82 © 
The saving of seed by private gardeners, is 
hardly to oe recommended. Things run- 
ning to seed give a garden a rude appear- 
ance, often occupying ground that is wanted, 
and might be used to better purpose; and 
tue case often is, that seeding plants (in pri- 
\.itc gardens) are neglected in some measure, 
01 destroyed by birds, and come to little at 
' **'"■ t Perhaps they are not saved from pro- 
,w'i plants. It is a particular business to raise 
seeds for sale, and, generally, they are best 
pan from tnose whose province it is to deal 
in them. 
, snould be saved from fine forward 
points, secured from rocking about when 
rney get tall; guard them against birds, ga- 
mer them regularly as they ripen, lest they 
shed and are lost, and keep them dry. Flow- 
eis it may be proper to save the seed of, 
and it is little trouble. It should be a rule 
for flower-seeds in general to be fresh from 
year to year ; though it kept dry, and from 
much air, many sorts will grow that are 
ouler: curious flower-seeds are kept well in 
phials : others may fie in small drawers, and 
some hung up, or kept on shelves in their 
pods. 
Seeds may be forwarded for sowing bv 
various ways of procuring a germination be- 
fore they are put into the ground. In sum- 
mer it has been usual to steep both broad 
and kidney beans in soft water, about twenty- 
tour hours, to forward their growth, and to 
ascertain their vitality. If the ground is very 
clry, when these seeds are committed to it, 
either steeped or not, it is a good way to 
make drills or trenches to plant them in, wa- 
tering them well lirst, and then pressing the 
seed in a little. Any sort of the broad beans, 
or even peas, may be forwarded, when 
ground is not for the present ready, by lay- 
ing them in damp mould, in a garden-pot ; 
or otherwise, a layer of earth, and a layer 
of seeds. See. and they may be put into 
drills or trenches, with care, when the ra- 
il ale has got some length, the mould being 
light, and the work finished by a gentle wa- 
tering. 
The smaller seeds, as carrots, &c. may be 
prepared for sowing, by simply mixing them 
m a little moist sand, or fine earth, taking 
care that they do not lie longer than the 
usual time of their beginning to sprout ; but 
this practice need only be adopted for seeds 
tlut are long in coming up, and then there 
is some advantage in havingthem to sow in a 
stale ready to strike immediately on fresh- 
dug earth. 
'1 he season for committing seeds to the 
ground, should be as early as the nature of 
the plant to be cultivated will bear ; for the 
forward productions which come without 
forcing, are the best as to size, flavour, and 
fruitfulness, if they meet with no material 
check from weather. It is the proper am- 
bition of gardeners also, to have some of the 
first of each kind of vegetables and fruits, 
and thus to vie with others. 
Let tiiis direction for early sowing be un- 
derstood, not only of spring, but autumn 
crops ; that the plants designed for winter 
use, or to stand for spring, may be strong, 
and well established in the ground : though 
for those designed for spring, it is advisable 
to have two or three different sowings ; for 
lettuces, as an instance, that are forward, 
GARDENING, 
will sometimes fail when backward plants 
shall do well. 
lo be sure of a crop, and in some things 
a succession of crops, various sowings should 
be made through the year, at all times that 
are not too unnatural as to season ; for it is 
an object in gardening, not only to have 
early and late productions, but never to be 
without what may be produced. Every 
sowing that is macle, tire early ones in par- 
ticular, should be noticed in time, whether 
it is likely to succeed, that the work may 
be repeated. But a little caution is neces- 
sary, that this business be not overdone; 
for though there may seem to be a sufficient 
distance of time in sowing for succession 
crops, yet they tread sometimes upon the 
heels of one another so fast as to occasion a 
superfluity.. 1 his is often the case in peas 
and beans, in the height of summer, and es- 
pecially if a hot season : this caution is the 
more necessary, where there is no ground 
to spare, or but few hands to cultivate it ; la- 
bour with discretion. 
Sowings should be generally performed on 
Iresh dug or stirred ground. The digging 
should therefore be done as near the time 
designed to sow as can be. If the ground 
turns up raw, or wet, as early in the spring 
it is apt to do, a little time must be allowed 
if to dry, and so also if rain falls first. In 
this case, seed should be sown as soon as 
ever the ground may be trampled on not to 
hang to the feet ; for when the soil is too wet, 
it binds and does harm, especially in heavy 
ground. It is to be observed, however, that 
sowing in drills or on beds that are not to be 
trampled, the moisture of the ground is ra- 
ther an advantage, provided in the last case, 
that the ground ft ill admit a rake, and the 
soil is not too wet to drop somewhat loosely 
about the seeds. 
r I he proper depth at which seeds should be 
sown is to be carefully observed; if too deep, 
they will either rot, or not thrive well; and if 
too shallow, they are liable to be injuriously 
affected by frost, wind, drought, or birds; 
but of the two rather too shallow, than too 
deep, is best, and this we are taught by na- 
ture, whose sowings are mostly superficial. 
