338 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
February 20. 
most esteem when that necessary agent to successful 
vegetation is withheld from it, to a great extent. Pro- 
j ceed with the planting of Potatoes, and Broad Beans 
for the second crop may also now be put in. Dig and 
prepare ground intended for small seeds, so that when 
, wanted it may be in the best possible order calculated 
! to insure a vigorous growth. J. Robson. 
ALLOTMENT FARMING FOR MARCH. 
i Mixed Croiting. —Although this practice may not bo 
! recommended in a general way, yet there are many cases in 
which, by judicious management, something extra maybe 
done. Mixed cropping, however, requires much forecast, 
it must not be settled by the whim of the moment; it is 
absolutely necessary that the plan should embrace a full con¬ 
sideration of the times of sowing or planting, as well as the 
times of gathering, together with a complete understanding 
of the habits of growth of the crops in question, and then- 
capabilities of a partial deprivation of light: without such 
considerations, wc say, do not attempt it. We have seen, 
with regret, hosts of cases, diu-ing a whole life of gardening, 
in which the cropper was chuckling over his double crops, 
utterly ignorant of the fact that lie was a loser both in ulti¬ 
mate profits and in amount of labour. The injudiciously 
mixing together mere annual crops, such as beans, peas, 
spinach, lettuce, &c., is not so very material; not so when 
root crops are mixed, as the Swedes, mangold, carrots, Ac., 
the bulk and quality of which depend on a whole summer’s 
elaboration through a free admission of light and circulation 
of air. No marvel that our working population should not 
comprehend the importance of a free admission of light to 
certain crops; in conversations with farmers, for many 
years, we have never been able duly to impress them with 
the importance of it, at least, not one in a score. Talk to 
them about the influence of light, indeed! or about the 
elaboration of the sap; they seem to have only one idea 
about it, and that is, that the ascending sap enters at once 
into the potato or turnip, and is at once assimilated without 
ceremony. As for the agency of the foliage, they seem to 
have no distinct idea of it, and are, indeed, tolerably indif¬ 
ferent about the matter. 
We lately saw an opinion expressed in some agricultural 
paper, that one ton of Swede turnips, from well cultivated 
| upland loams, is fairly worth thirty hundreds from low and i 
I light soils; and we do heartily believe that the writer is j 
tolerably correct. And why ? The writer did not venture j 
: on this little understood question; but our temerity will | 
' draw us in. A steadier growth, and, by consequence, a more 
| certain admission of light to all portions of the leaves, 
I render the secretions richer, or more perfect. This is, we 
i are aware, a broad question to open, and has chemical 
bearings; we do not presume, therefore, to say that our 
solution comprises the whole of the subject, but merely that ( 
i it accounts in the main for such difference in crops. The 
! kidney potato grown on stiff loams is quite a different plant 
j to look at, from the same kind on loose and rich sandy soils; 
: those on the clays will stand firmly up when in full growth, 
those on loose and rich soils will generally squat about in 
I all directions, and, of course, render useless all those por¬ 
tions of the foliage thus deprived of the solar light. With 
such cases may be classed what our farmers here term 
“ fliggy ” corn, that is to say, corn overgrown ; and whatever 
! may be said by our chemists about the absence of this, or 
the presence of that, a disproportionate amount of light, 
not only perpendicularly, but sideways, is enough of itself 
to account for it. 
Thus much as paving the way to a consideration of the 
subject of mixed cropping, to which we now return. 
Root Grots. —As before, we take these as the base of all 
really profitable schemes. If the cottager has a pig (many 
I in these parts possess a cow), they are of such service that 
all pig-feeding without the culture of roots is uphill work; 
and this at once, if sound doctrine, points to the propriety 
of allowing every industrious labourer a little land: it is, in 
very truth, a national affair. A man cannot be thoroughly 
contented unless he be somewhat comfortable, and who 
shall dispute the soundness of that policy which would at 
least place the means conducive to contentment within the 
reach of every industrious member of society ? We cannot 
here forbear observing, and we crave a moment’s indulgence 
from our readers for a little digression, that if every in¬ 
dustrious mechanic or labourer had a quarter-of-an-acre of 
well cultivated soil (cultivated by his own hands), and once 
took a thorough pride in cultural matters, little temptation 
would be presented to turn demagogue, poacher, or incen¬ 
diary. 
