THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
2<)o 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
ALLOTMENT FARMING FOR MARCH. 
Cow-keeping. —Those of our allotment cultivators, 
or possessors of very small farms, who keep a cow, 
or, it may be two, should seriously consider whilst 
the season is young, how best to apportion it. For 
since high culture is on the increase with our valu¬ 
able keeping roots, a smaller portion of land will, ere 
long, be considered sufficient for the keep of a cow 
than formerly. It will not answer in those times to 
reserve three or four acres of mere bents or windle 
straws on barren and uncultivated sites for the keep 
of a cow. The growing reports of spade husbandry 
will fast dissipate the slovenly and neglectful modes 
of treating land, which we have hitherto, but too fre¬ 
quently witnessed. 
We think that on good soil under a high course of cul¬ 
ture, one acre under hay grass, three-quarters under 
pasture, and one-quarter under high spade husbandry 
in roots, should at once keep a cow well, a pig or two, 
and furnish culinary roots, exclusive of potatoes, for 
the family, if not too large. Many we know will say, 
that it is too small; few, however, yet understand the 
immense capabilities of land when properly handled. 
When the owner has five or six acres, and keeps two 
or three cows, besides pigs, it should be a consider¬ 
ation with him, whether he may adopt the culture of 
lucerne, as part of the system. This valuable plant 
requires a warm soil, and must be laid down on land 
well manured, and thoroughly cleaned. It will pro¬ 
duce three or four good cuttings annually, and a 
quarter of an acre on a five or six acre farm, will be 
found a valuable adjunct for cow feed; as it gives no 
improper flavour to the butter. It must be kept 
clear from weeds at all times, and good cultivators 
hoe through it occasionally. About twelve to four¬ 
teen pounds is reckoned seed enough for an acre. 
Hay Grass. —Those who have not yet shut up their 
hay grass, should do so immediately; for the loss of 
the early bent, is the loss of one-third the bulk of crop. 
Sowing Grass Seeds. —As some of our readers may 
be inclined to sow down land to permanent pasture, 
with artificial grasses, we may as well offer advice on 
that head; of course the selection of kinds depends 
on the character of soil. For lighter soils, the follow¬ 
ing will be found a good mixture; lolium perenne, 
18 ft; trifolium pratense, 3 ft; do. perenne, 3ft; 
do. repens, 4 ft; medicago lupulina, 2 ft. For strong 
or heavy soils, take 18 ft of the first, 3 lb of the second, 
3 ft of the third, 4 ft of the fourth, 2 ft of the fifth, 
and add 1 ft of phleum pratense. These will be 
found to produce a good pasture; land to produce a 
permanently rich pasture should be thoroughly 
drained, and it is capital practice to apply a slight 
dressing annually, even on pasturage, if only fresh 
soil; this encourages a fresh series of roots, and tends 
much to prevent the deterioration of the finer grasses. 
When pastures cannotbe kept a-going by such means, 
the plough or the spade is the only cure. 
Breaking-up Grass for Allotments. — For this 
purpose tliero is nothing like the spade, and whether 
deep trenching or mere digging should be employed 
the first season, depends on the character of crop to 
be introduced. We think that there is nothing more 
eligible as a first crop, or even for a second season, 
than potatoes, especially if it be an old sward. Farm¬ 
ers in Cheshire frequently grow oats the first year, 
and potatoes the second, following the potatoes with 
wheat or root crops. If for potatoes, a deep digging 
will suffice the first season, chopping and paring the 
[February 28 . 
sod or turf into the bottom of the trench. If for deep 
or tap-rooted plants, as mangold, carrots, parsnips, 
&c., the soil should be double dug or trenched; but 
then it must be remembered that the poorest of the 
soil comes to the top, and that the young plant should 
have some stimulating manure in the drill, or on the 
surface, to sustain it until it becomes well estab¬ 
lished, and by that time its extremities will be reach- 
i ing the rotting turf, which will soon produce a con- 
j siderable degree of robustness. 
Levelling Down Ridged Soils. —From now until 
the end of March, those ridges which were thrown 
up to mellow in the autumn or winter, may be broken 
down for cropping; taking care to perform this cul¬ 
ture when the ground is dry and mellow. That 
required for cabbages, peas, beans, parsnips, onions, 
&c., will be first wanted; the Swede or mangold 
plots, and carrots afterwards, as the latter are not 
sown until April. 
Carrots. —The cottager or allotment holder should 
sow a bed or two immediately of the early Horn 
carrot in a warm situation, and in mellow and rich 
soil; these will be in use in the early part of May, 
and may be drawn from in succession until August. 
Turnips. —A few of the Dutch may be sown in a 
warm and open situation in the first week of March ; 
these will produce nice turnips in the end of April, 
and may be used up before midsummer, and the 
ground worked up for something else. 
Cabbages. —If not done, a good breadth of these 
must be put out immediately, taking care to manure 
well first, also to dig deep. If of the York or Match¬ 
less kind, they may be so planted as to receive a row 
of mangold in the early part of May, at intervals of 
four feet. The cabbages near the mangold row may 
be pulled first, and the rest drawn in succession. If, 
however, the cabbages are of the larger kinds, and 
intended to remain for sprouts, no crop can be intro¬ 
duced amongst them with safety at present. 
Parsnips. —The soil for these must be dug deep, 
and some manure introduced in the very bottom of 
the trench; many crops of both these and carrots 
are injured by too much manure near the surface, 
which, it of an undecomposed character, causes them 
to fork, and thus arrests the descent of the tap-root 
on which so much depends. The bulk of these crops 
should be formed by a rich stratum at a low level, 
and the young plant “fed” during its earlier stages 
by stimulating and inorganic manures. Parsnips 
should be sown in the first or second week of March; 
kind, the large Guernsey. 
Onions. —We like the same course of culture with 
the onions, that is to say, avoiding rank manures 
near the surface, for we are persuaded this has a ten¬ 
dency to encourage the grub, or rather the fly which 
produces it. We should advise the liberal use of any 
burnt material, which we find good practice. We 
char all the brush-wood we can lay hands on, and in 
the act ol doing so, we cover the smouldering heap 
with a whole summer’s weeds, or other garden re¬ 
fuse, collecting all we can; this makes a rich vege¬ 
table mould, containing a vast amount of vegetable 
ashes, and such we find a capital dressing for any¬ 
thing, especially onions and carrots. This, indeed, 
is the best plan we know for working up this other¬ 
wise waste material; the seeds of weeds, &c., are sure 
ot being destroyed, if due attention be paid to the 
process. Onions may be sown from the tenth to the 
twentieth ol the month; sooner lays them open to 
injury from April frosts, later makes them a too late 
harvest. 
Peas. —The beginning of March is an excellent 
