April 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
39 
good plan either to transplant or sow either of these 
varieties in shallow trenches, which afford some 
shelter to the young plants, so necessary at their first 
starting; and it is a convenience, as has been before 
stated, for any temporary covering that may be 
needed on cold nights*, for watering in dry weather, 
and they are also a protection from cutting winds. 
Routine Management. —Sow successions of en¬ 
cumbers, melons, and vegetable marrow. Reduce the 
covering used over frames containing early crops of 
these. Apply tepid manure water to the plants hav¬ 
ing fruit now freely swelling. Prepare for ridging 
out plants of these crops in the open ground, to be 
protected by hand-fights, oiled paper frames, or other 
covering. James Barnes. 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
ALLOTMENT GARDENING FOR MAY. 
Fruit-Tree Borders. —As our remarks are in¬ 
tended to apply to the ordinary cottage garden, as 
well as to field gardening, we must take some notice 
occasionally of the fruit borders, or marginal strips; 
for these may be turned to account occasionally; as 
the holding a plot of ground is such an immense 
benefit (one denied to the mechanic in smoky towns), 
that not an inch should be either lost or neglected. 
When gardens are first enclosed, a good many use¬ 
ful little things may he obtained from the fruit bor¬ 
ders, provided they he plants which bear shallow 
culture: for no deep digging will be pursued here 
through our recommendation. We may as well 
say at once, that six inches is the very extreme depth 
to which any culture may be permitted to reach; 
indeed, tins is more than we should practice. The 
kinds we would recommend lor border culture are the 
following : — Spinach, cabbage lettuces, York or 
Matchless cabbages, radishes, kidney beans, shallots, 
parsley, turnips (the Dutch), kohl-rabi, and most of 
the herbs, at least those which do not spawn too 
much at the root. 
Provided the fruit borders are about six feet in 
width, one drill and an edging of any kind will be 
a profitable course during the first three or four 
years; in which case the drills may be drawn about 
two feet, or nearly so, from the tree stems, from end 
to end; and, instead of digging any deeper than here 
suggested, we advise that a little old manure be put 
in the drills; this we call “hiring a crop,” for the 
cropping is not to be allowed to rob the border, but 
merely to hold a temporary situation there. Whilst, 
therefore, the trees are young, some of the larger and 
grosser vegetables may hold a situation there, such 
as the York cabbages, kohl-rabi, &c., and these, for 
a short period, may be placed in double drills. Some 
rotation, however, will be necessary even here; and 
the drills of one year may be exchanged for a broad¬ 
cast crop the next, for which we know of nothing 
better than the Dutch turnip, spinach, or cabbage 
lettuces. We grow quantities yearly of the Dutch 
turnip, on fruit borders, by merely hoeing the seed 
in. The turnips, the spinach, and the lettuces, will 
all be wanted for the cow or pig: of the latter two it 
is impossible to get too much; and the spinach, when 
run to blossom, and half a yard high, is a very excel¬ 
lent thing to give cows which have become over¬ 
heated by other diet, and which may, in general, be 
known by the cow eating the very soil from the 
hedge banks; this over-heating is apt to produce the 
red or black water. 
As the trees extend, and the border becomes much 
shaded, it is in vain to crop much. In such cases the 
Dutch turnip may be sown in the first week of 
March; but whilst the trees are young we would take 
a crop of the Hammersmith lettuce oil' in May, which 
had been sown in the end of August, and then follow 
in the same season with Dutch turnips. We do not 
wish to confine the cottager to these crops; we 
merely wish to show what may be accomplished by 
a severe economy, accompanied by sound informa¬ 
tion as to the habits of the vegetables in question. 
Mangold Wurtzel. —We must now stay to inquire 
whether this useful root is sown; our’s has been sown 
a fortnight. If not, let-it be sown instantly, accord¬ 
ing to former advice. The young plant will want a 
thorough weeding as soon as above ground, and the , 
next process will be what is termed “ singling them 
out;” that is, removing one where two come up side 
by side. Before these two processes, however, the 
hoe should be plied between the drills; this enables 
the weeders and singlers to see their work plainer. 
Swedish Turnips. —By referring to our last allot¬ 
ment directions, p. 301, it will be seen that we advise 
these to be sown a fortnight later than the mangold, 
on account of their liability to mildew. The first 
fortnight in May is a very good time, and we hope 
our cottage friends have got their Swede portion of 
the allotment in a forward state of culture already. 
The Scotch have a saying that “ the midden is the 
mitlier o’ the meal chest;”* and if this hold good 
with our grain crops, it is trebly true of our root 
crops, which make thereby a famous preparation in 
our fields for wheat; as, although quality is requisite 
for this valuable grain, fresh manures, which the tur¬ 
nip thrives on, would run the wheat into straw too 
much. See, therefore, that the root crops are well 
manured, for no manure must be used for the potatoes 
which are planned to succeed them in 1850. 
Take care to raise the drills by some means; this 
is easily accomplished on ordinary flat garden ground, 
if in good tilth, by drawing a small drill on each side 
of a garden fine, and close to it; this will leave a 
raised mound, or ridge, in the centre, in which the 
seeds may be dibbled. If the soil is not very good, 
it is advisable to introduce a mixture of some stimu¬ 
lating manures, in the drill manner. 
Guano. —Real good Peruvian guano, we fear, may 
be thought out of the cottager’s way. Such guano, 
however, it should be remembered, can be purchased 
for very little more than a penny per pound. We 
are persuaded that it is quite within the cottager's 
reach, and peculiarly efficient under a proper course 
of management. Indeed, nothing else can accom¬ 
plish what we would desire so well, at so small an 
outlay. About twenty pounds would be enough to 
form the basis of a mixture, which will be found to 
work wonders for the yctung plant. Such is appli¬ 
cable to most of our crops; but.the Swede is so liable 
to the fly and other mishaps, that anything which 
will develop the plant rapidly is particularly worthy 
of attention. Let us, nevertheless, add a caution 
concerning itfcs use : it must never be put into narrow 
drills in its raw state. Any old mellow vegetable 
soil, thoroughly decayed leaves, very old tan, or any 
charred weeds, or other matter, is capital to mix with 
it; and, if nothing else is at hand, some cid and 
spent sawdust may be used. A couple oi barrowtuls 
of such, spread over the floor, with twenty pounds of 
* In English, “ The dung-heap is the mother of the flour bin.” 
