ry soils, where Lettuces usually run to seed early,
try some of the red-leaved kinds, for though less delicate than the
green and white, they will be useful in the event of a scorching summer.
Lettuces require a deep free soil with plenty of manure.

==Melon==.--Raise a few seeds singly in pots, in readiness for putting
under frames on hot-beds next month. Re-pot the plants, and repeat the
process if the beds are not ready, for Melons must not be starved,
especially in the early stage of growth. Some growers make up the beds
in March, and sow upon them when the heat becomes steady, but the
practice is somewhat precarious. In a cold, late spring the heat may not
last a sufficient time to carry the plants safely into warm weather.
Hence it is more reliable to raise them now in a warm house, and make
the bed at the beginning of April.

==Onion==.--The plants already raised in boxes to be removed to cold
frames. If necessary, they should be pricked off into other boxes in
order to avoid overcrowding. Keep the frames close at first, but give
air with increasing freedom as the time approaches for transfer to the
open ground. Sow the main crop in drills nine inches apart, and tread or
beat the ground firm. This crop requires a rich soil in a thoroughly
clean and mellow condition, and it makes a capital finish to the
seed-bed to give it a good coat of charred rubbish or smother ash before
sowing the seed.

==Parsnip==.--Sow main crop in shallow drills eighteen inches apart in
good soil deeply dug. The seed should be lightly covered, and new seed
is indispensable.

==Pea==.--Sow the finest sorts of the Marrowfat class. Take care to put
them on the best seed-bed that can be made, and allow sufficient room
between the taller sorts for a few rows of Cabbage, Broccoli, or
Potatoes. A crowded quarter of Peas is never satisfactory; the rows
smother each other, and the shaded parts of the haulm produce next to
nothing.

==Potato==.--A small quantity for early use should be planted at the
opening of the month when the ground is dry and the weather soft. If
planted when frost or cold winds prevail, sets may become somewhat
shrivelled before they are covered, and every care should be taken to
prevent such a check to the initial vigour of the plant. The
first-early sorts will necessarily have the chief attention now, and
warm sheltered spots should be selected for them. Any fairly good soil
will produce a passable crop of Potatoes; b