THE NECESSARY QUANTITIES OF SEEDS AND ROOTS. 



9 



required, entails not only an unnecessary- 

 expense on the owner, but if the quantities 

 be not properly proportioned to each 

 other, and each in as near a proportion 

 as possible to the quantity of produce 

 required, he will be in a second dilemma, 

 when he finds he has more of one sort 

 than he requires, and too little of some 

 others. 



Various estimates have been formed, 

 and scales of quantities drawn out, ever 

 since the days of Gordon of Fountain 

 Bridge, who published his " Pocket Dic- 

 tionary" in 1774. That great difficulty 

 attends even an approximation to the 

 truth, so as to be of universal application, 

 will be sufficiently evident, when we take 

 into consideration that some families use 

 a greater quantity of vegetables than 

 others; some requiring them all the 

 year over, while others are content to 

 have them at such times as they are pro- 

 duced naturally in the open air. Some 

 prefer more of one sort than of others, 

 and there are many esculents which some 

 reject altogether. Much also depends on 

 whether an English or French cook steers 

 the helm of affairs in the kitchen : the 

 former, we have invariably found, uses 

 the greater quantity ; while the latter, 

 while he uses them in less bulk, is far 

 more particular in having them young, 

 and in proper season. 

 • Again, there is the nature of the soil 

 and the situation to be taken into con- 

 sideration, as well as whether the garden 

 is protected from game, or open to their 

 attacks. With these data all to be taken 

 into account, it is quite clear that only 

 an approximation to the exact quantities 

 can be arrived at, even by the most 

 conversant in those matters ; but that 

 approximation is better than none at all. 

 Before, however, stating what we conceive 

 to be the necessary quantities under these 

 circumstances, we must premise a few 

 words of warning to those gentlemen 

 who make up their own seed-lists, and 

 who are always on the look-out for cheap 

 houses, and advertised seed sales by auc- 

 tion — in too many cases got up by a set 

 of swindlers, whose chief personal cha- 

 racteristics are a pair of huge mustaches, 

 and an affectation of being totally ignorant 

 of the English language. To such we 

 say, Take the responsibility upon your- 

 selves ; and when you find no crop forth- 



coming, blame neither your gardener nor 

 your soil. The more respectable the 

 firm you purchase from is, the more 

 certain you may be of avoiding disap- 

 pointment. Besides, you have a remedy 

 against the one ; none whatever against 

 the other. The law will afford you pro- 

 tection, and award you full and fair com- 

 pensation for loss in the one case, but 

 you may whistle for it in the other. Be- 

 sides, firms of respectability have a 

 character to maintain, of far more impor- 

 tance to them than any gain that could 

 arise out of any fraudulent transaction. 



We greatly object to most of the former 

 seed estimates published, because they 

 are in general below the mark ; and 

 much as we deprecate thick sowing, still, 

 seeds are now so cheap that it were false 

 economy to have such a deficient supply 

 at first, as to be compelled to re-sow a 

 crop cut off by insects, frost, or other 

 accidents, to which all such crops are 

 liable ; or to be without a supply at hand, 

 in the event of the crop being entirely 

 destroyed. 



We give below the seed estimate of 

 Gordon, of 1774, to show the quantities 

 he allows, but more particularly to show 

 that many of the vegetables still popular 

 with us were so nearly a century ago. 



" A seed bill for a private family, calcu- 

 lated to crop a garden consisting of an acre 

 of ground. — 4 lb. early Charlton pease ; 4 

 lb. Nicol's early Hotspur do. ; 4 lb. 

 golden early do. ; 4 lb. common Hasting, 

 or Essex Reading do. ; 4 lb. Turkey Hot- 

 spur, or long marrow- fat do.; 4 lb. dwarf 

 marrow-fat do. ; 4 lb. Leadman's long 

 dwarf do. ; 1 lb. early Mazagan beans ; 

 1 lb. early Lisbon do. ; 2 lb. long-podded 

 do.; 4 lb. Tokar do.; 4 lb. Windsor or 

 Turkey do.; \ lb. Barbary kidney do.; 

 ^ lb. Battersea do. ; ^ lb. Strasburg 

 onion ; 3 oz. red Spanish do. ; 1 oz. silver- 

 skinned do. ; 4 oz. London leek ; 4 oz. 

 orange carrot; 1 oz. early horn do.; 2 

 oz. Dutch parsnip ; \ lb. early Dutch tur- 

 nip; 2 'oz. yellow do.; 2 oz. red- topped 

 do. ; ^ lb. shallot ; ^ lb. garlic ; 4 oz. 

 early London short-topped radish ; 2 oz. 

 salmon do.; 1 oz. turnip-rooted do.; 

 1 oz. black Spanish do.; 6 dr. cabbage 

 lettuce ; 4 dr. ice or white Cos do. ; 2 dr. 

 Silesia do.; 2 dr. tennis-ball do.; 2 dr. 

 brown Dutch do. ; 4 oz. curled cress ; 2 

 oz. broad-leaved do. ; 4 oz. common do. ; 



