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Owing to the frosts and chilling winds that prevail during the month of April, and often into the early part of May, very little work is done in the garden excepting it be in the matter of planting out trees and bushes; grafting and pruning, and preparing the ground by rough digging or bringing in manure. The second week in May is generally the time for putting in all kinds of garden seeds: any time from the first week in May to the last, sowing may be carried on. Kidney beans are seldom quite secure from frost before the 25th. I have seen both beans, melons, and cucumbers cut off in one night, when they were in six or eight leaves. If the season be warm and showery early sowing may succeed, but unless guarded by glass, or oiled-paper frames, the tender vegetables should hardly be put in the open ground before the 18th or 20th May: corn is never safe before that time. The coldness of the ground and the sharpness of the air, in some seasons, check vegetation, so that the late sowers often succeed better than they who put the seeds in early. Having given some directions in various places about planting corn, potatoes, melons, and some other vegetables, I shall now add a few memoranda that may be useful to the emigrant-gardener. If you wish to have strong and early cabbage-plants, sow in any old boxes or even old sugar-troughs, putting some manure at the bottom, and six or eight inches of good black leaf-mould on the top, and set in a sunny aspect. The plants thus sown will not be touched by the fly. If sown later in May, set your trough on some raised place, and water them from time to time. Or you may sow on the open ground, and sprinkle wood-ashes or soot over the ground: this will protect the plants.—The fly also eats off seedling tomatoes, and the same sprinkling will be necessary to preserve them.

In sowing peas, single rows are better in this country than double ones, as unless there be a good current of air among the plants they are apt to be mildewed.

Lettuces sow themselves in the fall, and you may plant them out early in a bed, when they will have the start of those sown in the middle of May.

Those who have a root-house or cellar usually store their cabbages in the following way: they tie several together by the stem near the root, and then hang them across a line or pole head downwards: others pit them bend downwards in a pit in the earth, and cover them first with dry straw and then with earth above that. The stem with the root should be stored by till spring, when if planted out, they will afford good, early, tender greens at a season when vegetables are not to be had.

There are many substitutes for greens used in Canada. The most common one is the Wild Spinach, better known by its local name of Lamb's-quarter. It grows spontaneously in all garden grounds, and may be safely used as a vegetable. It is tender, and when thrown into boiling water with a little salt, and cooked for five minutes, and drained, and sent to table like spinach, is much esteemed by the country people.

The Mayweed, a large yellow ranunculus that grows in marshy wet places, is also freely used: but be careful to use no wild plant unless you have full assurance of its being wholesome and that no mistake has been made about it. There is another wild green called Cow-cabbage that is eaten, but this also requires an experienced settler to point it out.

It is always well to save your own seeds if you can. A few large carrots should be laid by to plant out early in Spring for seed. Onions the same, also beets, parsnips, and some of your best cabbages.—Seeds will always fetch money at the stores, if good and fresh, and you can change with neighbours.

If you have more than a sufficiency for yourself do not begrudge a friend a share of your superfluous garden seeds. In a new country like Canada a kind and liberal spirit should be encouraged; in out-of-the-way, country places people are dependent upon each other for many acts of friendship. Freely ye will receive, freely give, and do not forget the advice given in the scriptures, "Use hospitality one to another," and help one another when you see any one in distress; for these are opportunities cast in your way by God himself, and He will require the use or abuse of them at your hands.

Rhubarbs should always find a place in your garden; a cool, shady place and rich soil is best: throw on the bed in the Fall a good supply of long dung, and dig it in in the Spring. A barrel without a bottom put over a good plant, or a frame of an old box, will make the stalks very tender and less acid. The Giant Rhubarb is the best kind to plant.

A bed of Carraways should also find a place in your garden; it is always useful, and the seeds sell well, besides being valuable as a cattle medicine.

A good bed of pot-herbs is essential. I would bring out seeds of Balm, Thyme, and Sweet Basil, for these are rarely met with here.—Sage, Savoury, Mint and Peppermint, are easily got.

