CULTIVATION 



IF you do not mean to cultivate, and to cultivate 

 regularly and thoroughly, then give up all thought 

 of a garden. The garden should be cultivated at 

 least once a week and it should be done after a rain, 

 or after watering but not immediately after, as 

 when wet earth is cultivated and left in lumps to 

 harden, another cultivation will be necessary to 

 break up the lumps and permit air to enter the 

 soil. To cultivate before watering will also cause 

 lumps to form. There is a "just the right time for 

 cultivation " and it will pay every amateur to 

 study the soil and learn just what condition it 

 should be in for cultivation. 



Because cultivation is so helpful in conserving 

 moisture, very frequent cultivation should be 

 given during a long dry spell. Cultivation at 

 such a time should be merely surface cultivation 

 as to dig too deep will bring to the surface some- 

 what moist earth which will soon dry out. To 

 cultivate only an inch or two will tend to let in air 



149 



