24 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



must be applied to a small amount of land, and balances the 

 greater value of land, and higher taxes and rent, or interest, 

 which encumber the garden near town. Many of the gar- 

 dens near Boston are worth over one thousand dollars per 

 acre : it is within six miles of Boston market that we find 

 the best vegetable gardens devoted to the culture of the 

 bulky but valuable crops, such as lettuce, cucumbers, garden 

 greens, early beets and cabbages, early onions, melons, celery, 

 cauliflowers, horse-radish, winter spinach, and some others. 



The amount of manure used on these gardens is from 

 twenty to thirty cords per acre every year. It keeps a two- 

 horse team going every day to draw the manure used on some 

 gardens of not over twelve acres ; and the produce on some of 

 these gardens will average one thousand dollars per acre per 

 year, for the whole garden, for a term of five years. The mar- 

 ket-wagon upon such a garden makes daily trips to market, 

 and at certain busy seasons three or four loads daily will be 

 sent. When the distance from market is more than seven and 

 less than fifteen miles, the nature of the business is changed. 

 Land is cheaper, being worth from fifty to two hundred dollars 

 per acre ; the hauling of manure and of produce costs double 

 or more what it does nearer market ; and here it is that we 

 find the gardeners (or farmers as they are more properly 

 called) devote their energies with greater profit to such vege- 

 tables as require less manure, and are less bulk}-, such as 

 early potatoes, pease, beans, asparagus, strawberries, and other 

 small and large fruits, squashes, late cabbages and turnips, 

 and other roots. On these more remote gardens, the market- 

 wagon will make only three or four trips per week, in gen- 

 eral, in summer, and two in winter. The value of the crops 

 raised will, in general, range from two hundred to five hun- 

 dred dollars per acre. The amount of manure required for 

 the good management of these farms will be from six to ten 

 cords per acre. 



The nature of the soil has much to do with a good garden. 

 The best for general purposes is a deep black loam, well 

 drained by a subsoil of fine sand ; but it is desirable to have 

 some variety of soil, as no one soil is adapted to produce all 

 the vegetables in perfection. A rather stiff soil suits late 

 cabbages, celery, and cauliflowers ; while early lettuce, rad- 

 ishes, beets, and roots in general, as well as greens and most 



