No. 7. 



Kitchen Garden. 



^n 



purposes of feeding and littering; it may in 

 uv.iny instances, be the most proper and ad- 

 vantageous crop tliatcan be employed by the 

 farmer. In England, in a rotation of crops, 

 the place which rape occupies, is commonly 

 between two of the culmiferous kind.* On 

 rich soils it may be succeeded to the greatest 

 advantage by wheat, as it is found to be an ex- 

 cellent preparation for that sort of grain — and 

 by its being taken off early, there is sufficient 

 time allowed for preparing the land for wheat. 

 The sowing, after culture, &,c., is the same as 

 the turncp. Tlie produce is from forty to sev- 

 enty bushels per acre, where the plant suc- 

 ceeds well; and .Mr. Marshall, considers it 

 on the whole as one of the most profitaljle 

 crops in husbandry. There have been, says 

 he, instances, on cold, unproductive old pasture 

 lands in which the produce of the rape crop 

 has been equal to the purchase price of the 

 land. The leaves as green food for sheep arc 

 not surpassed by any other vegetable in nu- 

 tritious qualities. In addition to the use of 

 seed for crushing for oil, it is employed as food 

 for tame birds, and is sometimes sown by gar- 

 di^ners, in the same way as must-.rd and cress, 

 i'ov early sallading. The rape-cake and rape- 

 dnst, the former, adhering masses of seed 

 husks after the oil has been expressed; and 

 the latter, loose dry husks, are used as a top- 

 diessing for crops of different kinds. They 

 are reduced to powder by a malt mill or other 

 grinding machine, and sometimes sown broad- 

 cast over young clovers, wheats, &c. I doubt 

 not that the cultivation of iherape or cole-seed 

 may be introduced with great advantage ; and 

 I have therefore to request that your able and 

 intelligent correspondent Dr. Mease, or some 

 ntlii-^r gentleman competent to the task, u-ill, 

 t I rough the columns of the Farmers' Cabinet, 

 jiiiiiish us with information on apointof some 

 i nportance, if not to the community gene- 

 rally, at least to your friend and subscriber, 

 Samuel W. Saiitu. 



Dichess, N. Y., Jan. 26, 1333. 



I'or tlif Farmers' Cabinet. 



KitcSicu Oa.i'dcn. 



A will cultivated gar.len indicates care, industry, anJ 

 thrift. 



A good garden furnishes a large amount of 

 fiiisLenanco to a t'lmily; and although its pro- 

 diiciions may not assume a money value by 

 being converted into cash, yet they are not 

 the less valuable on that account, as every 

 good housewife knows, who resorts to it daily, 

 in order to procure a supply of wholesome and 

 nutritious esculents for the table. Many far- 

 mers do not duly appreciate, but disregard and 



* Culmiferous plants have a smooth jointed stalk, 

 an;\ tlieir seeds rontaiufd in cliaffey husks, as wheat, 

 rye, oats and barK*y, 



neglect the garden, and throw the burden of 

 its care and cultivation too much on the female 

 branches of the family, who arc otlentimcs 

 sufficiently burdened with other cares and du- 

 ties of an imperious character. All good hus- 

 bands, or young men who are susceptible of 

 being converted into that article, are careful 

 in looking after, and attending to the cultiva- 

 tion of the garden. As soon as spring opens 

 and the ground is in a fit state to be stirred, 

 they are np and doing, being fully aware of 

 the vast importance to the comfort and inter- 

 ests of a family, of having an early and good 

 garden, furnishing a copious supply of vege- 

 tables, the best of their kind in due succes- 

 sion. 



It would be unnecessary to inform any per- 

 son of common sense, that the soil of a gar- 

 den should be rich, and that it should be dug 

 deep, and be thoroughly pulverized, in order 

 that the fibres of the roots of the plants might 

 easily penetrate it in all directions in search 

 of their appropriate food ; for without an abun- 

 dance of nutriment, vegetables can no more 

 grow and thrive than animals. Be careful 

 to procure the purest and best seed ; for there 

 is no more labor or care required to cultivate 

 plants of the best varieties than to produce 

 those possessing inferior qualities for human 

 subsistence. Let them be committed to the 

 ground under circumstances the most favora- 

 ble to their growth, and then with a little 

 careful attention from time to time, which 

 may rather be termed pleasure and recreation 

 than labor, with the blessing of Providence on 

 your labors, you may reasonably hope to reap 

 a rich reward for your careful attention to this 

 interesting and useful branch of domestic 

 economy. 



Peas, beans, and all other seeds that are 

 planted in drills or hills at an early period in 

 the seiison, should have the earth v/ell raised 

 on the north side of them for protection ; and 

 the reflection of the rays of the sun from the 

 raised earth, warms the soil where they are 

 planted, and causes them to vegetate sooner, 

 and the increased heat afforded by this simple 

 means accelerates their growth. Cucumbers, 

 cabbage, and various other plants which it is 

 desirable to forward early, will come up much 

 sooner by the adoption of this plan, than if 

 they be planted on a flat surface without the 

 earth being drawn up on the north side of 

 them. Some place an upright board on the 

 north side of, and near to, those plants which 

 they wish to bring forward at an early period, 

 to gain the reflected heat, and to protect them 

 from tlie north winds. 



If some one of the young people of a fam- 

 ily were to register in a book to be kppt for 

 that purpose, all the doings in the garden, a 

 great benefit might arise from it. Set dowrt 

 the time of planting or sowing each kiad of 



