March 30. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
005 
pondent. The fact is, I give but little air in cold 
weather, and when very cold, a small quantity keeps up 
a healthy circulation. Were 1 close to a coal pit, I would 
use means for carrying-out our Correspondent’s idea on 
this subject as far as possible. With a rather low tem¬ 
perature at night, there is less danger from a high tem¬ 
perature during the day. Circumstances must, there¬ 
fore, often regulate our practice. For instance; 1 have 
seen splendid Pines,that were grown and especially swelled 
with a minimum of air, having a high temperature in sunny 
days, and with but little heat in pipes or flues. I have 
seen as line fruit on stubbier plants, where air was given 
in abundance, though to give that, the heating apparatus 
was hardly ever out of use, even in summer. This 
abundance of air yielded more returns from the stubby 
habit, in a certain number of feet; but, of course, against 
this was to be set a considerable extra amount for fuel, 
a matter of less moment where that necessary of forcing 
or growing tropical vegetation is plentiful and near at 
hand, but a matter of great importance, where, owing to 
circumstances, the fuel bill is a heavy item for gardening 
expenses. R. Fish. 
ALLOTMENT FARMING.— April. 
As our old almanacks had it—“with the farmer and the 
gardener this is the busiest month in the year;” and, 
indeed, it is equally true now as a hundred years since; 
but we may add, that since those days, although April 
occupies the same position still, the other months do not; 
they are every one much busier months than their pre¬ 
decessors, owing to improved practices, together with an 
extension of objects. 
It may fairly be averred that the chief foundation of a 
successful gardening year must be laid in April. Any dawd¬ 
ling or neglect in this month is perfectly irremedial. There¬ 
fore, let us beg of our readers to spare no pains whatever, 
to permit no excuses to come between them and their plans. 
In the language of that Book of books, the Bible—“ What¬ 
soever thine hand findetli to do, do it with all thy might." j 
Surely, the past long and necessitous winter will have taught 
thousands the immense importance of a previous summer’s | 
perseverance. Those industrious workmen who plod with all 
their might in their allotment or garden, and who live near ; 
to the sluggard, will have had ample proofs this winter of 
the vast benefits accruing to a family through the industry 1 
of a good father. They would, in the darkest and coldest i 
night, amid the howling of the wind, and the battering of 
the tempest against their windows, look bade with a secret j 
pride and joy on the labours of the past summer—plainly 
attested by the snug fire, with its kettle of useful roots ! 
steaming away for soup or other compound. Again, then, let 1 
me challenge every reader to screw his courage up, and remind 
him that his own family, as well as his country, expect that 
he will do his duty. 
Now let us see what are the chief things for consider- ! 
ation at the beginning of April. Mangold, Swedes, and , 
Carrots, must be first thought of, and I suppose I may add 
Potatoes. Root-crops, as winter stores, are always with me 
a first consideration. Next in order comes the providing 
plenty of Greens, and the various Cabbageworts to be intro¬ 
duced, chiefly in mixed cropping for autumn and winter use, 
or for sale. These two points secured, the rest is composed 
of smaller matters which cannot be easily grouped, and 
which we will simply point to. 
I spoke, in March, of the preparation of the ground for 
these root-crops, and may fairly suppose, that with the ex¬ 
cellent spring weather which the kingdom in general has 
experienced for several weeks, that little work of this kind 
is in arrears. Nothing but sickness can excuse an allot¬ 
ment holder for such neglect. To those who are behind, 
we say, if the ground is tolerably dry lose not an hour in 
getting root ground ready; and if very stubborn, and in a 
neglected state, you had best ridge it for three weeks, and 
then, seizing a dry time after this small fallow, break it well 
down with the fork. 
I should say, that as a general maxim for allotment hold¬ 
ing, the gardening of cottagers, &c., from the 15tli to the 25th 
of April is the best Mangold-sowing period ; and for Swedes 
to grow where they are sown, from the 1st of May to the 20th. 
