i88i.] WALL-BORDERS IN KITCHEN -GARDENS. 67 



quality. When the first sowing is pushing through the surface, another 

 sowing of the same varieties to the same extent (twelve rows 10 feet in 

 length) is made, also on a sheltered border ; and these continue the 

 supply till those sown in the open are ready for use. The rows are all 

 placed 3 feet apart, and 4-feet stakes are used, near to which height the 

 Peas are topped, this inducing the pods to fill more rapidly. The 

 young Pea growth is very much liked by the sparrows, and for that 

 reason we select for the sowings that part of the border where there is 

 much traflac. Every morning, or in the evening after a shower, the 

 Peas are lightly dusted over with a mixture of lime, soot, and wood- 

 ashes, and this, with the help of a gun, keeps the birds off. We mould 

 up and stake early, working in the spray, purposely saved, between the 

 stakes, which also tends to protect the growth. Mice are very trouble- 

 some at times, and these we poison (cats do not thrive near game-pre- 

 serves), using phosphorus-paste, putting it down every evening, and 

 picking up what is left the following morning, otherwise the birds 

 would be poisoned wholesale. 



Spinach. — This is sown between the rows of Peas at each sowing of 

 the latter. It is a mistake, often made, to sow Spinach thickly, as when 

 crowded it is not so good in quality, and is more liable to run to seed. 

 Thinning out, if performed in good time, is right enough ; but then 

 this is frequently left undone till it is too late. Spinach is one of the 

 best of materials in which to pack either vegetables or flowers. 



Caulijioivers. — To succeed those planted either at the base of a warm 

 wall or under hand-lights, as the case may be, towards the end of Feb- 

 ruary or early in March, according to circumstances, more of the 

 autumn-sown plants should be planted on a sheltered border. This 

 crop is a valuable one, and well repays a little extra trouble. The 

 soil I find most suitable for Cauliflowers generally is a rather stiff 

 fresh loam, in which has recently been dug a liberal quantity of half- 

 decayed manure. They will not "take hold" of a soil that has long 

 been heavily manured and lightly dug, and from which comparatively 

 light crops have long been taken. Bastard trenching is the best anti- 

 dote for such a poisoned soil. If there is any likelihood of the plants 

 moving badly from the boxes or frames, it is advisable to pot some 

 of the strongest singly into 4-inch pots, placing them on shelves in a 

 warm house, in a few days returning them to a cold frame to har- 

 den off, and planting out before they are root-bound. Choose a dry 

 time for planting, make the soil firm, and ram it well about the 

 plants with the back of the trowel, as loose planting encourages pre- 

 mature heading-in, or "buttoning.'' Eighteen inches apart each way 

 is a good distance to plant, unless extra large heads are required — 

 which for ordinary purposes are a mistake — and some of the smaller 

 new early kinds may be planted still closer. If the plants are well 

 hardened, not much protection will be needed ; but severe frosts may 

 be warded off by covering with 6-inch pots, with clods of earth over 



