8 
vent the flea and louse on young plants by the use of lime, to- 
bacco, ashes, soot, &c., but of late years they seem to have 
been go very abundant, and so materially aided in their work 
of destruction by the black grub below and the green grub 
above ground, that many complete failures have occurred in 
endeavors to grow plants. To avoid this [recommend that the 
ground intended for plants be plowed or spaded in the Fall, 
and if stable manure is to be used, let it be well rotted and 
turned under at this time, and again work the soil early in the 
Spring, at this time turning under a good dressing of potash 
salts; keep the ground free from weeds by occasional stirring 
until the time for sowing the seed, then lay out a bed 
six feet wide and as long as you please; make the s. rface 
smooth, and enclose it with common boards ten or twelve 
inches in width set edgewise perpendicular one-half their 
width under ground and held in place by stakes 
driven at the joints and centres. Within this frame, beginning 
at either end, dig and thoroughly pulverize the soil by means 
of a spading fork, potato fork, orsimilar implement, watching 
closely for any grub worms which may not have been eradicated 
by the previous workings‘and which we now propose to keep 
cut by means of the partially sunken boards. 
Fertilizers may at this time be applied and forked under 
or raked in, using judgment as to method and quantity which 
must be determined by the previous condition of the soil and 
the strength of the material used, remembering that it is not 
well to have any chemicals in too close proximity to the tender 
rootlets of the young plants, and while poor soil is no place in 
which to grow healthy plants, yet they should not be over 
stimulated, but the ground must be in proper condition tokeep 
up a vigorous and healthy growth. Let this digging be done 
in the latter part of the afternoon when the sun has spent its 
force and the soil will not dry out too quickly; rake the bed 
as you go and sow the seed while the surface soil is fresh and 
moist, using a ten inch board as long as your bed is wide which 
place five or six inches from the end or head of the frame, 
crosswise, and with a blunt stick, say three-fourths of an inch 
in diameter, draw a mark not more than one-half an inch deep 
along each edge of the board; sow the seed thinly in these 
