80 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



SECOND DAY. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 

 The Society reassembled and business was resumed at two o'clock. 

 The President announced the business first in order to be the 

 continuation of reports from Standing Committees, and called for report 

 on Vegetable Gardening. 



Mr. Hay from the Committee, reported the following : 

 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



In the cultivation of vegetables, as in all other pursuits, the largest 

 possible returns for the amount of money and labor expended is the ob- 

 ject always sought to be obtained; not always the greatest number of 

 pounds per acre or rod, as is generally the case in growing root crops 

 for stock, but the greatest amount of rich, wholesome, nutritious, veg- 

 etable food for the family or market as the case may be. 



Different cultivators often adopt different methods for securing the 

 same results ; for instance one man may plow deeply and cultivate often 

 for the purpose of securing his crop from the evil effects of drought, 

 while another, with the same object in view, may practice a system di- 

 rectly the reverse of this, and each will support his own method with 

 argument and often facts that appear almost conclusive. But the point 

 I wish to make is this : that, if farmers and the heads of families gen- 

 erally could be made to understand that to be successful in the culti- 

 vation of any or all of our common vegetables, it is not particularly 

 necessary to follow the directions of any expert, there might be at least 

 a possibility of some of our most valuable vegetables that are now to be 

 found only in market, coming into more common use. 



It is a well attested fact that the earlier any vegetable arrives at 

 natural maturity after the seed has been sown, the better, sweeter, and 

 more nutritious it is as an article of food ; and the best and cheapest 

 method of obtaining this result is the point at which every gardener 

 should direct all his efforts, even from the time of saving the seed to 

 the harvesting of the crop. 



The earliest ripened beans, peas, peppers, tomatoes, and other veg- 

 etables are always the largest and best ; and seed saved from them will 

 in turn produce a much better and earlier crop of its kind than that 

 from late-ripened, inferior specimens. 



As one of the earliest vegetables and one of exceeding great merit, 

 I would mention 



Asparagus — Coming into use as it does soon after the frost leaves 

 the ground m spring, and furnishing a fresh supply from day to day 

 until peas Sire ready for the table, it fills a place in the kitchen garden 

 that could not be occupied by any other vegetable. 



