52 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 1 



light loamy soil, neither too moist or too dry. The 

 old bearing branches should be cut down to t[ie 

 ground in October, and the youngshoots siiortened 

 to two feet, and some rotten dung should be thrown 

 into the trenches. There ought to be a new plan- 

 tation once in thi-ee or (bur years. Some think 

 they should never be touched, but be sutlered to 

 run and grow as they please; others pinch ofl' the 

 dead parts only. If the blossom is pulled off" they 

 will produce fruit in the lall. They are pestered 

 with lice, but lime water kills them if sprinkled 

 upon them. 



Rosemary, Rosmarinus, sea dew, delights in 

 a poor gravelly soil, and has a more aromatic smell 

 than in richer soil, and will stand the cold better. 

 It is propagated by cutting or slips, which may be 

 planted eillier in the fall (September,) or in the 

 spring, and transplanted where they are to remain 

 after they have taken root; or they may be suffer- 

 ed to remain where the cuttings are first put. 



Rue, Ruta, i'rom Ruo, gr. to preserve, viz. 

 health. It is propagated as rosemary, to which 

 we refer, only it must be done in the sprinir. It is 

 not good for edgings, to which use it was formerly 

 applied, because it either grows too luxuriant, or 

 if repressed, ragged, wherefore it is now discon- 

 tinued, and made use of only l()r medical purposes. 



Spinach, Spinachia, should be sown about the 

 latter end of July or middle of August, when there 

 is an appearance of rain, and drawn, when up, to 

 be about three or four inches asunder. It should 

 be constantly cleared of weeds, in October the 

 spinach will be fit tocut, when you should oniycrop 

 the largest leaves; in the spring you shoiild sovv a 

 fresh crop, which will come to maturity in April, 

 when the winter sowing will run to seed, and the 

 best plants should be reserved for seed. In En- 

 gland they aim at a succession, and sow in Janu- 

 ary, February and March; but in this country it is 

 apt to run to seed in the spring, and if prevented, 

 is milky and distasteful. The seed should be sown 

 in drills about two feet distance, and if j'ou desire 

 seed, the plants should be about twelve or fourteen 

 inches asunder. Seed sown in the spring will pro- 

 duce as good seed as any. There is a male and 

 female plant, the former of which produces spires 

 of stamineous ffowers, which contain the farina, 

 and impregnate the embryos of the female plants, 

 and produce the seed; and if the males are pulled 

 up the seed will not be worth any thing. When 

 the plants change color they should he cut and 

 dried a few days in the sun, turning them every 

 day, and when dried, beat out and preserved from 

 mice. It delights in the best soil. 



Strawberry, Pragaria, fi-om its aromafic 

 ecent. There are three sorts chielly protraL'ated, 

 the wood, the scarlet or Virginian, and the. haut- 

 bois; there is a green sort, which some call dray- 

 ton, and others, the pine apple, from its participa- 

 ting of the flavor of that delicious fruit, but none 

 has ever been brought into this country, and it is 

 but rarely to be met with even in England. Sep- 

 tember is the best month for transplanting, though 

 it is ollen done in February. But I have mysell 

 transplanted with success when in full bloom. 

 The soil this plant deligiils in ought to be a fresh 

 loamy sort. If too rich, the vines i^row rampant, 

 and do not produce the fruit so good as in ground 



less enriched. All strawberries should be at least 

 a foot distance, but I recommend two feet, to have 

 them in irreat perfection. They ought to be plant- 

 ed in betls, with alleys two feet wide, fijr the con- 

 venience of going between to cleanse them of 

 weeds, very prejudicial to them. In the spring, 

 when your vines are in Hower, if it is dry, water 

 them, otherwise their blossom will drop off. In 

 Sejitember you should pull off all the strings, or 

 runners, and every weak plant; dig up between 

 the beds, and strew some fine mould or wood-pile 

 earth between the plants, observing not to cover 

 them with it; this will greatly strengthen them, 

 and your fi-uil will be much larger. They do not 

 last above three years, so that to keep constantly 

 supplied, you should make a new plantation a year 

 before the old ones are destroyed. The scarlet 

 strawberry will come a fortnight sooner than any 

 other sort. The Chili strawberry will grow to the 

 size of a hen's egg. The best dung (if any,) for 

 strawberries, is that of cows, sheep, and pigeons. 

 In order to have them Infer in the season, and to 

 afford a s^uccession, cut off the tops of some before 

 they blossom, which will retard their ripening till 

 the forward ones are gone. Many people keep 

 them constantly strung, but I should imagine that 

 wounds them, but in the proper season. It is 

 thought a clayey soil f^uits them best, because the 

 best are Hmnd at Hammersmith, where the best 

 and most bricks are made. Ashes, ifnot in too great 

 a quantity, (lor they are then too hot,) suit thena 

 very well. 



Sage, Salvice, sahis vita:, may be propagated 

 in any of the summer months, if watered and 

 shaded till they have taken root. It delights in a 

 drv poor soil. There are fifteen difl'erent sorts, 

 but the common or green, and the red are princi- 

 pally cultivated. The broad leaved sage is pre- 

 ferable fur tea. 



Salsify, or goats" beard, Tragopogon, sow in 

 March or April, in rows a foot asunder, keep the 

 plants six inches distance, and lake them up when 

 the leaves decay. 



Taxsy, Tanac.eium, is propagated from the 

 creeping roots which shoot out if undisturbed, and 

 may be planted in spring or autumn, at about a 

 loot distance. The paths round the bed should be 

 ollen dug, in order to keep the roots within bounds. 



Thybie, Thymus from Thuos gr. odom or 

 Thumos gr. animal spirit. This is to be propa- 

 irated either from the seed, or parting the roots. 

 If from the former, the seed should be sown in 

 IMarch, if li'om the latter, the slips from the roots 

 should be planted the latter end of the same 

 month, about six inches distant. This plant im- 

 poverishes the ground much, for nothing will suc- 

 ceed in land where lh}nie has grown the pre- 

 ceding year. 



Turnip, Rapa. The while and purple rooted 

 turnip, are the two sorts chieffy cultivated in Eng- 

 land lor the table. They delight in a light sandy 

 soil, and not rich, for that makes them sticky and 

 rank. Fresh land suits them better than land 

 worn out, and will communicate to them a sweet- 

 er flavor. The gardeners about jjondon, sow 

 their seed successively from March to August, for 

 the market, though such as are sown early are lia- 



