March 24. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
485 
produce the niaio winter crop of Celery. This sowing 
should be now attended to, as it ought not to bo delayed 
a single day, otherwise some stimulating moans must ho 
adopted to bring uj) lost time; and as we are no ad¬ 
vocates lor the use of artificial heat where it can bo 
done without, wo advise that Celery for the main crop 
should be sown on some well-prepared bed by the 
middle of March, or certainly not later than the 25tli. 
As the seed lies some time in the ground before germi¬ 
nating, it is advisable not to bo too late. Usually, it 
will bo pro 2 )er to elevate a bed; sometimes an old hot¬ 
bed ot the past year may bo covered with fine soil, 
which may be kept in its j)lace by slabs or boards, and 
the surface being inade smooth, the seed may be sown 
at once, and but slightly covered with tine-sifted soil 
in whicli leaf mould predominates. We prefer this to 
sand on account of the solidity the latter adds to any 
mixture it makes a part of, and the seedlings are not so 
able to force their way up through a compact mass of 
matter, such as is usually found where much sand is 
used. On this account, we advise a greater proportion 
of leaf mould to be used as a covering to seeds of tender 
or uncertain germinating plants. 
It is hardly necessary to recommend any particular 
kind of Celery, as each one in turn is superseded by 
others, which, after reigning a year or two, give way to 
other names. Tliis succession of names, (which is often 
all the distinction there is), has, however, not been 
altogether useless, for the desire to improve the varieties 
common with us has banished most of the common 
])ipy kinds of Celery from our gardens, which we were 
accustomed to see so often in days long since gone by, 
therefore, we may truly say, that the laudable object of 
improving our culinary vegetables has certainly gone as 
far in this one as in any other we know of; and, though 
there are doubtless limits beyond which it is hopeless to 
expect to advance, yet these limits have never yet been 
reached, so that we hope to see varieties introduced 
capable of resisting that inclination to run to seed, 
which many otherwise good sorts fall into much sooner 
than is wished for. Crispness and solidity are ‘also 
necessary qualities ; and, if to these be added hardihood 
and other good properties, a nearer approach to per¬ 
fection will be obtained than has hitherto been done. 
The amatein- who chances to have a really good kind of 
Celery, which produces fine heads without more than a 
usual share of the good things too often supplied to a 
favourite kind; and to all who have the good fortune to 
have a stock of good useful Celery by them at the 
beginning of April, but little run or otherwise injured 
by decay, will do well to save some for seed—of course a 
later period will be the proving point in the North of 
England and Scotland, but the principle is the same; 
and though we cannot expect this process to be 
carried on in every garden, yet those who have the good 
fortune to have a good solid kind of Celery, a good 
coloured Beet, good curled Bai'sley, and some other odd 
things in the way, had better adopt the plan of saving a 
little of each, in order to secure these essential things 
in as pure a state as possible. The inexperienced 
amateur, and others, we advise to try Cole’s Red Gelenj, 
and 2 )ossibly his White kind also, but we have found 
the Silver, Dwarf Russian, and Seymour's White, all 
good in their way at times; but it must not bo forgotten 
that a kind soon degenerates unless means be taken to 
save seed only from such jilants as are known to be 
Hood. J. Robson. 
SOWING SPRING WHEAT. 
The sowing of Spring Wlieat, for some years past, and 
since what is termed liigli farming lias been more in prac¬ 
tice, lias attracted an unusual share of attention amongst 
agriculturists, because, upon the greatest part of our best 
soils the cultivation of barley has become very precarious 
and unremunerativc; therefore, a great portion of the land 
formerly appropriated to the growth of that grain has been 
found to pay better by being sown with Spring Wheat, and 
particularly land of a loamy nature, which has borne a crop 
of turnips, fed off with sheep, eating oilcake or corn in ad¬ 
dition. This mode of feeding is now very much the prac¬ 
tice, and will pirobably continue so as long as the production 
of meat otters more profit to the farmer than the growth of 
corn. Although the sowing of Spring Wheat has been much ' 
on the increase, for the above-named reasons, for the last 
ten or twelve years, yet the untoward and dilflcult sowing 
season of the past autumn has invested the subject with 
more than usual interest, and is the chief cause of the 
writer of these remarks taking up the subject. It must be 
admitted, that in ordinary seasons many farmers sow Spring 
Wheat, believing it to be good policy, still a greater number 
will be obliged to adopt this plan from the force of circum 
stances, or, otherwise, greatly curtail their growth of AVheat, 
it having been found impossible, in many large wheat-grow'- 
ing districts, to sow the laud in the autumn or winter 
mouths; and much land that has been sown is so deficient 
in plant that a crop cannot be depended upon without being 
resown. 
The best sorts of AVheat for sowing in the spring season 
are, the Talavcra, the Nursery, and a bearded variety, called 
Ajiril Wheat. Tlie first-named has been selected, and very 
much improved, by Colonel Le Couteur, of Jersey, and some 
excellent samples have been the result. It is of great im¬ 
portance to have Spring Wheat true to its kind, because of 
its early maturity ; the ordinary sorts of Wheat not coming 
to harvest at the same time, would, in case of mixture, 
greatly diminish the produce; hence the necessity of careful 
selection. The Belle Vue Taluveru, as grown by Colonel 
Le Couteur, requires a kind dry soil in high condition, and 
a large quantity of seed, say four bushels per acre when 
sown broadcast; but upon all soils given to summer weeds it 
is best drilled, in order that it may be hoed if necessary, in 
which case three-and-a-half bushels of seed per acre would 
prove sutficient. It is essential that Talax-era IVhcal should 
be sown thick, because it does not tiller, or branch out, like 
some other sorts ; it will also leave the grotmd sooner and 
co!ne earlier to harvest. The chief drawback in connection 
with this kind of Wheat is its great tendency to sprout in 
showery harvest seasons ; bvrt as Wheat does not sprout in 
the harvest field, upon an average of seasons, oftener than 
once in seven years, in the climate of the midland and 
southern counties of England, I think a compensation will 
be found for its sprouting in the extra value of the grain for 
mealing purposes over that of ordinary brown WTieat. The 
Nursery Wheat is a brown variety, very hardy, and tillers 
well; it is best calculated for sowing on strong soils, and is, 
therefore, a desirable kind for use during the present season, 
there being a large portion of the heavy land either not 
sown, or badly planted. It is the nature of this Wheat to 
tiller to such an extent as to make up a large amount of 
deficiency in the plant. Three bushels per acre of this sort 
will be found an ample allowance of seed for any soil. The 
Nu7-sery Wheat is much liked by the millers, and it is cer¬ 
tainly not so liable to blight as any of the varieties of white 
Wheat. 
The Trilicum JNsthunii, or Bearded April Wheat, may be 
sown with advantage a month later than any other variety ; 
usually sown in the spring season. It is the best sort for ' 
sowing upon inferior land in low condition, and four bushels 
of seed per acre will be required, as it does not tiller much. 
It is rather a coarse brown Wheat, not mxich esteemed by 
the millers, but it will produce an amazing crop of corn and 
straw on good land, and does not readily sprout in a wet 
haiwest. 
There are many other sorts of AVheat sown in the spring 
season which are not deserving especial notice, as their 
growth is attended with more or less risk as compared with 
the varieties above-mentioned. As a rule, a large quantity 
of seed is required for every kind of Wheat sown in the 
spring months, in order that it may not be required to tiller 
much, as it will then come earlier to maturity, can-y an 
cvener head, and, in consequence, avoid the ordinary casual¬ 
ties to which late-sown Wheat is particularly liable, such as 
blight, &c. I 
