158 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 
or allotment crops, tlie cottager will entirely for¬ 
get the troubles of a previous winter and a tardy 
spring. He will now, we hope, be enjoying the fruits 
of perseverance, in the shape of good new potatoes, 
early cabbages, Horn carrots, turnips, lettuces, &c., 
&c., whereby not only will the thrifty housewife be 
amply supplied, hut the pigs and cow, if any, will he 
partaking of similar heneiits; for, where the cottager’s 
wife is enabled to work up abundance of vegetables 
in-doors, there is sure to be plenty of scraps for the 
pigs: and all this has a salutary influence on the size 
of the midden, or dunghill, in the ensuing year. 
Forecasting. —Under a mixed system of cropping, 
which we in part recommend to our allotment holders, 
one of the most important matters at this precise 
period is to anticipate, with a searching eye, the 
decay of mere summer crops; and, by studying the 
habit of growth of the crops, the duration, together 
with the method of gathering or housing, to introduce, 
as far as possible, vegetables for a long winter be¬ 
tween or among those summer crops. The method of 
gathering must be taken fully into consideration, for 
where rows of things stand already somewhat close, 
say peas, and much trampling in the gathering is sure 
to ensue, it is sometimes better policy to suffer the 
whole crop to be removed before planting a succes¬ 
sion of any kind. This points at once to the expe¬ 
diency of having much forecast in the early spring ; 
for all these things, by careful consideration, may be 
anticipated. We hope, therefore, that our allotment 
friends will not hereafter complain so much of the 
tediousness of winter, but in their “ingle nook” ru¬ 
minate over them ; for, assuredly, to digest a scheme 
of cropping, embracing all possible capabilities, will 
occupy many a leisure hour, both profitably and, to 
our taste, agreeably. For the above reasons, we have 
at times, probably, advised greater distances between 
crops than might, to some persons, seem compatible 
with the cottier’s limited space; it must be remem¬ 
bered, however, that there is a point at which close 
cropping must stop, and to go beyond which is 
certain loss, whether in the garden or in the farm. 
However, these things are capable of great improve¬ 
ment, and we are assured that immense progress will 
be shewn in this matter during the next year or two, 
and that the discussion of the subject in The Cot¬ 
tage Gardener will be productive of some service, 
if only in setting other minds at work. 
Hoeing. —As foremost business of tlie season, we 
may commence with hoe culture, whether for clean¬ 
ing land or for its mechanical effects on the soil. 
With regard to the latter, not only is the soil pulve¬ 
rized and made of easy access to the tender fibres of 
vegetables, but organic matters, manures, &c., are 
more intimately blended with the soil, and brought 
within the reach of atmospheric agencies. Thus, 
more food, besides a greater liberty to range in quest 
of it, proceeds from plenty of deep hoe culture. When 
we say deep, however, we must add a caution :—due 
attention should at all times be paid to the character 
of the roots or fibres which feed the plant. Thus, 
with regard to the carrot, where land is in good con¬ 
dition, or containing some manure near the surface, 
the carrot is apt to branch into forks and become 
rough. Now, we consider it beneficial to hoe deep 
pretty close to the carrot in its earlier stages, being 
persuaded that the tendency to become forked is in 
some degree checked by such hoeing: many of the 
fibres having a bias that way become destroyed in the 
operation. With respect to the potato, however, the 
case is different; every possible means should be 
taken to encourage surface fibres; such the potato 
ivill produce, like a net-work, close to the surface of 
the soil; and, notwithstanding that much fuss has 
been made about hoeing through them, we are per¬ 
suaded that many crops are much injured this way, 
not by hoeing merely, but by hoeing too close to the 
main stems. We care not, however, how much hoe¬ 
ing is performed in the earlier stages between the 
drills. Such is exceedingly beneficial, and cannot be 
too much practised. Therefore, we advise the cot¬ 
tager, at all times, to examine the character and pre¬ 
sent condition of the plants, and to apply the hoe 
accordingly. 
Watering. —This necessary operation must occa¬ 
sionally be had recourse to, chiefly, however, to get 
newly planted crops established. We do not hold 
with watering either peas or beans; we never found 
it answer; neither will the cottager find time for 
such extended operations. Onions, too, how seldom 
is watering them satisfactory ! unless it be resorted 
to for the purpose of introducing some stimulating 
manure, as guano, when the soil is very poor. Where 
watering will he truly beneficial, under the allotment 
system, is in the germination or sprouting of seeds, a 
matter about which we take to ourselves some blame 
for not offering advice concerning this delicate pro¬ 
cess sooner. In the transplanting of lettuces, cab¬ 
bages, &c., toe, the process becomes highly necessary, 
as not unfrequently three weeks are lost in the prime 
of summer through neglect of this operation; and it 
is manifest that the bulk of crop which would be 
produced in three weeks would amply repay the 
small amount of labour requisite. At the moment 
of germination, or sprouting, many broad acres are 
spoiled throughout the kingdom by dust. The little 
white point, which constitutes, in fact, the future 
plant, is of the most delicate character, and not 
capable of existing one hour in mere dust. This often 
gives rise to the saying which is in use in the country, 
that “ the seed would have been much safer in the 
bag.” Much attention to these apparently trifling 
minutiae, therefore, is requisite; and, for our parts, 
during the heat of summer, we almost invariably 
soak our seeds for three or four hours in lukewarm 
water, unless the ground is thoroughly wet through 
recent rains; if dusty, we keep our seed in the bag, 
regardless of losing time, unless, indeed, the ground 
is absolutely dry—too dry to enable the seed to ger¬ 
minate at all—then, we say, sow, by all means, with¬ 
out soaking; for the seed will be ready when rain 
does come, and the soil, in this state, is much bene- 
fittei by roller pressure. 
Weeding. —We need merely, under this head, re¬ 
peat that no high culture can be earned out without a 
freedom from weeds, especially seeding weeds. Let 
the valuable old proverb never be forgotten, for it is 
true to the letter—“ One year’s seeding makes seven 
years’ weeding.” 
Thinning out Rising Crops. —If the course of 
culture and cropping we have from the commence¬ 
ment of our labours suggested has been duly carried 
out, there will, at this period, exist a surplus of 
vegetable refuse, which will be of immense benefit 
to the pigs and the cow. One of the cottager's 
children should be appointed to go over all standing 
greens or cabbages about twice a week, and collect 
all the loose leaves from plants which have been 
beheaded. It is lamentable what a valuable amount 
of material is lost for want of this proceeding. The 
pigs are greedy devourers of everything in this 
shape, and all tends to increase the bulk of tlie 
manure heap. Young plants of mangold, Swedes, 
parsnips, carrots, <tx., should now be looked over 
