vorable seasons. Some plants are retarded by cold, other by excess of dry weather; and at such times, seed may fail to vegetate for want of pressure. In the event of drought after heavy rains, seed and young plants often perish through incrustation of the soil, and from other untoward circumstances, which can neither be controlled nor accounted for, ven by the most assiduous and precise gardener. It must, nowever, be conceded, that failures often occur through seed being deposited too deep in the ground, or left too near the surface. Sometimes, for want of sufficiency of seed in a given spot, solitary plants will perish, they not having sufficient strength to open the pores of the earth; and frequently injudicious management in manuring and preparing the soil will cause a failure.

I have been induced to expatiate, and to designate, in the seventh range of the preceding table, such plants as are generally cultivated first in seed-beds and afterwards transplanted for the purpose of being accommodated with space to mature in, with a view to answer at once the thousand and one questions asked by inexperienced cultivators.

QUANTITY OF SEED.

Some persons, from ignorance of the nature and object of raising plants for transplanting, ask for pounds of seed, when an ounce is amply sufficient for their purpose. For example, an ounce of Celery-seed will produce ten thousand plants. An ounce of Cabbage-seed will produce from three to four thou sand; sufficient, when transplanted, to cover nearly half an acre of land-which land, if sown with spinach, for instance, would require from four to six pounds of seed.

TIME TO COMMENCE GARDENING.

The following directions for the management of a garden are founded on the results of practical experience in the vicinity of NEW YORK CITY, where the soil is generally susceptible of gardening operations towards the end of March. These direc

tions may, however, be applied to all other parts of the UNITED STATES, by a minute observance of the difference in temperature. In the extreme northern parts of the State of New York, as well as in all other places similarly situated, the directions for the beginning of April will apply to the latter part of the same month, with very few exceptions. In our SOUTHERN STATES, the directions for APRIL, which may be considered as the first gardening month in the EASTERN, WESTERN, and MIDDLE STATES, will apply to January, February, or to whatever season gardening operations may commence in the respective States. In the varied climates of each particular State, if the same rule of application be pursued, success is certain.

FORCING VARIOUS KINDS OF VEGETABLES.

The following simple method of forcing vegetables on a small scale is recommended by a correspondent of a London magazine. The writer says:

"I obtain mushrooms in winter by a very simple process. Provide boxes three feet long, and one foot eight inches deep; a quantity of horse-droppings, perfectly dry, some spawn, and some light dry soil. Fill the boxes by layers of droppings, spawn, and soil, which must be well trodden down. Repeat these triple layers till the boxes are full, and all trodden firmly together. Four such boxes at work are sufficient for a moderate demand; and out of a dozen, four brought in at a time, and placed upon a flue of a greenhouse stove, will produce a fine supply. The surface of these portable beds may be covered with a little hay, and occasionally, though sparingly, watered. It is not absolutely necessary that they be set on the flue of a greenhouse; a warm stable, cellar, or any other similar place, will suit equally well. This plan is also convenient for affording a plentiful stock of superior spawn.

“The same-sized boxes will also do for Asparagus; but for this purpose a sufficient stock of three-year-old plants must be at hand; also eighteen boxes, four of which are the necessary set to be forced at one time for one family. Half fill the boxes

with decayed tanner's bark, leaf-mould, or any similar mould; on this pack the roots as thickly as possible, and fill up the boxes with the bark, etc. Any place in a forcing-house will suit them where they can enjoy the necessary degree of heat. Besides Asparagus and Mushrooms, Sea-Kale, Buda-Kale, Angelica, small salad, and various potherbs may be raised in the same manner."

Those who have not the conveniences recommended in a

greenhouse, may place the boxes in a hotbed. The glasses being laid on, and the beds covered at night, will soon promote the growth of the plants, and produce vegetable luxuries at a season when garden products in general are comparatively scarce.

