210 



Remarks on Gardening, 



Vol. 11. 



If the ground cannot be all manured as it 

 should be, it is of primary importance that 

 those vegetables be provided tor which most 

 need manure. Good rich manure is indispen- 

 sably necessary for the production of Brocoli, 

 Cauliflower, Cabbage, Lettuce, Spinage, 

 Onions, Radishes and Salads in general. 



In the event of a scanty supply of manure, 

 those kinds of vegetables which are raised in 

 hills or drills, may be provided for by dispo- 

 sing of the manure immediately under the 

 seeds or plants. 



The next important matter is to have the 

 ground in suitable condition to receive the 

 seed, I would wish it to be understood, that 

 I am an advocate for early sowing and plant- 

 ing, even at the risk of loosing a lictle seed, 

 provided the ground be fit to receive it A 

 light sandy soil will be benefitted if worked 

 when moist, as such treatment will have a 

 tendency to make it more compact ; on the 

 contrary, if a clay soil be worked when too 

 wet, it kneads like dough, and never fails to 

 bind when drought follows, and this not only 

 prevents the seeds from rising, but injures 

 the plants materially in their subsequent 

 growth, by its becoming impervious to the 

 moderate rains, dews, air and infiuence of 

 the sun, all which are necessary to the pro- 

 motion of vegetation. 



Much depends on the manure used on 

 particular kinds of soils. The great art of 

 improving sandy and clayey soils, is to give 

 tlie former such dressings of clay, cow dung 

 and other kinds of manure, as will have a 

 tendency to bind and make them more com- 

 pact, and consequently more retentive of 

 moisture; and to the latter, coats of horse 

 dung, ashes, sand, and such other composts 

 as may tend to separate the particles and 

 open the pores of the clay so as to cause it to 

 approach as near as possible to a loam. 



The nearer the ground approaches to a 

 sandy soil, the less retentive will it be of 

 moisture ; the more to a clayey, the longer 

 will it retain it; and the finer the particles 

 of wiiich the clay is composed, tiie more te- 

 nacious will it be of water, and consequently 

 be longer in drying, and the harder when 

 dry; but earth of a consistence that will hold 

 water the longest, without hecoming hnrrl 

 when dry, is that of all others, the best adapted 

 for raising the generality of plants in the 

 greatest perfection. This last described soil 

 is called loam, and is a medium earth, be- 

 tween the extremes of clay and sand. 



The work of drilling may be performed in i 

 various ways; in some cases a plough is used, ' 

 in others a small hoe, or a dibble drawn along' 

 the edge of a board or line; it is of little' 

 consequence which way the work is done, ifi 

 it be well done. While I leave the garden- 

 er to make his own choice of tools, 1 would | 



suggest that he be provided with two or three 

 drilling machines; these, every handy man 

 may make lor himself; they should be in the 

 tbrm of a garden rake, with a stout heavy 

 back and five teeth two inches broad, and 

 tapered so as to enter the ground and leave 

 drills two inches deep. If one be made with 

 the teeth eight inches apart, another twelve, 

 and another fourteen, they will be useful in 

 making drills for various seeds, and drills 

 thus made, serve, instead of straining a line, 

 for every row in planting Cabbage, Lettuce, 

 Leeks, &.<c. The line being strained at one 

 edge of the bed, and the drilling machine 

 drawn strait by the line, makes five drills at 

 once. If they are straight they may be kept 

 so, by keeping one drill open tor the outside 

 tootJi to work in until the ground be all drill- 

 ed. 



Gardeners practice different methods of 

 covering up seeds, some do it with a hoe, 

 others with a rake or harrow ; some draw a 

 portion of the earth to the side of the bed, 

 and after sowing the seeds, return it regular- 

 ly over the bed ; in some particular cases a 

 sieve is used, in others a roller. Rolling or 

 treading in seeds is necessary in dry seasons, 

 but it should never be done when the ground 

 is wet. 



There is nothing that protects young crops 

 of Turneps, Cabbage and other small plants 

 from the depredation of the fly, so well as 

 rolling; for when the surface is rendered 

 completely smooth, these insects are deprived 

 of the harbor they would otherwise have un- 

 der the clods and small lumps of earth. This 

 method will be found more effectual than- 

 soaking the seed in any preparation, or dust- 

 ing the plants with any composition what- 

 ever; but as the roller must only be used 

 previous to, or at the tune of sowing tlie seed, 

 and not even then if the ground be wet, it 

 is necessary that the gardener should have a 

 hogshead always at hand in dry weather, con- 

 taining infusions made of waste tobacco, lime, 

 soot, cow dung, elder, burdock leaves, &c. 

 A portion of these ingredients, or any other 

 preparation that is pernicious or poisonous to 

 insects, without injuring the plants, thrown 

 into a hogshead kept filled up with water, if 

 used moderately over beds of young plants in 

 dry weather, would, in almost every case, in- 

 sure a successful crop. 



If it be necessary at any time to sow seeds 

 in dry weather, it is recommended to soak 

 the seed in water mixed with sulphur. This 

 practice, with attentive watering, will cause 

 the seed to vegetate speedily. 



If it should be re(}uisite to transplant any 

 thing when the ground isdry, the transplant- 

 ing should be always done as soon as the 

 earth is fresh turned over, and the roots of 

 the plants should be steeped in mud made of 



