52 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
and often cannot recover themselves. The 
heat should he about 60 by day, and 55 by 
night. It is desirable always to have it 
cooler by night ; for which purpose the fire 
should be always alike in still weather, and 
the difference of temperature between night 
and day will occur without any pains-taking 
to make it so ; but it will be found in windy 
weather that the fire must be increased to 
keep up the ordinary temperature. Wind 
cools a house more than frost, though it is 
not generally noticed, perhaps. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Peas, one of the most important of the 
kitchen-garden crops, should be sown as often 
as once in three weeks, and in such quantities 
as will supply the demand. Many prefer two 
or three sowings, and there is an end of them. 
We consider that frequent sowings in smaller 
quantities diversify the produce of the garden, 
and keep a better succession. The first sow- 
ing, therefore, this month, should be three 
weeks from the last sowing in January ; and 
so continue three weeks apart, and in such 
quantities as you anticipate will meet the 
demand. It is a bad plan to have large crops 
coming in upon you at particular periods, 
which is generally the case, when, with sub- 
jects that do not keep, you provide what is 
called main crops. 
Spinach. — Sow in open weather some round- 
leaf spinach. This is a crop which is in de- 
mand when it first comes in, and a succession 
is best kept up by sowing a little every three 
weeks. If the weather be mild, it will come 
up and grow rapidly, and should be thinned 
out where it is very thick, but not too much, 
because when it has four good rough leaves it 
may be drawn for use to thin the rest, which 
may grow larger. Winter spinach, now in 
use, should have only the larger leaves picked, 
and the centres grow out, to keep a supply. 
Asparagus and Sea-Kale may be forced 
still by the ordinary means. The former in a 
hot-bed, the latter by covering up somehow 
with boxes or pots, and surrounding them with 
hot stable dung, or fermenting leaves. Rhubarb 
may also be forced by the means of boxes 
or pots on purpose, and stable dung or leaves. 
Old hot-beds in which asparagus has been 
forced and done with, will be in excellent order 
for other things, first clearing out the asparagus 
roots, and levelling the stuff. 
Potatoes. — A few ash-leaf kidneys maybe 
planted on the old asparagus beds, and a row 
under a south wall. Use whole sets, dig the 
space all along, and well bruise the earth ; 
lay the sets on the top, a foot apart, all the 
•way along ; then dig a spit well in front of 
them, and throw it on the sets. This will form 
a complete dry bank, which may be sloped a 
little, but the sets will be covered a good four 
inches all along the row. These potatoes will 
only occupy about eighteen inches of widtli 
all along the wall or hedge, as the case may 
be, therefore will not interfere with other 
crops materially. As these come up, they will 
have very little water, and you must see they 
are not absolutely starved ; they must have a 
little given ; and as soon as they are through 
the ground, litter of some kind must be laid 
along them. Potatoes, some of the early kinds, 
may be planted in any sheltered warm place, 
if early crops are an object. Those in frames 
should be six inches apart in the row, and the 
rows nine inches distance from each other. They 
should be at least three inches deep in the soil. 
Cabbages. — In open weather, with the 
ground in pretty good order, sow some cabbage 
and savoy seed ; and if you have any kind of 
cabbage, or savoy, or broccoli, or cauliflower, 
you intend to save seed from, remember you 
must not attempt to save two sorts of any of 
these, as it is impossible to save any of the 
cabbage tribe true, if any other is within 
sight; almost, indeed, there ought not to be any 
within a mile. Draw out many of the cabbage 
plants that are growing thick touseascoleworts, 
as by taking out two plants, to bunch up or 
use at once, and leaving the third, those which 
are left will have good room to cabbage well. 
Cauliflowers under hand-glasses must 
have air in mild weather, by either tilting the 
glasses or taking them off altogether ; and 
towards the end of the month, the three, four, 
or five under each glass may be reduced to two, 
and the others planted out to increase the 
hand-glass culture, two under each glass, or in 
some sheltered situation where they may take 
their chance. Plants under protection must 
be cleared of dead leaves, and sickly plants 
must be thrown away. See that they do not 
flag for want of water ; but keep them as dry 
as possible short of that. If the weather be 
very hard this month, the removal of any from 
under hand-glasses may be deferred. Sow 
cauliflower seed, if you can do it, in a frame, 
if not, find a sheltered place, and sow it under 
hand-glasses. 
Celery, so long as it is in the ground and 
growing, must be earthed up on dry days ; 
sow a little seed in a frame if you can. 
Salad, of all kinds, should be sown in 
frames, and on the open warm border. Cover 
salad, lettuces of all sorts, small salad, &c. 
Lettuces that have stood the winter may be 
planted out in warm quarters. Where you 
are sowing on the open borders litter must be 
provided to cover of nights, or let your sow- 
ings be where you can easily cover with hand- 
glasses, mats, &c. 
Kidney Beans. — Any of the hardy early 
sorts may be planted three in a pot, to be taken 
