86 PRIZE GARDENING 



Next year I propose to harrow with a homemade 

 clod breaker drawn by horses. The implement will 

 resemble a five by six-foot section of a roof, only the 

 shingles will be two by ten-inch plank spiked upon 

 two by four scantling. In use the lap side of the 

 shingles is drawn against the clods, the driver riding 

 on the breaker. For smoothing and leveling hitch the 

 team on the other end. This will be done in the fore- 

 noon, and I will put force enough on in the afternoon 

 to finish any raking necessary thereafter. With the 

 peculiar soil I have, this will make my garden as mel- 

 low as a wood-ash heap. My experience is that such 

 a condition of ground at the outstart means mellow, 

 light soil the whole season, provided the soil gets 

 prompt, regular and thorough cultivation thereafter. 

 My land if left for twenty-four hours after harrowing 

 is sure to be full of small lumps, which can only be 

 broken by pounding. 



I have concluded to try using only artificial fer- 

 tilizers on my garden in the future. I have to buy all 

 my manures anyway. Such stable manure as 1 can 

 get is not well rotted, and is so rich in tin cans, broken 

 glass, crockery, and all manner of rubbish, all of which 

 I must bury or hire hauled to the city dump, and is 

 also impregnated with grass and weed seeds, that I 

 am out of patience with the use of such manure. If I 

 find that artificial fertilizers are insufficient of them- 

 selves I will supplement them with crimson clover sown 

 early in the fall and plowed under in the spring. 



The owner is the best laborer on garden or farm, 

 or at least ought to be. Hired help lacks interest. 



I plant cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, tgg plant, 

 etc., in this way : With a slightly sharpened stick, an 

 old broom handle for instance, I punch a hole six or 

 eight inches deep. I insert the plant a trifle deeper 

 than I propose to set it, then carefully fill the hole with 



