38 



THE GAEDEjS" guide EOE FEBRIJAET. 



Kitchen Garden. — There should be no 

 delay in getting ready every inch of ground 

 intended for summer crops. We shall pro- 

 bably have an early spring, and it will be 

 "well to risk a little more than usual in 

 early sowings of crops, that come in quick, 

 as in the event of late frosts protective 

 measures may be resorted to, and the loss 

 of seed is not a great matter compared 

 ■with the pi'obability of extra early j)ro- 

 duce. Get all plots requiring manure 

 ready at once, as it is much better to have 

 the ground prepared in advance, that the 

 manure may be more completely incor- 

 porated with the soil, than to sow or plant 

 immediately after manuring. Ground for 

 peas, beans, onions, cauliflowers, and broc- 

 coli must be liberally manured and deeply 

 Stirred. Mark out the soil for onions into 

 four-feet bedj, and raise the beds six 

 inches above the general level, and leave 

 the surface rough. At sowing time the 

 surface will be nicely pulverized through 

 exposure to the air, and the seed can be 

 sown clean and rolled in firm, which is not 

 always possible where the ground is in a 

 pasty condition, or has been but recently 

 made ready. Choose for potatoes gi-ound 

 on which cabbage, or broccoli, or celery 

 has been gi-own, and which for those crops 

 was well manured last year. Make up 

 sloping borders under warm walls and 

 fences for early lettuce, radish, onion, horn 

 carrot, and to prick out cauliflower and 

 broccoli from seed-pans, etc. On dry soils 

 plant tiie potatoes as soon as possible; sets 

 should be of moderate size, and with short 

 stubby, hard sprouts upon them ; when the 

 sprouts are long and white_ it is scarcely 

 reasonable to expect a sound and plentiful 

 production. On wet soils it will be best 

 to defer planting the main crop till next 

 month. To raise a few early potatoes, the 

 simplest method is to make up a slight hot- 

 bed, and cover it with old lights, or canvas 

 on hoops, or even hurdles or mats will do, 

 as by the time the haulm appears, tlie sea- 

 son will be sufBciently advanced to allow of 

 taking off the covering by day, putting it 

 on at night, however, to keep safe from 

 frost. If there is plent^^ of charred re- 

 fuse, use it liberally in making up the bed, 

 and cover the sets with some of it reserved 

 for the purpose. The main crop of pota- 

 toes should be planted at greater distances 

 between the rows than is usually allowed; 

 two feet apart and nine inches between 

 the sets should be the least distance for mo- 

 derate growers, and three feet apart and 



a foot or more between the sets for robust 

 growers. When growers complain that 

 their potatoes have "run all to haulm," it 

 may always be understood that they are 

 planted about twice as thick as thej' ought 

 to be. 



Soio in the open quarters, peas, beans, 

 parsnips, spinach, leeks. Sow on warm 

 slopfs, radish, hardy lettuce, cabbage, 

 parsley. Soiv in heat to ti'ansplant, Spanish 

 and Portugal onions, cos and cabbage let- 

 tuce, celery, tomatoes, capsicums, melon, cu- 

 cumber, cauliflower, sweet basil, sweet mar- 

 joram. 



Plant potatoes, garlic, shalot, chives, 

 onions for seed. 



Flower Garden. — Deciduous trees 

 remaining to be planted should be got in 

 without delay. Fork over mixed borders 

 where it can be done Avithout fear of 

 damaging poeonies, bulbs, etc.; but if these 

 are not tallied it will be best to leave the 

 borders alone till the plants are visible 

 above ground. Lay on a good mulch of 

 half-rotten dung in quarters devoted to 

 roses, or cover the surface with a mixture 

 of guano and wood-ashes. Old planta- 

 tions of Americans will be benefited now 

 by dressing the surface with very rotten 

 cow-dung, but they must never be dug be- 

 tween. Edgings, rockeries, walks, lawns, 

 peat-beds, and roseries may all be made or 

 planted this month, and the sooner the 

 better. On all these subjects abundant 

 information may be found bj' reference to 

 indices of former volumes. Part and plant 

 herbaceous plants. Plant ranunculuses and 

 anemones. 



Soio hardy annuals in pans to get them 

 forward for planting out. Californian an- 

 nuals, such as Clarkias, Godetias, Escholt- 

 zias, Viscarias, Nemophilas, Candytufts, 

 etc., may be sown in the borders where 

 they are to bloom. In another page 

 will be found a list of annuals for all 

 purposes. 



Greenhouse. — Fire-heat may be used 

 more liberally now, as there is more light 

 and many early subjects are advancing 

 into bloom. Put cinerarias, primulas, and 

 other soft-wooded, early-blooming plants, 

 as near the glass as possible, and where 

 they can be freely ventilated on tine days. 

 Give plenty of water to everything that is 

 growing freely. Hard-wooded plants that 

 have been kept dry all winter, will pro- 

 bably need to be plunged to the rim of tlie 

 pot in a vessel of tepid water, to soften the 

 ball of earth, and allow water to pass 



