i88i.] EXPERIENCE IN THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 59 



should be put in firmly, but not deeply ; and Onions generally delight 

 in a rich and gritty soil, made firm by trampling. If size of bulb is no 

 object, when transplanting either autumn or spring sown Onions, place 

 the rows 10 inches apart, and dibble them, 2 inches apart, alternately 

 on each side of the line. If large bulbs are required, they may be dis- 

 posed 4 inches apart in the rows. 



Farsley. — This herb is equally as indispensable as the foregoing 

 vegetable. From various causes, during the spring months, it is fre- 

 quently very scarce, and where this is anticipated, seed should at once 

 be sown, and grown in a frame, similar to early Carrots ; or the seed 

 may be sown in boxes, and placed on a gentle hotbed. The seedlings 

 may be pricked off in boxes, gradually hardened off, and finally planted 

 in a double line, at the base of a south or west wall. They will w^ell 

 repay the trouble. More seed should be sown on the south border. 

 Cooks must have Parsley, which some young gardeners find to their 

 cost. Sow frequently, and allow the plants plenty of room, and the 

 supply will never fail. W. Iggulden. 



PART OF A SEASON'S EXPERIENCE IN THE 

 Fli O WER- GARDEN. 



During last winter a new herbaceous garden was made here, and I 

 may say no pains were spared to lay a solid and lasting foundation, both 

 in labour and mat,erial, in order to insure success. The subsoil of the 

 garden is an open gravel, so that drainage was not necessary. The 

 natural soil was removed to a depth of from 2 to 2^ feet, and a very 

 liberal preparation substituted, such as is rarely given to hardy plants. 

 The compost consisted of the top spit of a rich pasture which had been 

 used for fruit-growing purposes for a year or two, and had been en- 

 riched with bones and manure. The soil was laid roughly in the beds 

 all the winter, and was therefore fully exposed to the action of the 

 frost, which sweetened it thoroughly, and rendered it a mellow pul- 

 verised mass for the plants to take root in. I may state here that the 

 garden was made before " open-air conservatories " came into vogue, 

 so the idea was neither borrowed nor stolen. 



Well, after a long dreary winter spring came, and the garden was 

 planted with a very select collection of herbaceous plants. After 

 planting, we had the surface of the beds top-dressed an inch thick 

 with broken horse-droppings — a luxury we did not accord to bedding- 

 plants later in the season. Of course it is well known that horse- 

 droppings, independent of arresting evaporation and maintaining a 

 uniformity of earth-temperature, possess the still greater virtue of 

 exciting and sustaining surface-roots. A feeling of delicacy prohibits 

 me from attempting to delineate the process of planting — an under- 

 taking in these latter days that seems to require teaching in a special 

 school. However, the plants grew and flourished through the season. 



