AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
99 
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Brussels Sprouts .—'This little-known vegetable is 
figured on page 13 (January), and its culture is the 
same as that of the cabbage. 
Cabbages .—Sow early sorts in hot-bed, cold-frame, 
or pots, if not already done. Sift ashes over the 
plants already up, to keep off insects. Seed may 
be sown in the open ground near the end of the 
mouth. Early York is a reliable kind. Little Pixie 
is highly recommended as a new early sort. Win- 
ningstadt is good for medium early or late, and suc¬ 
ceeds on poor soil better than other varieties. 
Carrots .—Sow Early Horn after reading the hints 
on pages 108 and 115. 
Cauliflower .—Manage according to directions on 
page 116. If insects appear, use ashes and plaster. 
Celery .—Plauts already up should be shaded from 
the sun from 10 A. M. till 4 P. M., on clear days. 
Thin to an inch apart, and give air every morning. 
Sow seeds in a moderate hot-bed, or in a cold- 
frame, and at the end of the month in the open 
border. It is a good plan to burn over the surface 
of the seed-bed with brush or litter, to destroy 
weed seeds, before sowing the celery. The Early 
White Solid, and the Red Solid are best early. 
Celeriac .—Sow in hot-beds, or later in the open 
ground. See page 116. 
Cold-Frames .—In absence of a hot-bed, these are 
useful to forward seedlings. They are convenient 
to receive potted plants, or plants which have been 
started in hot-beds may be pricked out in them, 
until the weather will allow them to be put in the 
open ground. Remove the sash every fine day to 
harden off the plants, and cover in the afternoon. 
Cress, ( Peppevgrass ).—Sow as directed last month. 
Cucumbers .—Start seeds on sod in hot-bed, cold- 
frame, or in a box in the house, as directed on page 
82, last month. Some hollow out large turnips 
aud fill with earth, so as to make a kind of flower¬ 
pot, and set these in boxes in the house and start 
the seeds in them. The turnip, with the plant, is 
set out in the hill, cutting off the bottom of the 
turnip at the time, to allow the cucumber roots 
room to spread. Either of these contrivances will 
do to get a few very early. See “Basket” item on 
pots. May isearly enough to sow for the main crop. 
Drain .—If there is time at this busy season, 
put tile drains in the wettest part of the garden. 
Egg Plants .—These grow very slowly at first, and 
they should be forwarded early. As soon as the 
plants get large enough, it is well to pot them. 
Fndive.-Sovr early for summer use. 
Oarlic .—Separate the small bulbs, or “ cloves - 
set in rows a foot apart, and 6 inches in the rows. 
Serbs .—Sow as directed on page 111, as soon as 
the weather is settled and the soil is warm. 
Sot-Beds .—In cold climates the first of April will 
be found quite early enough to start the hot-bed 
for the family garden. Ample directions were giv¬ 
en last month. Those in which the plants are up, 
will need airing on warm days, and shading when 
the sun is very powerful. Stir the soil between 
the rows; weed, water, and thin the plants as needed. 
Kohl-rabi .—Sow in a seed bed, or if wanted early, 
in hot-bed, same as cabbages. 
Sorse Radish .—Treat as directed last month. 
Leeks .—See directions for culture on page 109. 
Lettuce .—Set out plants which were started under 
glass. Sow in open ground as soon as a bed can 
be prepared, in rich soil, in drills a foot apart, and 
thin to nine inches or a foot. Hoe frequently. 
Manure and Compost .—Work over the heap, and 
remove all sticks and rubbish. The more finely 
divided it is, the better. An abundance of good 
manure has much to do with “luck” in gardening. 
Prepare a tank or cask for liquid fertilizers. 
Mustard .—Sow for salad or greens as soon as the 
ground can be worked, in shallow drills a foot apart. 
Melons .—Start early sorts same as cucumbers. 
Onions. —Potato, Tops, and Sets, may be put out 
in good soil, at the distance of four inches, in rows 
a foot apart. The clusters of potato and top on¬ 
ions are to be broken up, and each small bulb put 
by itself. Sow seed as soon as the soil can be pre¬ 
pared. Give well-decomposed manure and pulver¬ 
ize the soiTthoroughly. It is a good plan to burn 
over the bed with straw before sowing. Sow thin¬ 
ly, in drills 15 inches apart. Be careful to get good 
6eed. See article on page 109, and for field cultiva¬ 
tion, our Onion Pamphlet referred to in “ Basket.” 
