68 
THE GARDEJTEH'S MOH'THLY. 
March, 
when the sets are planted ; the ground ought 
not to have rank manure— wood-ashes and pure 
undunged loam will alone produce an excellent 
crop. 
Where new Asparagus beds are to be made, 
now is the time ; the ground should be rather 
moist than dry, and be trenched two feet deep, 
mixing in with it a good quantity of stable dung, 
and, if the ground be inclining to sand, add some 
salt ; the beds should be marked out four feet 
wide, and the alleys about two feet. If pegs are 
driven down at the corners of the beds perma- 
nently, they will assist operations in future 
years. Having marked the positions of the beds 
and procured a stock of two year old plants, 
place them on the soil nine inches apart in row^s 
one foot asunder, making three rows in each 
bed ; then cover the wdiole with soil from the 
alleys and rich compost a couple of inches. 
To have Turnips good in spring they must be 
sown very early ; they are hardy, and must be 
put in as soon as the ground can be caught 
right. 
Parsley delights in a rich gravelly loam, and 
should be sown very early. 
Parsnips, another crop which should receive 
must be exercised in shaking out the soil, or 
serious results may follow. The ball of roots 
should be soaked in water, so that the particles 
of soil may fall away easily from the roots. The 
soil for potting, too, should be nearly quite dry, 
and then rammed into the pots about the roots 
very hard and tight. Immediately after potting, 
the plant should be w^ell watered, and placed in 
a close and partially shaded atmosphere till the 
roots take hold of the new soil again. Where 
the roots are not much disturbed these precau- 
tions are unnecessary. In addition to dry soil 
for potting it should be fibrous, that is, it should 
have a good portion of old fine roots through it 
to give it a spongy texture. It is this which 
gives the top soil of a pasture such value in the 
eye of a good gardener for potting purposes, as 
the innumerable fine roots of the grass through 
it renders it particularly spongy or “ fibrous ” as 
the technical term is. 
Look out for a good stock of bedding plants 
in time ; by striking cuttings of such things as 
grow rapidly and speedily, and sowing seeds of 
such annuals as may be advanced to advantage. 
Fuchsias may now be readily struck from the 
young growth of the old plants, which will make 
Herbs of all kinds are nest 
season— a good collection is a good thing. 
The Carrot will thrive in soil similar to the 
Beet ; lime is an excellent manure for it— we 
use the long Orange. Celery may be sown about 
the end of the month, in a bed of very light rich 
soil, and Tomatoes, Egg Plants and Peppers 
sown in pots or boxes, and forwarded. It is as 
bad to be too early wdth these as too late, as they 
become stunted. 
GREENHOUSE. 
This is the season when the most plants will 
require re-potting previous to their making their 
new season’s growth. The difficulty alw^ays is 
to find the increased room the re-potting requires. 
Usually room is made by turning out the bed- 
ding plants into hot-bed frames, protecting them 
from frosts at night by mats. Much may be 
gained also by not increasing the size of pots, as 
pointed out by a correspondent ; but merely 
changing the soil ; wdiere, how’ever, plants are 
not shortened in previous^ to tfie repottal, care 
greenhouse. - In a few wrecks they will sprout, 
when they should be shaken out, divided with a 
piece of root to each sprout, and separately pot- 
ted in 4-inch pots. 
Pansies are coming now into flower. They 
like an airy frame, where they will not be roasted 
at mid-day nor exposed to drying winds, and yet 
have a free circulation of air and plenty of light. 
Planted out in such a frame, and the old shoots 
cut away as soon as the plant has done flower- 
ing, the plants will keep healthy over till the 
next season. Superior varieties can be raised 
from seed. Choose those with the roundest 
petals, best colors, and the first flowers that 
open, to raise seed from. 
Camellias will require rather more water while 
growing than at other times. Just before they 
grow is a good season to graft. Cut down the 
stock, cleft graft in the crown, wax, and plunge 
in a bottom heat of 70^ A great many kinds 
may be had on one plant by the bottle system : 
A shoot about to grow is obtained, and attached 
to the stock as in inarching, the end of the shoot 