Sweet Marjoram is not commonly met with. I would also bring out some nice flower-seeds, and also vegetable seeds of good kinds, especially fine sorts of cabbage. You should learn to save your own seeds. Good seeds will meet with a market at the stores.

The following plain, practical hints on the cultivation of ordinary garden vegetables, taken from Fleming's printed catalogue, will be found useful to many of our readers.—

Most kinds of seeds grow more freely if soaked in soft water from twelve to forty-eight hours before sowing; seeds of hard nature such as blood-beet, mangel and sugar beets, nasturtium, &c., often fail from want of attention to this circumstance. Rolling the ground after sowing is very beneficial, and will assist in making the seeds vegetate more freely; when a roller is not at hand, it may be done with the back of the spade, by flattening the earth and beating it lightly.—Kidney or French beans, may be planted any time in May in drills two inches deep, the beans two inches from each other, the drills about eighteen inches apart. If a regular succession is required, sow a few every few weeks from the first of May, to the first July. For climbers the best sorts are the white Lima, dwarf white haricot, bush bean and speckled red. Broad or Windsor beans, do not succeed well in this climate, the summer heat coming on them before they are podded, which causes the blossoms to drop off.

The best soil to grow them in is a rich, stiff clay, and on a northern border shaded from the mid-day sun: sow in drills two feet apart, two inches deep, and the seed three inches asunder.

Blood Beet, Long and Short Turnips, may be sown in a good, rich, deep soil, about the first week in May. Draw drills about one foot apart, and one inch deep; sow moderately thick: when the plants are up strong, thin them out the distance of six inches from each other in the rows. Brocoli and Cauliflower require a deep rich soil of a clayey nature, and highly manured. To procure Cauliflower or Brocoli the seed ought to be sown in a hot-bed early in March; when the plants are quite strong and healthy, they may be planted out in the garden about the middle of May. Plant in rows two feet square. The kinds that will do well in this climate are the Early London, and French Cauliflower, Purple Cape and Walcheren Brocoli.

Cabbage, both early and late, may be sown any time in May. The best situation for raising the plant is a rich, damp piece of ground, shaded. Seed sown in a situation of this kind is not so likely to be destroyed by the fly. When the plants are strong they may be planted in rows, and managed the same as directed for cauliflower.

The best kinds for summer use are the Early York, Battersea and Vannack: for winter use the Drumhead, Large Bergen and Flat Dutch.

Cucumbers may be sown in the open ground any time in May.—They require a good rich soil. Sow in hills four feet apart, leaving only four plants on each hill. The cucumber and melon vines are liable to be attacked by a yellow fly or bug. Soot, charcoal-dust or soap-suds, applied to the plants, will assist in keeping them off. Musk cantaloupe, nutmeg and water melons may also be sown at the same time, taking care to sow the different kinds a good distance apart from each other, as they are apt to mix. Plant in hills three feet square, leaving only three plants on each hill. When the plants have grown about six inches, stop or pinch the leading shoot, which will make the plants throw out side shoots, on which you may expect to have fruit.

Carrots.—The most suitable ground for growing Carrots, is a deep rich soil, that has been well manured the previous year. Sow any time in May, in drills one foot apart, and one inch deep.

When the Carrots are up, thin them out, four inches apart, and keep them free of weeds. The kinds that are generally sown in the garden are, the Early Horn, Long Orange, and Red Surrey: for field culture the white Belgian and Altringham. The produce of one acre of field carrots, when properly cultivated, may be rated at from five hundred to eight hundred bushels. In cultivating them on the field system the drills ought to be two feet apart, and the carrots thinned out at least twelve inches asunder.