Parsley. —See page 111. Soak the seed for 12 
hours in tepid water before planting. 
Parsnips. —Sow in drills 15 inches apart, in rich, 
deep soil, as soon as may be. Get good seed. 
Peas. —These may be put in early, as they will 
stand the frost. Put the first sown under shelter 
of a board fence. See notes on dwarfs on page 116. 
For tall sorts have the rows 3 to 6 feet apart, ac¬ 
cording to the height. The plants will come soon¬ 
er if the seed is soaked 24 hours in tepid water. 
Peppers. —Sow in hot-bed. 
Potatoes. —Plant as directed last month. See note 
on starting them, on page 75, March No. 
Potting. — Tomatoes, Egg Plants, Cauliflowers, 
and other plants started early in hot-beds, may be 
transferred to small pots filled with good soil, and 
kept in a cold-frame or spent hot-bed. They will, 
if properly aired and watered, become strong, 
stocky plants, ready to turn out into the garden as 
soon as frosts are over, and will come into bearing 
sooner than those not potted in this way. 
Pricking Out. —The advantages of potting may be 
in part gained by “ pricking out,” or transplanting 
from the hot-bed to nicely prepared soil in a cold- 
frame, previous to setting the plants where they are 
to remain. In both cases the plants receive a bene¬ 
ficial root pruning which forwards them. 
Radishes.— Seed may be put in vacant places in 
the hot-bed. Unless a radish grows rapidly it is 
worthless. Therefore, a quick, rather sandy soil 
is the best. Sow at intervals for succession. 
Rhubarb. —Fork in manure around the old plants. 
Make new beds if the crowns have not started too 
much. Remove the earth around the old plant, 
and with a sharp spade remove a bud with a por¬ 
tion of root attached. Set out in well manured 
ground, 4 feet each way. Linnseus is best. 
Salsify , or Vegetable Oyster. —Sow early, in drills 
one foot apart, and cultivate the same as carrots. 
Treat Scorzonera, a similar vegetable, the same. 
Sea Aide.—This is described on page 116. Those 
who wish to try it can sow the seeds early. 
Spinach.— Plain directions are given on page 111. 
Squashes.— Early sorts may be forwarded as sug¬ 
gested for cucumbers. 
Sweet Com.—A few hills of some early variety 
may be started in sods, under glass, and a short 
time be gained over that planted in the ground. 
Needs.—Biennial roots and bulbs, such as turnip, 
beet, onion, etc., which have been saved to furnish 
seed, are to be put out in good soil, taking care to 
keep different varieties of the same kind as far 
apart as possible, to prevent mixing. 
Swiss Chard.— This is a variety of beet cultivated 
for the leaf only, the root being worthless. Sow 
like other beets, and break off the outside leaves 
as they develop, and use like spinach. 
Sweet Bitatoes.— These are started the present 
month in hot-beds. The potatoes are split length¬ 
wise if large, and laid flat side down, close together, 
on the bed and covered about two inches deep, 
with a rich, fine compost. When the shoots push 
above this, an inch more is added. The bed is wa¬ 
tered as needed and kept warm at night, and the 
plants exposed to air during fair days. When the 
sprouts are of sufficient size and well-rooted, the 
best are slipped off and the potato returned to the 
bed for the others to grow. A bushel of potatoes 
is said by Mr. Thompson to yield from three to 
five thousand plants, each thousand of which 
should produce forty bushels of potatoes. 
Tomatoes. —Those started early may be potted off 
or pricked out in a cold-frame. Seeds may still be 
sown in hot or cold-frames. Those who are with¬ 
out these, can start some seeds in small pots in the 
house. Shift to larger pots as the plants need. 
Tools. —See that all are in good order, and make 
good all deficiencies. A good spading fork is an 
indispensable tool in the garden. 
Turnips. —The early sorts are to be put in as 
soon as the ground is open, in drills a foot apart. 
