neither wet nor parched, and the weather be mild. Open trenches three feet apart, as for celery, the breadth of a spade, and six inches deep. Put into them three inches of good manure, or of a compost formed by the fermentation of leaves and stable-dung, used as linings to melon or pine pits; and incorporate the manure with the soil, by digging it in, a spit deep: fill the trenches with earth made very fine, to within three inches of the previous level. When the ground has settled for a day or two, strain a line along the middle of each trench, and draw a drill, one inch deep, in which drop the seeds, three inches apart; cover with an inch of earth, and press it rather firmly on the seeds, by patting it with the flat of the spade. If the weather be dry, it will be prudent to water the trench effectually two or three times during the time the earth settles, covering the trenches with mats or boards during the heat of the day.

Most of the seeds will rise, but some underground insect frequently destroys many. The supernumeraries, when three or four inches high, will supply the deficiency, if they be carefully raised and planted directly. This replacement should be made in a warm evening, and each removed plant should be liberally watered.

When the growth of all appears to be fully established, the plants ought to be thinned out to stand one foot asunder. Every trench must, of course, be treated alike; and the future culture will consist: first,—in a light hoeing along the trenches to ease the soil and give freedom to the roots, which extend laterally rather than deeply, and to destroy weeds. Second,-when the plants become nine inches high, three inches of the soil first thrown out of the trenches should be returned, so as nearly to fill them to the old surface level. A second earthing up to the same extent will be required, when the plants shall be about eighteen inches high: this will effectually secure them from being blown over by high wind. Third,-when the male spikes at the summits are fully formed, it will be very beneficial to cover the spaces between the rows with an inch or two of good manure, to within three inches of the plants, and to point it in with the fork, being careful not to wound the roots or stems. This manuring will supply ample food, and cause the foliage to assume a dark, rich verdure, which it will retain during the hottest and driest season.

When the farina from the spikes shall cease to fall, the plants may safely be cut back to within two leaves of the uppermost ears; and in fine seasons, the corn will become pulpy, and fit for the table, in succession, from the middle of August, and thenceforward till it ripens. In October the plants will lose their colour, assume a pale

brown tint, and become quite ripe: they may then be drawn up, or cut off close to the soil, and hung up in a shed or barn to dry. Birds are so fond of the seeds, that it will be necessary to cover the upper part of the cobs left to ripen, with paper caps. It however ceases to be an object of economy to ripen the crop for poultry, because the grain from America can now be purchased at little more than the price of barley.

PART II.

OPERATIONS IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN FOR THE
MONTH OF JUNE.

271. Sow-Cucumbers, in the first week, if not sown last month, and thin out those which were sown, and have advanced so far as to show the rough leaf; or plant rowed cuttings. See Appendix.

-

Gourd-seeds, that species, particularly, known by the name of vegetable marrow:-also, sow the pumpkin.

Peas,-Prussian blue (24), Knight's marrowfats (27), early frame, and Charlton, for late crops (27).

Beans, the white blossom (24) for the latest crop.

Kidney-beans, the dwarf and the runners (32), in the first week, and again in the course of the month, once or twice.

In the second and third week, carrots (76), and onions for drawing young; turnips, the white, yellow Dutch (342), and Swedish (344), for the autumnal and winter crops.

In the fourth week,-endive, for a main supply.

Plant-Potatoes (206), the kidneys and other late sorts, for winter crops; slips of southernwood, lavender, hyssop, sage, and other aromatic herbs. Choose a shady spot of ground, and give water occasionally.

Transplant towards the end of the month, cabbage (110), broccoli (124), borecole (118), savoy (116),-chiefly into nurserybeds, but some to remain for early supply.

Celery (359), into manured trenches, and keep it well watered. Leeks, into an open spot of ground, six inches apart.

Stick-Peas; dig between the rows; draw earth to their stems; hoe between all drilled crops; destroy weeds, as fast as they appear, and remove them to the compost heaps.

Clear off-Cabbage-stalks, and all other kinds of litter.

Gather-Mint, balm, sage, and other herbs that are used in a dry state during the winter. Such plants possess their full aroma

just before they expand the flower; therefore, let that state be considered as an indication of the proper time for cutting them. Cut them in dry weather, suspend the cuttings in the open air, under a shed, and sheltered from the sun's rays.

SECTION III.

PART I.

NATURAL HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF FRUIT-TREES.

Subject 1. CHERRY-TREE-Cerasus; (Rosacea.) Class xii. Order i. Icosandria Monogynia, of Linnæus.

272. The Cherry is no longer of the genus Prunus: the flowers are white, produced in nodding umbels, and succeeded by juicy, pulpy berries. The cultivated cherry-tree, according to the Encyclopædia of Gardening, No. 4574, "was brought to Italy by the Roman general Lucullus, in 73 A. C., from a town in Pontus in Asia, called Cerasus, whence its specific name, and was introduced to Britain 120 years afterwards. Many suppose that the cherries introduced by the Romans into Britain were lost, and that they were re-introduced in the time of Henry VIII. by Richard Haines, the fruiterer of that monarch. But though we have no proof that cherries were in England at the time of the Norman conquest, or for some centuries after it, yet Warton has proved, by a quotation from Lidgate, a poet who wrote about or before 1415, that the hawkers were wont to expose cherries for sale in the same manner as is now done early in the season. The tree is now very generally cultivated, both as a wall and standard fruit, and has been forced, for upwards of two centuries.

