they can be so, only as long as they continue open, and this they cease to be-in fact, they become portions of one wide bed, when plants have taken possession of them. Gardeners direct narrow beds and broad alleys, to secure the convenience of easy access; but these alleys would soon exist only in name, and become portions of one extended, wide plantation, were the roots suffered to spread abroad in the rich soil produced by the dung. Judd has overlooked this circumstance, or otherwise, has failed in his mode of describing his process. 156. Further experimental remarks.-I see no reason to doubt the advantage of trenching to the depth of two feet at least, in a soil consisting of a pure, unctuous, sandy loam, of a velvety texture; or, if that be not found in the garden, to introduce the top-spit, grassy turf, of a sheep-common, or meadow. The manure I should prefer, would be semi-decayed leaves, to the extent of one-third of the soil, perfectly incorporated with the earth, and improved by adding about a peck of soda to the entire soil of every large bed-as the one described above. Wood ashes are also an excellent adjunct as a top dressing. crop. Alleys are of little use, only as they facilitate the taking of the The single, distant bed, as described by Grayson, is eligible, in as far as it may be improved by the adjoining intermediate crops, on the theory of "radical exudation;" but the greatest advantage attached to it is this,-that if alleys be digged out on the sides of the bed, eighteen inches wide, and one foot deep, the bed may be forced, by placing a pair of boards as a ridge, over the plants, and filling the alleys with fresh, damp leaves, which also should be applied over the whole surface of the bed and its boards, two feet deep. Much trouble would be occasioned by the processes, but the asparagus would be obtained early, and receive no injury; whereas, in frame-forcing, every root is destroyed. The leaves, when the crop is cut, should be taken off the bed; but those in the alleys left, digging them over in the autumn, at the time of top-dressing; when half may be laid over the bed as manure, and the alley filled to a level with long litter. Beds so formed, ought not to be forced every year. By the above method of forcing the asparagus would be bleached, but to obviate this circumstance, (which is an objection,) very complete beds might be formed, by building pigeon-holed, single brick walls at the two sides and ends of these narrow beds, so as to make them thirty inches wide; the walls ought to be built solid, six inches above the surface, and secured by a wooden curb. Leaves, hot dung, or a mixture of both, so as to form a hot lining all round, as high as the wall, and a yard deep, would produce sufficient stimulus. The beds should be hooped over within the walls, the centre of the arch being eighteen inches above the soil, and covered with mats every night; thus, asparagus of good colour would be obtained. The gardener may cover the earth of the bed with six inches of the siftings of half decayed leaves, mixed, if possible, with about a fifth, or sixth part of wood-ashes. These should be laid on as soon as the bed is forked over, and just previous to the formation of the linings: boards, or basket-hurdles might be substituted for the brick walls, where economy, in the first instance, is an object. 157. Duration of the beds.-Judging from all that has been advanced, the conclusion we arrive at is, that asparagus is a plant as hardy as groundsel or horse-radish; that it will grow in sand, and needs no protection; that a bed capable of producing 1100 or 1200 heads every year, may be constructed with a degree of labour so small, and so delightful, that to many at least, it may be said to "physic pain:" and at an expense, when performed by the members of the family, too trifling to be placed in competition with the rich and durable results. Reckoning 160 plants, two years old, at two and sixpence per hundred; the manure, if purchased, at four shillings per load; if produced, at an optional value; the labour, at the price of the acquisition of health and strength, if it be prudently undertaken and performed-what then is the sum total? not one pound! And as to the subsequent labour in keeping clean, cutting, and autumnal manuring, with a view to improve the quality of a plant, which assuredly is benefited by rich tillage, a few hours throughout the whole year will certainly suffice; and if dung cannot be procured, road or sea-sand, leaf-mould, and two or three pounds of common salt, will amply provide a winter covering, possessed of good fertilizing qualities. In point of total duration, some allow the plantations a period of ten years, others extend it to twenty and thirty years. Mr. Cobbett says, that it depends on the soil. "Having a dry bottom, and good manure, they (the beds) will probably last three generations; and if that be not enough to compensate the trouble of making them, it would be difficult to find a compensation."-Amer. Gard. Dr. Macculloch (Caled. Mem.) says, "the French beds will generally last thirty years; but if they be planted in such abundance as to require cutting once in two years, half the beds being always in a state of reservation, it will last a century or more." 158. Cutting and duration of the crop.