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[Page 2]
All the Kitchen Garden articles are raisd during the period mentiond for the Wheat & Barley.
The Cowa & all the fruit trees rise in any common soil not exposed to inundation & give their fruit in the course of four or five years. The Mulberry within the first twelve month - The Beringelly a valuable article from being in season the whole year is raised in ground not subject to inundation - The specimen of seed sent you is of an uncommon quality affording Fruit which weighs 6 ls. & merits the greatest care in raising of it, of itself very hardy - I have only to add if you will send a Boat from the Companys Garden you will receive some Vegetables - prepard for keeping during the course of your Voyage & that I hope you will do me the favor to write to me by every opportunity which may offer.
Respecting their preservation on board ship it may be proper in warm weather to allow a pint of pure water to each plant once in 8 or 10 days, in temperate do. once in 25 - in cold do. it will be better to omit watering them altogether - on any sudden transition from hot to cold, it may be proper to skreen [screen] them at night with a cloth of any kind - if you can afford them a place in the Cabin or Round house so much the better - next to that the Stern Gallery or Quarter deck, in those last situations they may require a skreen to shelter them from the spray of the Sea & cold weather - If the Basket of Seeds is suspended on the Cabin or any other airy part of the Ship from the Spray of the Sea & noisome effluvia of the Hold, they will more likely retain their vegetative quality than if disposd in Boxes or Chests.
I need not recommend it to you preserving your plants from Oil Grease or Tar - these being vegetable poisons - but to take special care to prevent their being annoyd by Dogs - Cats - Goats - Rats - Mice - Cockroashes or Ants, for which purposes it will be necessary to examine them from time to time - If your accommodation will admit of their being kept in the Cabin they will hardly fail of success, whereas they will run a great risk if exposd on the quarter deck.
Lt. Bowen - [Com I?] the Atlanta
from Col: Kidd.