16 JANUARY 1948, Page 18

In My Garden It is perhaps salutary to remember that

in the intensive French garden system almost the busiest sowing period of the year begins at about this date. The gardeners round Paris, Rouen and The Hague, for example, make their profits by producing " primeurs," vegetables that come to perfection in the first months of the year. The scarcity of the right..sort of manure has severely handicapped them, but they hope that electrical warmth will make good the deficiency. Such use for germinating seeds is on the increase.

W. BEACH THOMAS.