396 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



ready in about six or eight weeks, and they will then appear as 

 depicted in Figure 4. When gathering the mushrooms use the 

 thumb and finger, giving the mushroom a gentle twist to sever it 

 from the bed. 



ONIONS. The wise gardener is he who does not wait till spring 

 arrives to set about the preparation of the ground for his onion 

 crop but who looks ahead and trenches it well in October. It is 

 an excellent plan to dig out a deep trench, throwing out the soil 

 on either side until the clay or subsoil is reached. This is broken 

 up thoroughly, and left to the influence of the frost and rain for 

 several months, and at the same time a good covering of rich 

 manure is applied. Later this is thoroughly incorporated with the 

 soil, which should be thrown back into the trench and formed up 

 until a raised bed has been produced. This operation is best per- 

 formed in early February, and towards the end of the month, if 

 the ground be sufficiently dry, the bed will be ready for the recep- 

 tion of the seed. 



The final preparation of the bed consists in applying a dressing 

 of soot and superphosphate of lime the latter especially in damp 

 seasons. These act both as a manure and as a ward against pests. 



A little later the ground, which has been left rough on the surface, 

 should be broken up with the rake and the fork until a fine tilth 

 has been obtained, and it should then be made thoroughly firm 

 by treading it down with a shuffling tread in all directions. 



Seed-sowing should be delayed until the ground is in a fairly 

 dry condition. It is better to wait until the middle of March than 

 to sow when the soil is the consistency of mud. The seed should 

 be sown in drills, since this method allows of thin and even sowing, 

 and facilitates the easier tackling of weeds later on. 



The drills should be drawn one foot apart, some charcoal dust 

 being strewn along the drill with the object of preventing canker. 

 The seed must be sown thinly and be slightly covered to a depth 

 of not more than three-quarters of an inch. The bed can then 

 be raked over and receive another transverse treading. This 

 completes the operation of seed-sowing, and nothing remains to 

 be done until the time for thinning out arrives. This should be 



