52 



VEGETABLE GARDENING 



preparation for best results in the soil. This is a subject of 

 vast importance and one that in the future will receive far 

 more thought than at present. The manure applied to 

 the garden is often coarse and contains many weed seeds 

 and is a fruitful source of weed infection. If the manure 

 intended for the garden contains the seeds of weeds it 

 should be piled up and allowed to ferment until the whole 

 mass is thoroughly rotted, which process will kill the weed 



seeds in it. It is seldom ad- 

 visable to use fresh manure 

 in the garden, and it should 

 only be applied in this con- 

 dition when free from weeds 

 and then only for some late 

 maturing crops, in which 

 case there will be time for 

 it to rot before the crops 

 need it. 



Plowing. In the West- 

 ern states, where the sum- 

 mers are often very dry, 

 vegetable land should gen- 

 erally be plowed in the 

 autumn, so that the subsoil 

 may become sufficiently 

 compacted by spring to 

 readily transmit the subsoil 



moisture to the surface. Such treatment, by forming 

 a dust blanket, retards evaporation from the land dur- 

 ing dry autumns and dry winters when there is no snow 

 on the ground. Fall plowing also puts the land in the best 

 shape for the action of the elements and the development 

 of plant food, and may be a means of killing very many cut 



Fig. 10. Root system of an onion 

 plant with earth washed off. The roots 

 penetrated the earth to a depth of 18 

 inches. 



