A PHIL 25.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
market; and, moreover, if he he a clever and thrifty 
manager, he will soon be able to load back with town 
manure, which he will find it his interest to purchase. 
There can be little doubt, that the most profitable way 
of farming such a piece of land would be to make the 
dairy the principal object; corn crops being held sub¬ 
sidiary to this. Indeed, we do not see what real necessity 
exists, under such circumstances, for corn crops at all; 
I straw for bedding certainly must be had, but whether 
! to increase the bulk of manure as a prime object, dc- 
j pends on the situation and size of the holding; for if, 
; as before observed, in the suburbs of a thriving town, 
there need be no anxiety about manure, provided the 
! holder manages well. He will, in general, purchase what 
: extra manure he will require without feeling the expense. 
Straw, even for bedding, should bo held as of secondary 
import; if it can be shewn (which we do think it can) 
that other things will prove more remunerative; and 
that land may be kept under culture for many years, 
without what is termed rest—that is to say, laying down 
in grass, for naked fallow is out of the question; the 
pressure of the times will, before long, place fallows among 
the things that were. 
We have advised this much, in order to endeavour 
to direct the attention of the holder of such little farms 
to the necessity of reconsidering his whole policy; and, 
instead of going by any prescribed mode, to chalk out a 
system for himself, based on the circumstances before 
alluded to, together with a consideration of the demands 
of the locality ; distinguishing carefully those which are 
temporary or fluctuating demands from those which are 
of a permanent character. 
We come now to another and important item for 
consideration, and one which, as we think, should 
be woven into a system adapted to suburban farms. 
We here allude to a union, in some degree, of the more 
profitable portions of commercial or market gardening 
with dairg farming, which, for the present, we must 
term the case in hand. It was before observed, that 
great facilities offered themselves in such situations for 
obtaining manures; and we all know that, without a 
liberal manuring what is termed high culture cannot 
be carried out. The possessor of a few acres has not his 
attention divided, like the ordinary farmer in the country; 
his matters lay, as it were, all beneath his eye ; and if a 
man thus situated should be enabled to devote his whole 
attention to some eight or ten acres, and proved skilful 
in appliances, how many of the more profitable vegetable 
productions might lie not combine with the course of 
farming alluded to; each, too, playing into the other’s 
hands, to use a common phrase ? 
Keeping of Cows, especially under a “ soiling system,” 
or, what we prefer, a modification of it, is necessarily 
productive of hot manure; and the latter might as well 
be employed in producing the early delicacies of the 
market gardener (which are generally high-priced) be¬ 
fore putting on the land, as lie reeking away its strength 
at the cow-house doors, corrupting the air with fumes 
pernicious to the animal world, but exhilarating to vege¬ 
tables. 
Certainly, to go thus far, seems a departure from the 
ordinary objects of small farming, but we consider it as 
much a duty to furnish hints for progress as to give 
mere calondarial matter. We had intended here to 
point to a rotation and course of culture somewhat in 
detail, but our limits are nearly attained; and it becomes 
necessary in this stirring month to pay particular re¬ 
gard to cultural mattors. Perhaps it will be as well to 
deal with them successively, as in former allotment 
papers. 
Potatoes. —Of course, all those who expect a full crop 
of sound potatoes have planted the whole by this time. 
Those who adopt the “ lazy-bed ” style, or what are 
called “ bouts,” or, in the vernacular of Lancashire and 
51 
Cheshire, “ butts,” should be on the alert to destroy the 
first crop of weeds the moment they appear. In the 
counties above alluded to, this is done just before the 
' potato sprouts are breaking ground. 
| Under the circumstances of culture there seems no 
reason to object to the practice, provided the soil has 
been well worked previously to planting. These people 
plant somewhat shallow, calculating on the additional 
“ soiling,” which is intended as a ready mode of destroy¬ 
ing the first crop of weeds. As far as mere annual weeds 
aro concerned this is accomplished; but one great evil 
attends this system—the couch grass, or “twitch,” as 
the Derbyshire folks term it, is only scotched for a few 
weeks, whilst too many of the good country people imagine 
they are destroying it. After all, there is nothing like 
the drill system, for we have always considered that 
such well carried out is equal, if not superior, to a 
naked summer’s fallow. Let us advise the allotment 
holder to stir the ground well, betimes, between his rows 
of potatoes, taking care that all cultural matters are 
complete before the stems begin to fall, and that at the 
last operation not a weed is left. The benefits of this 
will be found equally great to the succeeding crop, and 
a saving of labour will be the sure result in the end. 
Swede Turnips. —In former allotment papers, remarks 
were made on the immense utility of using some exciting 
or stimulating mixture, in order to get the young plant 
out of reach of the fly as soon as possible. This, in¬ 
deed, is the prime secret of a safe crop. The allotment 
gardener, at least, can carry out such practices, for the 
very soot of his chimney will come in for the purpose. 
’Those who sow swedes to stand will have their young 
plants above ground shortly. As soon as they get out of 
the way of the fly, let them be singled out: that is to 
say, the first thinning, which is merely taking care that 
no two plants touch. The hoe should be passed nicely 
through them immediately, choosing a period neither 
wet nor dry for the operation. A seed bed of swedes, to 
succeed such crops as early potatoes, should be sown in 
the first week in May. These must be kept free from 
weeds, and not sown too thickly. 
Mangold-wdiitzel. —Some persons sow this as early 
as the middle of April, and for field culture, and where 
land is more stubborn, it is well to do so. For allot¬ 
ments, however, under spade culture, where the soil is 
in better tilth, and richer, and where the young growth 
is more rapid, the first week in May is as good a period 
as any. The drills should be at least thirty inches apart, 
and the seed may be dropped in patches, one foot apart, 
putting about three or four seeds in a patch. By all 
means put some stimulating material alluded to at page 
540. This will get the young plant rapidly out of i 
the reach of slugs and the aphides, which sometimes 
make sad havoc, especially if the young plant is lazy 
through poverty of soil. We will say more about culture 
in our next. 
Parsnips. —Will now be getting a nice plant, and cul¬ 
ture becomes necessary. Let the rows be clean hand- 
weeded, and the plants singled out, so as that no two 
touch. Then the first dry day let the small hoe be worked 
through the young plants, stirring deeply; for we have 
found that disturbing, and even cutting away by deep ! 
culture, the stronger side fibres in tap-rooted plants be- i 
times, has a tendency to cause the root to descend freely; 
a matter of some importance. Let the ground between 
the drills also be well cultivated and cleaned early. 
Carrots. — These, sown as advised at page 349, will ! 
soon be above ground. No crop requires more careful 
attention than tins', the slugs are so apt to devour them, 
especially if near hedges or other covers. We advise, 
that the moment the plants are appearing every weed 
bo completely removed, in order to be able to “ take 
stock ” with ease, at all times ; and that a dressing, re- 
pellant of the slugs, be applied instantly, not waiting 
