March.] THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. I95 
Or, it may be sown thinly in drills, six inches asunder, and 
covered the same depth as above; give the beds, both before and 
after the plants are up, occasional waterings, to strengthen them and 
forward their growth; and they must be kept very free from weeds, 
by a careful hand-weeding at different times during the summer, . 
When a quantity of asparagus for forcing, is annually required, 
you must act as directed in February, page 125. 
Sowing Beet Seed. 
You may now sow some of the different sorts of beet; the red, 
for its large root, and the green and white sorts for their leaves in 
soups, stewing, 8cc. 
For this purpose, make choice of a piece of rich, deep ground; 
lay it out into four feet wide beds, push the loose earth into the al- 
leys, then sow the seed tolerably thin, and cover it with the eartl) 
out of these alleys, to about three quarters of an inch deep. Or, let 
drills be drawn with a hoe, near an inch deep, and a foot or a little 
better asunder; drop the seeds thinly theiein, and cover them over 
the same depth as above. Or, you may sow the seed on a piece of 
ground, rough after being dug, and rake it well in. 
Likewise, you may now sow the Mangel Wurtzel, root of 
scarcity, or great German beet, for its large leaves to boil as spin- 
ach, its thick fleshy leaf-stalks, to dress like asparagus, and its 
roots for boiling, before they become of a very large size. The leaves 
and roots are excellent food for cattle; producing, during summer, 
an uncommon abundance of foliage; the outside leaves, for this pur- 
pose, may be stripped off every eight days during the season. 
Sowing Onion Seed. 
In order to have onions in good perfection the first year, from 
seed, which can certainly be effected in the middle, but more par- 
ticularly in the eastern states, you must be careful to fix upon a 
suitable soil, which is a strong, light, rich loam; always avoiding 
that which is subject to become parched, or bound up by heat and 
drought; or that, in consequence of too large a proportion of sand, 
is likely to become violently hot in summer, for this is extremely 
injurious to those plants, by causing them to come to an untimely 
maturity, manifested by the extraordinary perfection that onions ar- 
rive to in the moderate climates of Europe, where they have not to 
encounter a violent summer heat. 
If this ground had been strongly manured in November, and 
then thrown up into high-sloping ridges, it would be much improv- 
ed and meliorated by the frost, 8cc. and could now be easily and ex- 
pediously levelled for sowing. 
When this is not the case, you may now give such ground a good 
coat of well-rotted cow-dung, or other good rotten manure, and dig 
it a full spade deep, incorporating the dung therewith, and pulver- 
izing the earth as you proceed in the digging; this should not be 
attempted till the ground is sufficiently dry to pulverize well and 