Vegetable Marrow. —This occupies in English gar¬ 
dens the place that squashes do in ours. It is 
grown like a squash and eaten in the same way 
from a very early state until the seeds ripen. 
Fruit, harden. 
The soil for small fruits should be well drained, 
well manured, aud thoroughly and deeply plowed 
or spaded. In selecting varieties for plauting, it 
should be considered whether the product is for 
market or for home use. The fruit garden, besides 
the small fruits, may properly include dwarf treeF 
of those kinds usually cultivated as standards. 
Cherries .—The standard varieties when budded 
on the Mahaleb stock make compact trees for the 
fruit garden. They may all behad at large nurseries. 
Currants and Gooseberries .—Manure the old plants 
and set out new ones. Plant cuttings; first remov¬ 
ing all but 3 or 4 of the upper buds, and crowd 
the soil firmly around their lower ends. 
Grapes .—So much is said on other pages upon 
the grape that nothing needs to be added here. 
Blackberries .—No fruit garden should be without 
some of the improved varieties. The New Roch¬ 
elle is best, all things considered. Set the plants, 
at least 6 feet apart each way, previously cutting 
back to within 6 inches of the root. Prepare a 
trellis to tie the canes to. Wire is general!} 1 used, 
stretched between strong posts, which are 6>£ feet 
high above the ground. No. 9 or 10 wire is used, 
putting one piece two feet from the ground, and 
the others above it at 18 inches apart. Secure the 
canes to it by means of lead wire or soft twine. 
Raspberries .—Uncover buried canes and tie to 
stakes or trellises. Cut a few inches from the tops 
of the canes, and give a liberal dressing of well 
decomposed manure, which is to be carefully fork¬ 
ed in. Set out new plants, three feet apart, in 
rows which are four feet distant. Franconia, Fastolff, 
and Brinckle’s Orange are good sorts for the family 
garden. The Hudson River Antwerp is preferred 
around Ncw-York as a market fruit. Do not for¬ 
get to try the American Black Cap. See note on 
page 85 (last month). Established vines are to 
have the wood cut out which bore the year before. 
Strawberries .—The mulching of straw is to be 
parted directly over the plants, leaving it on the 
bed to keep down weeds and protect the fruit from 
being soiled. For garden culture, make beds 4 
feet wide, with 18-inch alleys between. Set 3 rows 
of plants in each bed, one row in the center and the 
others 18 inches from it, putting the plants 12 to 1$ 
inches apart in the rows. Spread the roots weH, 
and plant as deeply as may be, without covering 
the crown of the plant or sinking below the surface- 
Flower Garden and Fawn. 
If the weather is suitable, the work of laying out 
new grounds and arranging old ones can be pushed 
rapidly. All rubbish is to be gathered from the 
lawns, paths, and borders, and all damage done 
during the winter repaired. The condition of the 
lawn, or grass plot, should be examined, and if 
necessary, repaired, according to suggestions on 
page 115. In any case the grass will be improved 
by a dressing of fine manure; or common manure 
may be used, if the litter is afterward raked off. 
If the borders had a dressing of manure last 
autumn, it may be forked in, or fine compost may 
be applied and worked in now. 
Annuals .—Except with the more hardy kinds, 
nothing is gained by sowing too early in the bor¬ 
ders. All kinds may be forwarded in the hot-bed 
or cold-frame, or in pots in the green or dwelling 
house. Those which were started early and have 
made three or four leaves, may be potted. Those 
annuals which spring up from seed self-sown in the 
autumn, may be sown as soon as the frost leaves 
the ground. Among these are Larkspur, Portu- 
laeeas, Candytuft, Gilias, Petunias, Whitlavia, Sweet 
Alyssum, Pansies, etc. 
Bulbs .—If the weather allows, these may be un¬ 
covered. Tall-growing Hyacinths and Crown Im¬ 
perials will need stakes. 
Climbers .—These add much to the beauty of a 
place, whether trained to cover fences, buildings, or 
running upon stakes and trellises. The Wistaria, 
Trumpet Creeper, and Honeysuckle are among 
those grown for their flowers, and the Virginia 
Creeper and Ivy for their foliage only. The annu¬ 
als will be early enough planted next month. 
