FOR THE SOUTHERN STATES. 19 



obtained from any sash factory. I consider a wooden frame from five to six feet wide and ten 

 feet six inches long a very good size. It should be at least six inches higher at the back than in 

 the front, and covered by three sashes 3hx5 feet. The manure ought not to be over one morith 

 old; it shoidd be thrown together in a heap, and when commencing to heat, be worked over with 

 a fork, and the long and short manure evenly mixed. In this State the ground is generally low, 

 and to retain the heat of the manure for a longer time it is best to put the manure on top of the 

 ground— that is, make a bank two feet longer and two feet wider than the frame. Keep the 

 edges straight and the corners firm; when thrown up about eighteen inches trample the manure 

 doW to six or eight inches, then put on another layer of eighteen inches and trample down 

 again; place thereon the frame and sash, and fill in six inches of good earth. After about five 

 days stir the ground to kill the weeds which may have come up, then sow the seeds. In lower 

 Louisiana the ground is too wet to dig out eighteen inches deep, throw in the manure and 

 trample down as recommended in the North; by a few hard rains, such as we frequently have in 

 winter, the manure would become so soaked beneath the ground that the heat would be gone. 

 Another advantage, when the fi-ame is put above the ground, is, that it will go dov/n with the 

 manure gi-adiially, and there remains always the same space between the glass and the gTound. 

 If the gi-ound is dug out and the manure put into the frame, the ground will sink down so low, 

 after a short time, that the sun will have httle effect upon it^ and plants will become spindly. 



SOWING SEEDS. 



Some seeds are so"^ti at once where they are to remain and mature. Others are sown in 

 seed beds and transplanted afterwards. Seeds should be covered according to theu" sizes, a 

 coveiing of earth twice the size of the seed is about the maximum. Some seeds, such as Beans, 

 Corn and Peas, can be covered from one to two inches, and they -svill come up well. Here is a 

 difference again: Wrinkled Peas and Sugar Corn have to be covered lighter and more carefully 

 than Marrowfat Peas or the common varieties of Corn. It depends upon the nature of the soil, 

 season of the year, etc. For instance, in heavy wet soils seeds have to be covered hghter than 

 in sandy Ught gTound. Seeds which are sown duiing summer in the open ground, such as Beets 

 and Carrots, should be soaked over night in water and rolled in ashes or plaster before sowing; 

 they ^vill come up quicker. When they are sown in a seed bed, the ground should be light 

 enough not to bake after a rain. Some varieties of seeds reqmre shade when so^oi during the 

 summer, such as Cauhflower, Celery and Lettuce. Care should be taken to have the shade at 

 least three feet from the ground, and shade only after the sun has been on the bed for two or 

 three hours; and remove again early in the afternoon, so the plants may become sturdy. If too 

 much shaded they vnR be drawn up, long-legged, and not fit to be set out in the open ground. 

 The most successful cabbage planters in this neighborhood sow their seeds in the open ground, 

 towards the end of July and during August, and give them no shade but water, and keep the 

 gi-ound moist from the day of sowing till the plants are transplanted. Seeds should be sown 

 thinly in the seed bed. If plants come up too thickly they are apt to damp off. 



Lettuce seed should be sprouted during the hot months before sowing, according to direc- 

 tions given for June. 



To sow Turnips on a large scale during late summer and early fall months, the gTOund 

 should be jorepared in advance, and the seed sown just before or during a rain. Small pieces of 

 ground, of course, can be sown at any time and watered afterwards. For covering all kinds of 

 seeds, a fork is preferable to a rake; with either implement, care must be taken not to cover the 

 seeds too deep. Beans, Peas and Corn are covered Avith the hoe. Some fine seeds, such as 

 Thyme or Tobacco, are covered enough when pressed mth the back of the spade to the ground. 

 The seedsman is often blamed for selhng seeds which have not come up, when the same are 

 perfectly good; but, perhaps, through ignorance the party by whom they were sown, placed them 

 too deep or too shallow in the ground, or the gTound may have been just moist enough to swell 

 the seeds, and they failed to come up. At other times washing rains after sowing beat the 

 ground and form a crust that the seeds are not able to penetrate, or, if there is too much fresh 

 manure in the ground, it will burn the seeds, and destroy its vitahty. 



When seeds, such as Beans, Cucumbers, Melons and Squash, are planted before it is warm 

 enough, they are very apt to rot if it rains. 



