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1 Maz., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 197 
Horticulture 
SOME SEASONABLE NOTES FOR MARCH. 
By the EDITOR. 
Those who intend starting a vegetable garden in the autumn will probably 
be glad of a few hints on the method of growing different vegetables which 
may save them some trouble and loss. We should like to see the boys and 
girls on the farms on railway lines and near to large centres of population 
cultivating a small plot which they can call their own. There is plenty of 
pocket money to be made during the next six or eight months by growing the 
common vegetables—far more than by going about with a pea-rifle, as so many 
boys do, shooting at every little bird they come across, generally destroying 
useful insect killers, and not seldom putting a bullet into one of their mates. 
A small vegetable garden can be easily looked after by devoting an hour or two 
of early morning and evening to the work. If you have a bit of good, rich 
soil, and a water supply, the crops will only require to be properly sown and, 
where necessary, planted out at the right time to ensure a regular succession of 
yecetables. Keep the weeds down; water when required. Keep the surface in 
good tilth, and little more is required. 
To begin with, dig the land deep, and lay it out in long narrow beds, 
preparing also finely tilled seed beds. Say you are going to sow several 
varieties of vegetables, such as cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, lettuce, French 
beans, beetroot, parsnips, peas, radish, eschalots, seakale, &c. 
Get your seeds from a reliable seedsman. Don’t get too much at once, 
because you have to keep up a succession of vegetables, and to do this you will 
make sowings of most of them at intervals of a month about. In sowing carrots 
sow the seed in drills 1 foot apart. As the seed clings together, mix it with sand, 
and rub it well in your hands just before sowing. Rake it gently in, bearing in 
mind that seeds must not be covered, as a rule, deeper than their own diameter. 
When they are up, keep the hoe going, killing any weeds and. stirring the soil. 
Thin the plants out to 6 inches apart; 100 bunches of carrots will bring you in 
from 8s. to 10s. 
Cauliflowers.—For these the soil cannot be too rich, but for the seed bed a 
lighter soil is sufficient. Therefore, if your soil is not naturally very fertile, take 
care to thoroughly manure the bed to which the plants will be removed when 
large enough. Do not sow the seed too thickly, and shade the seed bed by 
putting in a few small leafy branches or by a light framework of bushes. 
This shade may be removed when the first young leaves are well developed. 
Transplant in dull weather in rows about 2 feet apart—2 feet 6 inches is 
better. Give them water at the same time. Then, as they grow, supply them 
occasionally with liquid manure. Keep the ground well stirred, and draw the 
soil up to the stems to support them. As soon as the flower appears, water it 
frequently, and bend two or three leaves over it to preserve its colour and 
prevent it branching out. 
Cabbage.—The largest sowings of cabbage should be made in January, 
February, and June, but you may sow in March and keep up a regular succes- 
sion of sowings and transplantings. Shade the seed bed in the same way as for 
cauliflower seeds., When transplanting, clip off the extreme ends of the roots, 
and that will make them throw out plenty of lateral or side roots. Plant out in 
rows, 3 feet apart for the large sizes and 2 feet for the smaller. In poor soil 
they may stand much closer. Keep the ground open, water well, and it is a 
good plan to mulch them (I will tell you something about mulching later on). 
If you can get any lime, give a slight dressing of it. It helps the roots to more 
plant food. . ; RECE ve 
