THE FARMER'S GARDEN. 183 



healthful and delightful occupations to cultivate the plants and flowers 

 and watch their development. 



Five things are essential for a good garden. The first is rich, well- 

 drained soil, southern or southeastern slope preferred; the second, deep 

 plowing; the third, good, deep pulverizing so as to form a loose seedbed; 

 the fourth, seed adapted to the climate; and fifth, thorough, repeated cul- 

 tivation. 



One-half acre will produce an abundance of vegetables for a good 

 sized family. It will take only about one hour each week for the "good 

 man of the house" to cultivate that amount. He may grumble a little at 

 first, but he will soon get the "garden fever" and take just as much pride 

 in that garden as you do. 



The garden should be plowed late in the fall, eight inches deep at 

 least, and thoroughly disked and harrowed early in the spring. Check 

 off the ground with the corn planter, making rows north and south. 



Plant early your onion sets and seed, early turnips, lettuce, early 

 peas, carrots, beets and a few rows of early potatoes. We plant our 

 early radishes in the same row with our parsnips, as the parsnips are so 

 slow in germinating. The radishes are soon ready for use. We thin the 

 parsnips and leave them. 



The early turnips are soon ready for use, and we pull_ them and set 

 tomato plants in their place. We never follow turnips with cabbage or 

 anything that belongs to the same family of plants, but always rotate. 



The first of April in this locality is early enough to make your hot- 

 bed where early cabbage, tomatoes, cauliflower, ground cherries, peppers, 

 and celery should be sown. They should be ready to transplant to the 

 open ground from the 10th to the 15th of May, which is early enough. 

 Even then we have to cover them quite often. 



If we had a market we would get things on the market as soon as 

 possible. For the general crop of vegetables, about the middle of May 

 is a good time to plant beans, peas, melons, squashes, late potatoes, and 

 also early potatoes and sweet corn for the main crop. We plant the 

 potatoes, squash, and sweet corn in the field. 



We plant our late cabbage seed in the garden from the 10th to the 

 15th of May; we drill in rows and cultivate, and the plants are ready to 

 transplant about the middle of June — sometimes a few days before. 



We always like to have our ground replowed and pulverized well for 

 our late cabbage, of which we always raise an abundance. Well pre- 

 pared ground is half tended. One has plenty to do to weed and hoe 

 around the plants, which should be done once a week after the culti- 

 vator. 



We grow our own seeds of beans, peas, sweet corn, parsnips, beets, 

 mangels, and melons and prefer them, although we buy quite a good 

 many northern grown seeds. We have tried a good many of the novel- 

 ties, but it does not pay, unless one wants to experiment. Better stick 

 to the standard varieties that you know do well. 



For cabbage plant Jersey Wakefield and Winningstadt for early; Flat 