Combinations with Swedes. — These, as their name 
implies, are of northern origin; they are, therefore, hardy, 
and can do occasionally with the dull skies peculiar to 
northern climes. The period of sowing is of course the end 
of April, or beginning of May; and the time during which 
they require the greatest amount of light, we should say 
from the middle of August to the end of September. Cul 
tural operations, too, must be had in consideration; these 
prevail chiefly through June and July. We would have 
nothing amongst Swedes in August and September, and as 
for any other crop during the latter part of the cultural 
period, it is plain that to accomplish it the Swedes must 
be placed beyond usual distances. Ground intended for 
Swedes might carry early cabbage, of the August sowing, 
winter lettuce, spinach, or even early Longpod or Mazagan 
beans; the latter should have been sown in the end of 
January, but if soaked, and set to germinate speedily, may 
yet do. In most of these cases we would place the Swede 
rows (double) forty-two inches apart, and we would have a 
double drill of either crop in the centre ; the turnips, also, 
ultimately, in double drills, that is to say, the rows in pairs, 
about nine inches apart. Of course, any of these crops 
must be got in immediately, and the seeds soaked to 
hasten them. 
Combinations with Mangold. —This root requires all 
the light possible during August and September, and room 
for cultural operations through June and July. The same 
crops and course of culture, therefore, as the Swedes, will 
lie eligible here, but for mixed cropping, forty-eight inches 
may be allowed. 
Combinations with the Potato. —These must be classi¬ 
fied for such purposes into early and late, although few will 
venture to entertain the idea of late ones in these days. It 
is a practice in Cheshire to plant very early kinds in beds 
or “butts” (bouts?), and to plant ox cabbages in the 
alleys; and very profitable crops we have known in this way. 
Some dibble broad beans along each side of the butts; 
these two answer pretty well. We like tall winter greens 
amongst them; the potatoes in double drills, the greens in 
single ones. Thus—plant early potatoes in the first week 
of February, the drills in pairs, leaving three clear feet 
between each two outer rows:—The potato drills one foot 
apart. Let some green kale, Brussels sprouts, or thousand- 
headed cabbage, be sown in the second week of February, 
if possible, in a warm corner, and protected as radishes. 
Prick out the plants on good soil, in the end of March, 
rather thickly, for the longer their stems the better, if stout. 
The potatoes being earthed-up and cleaned thoroughly by 
the middle of May, introduce the greens in each centre, 
the Brussels sprouts in double rows, the plants about nine 
inches distant, the kale a loot, and the thousand-head cab¬ 
bage twenty to thirty inches. By the time the potatoes are 
taken up, the greens will be getting tall, and will receive an 
earthing-up in the act of taking up the potatoes. As soon as 
the potatoes are up, Swedes may be planted in double drills, 
or common turnips may be sown, or c-oleworts, sown in the 
end of May, planted. These things we have often grown 
together, and highly recommend as one of our most profit¬ 
able combinations. 
Carrots. —This is so delicate in the young state that few 
combinations will suit. To be sure, we may combine any 
two crops by allowing extra room, but this is nonsense. 
The only principle of combination we recognise is one 
which, taking advantage of the habits and periods of one 
crop, enables the cultivator to gain a month or two; in other 
words, to turn ground to profit for a while, which would 
otherwise be idle; and all this without any particular sa¬ 
crifice as to the principal crop. As to the carrot, everybody 
knows that it is peculiarly liable to the grub, so much so, 
that many are deterred from attempting its culture, although 
one of the most valuable roots in cultivation, if successful. 
