THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 





These plots are generally subdivided into sec- 

 tions, rows, or beds, for the different kinds of 

 kitchen vegetables. In the corner of one plot are 

 the cucumber and melon pits, partially secluded, 

 but not shaded by hedges or bushes, and round 

 the edgings are the flower-parterres, disposed to 

 meet the eye, and to be easily accessible from the 

 walks. In some gardens much of the ground is 

 overshadowed by fruit-trees. This is seriously 

 detrimental to the growth of the plants beneath, 

 exhausts the soil, and prevents the proper develop- 

 ment of every vegetable within reach. The only 

 allowable places for trees are the walls and narrow 

 espaliers running up one side of the central plots. 

 When a garden possesses the addition of an out- 

 side strip, inclosed by a hedge, the exterior sides 

 of the walls may be lined with fruit-trees, and the 

 ground laid out for potatoes and other common 

 vegetables ; it will also afford the most proper 

 site for compost dung-heaps, forcing-pits, and the 

 like. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL COMPOSTS 

 TRENCHING. 



The soil of a garden should be deep, rich, and 

 easily penetrable. Whatever it may have been 

 originally, the soil admits of vast improvement, 

 and no trouble can be considered too great to 

 bring it into a good condition. If shallow, trench 

 it so as to loosen the subsoil and gradually bring 

 it into operation above. In many instances the 

 soil is too stiff or clayey. Such a soil may not be 

 unfit for plough husbandry, but it is out of place in 

 a garden. The method of loosening and melior- 

 ating a clayey soil, is to give it a large volume of 

 sand and vegetable manure, which may be delved 

 in at the winter and spring diggings. In general, 

 too little attention is paid to adding sand as a 

 restorative; such is absolutely necessary in all 

 soils except those of a very sandy nature, because 

 every crop actually carries away a certain pro- 

 portion of the silica lodged in the soil. If the 

 soil be already too sandy, it may be assisted by 

 clay, silt from ditches, &c. Whatever be the 

 nature of the soil, it should be thoroughly pulver- 

 ised. Lumps thrown up by digging at the com- 

 mencement of winter are pulverised by the frost, 

 and imbibe nutritious gases from the atmosphere. 

 In spring, all should be well delved, every spade- 

 ful being cut and broken as it is turned down, 

 and no hard part left impervious to the tender 

 roots of the vegetables. Every particle of soil 

 should be capable of doing duty in feeding the 

 plants. 



No garden can be conducted with advantage 

 without giving it regular and plentiful manuring. 

 If you hunger a garden, it will hunger you in 

 return ; and there is no truer economy than, by 

 abundant manuring, to make a small garden 

 yield more than a much larger one in which it is 

 grudgingly applied. In connection with every 

 rightly managed garden, there must either be a 

 compost-heap, in which dung is preparing for use, 

 or there must be some means of readily purchas- 

 ing old manure when it is required. The manures 

 employed are the same as in agriculture ; but 

 being required for a more delicate purpose, they 

 must in general be well rotted, and ready to unite 

 with the soil. A compost dung-heap is prepared 

 by putting alternate layers of stable-dung, or night- 



soil, &c. with earth, peat-moss, decayed leaves, and 

 general refuse^ of vegetation ; turning the whole 

 occasionally till the mass appears to be sufficiently 

 decomposed for use. A small quantity of this stuff 

 will often be required to place at the roots of 

 plants. Guano and other top-dressing manures 

 should also be frequently, but not over-abundantly 

 applied. 



Near large towns, where there is a constant 

 demand for kitchen vegetables, market-gardens 

 are established for producing the required articles 

 in variety and abundance. The finest market- 

 gardens in the world are near London, where the 

 soil is deep, and any quantity of manure from 

 the metropolis is easily obtainable. The plan on 

 which these gardens are conducted might serve as 

 a model for all kitchen-gardeners in this country. 

 It is thus briefly described in the article Gardening 

 in the Penny Cyclopedia: 'The gardeners' year 

 properly begins in autumn, when the land is dug, 

 or rather trenched, and well manured. Various 

 vegetables which will be required in winter are 

 now sown, and especially those which are to pro- 

 duce plants to be set out in spring : spinach, onions, 

 radishes, and winter salads are sown, and when the 

 weather is severe, are protected by a slight covering 

 of straw or mats. In February, the cauliflowers, 

 which have been raised in frames or under hand- 

 glasses, are planted out The cabbage-plants are 

 pricked out. The radishes, onions, and salads go 

 to market as soon as they are of sufficient size, and 

 sugar-loaf cabbages succeed them. As the cauli- 

 flowers are taken off, they are succeeded by endive 

 and celery, and the same is the case with the 

 cabbages. Thus there is a constant succession of 

 vegetables, without one moment's respite to the 

 ground, which, in consequence of continual stirring 

 and manuring, maintains its productive power. 

 Deep trenching in some degree prevents that 

 peculiar deterioration of the soil which would be 

 the consequence of the frequent repetition of 

 similar plants. This effect is most perceptible 

 when the plants perfect their seed, which is seldom 

 or never allowed to take place in market-gardens ; 

 but great attention is paid to the species of plants 

 which succeed each other on the same spot 

 Those gardeners who overlook this, and repeatedly 

 sow or plant the same kind of vegetables in the 

 same spots, are soon aware of their error by the 

 diminution of the produce, both in quantity and 

 quality, and by various diseases, as well as insect 

 pests, which attack the plants, however abundant 

 may be the food supplied to them, or however 

 careful the tillage. The principle on which the 

 gardens are cultivated, is that of forcing vegetation 

 by means of an abundant supply of dung, constant 

 tillage, and occasional watering.' 



' The value of the produce in one year from an 

 acre of garden-ground in the most favourable 

 situation, as stated by Mr Middleton, from the 

 account which he received from a market-gardener, 

 is almost incredible. It is as follows : Radishes, 

 ;io ; cauliflower, ,60 ; cabbages, .30 ; celery 

 (first crop), $o ; (second crop), ^40 ; endive, y> : 

 making a total of .220 for the gross produce of an 

 acre in twelve months. The expenses of cultiva- 

 tion are no doubt great In inferior situations, the 

 produce is much less, but the expenses are also 

 somewhat less. When it is considered that there 

 are nearly 2000 acres thus cultivated, the gross 

 amount of produce must be very great' 