It is unnecessary to show of how much value such processes may be in minor establishments, or in a new country. I wish it to be understood, that in order to the successful cultivation of some of the rare vegetables I have treated of, great pains must be taken in every stage of their growth. If the advice I have given be attended to, I flatter myself we shall soon obtain a supply of many of these luxuries of the garden. My directions are founded on the success attending the practice of some of the best gardeners in this country. I have also had sufficient experience to warrant me in this attempt to contribute my mite towards the attainment of this kind of useful knowledge.

HOTBEDS.

For the purpose of raising Mustard, Cress, and other salad herbs, also Egg-plants, Tomato-plants, etc., in small quantities, a hotbed may be made early in the spring, of good heating materials, on the top of which may be laid leaf-mould, old tan, or light compost, to the depth of about nine inches. The various kinds of seed may be sown in boxes or flower-pots, and plunged in the top mould up to their rims, and by being well attended to, a supply of small salads, as well as small seedling-plants, may be raised without much labor or difficulty. This method is also well calculated for raising annual flowerplants at an early season.

ADAPTING PLANTS TO SOILS.

The various species of plants which occupy our greenhouses, gardens, and fields, require each their peculiar aliment-they having been collected from all the diversified regions, climates, and soils through earth's remotest bounds; they consequently comprise natives of mountains and rocks, as well as of plains, valleys, and watercourses. The most essential aliment for natives of warm climates and dry soils being HEAT, artificial means are used in cool seasons and unpropitious climates tc produce it. Natives of temperate climates require salubrious air, hence they are cultivated to the greatest perfection in our Northern States in spring and autumn; and in our Southern States in the winter; and natives of humid climates, as also amphibious plants in general, require a more than ordinary share of MOISTURE, and grow best in wet soil; but these THREE ELEMENTS collectively constitute the food of plants in general, and should be judiciously imparted to the various species, in due proportions, according to circumstances. I have also shown that the roots of various species of plants require each their peculiar aliment, which is not to be found in all descriptions of land. This is demonstrated by roots of trees being frequently discovered spreading beyond their ordinary bounds in quest of salutary food.

DEEP PLANTING.

Although it has been admitted that excessive deep planting of trees and plants is injurious, and in many cases fatal to their very existence, it does not follow that all annuals and biennials are injured by the same means. On the contrary, the earthing up of particular species of plants in a late stage of growth is calculated to promote early maturity, which constitutes the most essential art in gardening for the market; because the earliest crops are always the most profitable. It is moreover a necessary practice in climates where the seasons for gardening are short—as without such practice, many kinds of vegetables

could not possibly be matured in due season for gathering before winter.

I would here take the opportunity of proving this last position, by reminding the reader that the effect of deep planting, in the Peach-tree for instance, is discoverable soon after the error is committed, by its fruit ripening prematurely, and this is often the case for a year or two prior to its final decease, and hould operate as a salutary lesson against planting perennial plants and trees too deep. I would urge gardeners ană cultivators to consult the operations of nature in all their rural pursuits; and with a view to aid them, I subjoin the following rules, which are further illustrated under the different heads :

1. In transplanting fruit-trees, let the collar, or that part from which emanate the main roots, be near the surface. A mediumsized tree may be planted an inch deeper than it was in the nursery bed; and the largest should not exceed two or three inches.

2. In the cultivation of such plants as are transplanted, or grown in hills or clusters, as Indian Corn, etc., keep the earth loose but level around them in their early stages of growth, by frequent hoeing, ploughing, or cultivating; and to promote early maturity, throw a moderate portion of earth about the roots and stems at the last or final dressing.

3. In the sowing of seed, remember that IN UNITY THERE IS STRENGTH, and that from the germinative parts of a seed being weak and diminutive, it cannot be expected to perforate through the soil solitary and alone. To insure a fair chance, plant your seed moderately thick, and thin out the surplus plants while young. In planting seed in drills, which is the most eligible plan, the size of the seed and strength of its germ should be considered. Large seed, producing vigorous roots, requires deeper planting than diminutive seed, producing delicate roots and slender stalks.

4. In the choice of compost for exotic or greenhouse plants, imitate the native soil of each peculiar species as nearly as