DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



pressed upon it, the seed dries up and the embryo perishes. Others, again, are 

 buried too deeply, and though the seed swells, yet sufficient warmth and air are 

 not obtained to give it life. The first thing in sowing, is a suitable preparation 

 of the soil, so that the young roots thrown out, may easily penetrate it. It must 

 be made more or less tine for different seeds. Peas, Corn, Beans and coarse 

 seeds do not require the soil to be as finely pulverized, as small seeds. The 

 seeds must also be firmly fixed in the soil, and pressed by the earth in every 

 part, in order to retain moisture sufficient to encourage vegetation ; but they 

 should not be so deeply buried as to be deprived of air, or to have their ascend- 

 ing shoots impeded by too much soil above. In all cases, seeds should be sown 

 in fresh dug soil, that they may have the benefit of the moisture within ; but 

 they should never be put in when the soil is really wet, as the ground will bake, 

 and the seeds perish. Moist weather in spring or summer is excellent for put- 

 ting in seeds, provided the ground is mellow. Just before a light rain is the 

 best possible time for sowing most seeds. When the seeds are planted, the earth 

 should be usually pressed upon them with a roller, or by treading with the feet, 

 in the case of large seeds, or by smoothing the surface with the back of the 

 spade, or by walking over them on a board for the smaller kinds. Light must 

 be excluded until the roots can derive nourishment from the soil. When they 

 ccme up, keep them free from weeds, and thin as directed under the name of 

 each plant. 



ofn^ktiori ^ '^^kiik.^enient of ^^]^dei\^. 



The most suitable situation is a very gentle inclination towards the East or 

 South-East, that it may have all the advantages of the morning sun. All good 

 gardeners take pride in having early crops, and this inclination insures an early 

 maturity of the vegetable. A North-E astern aspect is to be avoided, as our 

 worst storms are from that direction. A North-V\'cstei-n exposure, though cold 

 and late, is less liable to injury from late and early frosts, as vegetation in such 

 situations is sheltered somewhat from the rising sun, and does not suffer so much 

 if it becomes slightly frozen. It is not the frost that injures the plants so much 

 as the direct heat of the sun falling upon the frozen leaves and blossoms. Cab- 

 bage, Cauliflower, Spinage, Lettuce and other salads, are much more easily 

 brought to perfection in a northern exposure. Many of these, in the more 

 southern climates, run up to seed immediately if exposed to the full sun. The 

 soil, too, is usually richer, and will retain its fertihty longer, other things being 

 equal, in a northern exposure. It is a great advantage, if the garden slope at 

 all, to have it slope in more than one direction, giving a choice of exposure, and 



