52 FAMILY RECEirTS. 



be of that diligent nature as (willingly) never to defer 

 that till to-morrow rvhieh may be done to-day. '^'^ 



2. Procrastination is of serious consequence to gar- 

 rlening; and neglect of times and seasons will be fruitful 

 of disappointment and complaint. It will often happen, 

 indeed, that a gardener cannot do what he would ^ but 

 if he does not do what he c«7i, he will be most justly 

 blamed, and perhaps censured by none more than by 

 himself. 



3. Seed. "Let your seed be sucli as you would have 

 your future crop — the best of the kind. As the largest 

 animals produce the most profitable stock, so it is in 

 vegetables; the largest seed of the kind, plump and 

 sound, is the best, being well ripened, and kept from 

 injuries of weather and insects. 



4. "Commonly speaking, 7iew seed is to be preferred 

 to old, as grow ing more luxuriantly, and coming up the 

 surer and quicker. As to the age of seeds, at which 

 they may be sown and germinate, it is uncertain, and 

 depends much how they are preserved. 



5. "Seeds of cucumbers, melons, gourds, &c. whicli 

 have thick, horny coverings, and the oil of the seed of a 

 cold nature, will continue good for ten, fifteen, or even 

 twenty years, unless they are kept in a very warm place, 

 which will exhaust the vegetable nutriment in a twelve 

 month; [three years for cucumbers, and four for melons^ 

 is generally thought to be best, as they shoot less vigo- 

 rously than new seeds, and become more fruitful.] 



6. "Oily seeds whose coats, though they are not so 

 hard and close as the former, yet abounding with oil 

 of a warmer nature, will continue good three or four 

 years, as radish, turnip, rape, mustard, &c. Seeds of 

 umbelliferious plants, Avhich are for the most part of a 

 warm nature, lose their growing faculty in one, or at 

 most two years, as parsley, carrots, parsneps, &c. 



7. Pease and beans of two years old are by some pre- 

 ferred to new, as not likely to run to straw. Sowings 

 should generally be performed on fresh dung or stirred 

 ground. There is a nutritious moisture in fresh turned 

 up soil, that softens the seed to swell and germinate 

 quickly, and nourishes it with proper aliment to pro- 



