322 THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. [April- 
fore and after the plants come up, which, being very essential, 
should not be omitted. 
The best kinds to sow, are the solid, and red stalked celery, both 
of which are very fine, and blanch delightfully. 
Those who have not the convenience of a hot-bed, to raise early 
plants, and wish to have celery as soon as possible, will find the 
following method, of some importance. Make choice of a piece 
of very rich, light loam, that lies well to the sun; give it a good 
coat of manure, and dig it carefully in, one spade deep at least; 
then at the distance of four feet, form trenches, north and south, 
about ten inches deep, eight wide at bottom, and the edges sloping 
outward regularly, towards the centre of the ridges, formed by the 
earth, thrown up, the better to admit the sun to the seeds and 
plants; in the bottom of these trenches, lay three inches of very old- 
horse dung; cast over this, the same depth of earth, and with your 
spade, dig and incorporate both well together; cover the whole 
with mould previously made fine with the rake, and draw a shallow 
drill with your finger, in the centre of each trench, not more than 
a quarter of an inch deep; in which sow your seed very thin, and 
draw the earth lightly over it, just to cover the seed and no more. 
This should be done as early in this, or the preceding month, as 
the ground can be got to work freely. 
When the plants are up, they must be kept free from weeds, and 
when grown a couple of inches, thinned to the distance of five from 
one another, always leaving the strongest and most promising. 
When about eight inches high, draw to their roots on each side, 
three inches deep of mould, and let them grow on, till of sufficient 
size, to earth them up for blanching; then they are to be earthed 
in the general way. Plants thus treated, will arrive at perfection 
three weeks earlier, than those managed in the common method. 
*is2}aragus. 
The forking, dressing, sowing, and planting of asparagus, if not 
done last month, should be performed the first week in this, parti- 
cularly, the forking and dressing; for the shoots will be advancing 
rapidly, and if not done in time, they will be greatly injured, either 
by omitting it altogether, or performing it, at an untimely season. 
New plantations ought to be made, in the early part of the month; 
the seed may be sown at any time therein, but the earlier the bet- 
ter. For the methods of doing the whole, see pages 192, 193, and 
194. 
Sowing Beet Seed. 
Beets of every kind may now be sown, with good success. For the 
kinds, and methods of sowing them, see page 195. 
Sowing Onion and Leek Seed. 
Onion seed, if sown in the first week of this month, agreeably to 
the directions given in page 195, will arrive at a tolerable size for- 
