Gardening for Amateurs 



1091 



time fill the frame to a depth of 12 inches 

 with ordinary garden soil made fairly firm, 

 first passing it through an inch sieve to 

 take out stones and hard, rough soil. In a 

 week or so when the soil has become warm 

 the seeds may be sown thinly broadcast, 

 covering them slightly. 



Out-of-door Crops. For the first crop 

 seeds should be sown the last week in Feb- 

 ruary on a warm border in drills 1 foot apart, 

 thinning the plants to 6 inches apart as soon 

 as large enough, Successional sowings may 

 be made every fortnight if an unbroken 

 supply of fresh young Turnips is desired. 

 The soil should be deeply dug before seeds 

 are sown. The main crop for winter use 

 must be sown in the middle of August, and 

 again during the first week in September. 



To grow Turnips in hot weather, dig a 

 trench on a partially shaded border, placing 

 a little well-rotted manure at the bottom, 

 so that they will be forced to grow quickly. 

 Keep the ground moist by frequent water- 

 ing, also syringe the plants morning and 

 afternoon. 



For winter storage pull up the largest of 

 the roots at the end of October or early in 



November, and clamp out of doors or keep 

 in a cool room as advised for Potatoes. The 

 smaller Turnips may be left in the ground, 

 as they will probably grow after the above 

 date and will be useful for pulling for use 

 as wanted. 



For sowing under glass Early Snowball, 

 a round variety, is excellent ; good flat- 

 rooted sorts are the Red and White Milan ; 

 and the yellow Turnips Orange Jelly and 

 Golden Ball are recommended. For out- 

 of-door sowings in hot weather red Turnips 

 seem to succeed better than white ones, one 

 of the best being Red Globe. Some of the 

 hardiest varieties are useful when left in 

 the ground, as from a sowing in late August 

 they give a supply during winter and early 

 spring ; the best of them are Chirk Castle 

 Prize-taker and Black Stone. 



Vegetable Marrow. The secret of suc- 

 cess in growing the Vegetable Marrow lies 

 in providing rich soil and manure for the 

 plant to root into ; an old, spent hotbed is 

 an ideal situation for it. Otherwise the 

 ground should be liberally manured and the 

 plants planted 5 feet apart, or, if the bush 

 Marrow is grown, 3 feet apart only. Early 



Vegetable Marrows and Gourds grown on a heap of soil near a wall, the stems and 

 fruits having been trained over the latter. 



