286 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



become overrun with weeds it is due to neglect after the crops 

 have matured. The very day that a crop has gone past use, 

 the land should be cleared and cultivated, and if not planted in 

 another crop, should be stirred often enough to keep it clear ol 

 weeds. I would not, however, allow any part of the garden to 

 remain idle, for it is as easy to cultivate a crop as the bare 

 land, and one is not so likely to neglect it. I shall speak of 

 succession of crops elsewhere in this chapter. 



A garden managed in this way can after a few years be 

 cultivated with much less labor than one where the land is full 

 of foul seed. 



If not experienced in market gardening, it is best to 

 begin with a few crops which are easily managed, and at the 

 same time experiment with others on a small scale, so as to 

 gain experience in their management. The crops best suited 

 for truck farming are tomatoes, sweet corn, sweet potatoes. 

 Irish potatoes, turnips, and cabbages. Lima beans, nutmeg 

 melons, Hubbard squashes, and pickles are also largely profit- 

 able when you have a good market for them. Onions require 

 rich land and a good deal of labor, and it will be wise to begin 

 their cultivation on a small scale. But grow some each year, 

 so as to learn their management, and increase if you find them 

 profitable. 



Implements. You will need a good breaking plow, two 

 harrows one a slicing harrow like the Randall and the other 

 a steel tooth a roller, drag, marker, cultivator, and seed drill ; 

 also garden line and reel, hand plow, hoes, forks, potato hook, 

 spades, watering can, and transplanting trowel. I have never 

 seen a five or seven-tooth cultivator that suited me for garden 

 work. They are too clumsy and hard to manage. I prefer a 

 good " three-shovel," with the shovels set at just the right slope, 

 and two sets of them one very narrow to use among small 

 plants, and the other wider, to throw up some earth when the 

 plants are large enough to receive it. For work among small 

 plants it should be provided with a fender, as this will enable 

 you to work very close without covering them. For a seed drill 

 I have never found a better than the Mathews. It is easily 