-It will be imprudent to cut any asparagus till the heads rise freely, and of considerable size. The best instrument is a common sharp dinner-knife, narrow in the blade, and rather pointed. When the heads have advanced to the height of six or seven inches above the surface of the ground, thrust the knife carefully, close by each head, and pass the cut in a slanting direction, forwards and downwards, two or three inches within the surface of the bed, observing great caution not to wound other advancing heads on either side of the one to be cut. Cut them in regular succession as they advance, and select those which appear to produce more than one shoot; for it should ever be a rule to leave one on each crown at the close of the season. The reason for so doing, may be given in a few words. The root of every plant is derived or produced from buds or leaves; by the latter, the crown and its roots, of all herbaceous plants in particular, are formed and nourished. If then, all the stems of the asparagus plant be cut, there can remain no foliage to receive the influence of air and light; consequently, no vital fluid can be furnished to the plant under the soil, and the whole of the roots must perish, for the want of the supply of those juices, which would be devoted to the production of a fresh crown, destined to remain dormant during the winter, and to expand into new heads and shoots, when excited by the influences of the returning spring. In a new plantation, cut only the largest, and spare the weaker, to strenghen the roots. By the mode of long cutting, adopted by me, as above directed, I gain a length of eatable grass of full six inches; sometimes, we have not had enough of white left, to hold the shoot by; but then, this is an economical plan, and the grass is green; hence, there is nothing of elegance in it. To obtain the fashionable red-tipped grass, the heads must be cut when they just emerge, and the knife must be passed down more deeply, or else, each head must be earthed up as at No. 151; the result will be one inch of an eatable summit, of very inferior flavour comparatively, and six inches of hard, fibrous, white stalk, as tough as pack-wax. Asparagus beds may be cut, according to the season, from mid-April to the third week in June. At the close of each season, blanks may be filled up, by reserve two years' old plants from small seed-beds, or these plants may be purchased. As the plants ripen their seeds, remove them carefully, so as to prevent the seeds from dropping on the beds; and when all the haulm is cut off, sweep the beds; for although many persons let the seeds that drop, lie on the beds and grow, yet the consequence is total irregularity among the plants, both as respects depth and situation. 159. In saring the seed, nothing more is required than to select the largest, most forward, and best ripened plants; and no art is required in constructing a seed bed; a little neatness and regularity as to order, and choice of the spot, is all that can be required. Before sowing, rub the seeds out of the husks, not, however, before they are wanted. PART II. OPERATIONS IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN, FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL. 160. First week to the third.—Sow-Beans (22), the long-pod, Sandwich, Windsor, or Toker; also, Peas (24), imperial, Prussian, and marrow-fat, once or twice; or whenever the last-sown crops appear above ground (26). Cabbages (108), Savoys (116), Red-cabbage (115), Brussels sprouts (117), Borecole (118), about the first or second week. Beet-root (72), early in the month; carrots (76), parsneps (78), about the second week, for main crops; or for succession, if the chief crops were sown last month.-Lettuce, small salads, and spinach, for succession. Onions; the Spanish for main crop; the silver for drawing young. Leeks and cardoons. Celery and celeriac, in a warm spot of ground. Third week.-Broccoli (124), the different sorts, once or twice; and the purple-cape, by M'Leod's method, to obtain an early autumn supply (123). Cauliflower (121), and all the sweet herbs; also nasturtium, parsley, and turnips. Radishes: the tap, and turnip-rooted, twice or thrice. Fourth week-Kidney-beans (30), scarlet-runners (31), for the first crops; and salsafy, scorzonera, and skirrets. Plant-Potatoes for the summer and autumn supply. Asparagus-beds (151), artichokes from suckers, in rows, each plant four or five feet apart. Slips of balm, pennyroyal, sage, thyme, savory, marjoram, rosemary, and lavender. Transplant-Lettuces, to thin the seed-bed; and all other crops that require transplanting. Sea-kale from beds of young plants, or from cuttings of roots, with two or three eyes or buds. Fork and dress-asparagus beds as early as possible, if that work remain to be done; dig about artichoke plantations, after removing the suckers; hoe and thin spinach, and all other drilled drops. Earth up-the rows of peas, beans, and other crops, when two or three inches high. Stick peas before they incline to fall. Hoe-between all crops, and eradicate weeds with the hand, where hoeing cannot be practised. Destroy-slugs and snails: these insects are great enemies to young lettuces, peas, broccoli plants, &c.; seek for them early and late; and sprinkle quick-lime dust about or around drills and patches; or water copiously with clear lime water, made by slaking half a pound of fresh-burnt lime in a three-gallon pail, by pouring a pint or more of water upon it, and then filling up the pail with cold water. SECTION III. NATURAL HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE APRICOT TREE. Armeniaca Vulgaris (Rosaceae). Class xii. Order i. Icosandria Monogynia, of Linnæus. 161. The Apricot-tree, though it in many respects resembles the peach and nectarine trees, and, like them, is reckoned among the choicest of our wall-fruit trees, is, in reality, a species of a distinct genus. The genus is now separated from Prunus. The essential generic character is," an inferior calyx; petals, five; nut of the Drupa, with slightly prominent seams." Smith. The flowers appear in March; they rise from shoots of the preceding year, or from spurs of two or more years' growth; and the fruit ripens in August or September. "From its trivial name, it is generally supposed to have originated in Armenia; but Regnier and Sickler assign it a parallel between the Niger and the Atlas; and Pallas states it to be a native of the whole of the Caucasus, the mountains there, to the top, being covered with it. Thunberg describes it as a very large, spreading, branching tree, in Japan. Grossier says that it covers the mountains to the west of Pekin; that the Chinese have a great many varieties of the tree, double-blossomed, which they plant on little mounts for ornament, and dwarfs in pots, for their apartments. It appears from Turner's Herbal, that the apricot was cultivated here, in 1562; and in Hakluyt's Remembrancer, 1582, it is affirmed, that the apricot was procured out of Italy by Wolfe, a French |