THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 15 



of little worth, as scarcely anything of value can be raised 

 on it. All land for vegetable gardening should be well 

 drained either naturally or artificially, since crops on well 

 drained land suffer least from drought as well as from 

 excess of water. Drained land also gives best and most 

 uniform returns from the manure applied to it. When 

 drainage is lacking in the land, the raising of plants on it is 

 so very much a matter of chance that in the long run it will 

 generally prove unprofitable. Most of the land in culti- 

 vation is sufficiently drained naturally, while some land 

 that needs no drainage when used for grass or grain would 

 be greatly improved by being under-drained when it is to 

 be used for some garden crops. 



Land having a gently rolling or undulating surface with 

 a southern exposure is the most desirable for general gar- 

 dening operations, since it receives the full sunlight and 

 allows the most perfect control of the water that falls upon 

 it. When irrigation is practiced, such sloping surface aids 

 greatly in the distribution of the water. For a few crops, 

 such as celery, cabbage, etc., the slope makes very little 

 difference, as flat and even moist (not wet) land is best. 

 There is a great difference in the value of northern and 

 southern slopes for various crops. This difference will 

 frequently amount to one crop a year where the soil is 

 closely tilled. The soil on a southern slope can be worked 

 much earlier in the spring than that having a northern 

 exposure, and often by proper management two crops may 

 be grown in one year in such places, while on a northern 

 slope perhaps only one crop could be raised. Then again, 

 such crops as melons and tomatoes, that require a long 

 season and a warm location to mature, develop fully on a 

 southern slope, while on a northern slope they might not 

 ripen. 