Celery.—This vegetable is much esteemed as a salad. To have early Celery the seed should be sown in a hot-bed, in the month of March; for winter celery, the seed may be sown any time before the middle of May. Sow on a small bed of fine rich earth; beat the bed a little with the back of the spade; sift a little fine earth over the seed; shade the bed with a mat or board till the seeds begin to appear. Celery plants ought to be picked out into a nursery-bed, as soon as they are two or three inches high. Cut their roots and tops a little, before planting: water them well, and shade them from the sun, until they begin to grow. Let them remain in the nursery-bed for one month, after which they will be fit to transplant into the trenches.—(Fleming's Printed Catalogue.)

As a corrective to the sourness of very damp rich new soil, a light sprinkling of wood ashes is very useful. Leeched ashes are very good on some soil. The most splendid cabbages I ever saw were raised on ground where the spent ashes from a leech barrel had been ploughed into the soil. The kinds grown were the Conical cabbage and Portugal ivory-stemmed. The plants were from new seed from the Chiswick gardens, and my cabbages caused quite a sensation among the country gardeners.

Hops.—This most useful plant no settler's house can dispense with: they are generally grown about the fences of the garden, around the pillars of the verandah, or porch, of the dwelling-house; or in hills in the garden. When in open ground, the hop must be supported with poles at least ten or fifteen feet high, set firmly in the ground.—The hop must be planted in very rich mould, and early in the Spring, that is before the sprouts begin to shoot above the ground. Two good buds at least are required for every root that you set. The Hop seldom is of much benefit the first year that it is planted, though if the ground be very rich, and the roots strong, the vines will produce even the first year. A little stirring of the mould, and a spadeful or two of fresh manure thrown on the plant in the fall, when the old runners have been cut down, will ensure you a fine crop the second year. Hops will always sell well if carefully harvested. In another part of the book I mention that they should be gathered fresh and green: dull, faded, frost-bitten hops are of little worth. When plucked they should be carefully picked from leaves and stalks, and spread out on a clean floor in a dry chamber; and when quite dry packed closely into bags and hung up in a dry place. Many persons content themselves with cutting the vines long after they are ripe for gathering, and throwing them into a lumber room, there to be plucked, as they are required; but this is a very slovenly way. Children can pick hops at the proper season, and store them by when dry, without much labour, and just as well as the mother could do it herself.

The following article I have selected from the Old Countryman, a popular and useful Canadian paper:—

"GARDENING.

"We feel bound constantly to urge upon the attention of our readers the profit and importance of a good garden. Its influence is good every way. It spreads the table with palatable and nutritious food, and fills the dessert dishes with luxuries, and thus saves the cash which must otherwise be paid for beef, ham, veal, and lamb; besides promoting the health and spirits more than the meat would. Then a good garden is a civilizer. The garden and orchard beautify the home wonderfully and kindle emotions which never die out of the heart.

But we must say a word or two on individual plants, and first of—

Asparagus. This is a delicious vegetable. What the old bed requires in the Spring is to cut off the last year's stalks just above the ground, and burn them; loosen the earth about the roots, and clean up the whole bed. As the sweetness and tenderness of this plant depends upon its rapidity of growth, the soil should be made very rich.

Beans should be planted as soon as you feel secure from frost.—They are ornamental when planted in hills two or more feet apart, with birch sticks stuck about the edge, and tied together at the top.

Then there are peas and beets of two or three kinds, parsnips, carrots, lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, rhubarb, pepper-grass, spinach, salsify, parsley, tomato, turnips, celery, early corn, early potatoes, melons, onions, summer squash, and cabbage, all affording the proper summer nutriment, and requiring a similar soil for their production. Sow and cultivate well a few of each, and you will find your account in it.

Small Fruits.—Set red and white raspberries, thimbleberries, black and white, also currants and gooseberries. They are cheap and wholesome food, and as easily raised as potatoes. Any home will have charms for children where these are plentifully grown.

