XIL] , "BASTARD-TRENCHING" 119 



heavy ground, it is well when sowing to fill in the seed 

 drills with some compost made up of fine fresh clay and 

 burnt earth. 



Under no circumstances should ground be trodden 

 upon or worked when it is in a moist state. Garden 

 plots, where this rule is broken, are generally more fitted 

 for making bricks than for growing vegetables. 



Peas and Beans. Amongst the first vegetables which 

 may be sown in the garden are beans and peas. A 

 sowing of each may be made towards the middle of 

 November, in a sheltered position. Sow thick, and give 

 2 inches of cover. Early Mazagan Bean and American 

 Wonder Pea are, perhaps, the best, with a succession of 

 peas in each of the following months of Dr Maclean, 

 Telegraph, American Wonder , and Stratagem. 



It used to be the practice to sow peas in a plot by 

 themselves, but experience teaches that two rows at a 

 good distance apart will yield as much as three near 

 together, cropping between them with early potatoes, 

 celery, cauliflowers, or dwarf kidney beans ; and when 

 the peas or beans have been pulled, their places can always 

 be filled with one of the later crops. Open the drills 

 wide at the bottom, and spread the seed regularly, always 

 making the soil firm before sowing. 



Onions. About the middle of March, or earlier if the 

 weather permit, is the best time for sowing onions. The 

 ground having been prepared and manured in the late 

 autumn, all that will be needful in March is the levelling 

 down of the ridges. Sowing in drills is better than 



