10 KITCHEN-GARDENING. 



the north and west, as is frequently the case, it is important to 

 have the garden located on the sunny side of a grove, forest, 

 or out-buildings. Every person, previous to choosing a loca- 

 tion for out-buildings and a dwelling-house, should select the 

 most desirable situation for the kitchen-garden. 



LAYING OUT THE GROUND. 



If desirable, a border may be formed around the whole gar- 

 den, from five to ten feet wide, according to the size of the 

 piece of land. Next to this border, a walk may be made from 

 three to six feet wide ; and the middle of the garden may be 

 divided into squares, on the sides of which a border may be 

 laid out three or four feet wide, in which the various kinds of 

 herbs may be raised, and also gooseberries, currants, rasp- 

 berries, strawberries, etc. The centre beds may be planted 

 with various kinds of vegetables. The outside borders will 

 be useful for raising the earliest fruits and vegetables, and 

 serve for raising and pricking out such young plants, herbs, 

 and cuttings, as require to be screened from the intense heat 

 of the sun. 



The mode of laying out the ground is a matter of taste, and 

 may be left to the gardener himself, the form being a thing of 

 trifling importance in the production of useful vegetables ; and 

 it matters not whether the ground be laid out in beds of four 

 or ten feet wide, provided it be well worked, and the garden 

 kept neat and free from weeds. One should determine what 

 .kind of vegetables he designs to raise as well as the quantity of 

 each kind. If the object be simply to supply one family with 

 vegetables, it is better to appropriate only a small plot of ground 

 to this purpose, as a large garden at a distance from a good 

 market is not always a source of profit, while it requires a 

 great deal of labor to keep it in order. It is far better to have 

 a small plot of ground of only a few square rods thoroughly 

 pulverized, well manured, and properly dressed, than one twice 

 as large, and all these things alluded to, only half done. Very 

 many persons in the country, who raise no garden produce for 



