THE OPENING YEAR 



to moisten the seed with paraffin oil before putting it in Jan. 

 the ground, and to cover it with some three inches of 16-31 

 soil. Thus treated, it is generally safe from attack by 

 vermin. Chelsea Gem is a useful dwarf variety for this 

 sowing. Some gardeners gain time with early Peas by 

 sowing the seed in long narrow boxes provided with 

 loose bottoms. The idea is to bring the crop on under 

 glass until the plants are a few inches high, then to make 

 wide drills or small trenches in the kitchen garden a little 

 wider and deeper than the boxes, and to allow the plants 

 to fall gently into them when the loose bottoms are 

 removed. This plan gives Peas ready for picking a good 

 many days in advance of outdoor sowings. 



Early Potatoes in Pots and Frames. — Potatoes can also 

 be advanced, but by a somewhat different method from 

 that adopted for the Peas. It is more suitable to plant 

 them out in a spare frame set on a bed of manure and 

 soil, or to put them in pots and keep them in a green- 

 house. The frame saves the labour of potting. A short, 

 close-growing sort is desirable, such as Ringleader, Ash- 

 leaf, or Sharpe's Victor. The sets may be put nine inches 

 apart in rows fifteen inches asunder, and as it will be 

 some weeks before they fill up all the space, there is time 

 to get a few Radishes or Carrots by sowing between the 

 Potatoes directly the latter are planted. Apart from the 

 labour involved, the principal drawback to the pot 

 system is that large pots are wanted. An 8-inch pot is 

 really the smallest size that ought to be used for one 

 Potato, but lo-inch and larger sizes will accommodate 

 three sets. They should be put about half-way down, so 

 that they can be well covered. 



Onions. — Onion growers find that they get larger 

 bulbs, and have less trouble from enemies of the crop, 

 by raising plants under glass in January than by sowing 

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