AMERICAN GARDENER. 91 



up against vegetation till the spring. I am speak- 

 ing of the North of Virginia, to be sure ; but the 

 gardener to the south will adapt the observations 

 to his climate, as far as they relate to it. 



160. As to the act ofsowmg, the distances and 

 depths differ with different plants, and these will, 

 of course be pointed out under the names of those 

 different plants ; but, one thing is common to all 

 seeds ; and that is, that they should be sown in 

 rows or drills; for, unless they be sown in this 

 way, all is uncertainty. The distribution of the 

 seed is unequal ; the covering is of unequal 

 depth ; and, when the plants come up in company 

 with the weeds, the difficulty of ridding the ground 

 of the latter, without destroying the former, is 

 very great indeed, and attended with ten times the 

 labour. Plants, in their earliest state, generally 

 require to be thinned ; which cannot be done with 

 regularity, unless they stand in rows ; and, as to 

 every future operation, how easy is the labour in 

 the one case and how hard in the other ! It is of 

 great advantage to almost all plants to move the 

 ground somewhat deep while they are growing; 

 but, how is this to be done, unless they stand in 

 rows? If they be dispersed promiscuously over 

 the ground, to perform this operation is next to 

 impossible. 



161. The great obstacle to the following of a 

 method so obviously advantageous, is, the trouble. 

 To draw lines for peas and beans is 'not deemed 

 troublesome ; but, to do this for raddishes, onions, 

 carrots, lettuces, beds of cabbages, and other 

 small seeds, is regarded as tedious. When we 

 consider the saving of trouble afterwards, this 

 trouble is reajly nothing, even if the drills were 



