234 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



ducing the bloom, and ripening the fruit, berry or grain, which is 

 a necessary feature of every productive garden. 



Again, the arrangement of the garden should be such that the 

 lower plants or vines should be at the south side, as otherwise such 

 vegetables as corn, okra, butter beans and other such high-growing 

 plants would soon shade the lower vines and bushes, such as dwarf 

 peas, salsify, carrots, spinach, parsnips, cucumbers, lettuce, and 

 even tomatoes, and rob them entirely of the rays of the sun, so 

 essential to their needs for growth and production. This arrange- 

 ment is as simple as it is desirable, but it must be started right, for 

 it can not be changed after the crops are growing. 



Another very desirable arrangement is to have crosswalks, 

 especially east and west, to prevent trampling over beds and rows, 

 which will eventually result in walks in inappropriate places, de- 

 stroying plants already growing. 



Another feature that should be suggested before going into the 

 detail of the garden is the rotation of such crops as peas, sweet corn, 

 lettuce, radishes, etc., as will furnish them to the end of their natural 

 season, or to killing frost. For instance, we had last summer eight 

 rotating plantings of corn, furnishing the table fresh corn from 

 early in June to the day of such frost as killed the plant. This 

 holds good even with early and late potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, 

 beans, etc., which the garden furnishes our table plentifully and 

 abundantly for eight mouths from the earliest maturity to the time 

 when Jack Frost calls a halt on all plant life in this latitude. In 

 other words, time your several plantings so that one production will 

 succeed the other as near as possible. As one ceases producing the 

 other starts, and keeps the table constantly supplied during the 

 entire season for each vegetable. 



Our garden is about 90 by 240 feet — approximately a half acre 

 in size. So it will be seen that a rotated garden need not be very 

 large, but of a size that may be easily afforded on any farm or on 

 many city lots. 



We will first take up the winter vegetables, which being usually 

 low plants, are on the south side of the garden. Included in this 

 list are salsify, parsnips, carrots, beets, white curled endive, turnips, 

 etc. We do not refer especially to winter cabbage, onions, Hub- 

 bard squash and potatoes, as every one knows the culture and 

 winter care of them. 



The parsnips and salsify are left in the ground until freezing 

 weather, or all winter, if not needed. The beets are usually of a 

 long variety, especially adapted to winter use and keeping. Late 



