114 Rim BAGA CULTURE. [PART 1. 



lieve more than four pounds to sow on the 

 seven acres. It was sown principally in this 

 manner ; a man went along by the side of each 

 ridge, and put down two or three seeds in places 

 at about ten inches from each other, just draw 

 ing a little earth over, and pressing it on the 

 seed, in order to make it vegetate quickly before 

 the earth became too dry. This is always a 

 good thing to be done, and especially in dry 

 weather, and under a hot sun. Seeds are very 

 small things ; and though, when we see them 

 covered over with earth, we conclude that the 

 earth must touch them closely, we should re 

 member, that a very small cavity is sufficient 

 to keep untouched nearly all round, in which 

 case, under a hot sun, and near the surface, 

 they are sure to perish, or, at least, to lie long, 

 and until rain come, before they start. 



52. I remember a remarkable instance of this 

 in saving some turnips to transplant at Botley. 

 The whole of a piece of ground was sown 

 broad-cast. My gardener had been told to sow 

 in beds, that we might go in to weed the plants ; 

 and, having forgotten this till after sowing, he 

 clapped down his line, and divided the plot into 

 beds by treading very hard a little path at the 

 distance of every four feet. The weather was 

 very dry and the wind very keen. It continued 

 so for three weeks ; and, at the end of that time, 

 we had scarcely a turnip in the beds, where the 



