Plants which produce luxuriant tops, so as to shade the land, to be succeeded by such as yield small tops, or narrow leaves.

Plants which during their growth require the operation of stirring the earth, to precede such as do not admit of such culture.

Ground which has been occupied by Artichokes, Asparagus, Rhubarb, Sea Kale, or such other crops as remain long on a given spot, should be subjected to a regular rotation of crops, for at least as long a period as it remained under such permanent crops. Hence, in all gardens judiciously managed, the Strawberry bed is changed every three or four years, till it has gone the circuit of all the compartments ; and Asparagus beds, &c., should be renewed on the same principle, as often as they fail to produce luxuriantly. Indeed, no two crops should be allowed to ripen their seed in succession in the same soil, if it can be avoided; because, if it be not exhausted by such crops, weeds will accumulate more than on beds frequently cultivated.

Manure should be applied to the most profitable and exhausting crops; and the succession of crops should be so arranged, that the ground may be occupied by plants either valuable in themselves, or which may contribute to the increased value of those which are to follow; and the value of the labour required to mature vegetables, and prepare them for market, should be always taken into consideration.

Many kinds of seed, such as Asparagus, Capsicum, Celery, Fetticus, Leek, Lettuce, Onion, Parsnip, Parsley, Rhubarb, Salsify, Spinach, &c., will not vegetate freely in dry weather, unless the ground be watered or rolled; where there is no roller on the premises, the following contrivance may answer for small beds as a substitute: after the seed is sown, and the ground well raked, take a board the whole length of the bed, lay it flat on the ground, begin at one edge of the bed, and walk the whole length of it; this will press the soil on the seed, then shift the board till you have gone over the whole bed.

In the absence of boards, tread in the seed with your feet, or strike on the bed with the back of your spade or shovel· but this should not be done when the ground is wet.

If it be necessary at any time to sow seed in extremely dry weather, it is recommended to soak the seed in water, and dry it with sulphur. This practice, with attentive watering, will cause the seed to vegetate speedily.

If it should be requisite to transplant any thing when the ground is dry, the transplanting should always be done as soon as the earth is turned over, and the roots of the plants, before they are set out, should be steeped in mud made of rich compost.

I have, in most cases, recommended seed to be sown in drills drawn from eight to twelve inches apart, in preference to sowing broadcast, because the weeds can be more easily destroyed by means of a small hoe, which, if properly used, greatly promotes the growth of young plants.

The following table may be useful to the gardener, in showing the number of plants or trees that may be raised on an acre of ground, when planted at any of the under-mentioned distances:

The preceding table may serve as a guide to such as are not expert in arithmetic, in laying out a garden, as it shows at one view many proportions of an acre of land, in squares

of different dimensions. The last line, for instance, shows that, if forty-eight trees be planted on an acre, each thirty feet apart, there may be forty-eight beds of thirty feet square, or thirty beds of forty-eight feet square, formed from the same quantity of land. An allowance of about one-eighth must, however, be made from the above calculation for walks and paths.

The table may also serve to show the gardener how to dispose of any given quantity of manure, that may be allotted for an acre of ground. If, for instance, it requires three hundred and two trees to plant an acre when placed twelve feet from each other, it will require as many heaps of manure to cover the same quantity of ground, if dropped the same distance apart. It therefore follows, that if one hundred loads be allowed to the acre, each load must be divided into three heaps. If seventy-five loads only be allowed, every load must be divided into four heaps, and so on in proportion to the quantity allowed. But if the gardener should choose to drop his heaps five paces or fifteen feet apart, he may make such distribution of his loads as to have one hundred and ninety-three heaps on the acre of land; in which case by dividing each load into four heaps, he will require only forty-eight loads to cover the acre, and he may decrease the quantity still more, by allowing greater distances from heap to heap, or by dividing his loads into smaller proportions, so as to accommodate himself to whatever quantity of manure he may allot to any given quantity of ground.

As it may not be generally known that some kinds of seed are apt to lose their vegetative qualities much sooner than others, the following hints are subjoined as some rule for the gardener's government, provided the seed is carefully preserved, and not exposed to excess of heat, air, or damp

ness:

Parsnip, Rhubarb, and other light, scale-like seeds, cannot be safely trusted after they are a year old.

Beans and Peas of different species, Capsicum, Carrot, Cress, Leek, Nasturtium, Okra, Onion, Salsify, Scorzonera, and small Herb seed in general, may be kept two years.

Artichoke, Asparagus, Egg-plant, Endive, Fetticus, Lettuce, Mustard, Parsley, Skirret, and Spinach seed, may with care be preserved three years.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Celery, Kale, Radish, and Turnip seed, will keep four years, if properly attended to.

Beet, Cucumber, Gourd, Melon, Pumpkin, and Squash, also, Burnet, Chervil, and Sorrel seed, have been known to grow freely when five and even seven years old; but it is not prudent to venture seed in the garden, of the soundness of which we are not certain.

In order to put such on their guard as may attempt to raise seed either for their own use or for the market, I would observe that great care is necessary, as it is an indubitable fact, that if seed of similar species be raised near each other, degeneracy will be the consequence; it is, therefore, difficult for any one man to raise all sorts of seed, good and true to their kind, in any one garden.

If roots of any kind become defective, they are unfit for seed, as the annexed fact will show. I once planted for seed some beautiful orange-coloured roots of Carrots, but as they had been previously grown with some of a lemon-colour, they produced seed of a mixed and spurious breed ; and as this is not a solitary instance of degeneracy from the like cause, I have come to the conclusion, that as in the animal frame, so it is in the vegetable system-disorders very frequently lay dormant from one generation to another, and at length break out with all their vigour; I would therefore advise seed growers not to attempt to "bring a clean thing out of an unclean," but if they find a mixture of varieties among their seed roots, to reject the whole, or they will infallibly have spurious seed.

TABLE AND EXPLICATION.

In order to aid the novice in gardening, the following brief classification of such species and varieties as comprise our catalogue of vegetable seed is submitted, and it is presumed that the connecting links, and explication of this table, will not be altogether uninteresting to the experienced gardener and seedsman.

In explication of the table, it may be necessary first to premise, that in the classification, as regards the germinating powers of different kinds of seed, it is conceded that if some of those denominated medium were put upon an equal footing with some of the class denominated quick-growing, they would vegetate in about the same time. For instance, Peas