Young Gardencr^s jlssislant. 265 



There are gardeners and farmers who believe that some vege- 

 tables will only flourish upon the same spot of ground for years; 

 that a change of situation is injurious rather than beneficial. We 

 have ourselves known onions, in more than one instance, to be 

 cropped from one bed for twelve years in succession, from a 

 belief that they could not be produced upon another piece of 

 ground equally as large and' fine. Beets, carrots and parsnips, 

 too, are grown upon the same spot for many successive years. 

 It is a rule, which appears to have been adopted many years for 

 the owner of a garden to lay out a piece of ground into beds for 

 these three varieties of vegetables; and as long as they continue 

 to be cultivated they are planted upon the same spot. The re- 

 sult is, that after a length of time, the product is greatly lessened, 

 and the quality much inferior. It is also a custom in small gar- 

 dens, cultivated, by individuals, for '•aising their own vegeta- 

 bles, to appropriate beds for every kind; and to continue to crop 

 these with the same varieties for an indefinite period: finally 

 the land, in the idea of the cultivator, is " worn out," and is of 

 no further use; he must either select a new spot, or buy his 

 vegetables of the regular market gardener. Farmers practising 

 upon the same rule, instead of tilling one spot of ground as it 

 should be, continually select " new land," as they term it, until 

 a farm of twenty or thirty acres has been all ploughed over. 

 The great loss of time in preparing the new ground, and the 

 evident waste of manure, is not taken into consideration, but the 

 same system continues to be pursued. The valuable informa- 

 tion which is, however, circulating, through some of the agri- 

 cultural periodicals, will eventually awaken the attention of our 

 farmers to the subject, and lead to a proper and natural mode of 

 cropping their ground. 



The preliminary observations on the fruit garden and orchard 

 are very good, and jNfr. Bridgeman's remarks respecting the use 

 of ashes, both for the destruction of insects and the dressing of 

 land, deserves the attention of every gardener. We have often 

 wondered why this article was not used in our gardens to a far 

 greater extent than it is at present: it is well known that the far- 

 mers of Long Island, one of the most fertile spots in the coun- 

 try, cover their land with it; it is carried away from Boston, 

 and, we presume, from other cities, cargo after cargo, and a high 

 price is paid for it. We quote Mr. Bridgeman's observations 

 on this point. 



" Althouf^h our limits will not allow of a I'urtlicr description of the 

 various sorts of insects which injure our gardens, and frequently destroy 

 the fruit of our labor, I cannot forbear directing the attention of our 

 citizens to the importance of savin:r all kinds of ashes. If all agricul- 

 turists and horticulturists were to offer an inducement to the inhabitants 

 of large cities, to save their ashes in a dry state, they would be supplied 

 not only with a valuable manure, but an antidote for many kinds of in- 



VOL. III. NO. VII. 34 



