412 
FAMILIAR LESSONS ON PRACTICAL GARDENING. 
recently transplanted crops of all the cabbage 
tribe. 
Potatoes are benefited by earthing up, but 
it should be done in another way. When the 
stems have grown up about six inches high 
or less, the soil betw r een the rows should be 
drawn up with a pronged hoe, so as to cover 
about three inches of the stem (supposing them 
planted five or six inches deep), the soil thus 
wrought forming a broad, flattish ridge, with 
the potato plants in the centre. It is not 
uncommon to see this operation done by form- 
ing a high narrow ridge of earth ; but this is 
objectionable. The potato plant throws out 
runnel's from the lower part of its stem, and 
these runners bear the tubers, which are the 
esculent parts ; these spread horizontally, or 
even have a tendency to grow upwards. The 
intention in earthing up, is, to provide a suf- 
ficient space for these runners to spread and 
bear their tubers underground ; because not 
only is the quality and appearance of the 
tubers deteriorated if they protrude through the 
surface, — for then they acquire a green colour, 
and a bitter, nauseous flavour, — but if they 
are much exposed at an early stage of their 
growth, tbe tubers are not formed at all, the 
runners growing away into leafy stems, — for 
the tuber of the potato is, in reality, neither 
more nor less than a stem, which has acquired 
a peculiar form by being developed under- 
ground, and having a tendency to succulency. 
Other crops are earthed up for the purpose 
of blanching the stems, which renders them 
either crisp or mild, or both. The principal 
crops so treated, are celery and leeks. In the 
case of celery, the earth is adjusted about the 
stems from time to time, after the plants have 
grown six or eight inches high, the leaves of 
each plant being gathered up in one hand, 
while the soil — previously broken fine with a 
spade — is placed around it, but not so high 
as to bury its heart. This requires to be 
done at intervals throughout the period of 
growth, the few first operations being done 
by hand, and the later ones carefully by a 
spade, the bank ultimately forming a steep, 
sloping ridge, terminating sharply to throw 
off the rain. The leeks are banked up with 
soil around the base of the stem when they 
are nearly full grown; but, from the nature and 
habit of the plants, this is easily done by the 
spade. All operations of this kind should be 
done when the soil is moderately dry on the 
surface ; but, in the case of the celery, it is 
particularly necessary that the plants them- 
selves should be quite dry, and the soil nearly 
so, when earthing up is performed. 
MANURING. 
Plants will not grow without a supply of 
food. In a garden, this supply of food is 
maintained for them by the application of 
manures. A good deal of chemical knowledge 
is necessary to the full understanding of the 
nature of manures, and the best means of 
applying them. We shall here only briefly 
enumerate some of the most easily attainable 
kinds of manure, and offer a few general 
remarks on the mode of preparing and apply- 
ing them. 
All green succulent vegetable matter is 
useful as manure, but not very lasting. This 
opens up an inexhaustible supply for every 
cottager ; green moss, the succulent tops of 
various shrubs, or green fern, are within the 
reach of every person who has a garden. 
These, together with weeds, or trimmings 
from plants of any kind, should be dug into 
the soil while fresh, and the crop sown or 
planted soon afterwards ; they should not be 
buried too deeply, and have most virtue when 
about the state of maturity. 
Sea-weeds afford a very valuable, but not 
lasting manure. They should be dug in with- 
out delay, as in the case of green manure. 
Wood ashes containing charcoal form a 
good manure, as also does soot ; these should 
be sprinkled, the latter especially, in small 
quantities over the surface as a top-dressing, 
and then lightly forked in and well mixed 
with the soil, either before or after planting. 
One of the most valuable of easily accessible 
manures is found by charring or smother- 
burning any kind of refuse or superabundant 
wood, such as old tan, saw-dust, turf, peat- 
earth, pruuings, wood-chips, trimmings of 
vegetables, &c. Any kind of vegetable refuse 
may by this means be converted into manure; 
and not only these, but even sods of earth 
and clay, provided some wood is at hand to 
secure the ignition of the mass. The process 
is pretty much alike with each different ar- 
ticle, and is something like the following : — 
First, raise a platform of earth, somewhat 
above the ground level, and cut across this 
two lines of drains four inches deep and wide, 
meeting and crossing in the centre, where 
they must be open, the remainder being co- 
vered over with tiles, and the outer mouth 
closed until their action is needed. In the 
centre, drive into the ground, at equal dis- 
tances, in a triangular position, and about 
eighteen inches apart at the bottom, three 
stout billets of wood ; fix the tops of these 
together to form a chimney, inserting between 
them another thick billet, that may be drawn 
out afterwards to give vent to the fire. At 
the bottom, about these stakes, place some 
dry brushwood or other easily ignitible mate- 
rial, in moderate bulk. Then place a thickness 
of eight or ten inches of the refuse material 
to be charred, and over this another layer of 
the easily ignitible material ; then more refuse, 