However, these periods,in which considerable latitude is given, 
must be ruled, in some degree, by the condition andcharacter 
of the soil and by the weather; for admitting, for argument's 
sake, that Swedes or anything else should be sown on the 
20th of May, wiser would lie be who sowed on the 30th, 
with his soil in good trim, than he who sowed on the 20tli, 
on an ill-worked soil, and in had weather. This argument 
applies to nearly every crop we have to deal with. 
Swedes, to transplant after Potatoes or other crops, 
must he sown according to the period in which they are 
wanted, although, it may he observed, that if they can he 
grown very thin in the seed-bed, they can scarcely be too soon 
sown, as they transplant well when they have bulbs as large 
as a duck’s egg. They should, therefore, be sown in drills 
for transplanting, and thinned in the drill; they will thus 
be capital plants, and with good management may equal 
those sown to remain, and thus an extra crop be obtained the 
| same season. 
Care must be taken to avoid mildew, to which this crop j 
is so liable; and in order to guide our readers as to a pre¬ 
ventive, I must advise them, that whatever tends to check I 
the plant whilst in the middle of its growth, say during 
July and August, has a tendency to produce mildew ; there¬ 
fore, badly-worked soil is one of the chief predisposing 
causes; such soils are more liable to he affected by droughts, 
and, moreover, offer much impediment to a free extension 
j of the fibres. Deep, well-worked, and well-manured soil, 
j therefore, for the Swede. 
Carrots. —The larger kinds should be sown at the end of 
j the month, if the ground is in fine order, otherwise they 
i may be got in any time before the third week in April. 
Many of our good growers are partial to late sowing; they 
say the chances of the grub are lessened; and 1 do think 
there is truth in it. In addition, the Carrot, when young, is 
a most tender thing, and means ought to be taken to ensure 
as rapid a growth as possible when above ground. It is 
slightly impatient of frost, and ought not to be above ground 
before the second week in May, by ordinary culture. 
Here, while speaking of rapid growth, let me again refer to 
the compost so often pointed to before. I am using it to 
almost every crop. My mixture is as follows:—Peruvian 
guano one part; burnt or charred ashes three parts; soot four 
parts; and old rich manure, like black mould, four parts. 
This is all thoroughly mixed; much pains is taken in this 
proceeding, and it is applied liberally by hand. All my 
root-crops have a little manure dug rather deeply in, and the 
dressing with this compost applied with the seed; and my 
object is twofold, viz., to establish the young plant quickly, 
and to provide a rich and moist medium at a level beyond 
the reach of droughts, when the plants should be enlarging 
much in bulk, say after Midsummer. 
Potatoes, if not planted, must, of course, be got in im¬ 
mediately, and what little manure is used, let it be old and 
mellow. Our readers may refer to other advice in the 
number for March. 
Winter Greens. —Nearly all that class of vegetables called 
Cabbageworts, must, as far as concerns the allotment holder 
or cottnger, be sown during April. The following I re- 
commeud, and their importance is indicated by the order 
in which they are placed:— Green Kale, Brussels Sprouts, 
Savoys, new Cabbaging Kale, Sprouting Brocoli. I have left 
out Cauliflowers and the ordinary Brocolis, as they are more 
of a luxury than profit, unless grown for market purposes. 
Cabbage, too, forms an exception; those of a dwarf, compact 
kind, should be sown monthly, beginning in March and 
ending in August. Two general sowings, then, should be 
made in allotment gardens of these usefuls —one in the 
end of March, or beginning of April; the other about the 
21th of April; these two will, in general, serve to meet 
every reasonable demand. Those who wish to have very 
large Savoys, Kale, &c., may sow in the second week of 
March, but they must lay their account with having to 
“ prick them out," as gardeners term it. I, however, think 
that much of tho time employed in these extras (which just 
serve to astonish for a moment, or cut a dash at our ex¬ 
hibition-table), would be far better employed, in these needy 
