation as near the glass as 

 possible, is best i'or the raising the ma- 

 jority of small seeds; and, for the first few 

 days after sowing, a piece of brown paper 

 may be laid over the glass which covers 

 the pan during bright days, as seeds vege- 

 tate best in a subdued light ; but, be care- 

 ful to withdraw it as soou as the first sign 

 of growth can be seen, or the seedlings 

 will be long in the leg. In early spring 

 seeds may be started in hot-pits and dung- 

 beds ; but, as soon as growth commences, 

 they must be placed close up to the glass, 

 and plenty of air be admitted, or they 

 must be removed to other quarters, as the 

 steam kept up in such places would pro- 

 bably damp them off. Pricking into other 

 pans directly (they can be removed with 

 the point of a knife) will tend to their pre- 

 servation and prosnotion of their growth. 

 Sowing- and Rearing Eaelt Ceops 

 OF Radish, Caeeot, Tuenip, Lettuce, 

 ETC. — The--e are all of them things sought 

 after as early in spring as they can pos- 

 sibly be obtained ; and to know how the 

 market-gardeners manage to bring them 

 to market so early as they do has, doubt- 

 less, puzzled others as well as myself, until 

 I chanced to live in a locality where mar- 

 ket-gardeners and seed-growers abound. 

 I discovered the secret, which is simply 

 this : — About Christmas, or earlier, a nice 



dry border, sloping to the south, is dug 

 and well broken ; it is then lightly trod- 

 den by walking over it with the feet close 

 together ; then raked level, and, with a 

 light hoe, drills are drawn at about three 

 inches apart and one inch deep. Into these 

 good new seed is sown ; then there is 

 spread over it a dressing of well-rotted 

 horse-dung and gritty sand that is scraped 

 off the roads, which is an excelleiit pre- 

 ventative against slugs. Sea-sand is also 

 used for the same purpose, and answers 

 well if the ground is rich. It is then 

 smoothed with the back of a shovel, and 

 then comes the nicest part of tiie process, 

 and that upon which success or failure 

 mainly depend, namely, the covering with 

 long wheat-straw or very long litter made 

 from the same. Just sufficient should be 

 evenly spread over to bring up and pro- 

 tect the young plant, without smothering 

 or drawing ; anil this may be deemed suf- 

 ficient when the straws form a kind of 

 close net-work, so that the soil may be 

 seen between them. L^pon the straw 

 must be laid sticks to keep it from being 

 disturbed by the wind, and so it may re- 

 main until the plants can be seen, when it 

 must occasionally be raked off on fine 

 days, and returned again before night, and 

 when the plants gain considerable strength 

 and the weather loses somewhat of its 

 winterly character, it may be cleared quite 

 away. Exactly the same process takes 

 place with other crops which are sown 

 in January, February, and sometimes in 

 March ; but, in the latter case, the cover- 

 ing is much sooner dispensed with, its 

 chief use being to encourage the germina- 

 tion of the seed, and preserve it from the 

 ravages of birds. 



WEEDS AT A PEEMIUM. 



BY WILLIASl CHITTT, OF STAMFOED HILL. 



The most careless and unobservant per- 

 son must occasionally feel a touch of love 

 for beauty in its simplest forms when a 

 germander speedwell, with its meek eye 

 of lovely blue, or a gay pimpernel, with 

 its coral-like blossoms and hearty foliage, 

 is found in full bloom in some neglected 

 corner of the garden. Any one who is 

 moved by botanical sympathies must have 

 occasional regrets at having to root out of 

 the garden some of the lovely wildlings 

 which find their way there ; and, though 

 folks of the "every-day" stamp would not 

 tolerate anything except genuine flowers 



of the florists' school, there are many en- 

 thusiasts who cannot help bestowing on 

 choice wild plants some amount of cul- 

 tural care. I must confess that I do prize 

 many of our native plants as highly as the 

 choicest exotics, and the hoe is inade to 

 spare many a pretty thing that springs up 

 of its own accord in my ground, because I 

 cannot see any gem of the British Flora 

 ruthlessly cut to pieces. Of course, this 

 sort of passion may be carried too far, and 

 a bright border may soon be a wilderness 

 of weeds if every green vagrant that 

 chooses to pitch his tent there is allowed 



