184 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUKE 



soil is a sandy loam that will dry out quickly after 

 rains, so that it may be cultivated often. 



Fertilizing. Plowing in the spring must be done 

 as soon as the ground will permit, but it is better 

 to plow the garden in the fall so that freezing will 

 crumble the ground into fine particles. Garden 

 plants are grown close together in a small space, 

 and we w^ant them to grow quickly, so they need a 

 great deal of plant food. A thick dressing of stable 

 manure, from five to ten loads to an acre, should be 

 put on before the second plowing. If this garden 

 manure is hauled in the fall and made into a long, 

 narrow heap mixed with sods and forest leaves, it 

 will be well rotted and fine by spring; and it will 

 easily mix through the soil, giving every inch of 

 ground its portion. Leaves from the lawn should 

 always be piled on the garden to decay. 



Well-rotted manure supplies all the nitrogen a 

 garden requires, but to give vegetables a good flavor, 

 potash is needed. "Wood ashes will furnish this. 

 After the manure is plowed under, the ashes are 

 sifted on top, and then the surface is harrowed until 

 all is fine as an ash heap. Dried hen manure, 

 pounded fine and sifted, is often harrowed in with 

 the ashes and is especially good for some garden 

 crops. 



Preparation. The garden should be plowed from 

 six to eight inches deep and harrowed four or five 

 times. All stones must be removed. If these can 

 be buried so as to be beneath the reach of the plow, 



