MARCH.] THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 187 



Or, it may be sown thinly in drills, six inches asunder, and 

 covered the same depth as above ; give the beds, both before and 

 after the plants are up, occasional waterings, to strengthen them and 

 forward their growth; and they must be kept very free from weeds, 

 by a careful hand-weeding at different times during the summer. 



When a quantity of asparagus for forcing, is annually required, 

 you must act as directed in February, page 1 17. 



Sowing Beet Seed. 



You may now sow some of the different sorts of beet ; the red, 

 for its large root, and the green and white sorts for their leaves in 

 soups, stewing, Sec. 



For this purpose, make choice of a piece of rich, deep ground ; 

 lay it out into four feet wide beds, push the loose earth into the al- 

 leys, then sow the seed tolerably ..hin, and cover it with the earth out 

 of these alleys, to about three quarters of an inch deep. Qv, let 

 drills be drawn with a hoe, near an inch deep, and a foot or a little 

 better asunder ; drop the seeds thinly therein, and cover them over 

 the same depth as above. Or, you may sow the seed on a piece of 

 ground, rough after being dug, and rake it well in. 



Likewise, you may now sow the Mangel Wurtzel, root of 

 scarcity, or great German beet, for its large leaves to boil as spin- 

 ach, its thick fleshy leaf-stalks, to dress like asparagus, and its roots 

 for boiling, before they become of a very large size. The leaves 

 and roots are excellent food for cattle ; producing, during summer, 

 an uncommon abundance of foliage ; the outside leaves, for this 

 purpose, may be stripped off every eight days during the season. 



Sotving Orimi Seed. 



In order to have onions in good perfection the first year, from 

 seed, which can certainly be effected in the middle, but more par- 

 ticularly in the eastern states, you must be careful to fix upon a 

 suitable soil, which is a strong, light, rich loam ; always avoiding 

 that which is subject to become parched, or bound up by heat and 

 drought ; or that, in consequence of too large a proportion of sand, 

 is likely to become violently hot in summer, for this is extremely 

 injurious to those plants, by causing them to come to an untimely 

 maturity, manifested by the extraordinary perfection that onions ar- 

 rive to in the moderate climates of Europe, where they have not to 

 encounter a violent summer heat. 



If this ground had been strongly manured in November, and 

 then thrown up into high sloping ridges, it would be much improv- 

 ed and meliorated by the frost, Sec. and could now be easily and ex- 

 peditiously leveled for sowing. 



When this is not the case, you may now give such ground a good 

 coat of well-rotted cow-dung, or other good rotten manure, and dig 

 it a full spade deep, incorporating the dung therewith, and pulver- 

 izing the earth as you proceed in the digging ; this should not be 

 attempted, till the ground is sufficiently dry to pulverize well and 



