CHAPTER II 

 FORMATION OF A VEGETABLE GARDEN 



The Question of Boundary. 



IT would greatly benefit the country in general, and cot- 

 tagers in particular, if every workman had the means of 

 cultivating his own vegetables. The sad fact remains that 

 under present circumstances it cannot be. A great good 

 could, however, be done by those who have the oppor- 

 tunity of doing so, yet neglect it ; for we cannot be blind 

 to the fact that many of our cottagers need to be wakened 

 to the knowledge that it would be better for them, both from 

 a pecuniary and from a health point of view, to spend their 

 spare hours in raising good wholesome food for the support 

 of their families. 



For several reasons it is necessary that a vegetable 

 garden should be enclosed. Chief among these are the 

 exclusion of, cattle, large and small, and the breaking of 

 the wind ; in a word, for shelter. Since I am speaking also 

 to those who can afford to devote an acre or two to vege- 

 tables, as well as to those who can boast only of a plot 

 a few yards in area, it will be necessary for me to allude 

 to the advantages to be derived from enclosing the allotted 

 area within walls. The advantages of having the ground 

 bounded by walls are that safety from cattle, rabbits, 

 fowls, &c., is thereby assured, a good shelter is obtained, 



