70 THE TLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



the beds, and then mark out the beds with pegs, and tread an alley 

 between them. If there is no border available, sow in drills two 

 feet apart and about twenty feet in length, each drill being devoted 

 to a separate crop. The seed may be sown rather thickly in the 

 drills, as the plants have plenty of space for their development on 

 each side. By acting upon this advice a good stock of sturdy plants 

 ■will be obtained, without the labour incidental to transplanting 

 them, previous to their being planted in their permanent quarters, 

 and they will be much stronger than those crowded together in the 

 seed-bed until planting time, as is very generally the case. 



The early aud main crops of potatoes must be planted early to 

 insure good crops. The middle of the month is most suitable for 

 planting on dry soils, and the end on soils of a heavy character. The 

 work must be regulated by the weather, and the state of the soil, for 

 there will be no gain in planting when the soil is in a wet, pasty 

 condition, for it will be trodden so firm as to require considerable 

 labour to break it up between the rows after the potatoes have 

 pushed through the soil. The earliest varieties must be planted 

 first, and have the warmest position the garden affords. These may 

 be planted in rows about eighteen inches apart ; but the late sorts 

 for main crops should be planted in rows from three to four feet 

 apart. This will afford the branches plenty of room to spread, and 

 there will be no loss of ground, for the space between the rows may 

 be planted with winter greens, and two crops really obtained from 

 the same quarter. The seed potatoes should be of a medium size, 

 quite firm, and furnished with short purple sprouts, for much better 

 crops will be obtained from them than from those which have been 

 laying in a heap all the winter, and have produced long white shoots, 

 that have had to be removed. Planting in drills four inches in 

 depth, made with the spade, is preferable to planting with the dibble, 

 as is still very generally practised. 



The onions, carrots, and parsnips should be sown in drills in 

 beds four feet in width, and as it is most important that the soil be 

 in good condition when the seed is sown, the preparation of the 

 beds should commence at once. Select a quarter which was dug 

 over in the autumn, and if the surface is pricked over with a fork, it 

 will be in capital condition for sowing in about a fortnight after- 

 wards. The drills for onions and carrots should be twelve inches, 

 and for parsnips fifteen inches apart. Let the soil be in a nice 

 friable condition when the seed is sown, and after the drills are filled 

 in tread the bed to make the surface firm, and then rake it over 

 lightly, and in doing this remove all stones and large lumps of 

 soil. 



The rows of peas and broad beans sown now should be placed 

 from six to eight feet apart, to admit of dwarf-growing crops being 

 planted between them. The peas, if sown in trenches prepared in 

 much the same way as for celery, but not quite so deep, will produce 

 better crops than they will do if sow^n on the level in the usual 

 manner. 



