328 
THE COTTAGE GARDENEE. 
January 27. 
this spring, more than in many, will it he an act of fairness 
I to allow allotment holders who ai-e but sen’ants, the pri¬ 
vilege of a day or two to their own plots, for after hours 
may not serve to accomplish what ought to be done for 
some weeks yet. About manures, we must again repeat, 
that in the present state of matters, mixtures, or composts, 
if you will, are best for general purposes, and in all such 
mixtures wo would fain have the ordinary dung of the 
midden, previously turned and reduced, play a conspicuous 
part. 
It is, indeed, impossible to overrate the importance of the 
tiuning a)ul breaking to pieces manure-heaps; dung will 
not only go much further, but, by mixing more thoroughly 
with the soil, will the more benefit the crops. Besides, if 
guano and soot are added, a practice advisable, even 
though it be in a small degree, it may be made to mix with 
the whole mass. We have the concurrent testimony of 
farmers with our own exjrerience to show that mixtures of 
rnanurial matters both go further and prove more bene¬ 
ficial to the majority of our crops. Where old gardens have 
been long under crops, and contain much dark matter or 
humus, lime will be found useful, if at hand. 
In consequence of the vmtoward season, digging and 
trenching will be in arrears with many, and it will be highly 
advisable to ridge all adhesive soils, if only for two or three 
weeks, taking care to wait until such ridges are very dry 
before levelling them down, and taking extra care in the 
latter process. 
Of course, the allotment holder has his course of cropping 
laid down, and in order that there be no mistakes, let him 
cut a few sticks, and having flattened one end to write on, 
get a little thick white paint, and having smeared a little on 
the shaven part, write on it, whilst wet, wdth a lead pencil, 
the digging, manuring, the crop and its successor, or 
mixed croppings, if such it be; he will thus know at a glance, 
and be reminded of sowing such as the cabbage-worts for 
mixing, or for succession. 
What Seeds are requisite should be procm’ed immediately, 
and kept in a dry place, and if any old seeds of last yeai’ 
remain they had better be tested. They may be soaked six 
hours in tepid water, and a given number, say twenty-four, 
sown in a pot, and placed in a warm room; by counting 
what sprout, it will be known what reliance can be placed 
on them. 
About the middle of the moutlr the hoe should be run 
through those Cabhayes wliich were planted in autumn, 
seeking a dry day for the purpose, and hoeing deep. On 
the heels of this the plot should be looked over, and any 
blanks made good from the store beds, which every good 
cultivator provides in autumn. Those remaining in store 
must be got out at favourable opportunities before the end 
of March. Many will probably be wanted for mixed crop¬ 
ping. For instance, the mangold or swede ground being 
dug and levelled down in due time, a double row of cabbages 
may be put down each centre, unless it is required for early 
potatoes. We have a plot of land from which we have 
taken crops of mangold for eighteen years; this is manured 
entirely with our pig and cow-dung, and the sweepings of 
the chimneys. From this we take a fine crop annually of 
the Ash-leaved kidney potatoes. One-half is swedes, the 
I other half mangold, and these change about annually. The 
j kidneys are planted in double drills in Februaiy, in every 
I centre between where the mangold and swedes will be, and 
when the kidneys are removed in July, their place is occu- 
j pied with swedes from a seed-bed. 
i Onions may be sown in the last week, if the soil is ready, 
j but such is unlilcely this season. Let the ground be very 
deeply dug for this crop ; it should, if possible, be wrought 
I two feet; they will, indeed, descend a yard. If manure 
j is requisite, it may go between the two spits, and if the 
1 onions come wealdy for a while, some guano-water might bo 
1 .applied. 
j Parsnips may bo sowed about the same time as the 
i onions, trenching deep, and manuring pretty well. A 
! bed of the Early-horn Carrots should, by all means, be 
sown in the middle of the month, in a warm spot, the bed 
much elevated. These must be protected, like radishes, and 
care taken, when up, that the slugs or snails do not run off 
with them. AVe must again recommend some dressing to 
be kept ready in a dry corner; the following is very useful— 
one bushel of new saw dust, half-a-bushel of very fine cinder- 
ashes, the dust lilown out, and one peck of fresh slaked 
lime, all well blended, or it would be well to slack the lime 
as wanted. AVe use this all the spring and seldom lose a 
crop. 
The beginning of February is an excellent time for sowing 
full crops of Peas and Broad Beans or Longpods ; no pea is 
better for the cottager than the Green Imperial or the old 
Prussian. The Imperial is sooner off the ground than 
others, and consequently makes way for autumn cropping; 
A little early Cabbaye may be sown at the end, and Let luces 
with Radishes. Tlie Ady’s Cos is the best; it needs no 
tying. If any August-sown lettuces have been provided, 
they must be planted out, if in store, in the end of the 
month, on rich soil. 
Potatoes: our practice is to plant early kinds at the 
end of February, and in the early part of March. If, 
however, the seed has been preserved as it ought to be, 
the middle of March will do w'ell. As for the Ash-leayed 
kidney, w'e never plant until the end of March; this kind 
forms an exception to the rest. AA'e make a point of sprout¬ 
ing them before planting. The best plan we know is to 
spread three inches deep of sawdust on a warm floor in the 
end of January, and to stick the Ash-leaf kidneys on their 
end in this material. Here they wiU produce stout buds of 
about an inch in length by the end of March, and must be 
removed so that not a sprout is damaged. AA'e have had 
much practice with this potato, and know the practice to be 
sound, because always successful. 
Rhubarb should be covered immediately, if not done; 
old chimney-pots, with a whisp of hay in them, answer 
well, and these, with warm dung around them, bring it very 
early. The breeding-time of mice is at hand; care must 
be taken to destroy them, or woe to the peas. 
And now, until we talie the pen again, let us advise our 
small gardeners to be on the alert whilst the spring is 
young, and by exti'a efforts, and increased diligence, to 
endeavoiu- to make up for the untoward season wc have 
passed.— E. Ebeington. 
THE APIARIAN’S CALENDAR. —February. 
By J. H. Payne, Esq., Author of “ The Bee-Keeper's 
Guide,” Ac. 
Examination. —It will be necessary to examine every 
stock very carefully early in the month, both in regard to its 
store of food, and to the state of the hive with respect to 
dampness ; for, urdess the protection has been very com¬ 
plete, the late continued and driving rains will be found 
very injurious in their effects. 
Dampness. — AA'lierever dampness and mouldiness ai'c 
discovered, it will be weU to supply a fresh floor-board; and 
in the middle of a mild and drying day to raise the hives 
all round upon little blocks of about half-an-inch for an 
hour or two. 
Feeiung. —Feeding, 1 fear, will be found more nccessiuy 
this spring than in any one that has of late years preceded 
it, for, from the extreme mildness of the winter, the bees 
have been in almost constant activity, and, conse(juently, 
consuming a much larger portion of food than when in 
their usual quiescent state ; feeding should be efi'ected at 
the top of the hive, if possible, but, if with barley-sugar, it 
is not so imperative as when li(iuid food is used. 
Alarm. —Mr. Newmaii has abeady sounded an alarm in 
The Cottage Gardener of the Cth of January. I hopi' his 
“ caution ” has been attended to by its readers who are bee¬ 
keepers, for never before, in^my remembrance, has there 
been so much cause for it. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
Truro. —The extreme south-western district of England 
seems to have entered with great ardour on the work of im¬ 
provement as regards poultry, for on Alonday, the 3rd hist., 
there was an exhibition at Truro, and on the 10th and 11th 
the Cornwall Society held its second meeting at Penzance. 
At Trui'o, we found ourselves in one wing of the market- 
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