of Rural Art and Taste. 



115 



gus, etc., should be set by themselves ; and 

 those which are set some distance apart and 

 can be cultivated both ways, such as tomatoes, 

 sweet corn, melons, etc., etc., should be planted 

 separate from those that are set close together 

 or in rows one way, such as radishes, beets, or 

 onions. A little attention to these details in 

 planting, will save much time and work in 

 after cultivation. 



An indispensable adjunct to every well- 

 managed vegetable garden, is 



The Hot- Bed. 



Without it many kinds of vegetables can- 

 not be had early, and of some kinds — sweet 

 potatoes for instance — not at all. The mode 

 of preparing a hot-bed has been so often des- 

 cribed that it is unnecessary to enter into a 

 full description here, and we may merely state 

 that the making and management of a hot- 

 bed is not so extremely difficult but that care- 

 ful attention to the rules laid down yearly in 

 most of our agricultural and horticultural 

 journals, brushed up with an ordinary degree 

 of common sense, will insure success. 



But we may have the garden properly pre- 

 pared and laid off and the hot-bed ready, and 

 still fail to raise good and early crops of veg- 

 etables, if we are not careful in the selec- 

 tion of 



Good Seed, 



More failures in vegetable culture are at- 

 tributable to the poor seed than to any other 

 cause — either by the seeds not germinating, 

 or by their turning out to be different varie- 

 ties than for what they were purchased. There 

 is no excuse for it, for reliable seed growers 

 and dealers are plenty, and send their seeds 

 to all parts of the country. Let this be re- 

 membered, in purchasing seed, that " the 

 cheapest is not always the best," and that 

 " whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also 

 reap," and buy seeds only directly from res- 

 ponsible men. 



Perhaps, a better illustration of the loss 

 that ensues from incorrect seed, could not be 

 given, than my own experience in tomato 

 growing, when, having bought (as I supposed) 

 seed for five acres of Tilden Tomato, the 

 standard market sort, they proved to be Les- 



ter's perfected, a variety totally worthless for 

 shipping purposes — entailing a loss of several 

 hundred dollars. Many market gardeners 

 raise their own seed, and are thus certain of 

 keeping the varieties unmixed ; but this can- 

 not always be done, and is at all times more 

 expensive than buying of responsible growers, 

 who make seed raising a specialty. 



Having secured good seed, it must be put 

 in properly and at the proper time. Do not 

 sow in the hot-bed on the same day, lettuce and 

 pepper, cabbage and tomatoes, or in the open 

 ground, peas and beans, radishes and cucum- 

 bers, but plant or sow each kind at the proper 

 time, sowing thickly and covering only as 

 deep as the size of the seed requires. Many 

 seeds fail to germinate on account of being 

 covered too deeply. 



In the family garden the sowing will of 

 course be done by hand ; but the market gar- 

 dener will find it of "advantage to use a hand 

 seed drill, of which there are several that do 

 their work perfectly. 



The seeds sown, and the young plants up, 

 they must, to insure a quick, healthy, and 

 vigorous growth, have constant and thorough 

 cultivation, not only to kill weeds (they should 

 not be allowed to appear), but a constant stir- 

 ring of the soil, to admit air to the roots, and 

 to attract moisture, so highly necessary to 

 success. 



These general directions are all absolutely 

 essential to success, both for family and mar- 

 ket gardening ; and if intelligently and sys- 

 tematically carried out, the farmer or other 

 owner of a garden may confidently expect to 

 eat good vegetables, of his own growing, in 

 good season. But the gardener who expects 

 to sell his products, has yet a very important 

 matter to attend to, one on which the profita- 

 ble sale of his crops depends, viz. : 



The I'reparaton of Vegetables for Mnrhet, 



They must be carefully picked, and in the 

 proper season ; carefully selected ; no poor or 

 imperfect specimens being allowed to go into 

 the bunches or packages. If sent at all these 

 should be put up separately and sent to mar- 

 ket as poor, or second class, but better in 

 most cases thrown away. 



