TOWN ALLOTMENTS 41 



dressing of lime or the addition of a cartload of chalky 

 soil, but the lime must not come into immediate contact 

 with the manure of the road sweepings or the ammonia 

 in the latter will be driven off. Put them on the land a 

 month apart or more, if convenient. Such a plot should 

 be dug as early in the year as possible in order that it may 

 become friable and in good condition by sowing time. All 

 the rules laid down for proper cultivation in earlier and 

 later chapters should be carefully observed so that skill 

 may atone for initial drawbacks. And, as the depth of 

 the soil is slight and the roots will find little inducement 

 to burrow deeply, a good deal of watering will be neces- 

 sary. Of course, much will depend on the judicious 

 selection of the seeds. Always choose those that are 

 known to do well in shallow places ; i.e., sow globe 

 beetroots rather than the long-rooted varieties, give 

 preference to stump-rooted carrots over the long kinds, 

 and pick one of the kohl-rabis, the bulb of which grows 

 entirely out of the ground, instead of long turnips. 



The lack of pure air is perhaps a harder thing to fight 

 than a deficiency of soil. In such plots as we have 

 here in mind the young seedlings often come along full 

 of promise, but before maturity is reached their pores 

 become clogged with soot and dust and they die away. 

 All that the grower can do is to rear hardy stock which is 

 known to mature quickly. If, for instance, he sows in 

 gentle heat, transplants to a cold frame, and then beds 

 out, the crop will stand a far better chance of being a good 

 one than if the seeds are sown in the ground in the first 

 place. It will have a better start and be ready for gather- 

 ing some weeks earlier, every day of which period means 

 fewer clogged breathing pores. Of course, proper atten- 