1 he smaller the seed the liner should the 
soil be, and the less also the covering ; so 
that while some, as the seed of celery, is lo 
be but barely covered, others, as peas and 
beans, may have a depth of two, three, or 
four inches. But some regard is to be had 
to the season and soil; in a warm season, and 
light soil, sow deeper, and the contrary shal- 
lower. 
The quantity of seed sown is a thing to be 
attended to with some exactness. Small 
seeds go a great way, and require a careful 
hand to distribute them ; for though sowing 
a little too much is a trifle as to the value of 
seeds, yet to have them come up crowding- 
thick is an evil. To sow evenly as to quan- 
tity, is an object of practice worthy of care, 
as it secures a better crop, and more easily 
managed in the thinning. If the seed is sus- 
pected, sow thicker ; poor land will require 
-more seed than rich. 
It is not generally advisable to sow several 
sorts of seed on the same spot, as some per- 
sons are accustomed to do. The gardeners 
about London foll»w the practice ; as profit is 
their great object, and not neatness or pro- 
priety. On the same piece they sow radishes, 
lettuces, and carrots *, the radishes are drawn 
young for the table, the lettuces to plant out, 
and a sufficient crop of carrots is left, for car- 
rots should not be very near to grow large : 
this is as reasonable a combination as any 1 
that is made ; but still, if not short of ground, 
each kind separate will be found best. In 
defence of this mode of culture, it is said, if 
one crop fails, the others may do, and there 
is no loss of ground or time; ’’and if all sue- j 
coed they do very well. Some .little things 
of this sort, indeed, may well be done; as a ■ 
piece ot ground new-planted with horse- 
radish may be top-cropped with radishes or 
spinach, &c. A thin crop of onions upon 
new asparagus-beds, may also take place, 
drawing them while young from about the 
plants. 
All seeds come up best when moderately 
pressed with the earth ; for if they lie too j 
lightly in contact with it, cold and ’drought 
more easily aiiect them ; and w hen once seeds 
begin to germinate, they are impatient of 
both. To trample seeds in is on the whole 
better than any other pressure. This done, j 
lay all immediately and neatly level with a 
wide rake, drawing off stones’, &c. but do it 
lightly, to avoid driving in the teeth of the j 
rake, which would remove the seed, and , 
make it come up irregularly. 
Propagation by suckers is a mode of culture j 
rather peculiar to trees and shrubs. The \ 
things to be observed in this business are, to 
take them up with some care from the mo- I 
ther plant, so as not to injure its root, nor • 
the sucker’s own root, by pulling it up with- I 
out properly loosening it first. The earth 
should be moved aside by a trowel, and then i 
the sucker cut off by a knife, and not with a ] 
spade, as is common. Of those hardy things ] 
ot which there is plentv, this rough way 
does not signify much as ‘to the sucker, but 
it may injure the root too much that it comes \ 
from. Wherever a root appears barked, ] 
the part below should be cut olf. If it is de- 1 
sired to succeed well, in propagating by i 
suckers, consider that all young roots are j 
tender : let them be trimmed to form, and j 
planted immediately ; or at least let them be , 
covered with earth or laid by the heels, as it j 
is called. Suckers with poor roots, must j 
have their heads reduced the more. 
Propagation by slips is of two sorts, either ] 
from the root, or stem ; and several sorts of 
flowers and herbs are increased this way. j 
When from the roots, if the whole is not taken j 
up, move the earth carefully aside, and slip 
off by a pressure of the thumb and finger, | 
and be cautious of hurting the fibres of the 
slips, planting with fine and good mould 
about them. Take off slips from the stem 
carefully by the push of the thumb, and not 
too many from the same plant, as it is apt to 
injure the place by tearing off some ot the 
wood. Slips from the stem are to be con- 
sidered as cuttings, and treated accordingly. I 
They take more certainly, and make better 
roots, than cuttings. 
Offset is a term sometimes applied to slips 
from fibrous roots ; but more properly so 
from bulbous roots, which put forth many 
offsets. These are slipped away at the time 
they are taken up for removal or replanting, 
and cqmmonly take two or three years before 
they bear flowers : dispose of them" therefore in 
a nursery, where they may remain undisturbed 
till they come to a flowering state. Keep 
