THE GARDEN. 63 



them all out at the beginning. Last fall I saw a 

 half-acre that was swampy, and so encumbered 

 with stones that one could walk all over it without 

 stepping off the rocks. The land was sloping, and 

 therefore capable of drainage. The proprietor put 

 three men to work on the lower side with picks, 

 shovels, and blasting-tools. They turned the soil 

 over to the depth of eighteen inches, taking out 

 every stone larger than a walnut. Eight or ten 

 feet apart deep ditches were cut, and the stones, 

 as far as possible, placed in these. The rest were 

 carted away for a heavy wall. You may say it was 

 expensive work. So it was; yet so complete a 

 garden spot was made that I believe it would yield 

 a fair interest in potatoes alone. I relate this in- 

 stance to show what can be done. A more for- 

 bidding area for a garden in its original state could 

 scarcely be found. Enough vegetables and fruit 

 can be raised from it hereafter, with annual fertiliz- 

 ing, to supply a large family ; and it will improve 

 every year under the refining effects of frost, sun, 

 and cultivation. 



It should be remembered that culture does for 

 soil what it does for men and women. It mellows, 

 brings it up, and renders it capable of finer pro- 

 ducts. Much, indeed, can be done with a crude 

 piece of land in a single year when treated with the 

 thoroughness that has been suggested, and some 



