PREFACE xv 



feet. An ounce of good asparagus seed, traditionally 

 equal to sixty feet of drill, will really sow five times as 

 much. I have not, however, been able to study this 

 matter thoroughly, and in the absence of reliable data 

 I have not ventured to give, under each heading, the 

 number of plants or feet of row that can be got from 

 an ounce of seed. I have, however, appended a table of 

 supposed ounce-values, which may be of some help to a 

 gardener in making his list of purchases. Accurate cor- 

 rections will be welcome. 



The depth of planting makes little difference in the 

 case of some seeds, but much in others. Celery seed 

 sown too deep, for instance, will never come up, so that 

 ignorant sowing may mean the loss of the chance to 

 raise a crop. At the same time, again, summer peas 

 planted too shallow are in danger of mildew. It is well, 

 therefore, to pay attention to this matter. 



Thinning is a subject which is too little considered. 

 It requires some heroism to thin properly, even with 

 experience of the results. My quotation from Ilott 

 shows the value of thinning, which should always be 

 rigorously practiced. The distances here given are 

 usually the least that can safely be allowed, for the ad- 

 vantage, as above, of the man with a small garden. 

 But even he must thin, for however 'rich his ground 

 may be, no man can raise two prime parsnips, for in- 

 stance, where there is room for but one. 



In the body of the book I have given none of the 