273. Varieties." The Romans had eight kinds-red, black, tender-fleshed, hard-fleshed, small bitter-flavoured, and a dwarf sort. Tusser, in 1573, mentions cherries, red and black. Parkinson mentions thirty-four sorts; Ray, twenty-four; and Miller has eighteen sorts, to which, he says, others are continually adding, differing little from those he has described." Loudon, in his Catalogue, enumerates thirty-six sorts.

Forsyth recommends for a small garden :

Miller considers the common red or Kentish, the Duke, and the Lukeward, as the best trees for an orchard: they are plentiful bearers.

274. Propagation.-Cherry-trees are multiplied by budding or grafting upon stocks of their own kind, raised from stones of the fruit which are sown in the autumn in light sandy earth, or preserved in sand till the spring following, and then sown. The young trees will come up the same year, and, in the second autumn, may be transplanted into nursery rows, at one foot distance from each other. In the succeeding summer they may be budded, if intended for dwarfs; but, if designed for standards, they should remain till they are four years old, and then be grafted or budded at six feet from the ground. The best stocks for general purposes are supposed to be raised from the wild black or red cherry, because they produce trees of longer duration than stocks do, which are raised from stones of cultivated fruit. The Morello is grafted upon, with a view to obtain dwarf-trees; but the mahaleb, or perfumed cherry, is said to furnish the best dwarfing stock. Mr. Knight observes that "the cherry sports more extensively in variety, when propagated from seeds, than any other fruit which I have hitherto subjected to experiment; and this species of fruit is therefore probably capable of acquiring a higher state of perfection than it has ever yet attained. New varieties are also much wanted; for the trees of the best old kinds are everywhere in a state of decay in the cherry-orchards; and I am quite confident that neither healthy nor productive trees will ever be obtained from grafts or buds of the old and expended varieties of this or of any other species of fruittree."

275. Soil and Situation.-Cherry-trees prosper in a light and dry sandy loam. The May-duke should be planted against a wall, to obtain the fruit in great perfection; but it will do well as a standard, as will also most of the other kinds of cherry. The Morello prospers well on a wall having a north aspect; but some of the finest fruit, both for beauty and flavour, is produced in EastKent, on very dwarf standards: in that part of the kingdom, such

trees are much cultivated. There is, in the Isle of Thanet, a peculiar cherry of the Morello kind, which is of good size, dark red, juicy, rather acrid; and this tree is never grafted nor budded: it throws up abundance of suckers, and produces excellent and useful fruit for eight or ten years, but is seldom of longer duration. I have never seen a single tree of the kind in any other part of the kingdom; but, in the "Island," it is a denizen, a naturalized subject, if not a native; forming a beautiful shrubbery-tree, as well as being a considerable bearer. Cherry-trees should be planted from November to April; full standards, at the distance of from twenty-five to thirty feet apart; dwarfs, from fifteen to twenty feet; and espalier and wall-trees at about the same distance as dwarfs.

276. Mode of Bearing, and Training.-Cherry-trees, with the exception of the Morello, and the one alluded to above, produce their fruit mostly on studs or spurs; therefore, the bearing branches should not be shortened, unless there be a deficiency of space.

"Forsyth and Harrison train in the horizontal manner, and practise shortening the leading shoots, as in the plum, apple, &c.

"For the Morello, Harrison adopts the horizontal or half-fan method-the horizontal method when the tree grows very vigorous, and the half-fan method when weaker.'"-(HARRISON's Treat. on Fruit Trees, ch. 23.)

277. Pruning.-Espalier and wall-trees require a summer and a winter pruning to regulate the shoots, and to keep the trees in form and order. The directions given for pruning the apricot (165), and the plum-tree (226), will apply to the cherry-tree, and therefore need not be repeated. Standard cherry-trees require only an occasional pruning, to remove dead or decaying wood, and to regulate disorderly or misplaced branches.

278. Pruning the Morello Cherry-Tree.-M'Phael says (Gard. Rem. 133), "When planted on a wall, the Morello cherry prospers best on a north aspect; and as it produces its fruit on young shoots of the preceding year's growth, it must be managed in regard to pruning and training, in the same manner as a peach or nectarine tree, except that its bearing-shoots must not be shortened."

"In pruning Morello cherry-trees, always take care to leave every year a due supply of the last summer's shoots; and these should be left in every part of the tree, at the distance of four, five, or six inches; for this kind of cherry-tree, in particular, produces its fruit principally upon the last year's shoots."-(MAWE's Cal. Nov.)

"The Morello cherry bears principally on the shoots of last year, the fruit proceeding immediately from the eyes of the shoots; and