Ornamental. Do not allow the lusty teams and the broad acres,—the grass, the grain, and the tree to occupy all your time, but give a thought and an eye occasionally to the beautiful. Spread out a sunny space for the daughters, where the boys will cheerfully assist them with the spade. What a charming spot! Here are the mixed balsams and carnations; the mignionette, mourning bride, and columbine; there, love-lies-bleeding, and, in the Corner, love-in-a-mist, the candy-tuft, and Canterbury bell. Why, you resume your youth here. Time almost ceases to make its mark. Old scenes come thronging to the soul, such as when you sat on the rustic seat in the garden, and dissected flowers with her who is now the mother of these beautiful and happy daughters. Such are the influences of the flower garden. We need not go to the books for poetry, it is nature everywhere, but especially in such a group as this,—

"There's beauty all around our paths, If but our watchful eyes Can trace it midst familiar things, And through their lowly guise."

We insist upon it, that there is time with all to be given to the ornamental. It will make you richer, better, happier, more cheerful, and enable you to die easier, and will have the same influences upon your family, by creating something of the beautiful around you.—New-England Farmer."

The new settler will be surprized at the facility with which in the open ground, he can raise the finest sorts of melons, with as little labour bestowed upon the plants as he has been accustomed to give to cabbages, lettuce or any of the commonest pot-herbs. The rich black mould of the virgin soil, and the superior heat of the sun in a climate where the thermometer often ranges from 80° to 95° for many days together during the summer months, brings both vegetables and fruit to perfection very rapidly. In the Western part of the country, or that portion lying between the great lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron, fruit is grown and ripened that is with difficulty perfected east of Toronto, where the heat is not so ardent, and late and early frosts nip the fair promise of the wall fruit. The peach, apricot and grape, with many other kinds are rarely met with in the eastern portion of the Province, unless trained on south walls, and protected during the cold season. Pears, however, will grow well: Apples of the finest quality, and many other fruits in the townships between Toronto and Montreal. I have heard that the apples of the Lower Province are considered by horticulturists to be of the finest quality. There are several sorts of apples in great repute in our orchards, and should be cultivated by those who are planting trees—"Pomme-gris," "Canada-red", "St. Lawrence" and "Hawley's Pippin", with some others of excellent reputation; but as I have devoted a separate section to Apples and the Orchard, I need say no more on this head in this place.

With a little attention and labour, the vegetable garden may be carried to great perfection by the women and children, with a little assistance from the men at the outset, in digging the ground, and securing the fences, or any work that may require strength to effect. In the new ground the surface is often encumbered with large stones, and these must either remain a blot on the fair features of the garden plot, or be rolled away by the strong arm of the men, aided by the lever. These surface stones may be made very serviceable in filling up the lower part of the fence, or piled in large heaps, be rendered ornamental by giving them the effect of rockwork. I know many gardeners whose rustic seats, overarched by climbing plants, have been made both useful and ornamental with these blocks of granite and limestone forming the seat. Stone-crop, orpine, and many other plants, set in a little soil among the crevices, have transformed the unsightly masses into an interesting and sightly object. The Wild Cucumber, Orange Gourd, Wild Clematis, and a number of other shrubby climbing-plants, will thrive and cover the rocky pile with luxuriant foliage. Thus by the exertion of a little ingenuity, the garden of the settler may be rendered not only highly useful, but very ornamental. A little taste displayed about the rudest dwelling, will raise the inmates in the eyes of their neighbours. There are very few persons totally insensible to the enjoyment of the beautiful, either in nature or art, and still fewer who are insensible to the approbation of their fellow men; this feeling is no doubt implanted in them by the Great Creator, to encourage them in the pursuit of purer, more intellectual pleasures than belong to their grosser natures. As men cultivate the mind they rise in the scale of creation, and become more capable of adoring the Almighty through the works of his hands—I think there can be no doubt but that whatever elevates the higher faculties of the soul, brings man a step nearer to his Maker.

How much pleasanter is the aspect of a house surrounded by a garden, nicely weeded and kept, than the desolate chip-yard, unrelieved by any green tree or flower, that is so often seen in the new settlements in Canada. What cheerful feelings can such a barren spot excite; what home affections can it nourish in the heart of the emigrant wife? Even though she may have to labour to rear it with her own hands, let her plant a garden.