.Ch.XLV.] THE COTTAGER'S GARDEN. 559 



be showery, and followed by a dry autumn, the crops are generally large 

 and good ; but in dry summers, succeeded by a wet autumn, the crops are 

 inferior both as to quantity and quality, unless planted on very moist soils : 

 and should a cottager's garden chance to be bog-earthy, or otiierwise very 

 moist, he ought to grow his potatoes on what are called lazy-beds. The 

 method is this: — the ground is first marked off into parallel beds, five feet 

 wide, with two-feet alleys between ; the beds are covered with a coat of 

 half-rotten dung; on this the sets are placed in cross-rows, fifteen inches 

 asunder, and covered over with soil, three inches thick, digged from the 

 alleys. As the stems advance in height, they are kept earthed up from 

 time to time till the alleys are two feet deep or more. The alleys acting as 

 drains, leave the beds and crops high and dry; and the produce is gene- 

 rally abundant. 



Next in importance to the potato, in a cottage-garden, is the cabbage ; 

 and as they are useful in every stage of their growth, they should always be 

 to be had in one shape or other. Every vacant part of the ground, and the 

 allevs between other crops, should be dibbled full of them ; and if they occupy 

 ground wanted for other crops, they have only to be drawn for use. The 

 principal crop of spring cabbage is sown between the 27th of July and the 

 8th of August. If sown before the first of these dates, many of the plants 

 run to seed without forming hearts; and if after the second date, they do 

 not arrive at full perfection early enough. The summer and autumn crops 

 are raised from seed sown in February ; and in order to have a good stock 

 of coleivorts, — that is, open cabbage or plants as they are commonly called, 

 — another seed-bed should be sown about the end of June for autumn 

 planting. 



The seed-beds should be on a dry, rich border, and none of them need be 

 more than about three square yards sowed not too thick. When the seed- 

 lings appear they must be guarded from birds, snails, and slugs, by being- 

 dusted with fresh slaked lime, or watered with lime-water. Soon as the plants 

 are large enough, all the strongest should be pricked out on a fresh piece of 

 ground to gain strength before they are planted out for good in the month 

 of October. But as this is a busy time on the farm, every hour of day- 

 light being bespoke, it is only on wet mornings and evenings that the cot- 

 tager has any time for gardening. He should, therefore, previously get 

 ready a part of his cabbage-ground, and on that prick out his plants in 

 rows nine inches apart, and four inches from each other in the row. These 

 will be going on ; and when time allows, and more ground got ready, 

 those remaining may be transplanted into more open order, and where they 

 are to remain. In this way the plants are much forwarded, and come early 

 into use. The summer and autumn crops should be treated in the same 

 manner, if time can be had ; and, during their growth, should be often hoed 

 among and earthed-up, as they require. In using cabbage, cut one row, 

 whether great or small, before another is begun ; this gives a portion of 

 ground to be digged for another crop. The early Battersea is the best sort 

 for a cottager. 



The scarlet runner kidney-bean is, from its great prolificacy, one of 

 the most useful cottage-garden plants. As a summer vegetable it has no 

 equal, nor can such a constant and ample supply be had from any other 

 kind ; and, what is remarkable, the more the pods are gathered, the more 

 the runner produces. If allowed to ripen seed, — which are generally the 

 first ten or twelve pods at bottom, — the plant soon ceases to bear ; but 

 supposing all circumstances of soil, situation, and particularly abundant 

 moisture be afforded, the plants will bear until they are killed by frost. Nor 



