336 
PRODUCTIVE FAMILY GARDENING. 
other salads, may be sown every month, if 
the demand warrants its being done, but in 
the summer time so many things crowd in 
upon the gardener that he hardly knows what 
to be at, so that he ought well to study not 
only the most useful vegetables, but also those 
which are longest in perfection when once 
produced. 
PEAS. 
Here we have a keeping as well as a 
perishable stock. It is not the most desirable 
crop for persons of limited means, but it is to 
be taken into consideration that what are not 
eaten green are good dry ; there is no reason 
why a man should not grow his peas for soup 
as well as his celery, and no dry peas can be bet- 
ter than those he saves and ripens himself. It is 
a general notion that peas are not split for soup 
and puddings, till they are too old to grow, 
and it may be readily supposed that what a 
man grows himself he can depend on. There 
is no difficulty in bruising peas, and new ones 
shall swell better, and taste better, than old 
ones. Peas, therefore, may be looked upon 
in the light of a double crop, if wanted, or a 
safe crop if saved all for harvest. Of the 
hundreds of varieties in cultivation many 
have very equal claims ; novelty may do 
something for a pea, and, of course, there are 
some which have both novelty and excellence 
to recommend them : we have found all the 
following to be good : — Cormack's Prince 
Albert, Shilling's early grotto, Flask's victory, 
"Ward's incomparable or British Queen, 
Knight's improved dwarf green marrow, 
Groom's dwarf, TVaite's Queen of the dwarfs, 
Girling's Danecroft early, and Inrperial. The 
Early frame, Charlton, and many others, are, 
however, still favourites. Peas may be sown 
from November to July every three weeks, 
but it is for a man to consider whether he 
ought to devote much or little ground to a crop 
which, if eaten green, is a luxury of some 
cost, and if saved dry may cost more than 
they could be purchased for. However, there 
is a great fault among pea growers; they sow 
the seeds much thicker than they ought to be 
sown, and therefore waste a great deal. Peas 
ought to be sown in drills, and if there were 
half the quantity usually sown the crop would 
be heavier ; when up above ground, earth 
ought to be drawn up to their stems ; the 
soil bruised and closed about their roots, and 
brought up to a kind of bank on the cold side 
of them; sticks should be placed to them at the 
same time, and after this they only require to 
be kept clear of weeds and in parching wea- 
ther to have water. 
RHUBARB. 
This has become so general a favourite 
from its wholesomeness and flavour, in sea- 
sons when fruit cannot be had, and is more- 
over so strongly recommended to families, 
that a portion of the garden ought to be de- 
voted to a few good roots — a dozen will be 
found enough for a moderate family, and they 
ought to be two feet from each other every 
way. The ground should be well dressed, the 
plants young, the season autumn. They 
should be planted without bruising their roots, 
and they will do all the rest themselves. If 
wanted earlier in the spring than they will 
come naturally, put a box, or rather a wooden 
trough, two feet high and one foot diameter, 
over a plant, cover the open end that is upper- 
most with a flat tile or a proper cover, and 
surround the whole with dung or leaves ; it 
will hasten the growth : or pot up a strong 
root or two and put them in a warm cellar, 
or a kitchen-cupboard, or [a greenhouse, or 
any other place where the temperature is 
raised ; but it is never so good as from the 
natural ground, grown in the natural way. 
SPINACH. 
The winter spinach is the most useful and 
economical, andis as good in summer time as 
in winter. The difference between this and 
the round-leaved is, that the winter kind takes 
longer to perfect the plant and seed it than 
the round-leaved does, and, therefore, it is 
longer eatable. It is not pulled up as one 
half the spring spinach is, but the leaves are 
picked off from time to time as they grow, and 
a good bed of spinach yields for a long time. 
The round-leaf spinach will be better for the 
same treatment, and looks much larger for it, 
but it is not so long in perfection. Spinach of 
either kind may be sowed in drills eighteen 
inches apart any season, but it is usual to sow 
the round-leaf from January to July, and the 
prickly, or winter, from August to October. 
If it comes up too thick, pick out some when 
they are large enough to eat, and thus thin it, 
when you can use the surplus. 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON GENERAL 
SUBJECTS. 
Many other subjects might be mentioned 
under separate heads, but we have gone 
through all that concerns those who wish their 
gardens to be usefully productive ; we have 
not devoted a chapter to the herb bed be- 
cause it is so very simple, and forms a subor- 
dinate part of the establishment, though highly 
useful. It is not very difficult to procure a 
plant or two of sage, mint, thyme, marjoram, 
and other herbs ; and very little of these will 
do for a large family. Parsley is a more 
generally useful herb, and is raised from seed; 
any of the perennial herbs will tear to pieces 
and strike like weeds ; and parsley should be 
sown twice or three times a year, and any 
root whose leaves are not double and curled, 
