52 
until they have commenced their ravages. We use 
cinder ashes from which all the dust has been ejected, 
I and all the larger portions removed; in fact, our sample 
I of stuff is about the size of turnip-seed. If such is care- 
i fully strewed among the young plants, we will guarantee 
I them safe. If this is too tedious, some very coarse sand 
i is good; some apply barley chaff The best ol the 
I cinder ashes is, that they act as well in wet weather as in 
! dry. The slims cannot bear to travel over such cutting 
roads.' 
Cabbages, Greeks, &c.—Of course the cottager lias 
got a good plot of spring cabbages, planted in October 
or in February. \\ here those are planted as a. principal 
! crop, and are doing well, they may stand lor sprouts, 
we would not advise cottagers, however, to encourage 
the practice, for their standing so long hinders rotations. 
Nearly all the cabbages requisite may be taken as 
“ stolen crops,” that is to say, from between existing 
ones, or some about to be sown or planted. We advise 
tlie allotment holder, therefore, to sow a pinch ol cab¬ 
bage monthly, in May, June, July, and August, choosing 
the dwarf kinds, such as the “ Matchless.’ No doubt, 
green hale, savoys, &c., were sown in April, and it is 
well to make another sowing now. Those who want 
brocoli may sow a pinch now, and again in the end ol 
the month. For this sowing he may choose The pro¬ 
tecting, the very Late whites, and the I Valcheren ; in the 
cud of the month, The capes, and Autumn white, or 
Oranges. The thousand-headed cabbage should not be 
forgotten, especially by those who hold a greater extent 
of land than the mere cottagers. 
Scarlet Runners and Kidney Beans, —The former 
of these should be cultivated assiduously by the cottager; 
both must be sown directly, if not already done. Run¬ 
ners require deep and rich soil, and liberal waterings in 
dry weather, when in full bearing. Sticks ol any kind, 
three or four feet high, will suffice, provided then tops 
are pinched the moment they reach the tops of the sticks. 
General Remarks. —Once more let us exhort the 
allotment holder to be exceedingly diligent. Let him 
lirst cast his eyes around, and compare the different con¬ 
ditions of those who try to employ every spare hour, and 
of those who lounge away their time, and then say 
whether a well-cultivated garden is not a stake worth 
playing for. A continual war must be Kept up with 
weeds; your neighbour,perhaps, will tell you “it dont 
much matter,” but do not believe him; make up your 
mind that every weed robs you of something. Select your 
weather carefully for the various operations, for on this 
much depends. A good cultivator watches the sky and 
its indications daily. No man ought to be more weather- 
wise than a good gardener or farmer. Above all things, 
look well to your manure; do not suffer its strength to 
run into the nearest ditch. Make a point of wheeling 
ordinary soil over the heap now and then, and occa¬ 
sionally throw that sometime made into a separate heap 
of a conical form, and case it over with soil to keep out 
i rain. 
In succeeding papers wc will endeavour to pursue the 
subject with which this paper commences ; and wo shall 
1 in duo time, come to consider corn crops, hay grass, 
i pasturage, &o. 
WHAT WE CAN DO, AND WHAT WE CAN DO 
WITHOUT. 
By the Authoress of “ J/y Flowers 
“ A small country town where provisions are dear ” 
is a very unfavourable situation for persons of small iu- 
come, especially when they have, perhaps, been long 
accustomed to plenty, and unused to economy and care. 
| But many are the families so situated; and it behoves us 
to strive to assist one another in the anxieties of making 
I the most of a little, at a time, too, when all classes are 
[April 25. j 
suffering from the depressed state of trade and agricul¬ 
ture, and no one knows how soon, or how fearfully, his i 
own hour of trial may come. 
The grand essential, I must unweariedly repeat, is to 
strike off every possible expense. It is, I know, a dis¬ 
tasteful remedy, but the only specific. We may, indeed, 
practise rigid carefulness in many ways—in every way : 
we may lay in stores at the cheapest possible rate; we 
may leave off fires early, and take to them late ; we may 
dismiss three servants at high wages, and replace them 
with others of a less expensive stamp; we may pick out 
the cheapest recipes from cookery books, and look j 
narrowly after every scrap that is left from our break- | 
fasts and dinners,—we may do all this, and it is iin- , 
portant that all this should he done, but with this 
system of saving only very little will be gained at the 
end of the year. To economize, and be easy in mind, 
upon a serious reduction of means, we must give up 
superfluities, and even comforts : we must give up two 
servants out of three; we must reduce our bills by not 
purchasing our usual quantities, instead of being satisfied 
with articles at one halfpenny less per pound; we must 
give up all things that are dear, and substitute tliose 
that are cheap ; and ceasing to consider altogether what 
we want, think only of what we can do without. A 
high-principled mind, vigorous, and self-denying, es¬ 
pecially if sanctified by “ the truth,” will be enahled to 
perform wonders in the management of an income, 
compared to those who are lamenting their misfortunes, 
without beholding the Hand which bids the cruse of oil 
“ stay;” and without cheerfully meeting and co-operating 
with those wants that are sent by our Heavenly Father, 
and therefore are the best for us. 
“A genteel appearance” is an ambiguous phrase, 
which no two persons will probably understand alike ; 
and therefore it is scarcely possible to lay down rules for 
maintaining it. My own interpretation of the expression , 
is, living strictly 'within our income, at whatever sacrifice; . 
preserving the neatness, cleanliness, and decorum of our 
homes, however simple and frugal may be the style to 
which we are reduced; and neither aiming to do as 
others do, nor becoming slovenly and indifferent because 
we cannot keep up the elegancies to which we have 
long been accustomed. A gentleman and a lady must 
be such, in whatever position they are placed by the 
wise decrees of Him who ordereth all things ; and their 
own well-bred manners will throw a grace around the 
dignity of honourable poverty, which does in itself possess 
so much moral beauty when sustained with unrepining 
cheerfulness, that riches and grandeur sink into nothing¬ 
ness beside it. 
1 have, more than once, heard of instances where , 
surprising cleverness has been displayed in the arrange¬ 
ment and management of a very small income. I know 
that a clergyman, with a wife and eight little children, 
maintains a most creditable appearance upon only one 
hundred pounds per annum, without noise, confusion, 
dirt, or dismay; but then the mother rises early, dresses 
all her children, and devotes herself to the duties of her 
arduous station with all her powers. 1 shall feel grateful 
to any of my readers, who may be so circumstanced, it 
they will kindly furnish me, through the Editor of The 
Cottage Gardener, such hints from their own ex¬ 
perience as shall assist me, from time to time, in benefit¬ 
ing others in similar situations, but possessing less prac¬ 
tical knowledge on these important points. I 
It is of the greatest consequence that the mind should 
be devoted to the duty we have to perform; this will not 
only sweeten the toil, but will enable us to make larger 
efforts, and to accomplish more difficult things. A hen j 
young people marry upon nothing, or with very straitened [ 
means, the least thing they can do for themselves and ; 
each other is to carry cheerfully the burden they have 
vowed to bear; and if from a competent provision it has ; 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
