FAEMEKS' INSTITUTES. 195 



FAKil GARDEXING. 



In commencing a gardeu, choose a small piece of ground near the house. It 

 will be of but little use to describe the best kind of soil, for we have to put up 

 with what we have handy. The soil best suited for some plants Avould not be 

 the best for others. But if selection can be made, for general purposes choose 

 a rather dark colored loam, neither sandy or clayey, as deep as can be found. 

 Then manure aud plow it, it will not do to plow it too deep at first, but work 

 deeper gradually. It is said to be very injurious to plow it while wet in the 

 spring. It is better to wait until the ground gets a little warm before commenc- 

 ing to make garden, for seed is quite liable to rot if sown while the ground is- 

 wet and damp. The ground also wants to be thoroughly dragged. 



The berry bushes, pie-plant, asparagus, etc., should be in one side of the gar- 

 den, as they live year after year; it being necessary to have them where they 

 will not be in the way in plowing. You can have them in rows and work through 

 them with a cultivator. Next to these you may have a bed for onions, lettuce,, 

 radishes, aud cress. This bed needs to be raked thoroughly with a garden rake 

 until it is fine. I think four and one-half feet is about the right width for the 

 the bed, which is level with the ground. I mark across the bed about eight or 

 ten inches apart for the seed, which is sown rather shallow and the earth pressed 

 upon them. I use a line in marking off my garden, and take a great deal of 

 pride in having the rows straight and everything in order. It not only looks 

 nicer, but saves room, and it is better about cultivating than if the rows were- 

 crooked. The rest of the garden will not need raking. 



The beds for beets, parsnips, etc., may be marked in rows eighteen inches- 

 apart, if you wish to be saving of room, and don't intend to cultivate with a 

 horse. If you wish to cultivate with a horse (which is probably the best way for 

 farmers), the rows should be two and one-half or three feet apart, and as long 

 as possible. 



It is a great damage to sow poor seed, so if you have not got seed that you 

 know is good, you can procure it by sending to some reliable seedsman ; but you 

 must tend to that long before you want to sow the seed. If you make your gar- 

 den early, it will not do to sow all kinds of seed at the same time. Seeds that 

 may be sown the earliest are beet, carrot, cress, celery, cabbage, cauliflower, 

 lettuce, parsley, parsnip, onions, peas, radish, turnip, and spinach. Seeds that 

 must not be sown until danger of frost is over, or from the middle of May until 

 the middle of June, are beans, sweet corn, melons, squash, cucumber and tomato.. 

 In sowing seed, fine seed does not want covering as deep as coarse seed. Sow- 

 pretty thick ; then thin the plants to the right distance. 



If you wish to have some early lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, etc., youi 

 can procure a few plants of a gardener, who raises them in the hot-bed or cold- 

 frame. Some people think that it pays better to set out poor late tomato plants 

 than it does to pay ten cents for good early ones. The late plants hardly get to 

 bearing when the frost comes aud kills them. The best head lettuce is raised 

 from plants from the cold-frame. 



You not only want good seed and good plants, but you want the best varieties.. 

 One cannot afford to spend his time with poor kinds. I would not advise far- 

 mers to buy every new variety of seed that is advertised as the best. Wait till, 

 it proves itself worthy of cultivation. 



I will name a few good varieties : Bush Beans — Early Valentine aud Black 

 Wax ; Beets — Egyptian Turnip and Early Blood Turnip ; Cabbage — Early Jer- 



