92 AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE. 



Sowing. Seed, at the rate of an ounce to the acre, is 

 sown in beds, a good size for which is 3^ feet wide and any 

 desired length. Three and a half feet by twelve feet gives 

 sufficient plants for an acre. For a seed-bed, select a piece 

 of the richest soil, level it and dig it a good spade deep. 

 Then spread over it a layer about six inches thick of dry 

 sticks or brushwood, and burn the mass well down to ashes. 

 By doing this we destroy seeds of weeds and eggs of 

 insects, as well as eggs of ground grubs that destroy young 

 plants. Frames with bush or calico covering are useful as 

 protection against frosts at night or during cold winds or 

 heavy rains. The bed is raked very fine ; then an ounce 

 of seed mixed well with some two quarts of fine sand or 

 ashes, is sown evenly over the surface. After sowing, with 

 the back of a rake smooth the bed lightly, packing in the 

 seed with the teeth of the rake, then sprinkle short (stable 

 or cow pen manure or ashes over it just sufficient to 

 cover the seed. Water as may be required to keep the soil 

 moist and the plants growing. Thin out to harden them, 

 and when about five inches high and the under leaves 

 begin to turn yellow and the top ones a dark blue, they 

 are ready for transplanting. The dangers to young seed 

 plants are fungus growth and grubs. Hence the need of 

 care in preparing the seed bed. 



Planting Out. Let the ground be well worked and 

 harrowed fine. In planting out Virginia, Yarra, Havanah, 

 Cuba and Turkish, the plants are allowed five feet by two on 

 rich soil and closer on poorer soil ; Kentucky, German, and 

 Connecticut sorts require four feet by three. Choose cloudy 

 weather or the afternoon for planting out. Before raising 

 the plants, soak the seed bed. Be careful to prevent 

 breakage of the roots, which are very large ; take up as 

 much earth with them as possible. In planting, make the 

 holes roomy and deep, and spread the roots as much as 

 possible, pressing the soil gently with the point of a dibble 

 or the fingers against the roots. Should the sun be very 

 hot, the plants may need shelter from a shingle, pieces of 

 bark, &c. 



Cultivation. When the plants are established com- 

 mence to use the hoe, cutting out weeds and loosening the 



