THE 



CHEMISTRY OF GARDEN CROPS 



A CONSIDERATION of the chemistry of the crops that en- 

 gage attention in this country will afford an explanation of one 

 great difference between farming and gardening. And this difference 

 should be kept in mind by all classes of cultivators as the basis of 

 operations in tillage, cropping, and the order and character of rota- 

 tions. The first thing to discover in the cropping of a farm is the 

 kind of vegetation for which the land is best adapted to insure, in a 

 run of seasons, fairly profitable results. If the soil is unfit for cereals, 

 then it is sheer folly to sow any more corn than may be needful 

 for convenience, as, for example, to supply straw for thatching and 

 litter, and oats for horses, to save cost of carriage, &c. On large 

 farms that are far removed from markets it is often necessary to risk 

 a few crops that the land is ill fitted for, in order to satisfy the 

 requirements of the homestead, and to save the outlay of money and 

 the inconvenience of hauling from distant markets. But everywhere 

 the cropping must be adapted to the soil and the climate as nearly 

 as possible, both to simplify operations and enlarge to the utmost 

 the chances of success. In the cropping of a garden this plain pro- 

 cedure cannot be followed. We are compelled certainly to consider 

 what the soil and climate will especially favour amongst garden 

 crops, but, notwithstanding this, the gardener must grow what- 

 ever the household requires. He may have to grow Peas on a 

 hot shallow sand; and Potatoes and Carrots on a cold clay; and 

 Asparagus on a shallow bed of pebbles and potsherds. To the 

 gardener the chemistry of crops is a matter of great importance, 

 because he cannot restrict his operations to such crops as the land 

 is particularly adapted for, but must endeavour to render his land 



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