tLLUSTRATED GUIDE. Ill 



the names of those seeds which must be sown imme- 

 diately they are ripe, under pain of an unsuccessful 

 issue. The ground should be well trodden after the 

 sowing is done. 



If, after sowing, drought prevails, copious waterings 

 should be given ; and frequent hoeings will be necessary 

 as soon as weeds appear, for these are the worst enemies 

 of the tender little plants. The hoer cannot be too care- 

 ful in his work. 



Nursery. — The land intended for the nursery should be 

 as carefully chosen as that occupied by the seed-bed. It 

 should be deeply ploughed or dug; all stones and 

 rubbish should be cleared off; cross-ploughing and 

 grubbing, to level the ground, should follow ; and 

 thorough harrowing should finish the cultivation. This 

 should be done at the time chosen for planting out. In 

 the autumn, when the seedlings are on an average from 

 six to twelve inches high, you may set them out in the 

 nursery, as thus : plant in rows three feet apart, with a 

 distance of from six to twelve inches between the plants 

 in the rows. "When the ground has been pulverised and 

 made level, stretch a cord, fastened to two pegs, in the 

 direction of the first row you mean to plant. With a 

 spade, open a small trench along the cord, deep and wide 

 enough to contain the roots of the plants. Place these in 

 the trench, holding them upright and pressing a little 

 earth on the roots with the hand, and then fill up the 

 trench with the spade. Lastly, tread the earth firmly, 

 but carefully, about the plants. 



If the rows are not kept at a regular distance, it will 

 add greatly to the difficulty of conducting the subse- 

 quent cultivation necessary to keep the nursery in good 

 order. 



G-reat care must be taken to prevent the roots of the 



