The Bulletin. 115 



cnni. lute ciihhnso, .•uid iiotafoos, niny ho jjlautcd to^'otlicr on the other side of 

 the garden. Of course, these suj;jj;estions are {general, siiiee freciueiitly there 

 are conditions over which we have very little or no control. Sometimes there 

 is a decided variation in the character of the soil in the same garden; and 

 this, as well as any other local condition. ou^'Ilt to be taken in consideration 

 in arraui^inu for the location of the various crops. For example, if a part of 

 the fjarden be low, moist, and cool, this place should not be planted to early 

 crops which re<iuire a quick, warm soil ; but it should be reserved for such 

 crops as onions and celery. 



In order to obtain the greatest remuneration for the time and expenditure 

 Siven tlie garden, and at the same time maintain the productiveness of the 

 land, a rotation of crops, manures, and tillage must be practiced in the garden 

 as well as on the general farm. It is doubly important to rotate if diseases 

 and insects become serious on any one croj); and in a rotation to eradicate 

 diseases and insects the greatest care should be taken to select those crops on 

 which these particular pests cannot thrive. For example, the potato "scab" 

 will live on such plants as turnips, radish, and rutabagas. Hence, in planting 

 these vegetables the infected area must be carefully avoided. There are some 

 pests, however, which cannot be starved out in this manner in so small a place 

 as the garden. In a case of this kind it is usually cheaper to plant that par- 

 ticular croi) and others on which this pest would exist in a different part of 

 the farm until the pest has been starved out of the garden. 



Time and labor will be saved by making the garden soil deep, fine, and rich 

 before planting. It is not sufficient that the land be smooth on top, but the 

 pulverizing process should extend as deep as the plowing ; for but few things 

 are more detrimental to the delicate roots of the small plants than clods and 

 air spaces, both of which are results of poor preparation. Of course, we real- 

 ize that it is more easy to say pulverize deeply than it is to do it; for there 

 are really no implements on the market that will pulverize the land as deeply 

 as it ought to be plowed. But this can be largely overcome by doing part of 

 the pulverizing before plowing, by means of a disc or cutaway harrow. Then 

 by free use of the harrow after plowing the pulverizing process can be com- 

 pleted in excellent shape. It would be more pleasant and economical to pre- 

 pare half the garden well than to poorly prepare the whole. In fact, prepara- 

 tion is really one of the secrets of success in gardening. Vegetables, as a 

 whole, are more particular in regard to their food and moisture than are the 

 general field crops. They will not tolerate being stunted from lack of food 

 and moisture. It behooves us, therefore, to prepare by deep preparation a 

 capacious reservoir to hold the water and by frequent shallow cultivation keep 

 it there, in order that the plants may have a constant and regular supply. 

 Frequent cultivation also keeps down weeds and helps to render the "locked 

 up" plant food available. Weeds not only rob the plants of food and moisture, 

 but they and vegetables are incompatible associates. Furthermore, stirring the 

 soil permits the entrance of air for the use of the roots and for the oxidation 

 of the organic matter, thereby preserving in the soil a proper growing con- 

 dition. An iir planned and poorly tilled garden is an eye-sore and anything 

 but an advertisement to a farm and home. 



The kind of fertilizer employed influences to a marked degree the character 

 and quality of the vegetables producefl. Barnyard manure is undoubtedly the 

 best for this purpose, but care should be taken to see that it is well rotted and 

 contains no elements that would be injurious to the soil. An excess of such 

 things as sawdust, shavings, etc., which do not rot quickly, used as bedding, 

 have a tendency to produce sourness in the soil, which condition is detrimental 

 to practically all garden vegetables. Even when barnyard manure is used it 

 is usually economical to use supplementary a good, high-grade commercial fer- 

 tilizer. Of course, no definite rule can be given for the kind or quality of fer- 

 tilizer to be applied, as this varies with the crop, land, and other conditions. 

 Usually, however, vegetables as a whole require a fertilizer with a greater per 

 cent of potash than is required by the general field crops. Under ordinary 

 conditions a fertilizer with an analysis of 3 per cent nitrogen, S iier cent phos- 

 phoric acid, and 10 per cent potash would be found to give excellent results 

 on a vegetable garden. Nitrate of soda hastens the growth of such early crops 



