i;8 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



sarily be very general. Gardening includes something 

 of agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture. It is 

 not advisable that the garden should be very large or 

 elaborate, so that its care will become burdensome. 

 The flower garden should not be located directly in 

 front of the house, but at one side. It is not well to 

 place a flower bed in the middle of the lawn. Neither 

 should the front lawn be crowded with trees and shrub- 

 bery .; there should be a good, clear stretch of grass, 

 with the shrubbery around the skirts of it. The vege- 

 table garden should be at the back of the house, or 

 well to one side of the lawn and flower garden. It 

 should be well fenced against poultry and other do- 

 mestic animals. 



Preparation of the Soil. The soil should be well 

 fertilized with barnyard manure. Neglect of this is 

 fatal to the best results. Weeds will grow in any soil, 

 but good vegetables require good soil as well as good 

 cultivation. In the preparation of the soil, and in 

 planting, the following points should receive attention : 



(1) Plow carefully and well, so that all grass, 

 weeds, manure, or litter will be thoroughly turned 

 under. Do not plow when the ground is very wet. 



(2) Harrow and rake until the top soil is fine, 

 removing sticks and stones. 



(3) The depth at which seeds should be planted 

 depends, largely, upon the size of the seeds. Small 

 seeds should be covered slightly but evenly. The 

 character of the soil is also to be considered. In light, 



