GARDEN HUSBANDRY. 



arp taken off, they are succeeded by 

 endive and celery, and the same is 

 the case with the cabbages. Thus 

 there is a constant succession of ve- 

 getables, without one moment's res- 

 pite to tlie ground, which, in conse- 

 quence of continual stirring and ma- 

 nuring, maintains its productive pow- 

 er. Deep trenching in some degree 

 prevents that peculiar deterioration of 

 the soil which would be the conse- 

 quence of the frequent repetition of 

 simdar plants. This effect is most 

 j)erceptible when the plants perfect 

 their seed, which is seldom or never 

 allowed to take place in market gar- 

 dens ; but great attention is paid to 

 the species of plants which succeed 

 each other on the same spot. The 

 principle which experience and the- 

 ory unite in establishing, is that of 

 avoiding the too frequent recurrence 

 of plants which belong to tlie same 

 natural families. The greater vari- 

 ety cultivated in gardens, in compar- 

 ison with the common produce on a 

 farm, enables this principle to be fully 

 acted upon. Those gardeners who 

 overlook this, and repeatedly sow or 

 plant the same kind of vegetables in 

 the same spots, are soon aware of 

 their error by the diminution of the 

 produce, both in quantity and quality, 

 and by various diseases which attack 

 the plants, however abundant may be 

 the food supphed to them or careful 

 the tillage. 



" The principle on which the gar- 

 dens are cultivated is that of forcing 

 vegetation by means of an abundant 

 supply of dung, constant tillage, and 

 occasional watering. The whole sur- 

 face is converted into a species of 

 hot-bed, and crop succeeds crop with 

 a rapidity which is truly astonishing. 

 Those vegetables which arrive at a 

 niarketai)le state in the least time are 

 always the most profitable, and those 

 also for which there is a constant de- 

 mand at all times of the year. With 

 an abundant supply of manure, the 

 market gardeners have no fear of ex- 

 hausting the soil, and dissimilar ve- 

 getables may grow together on the 

 same ground. Trees bearing fruit 

 may be planted in rows, especially 

 Dd2 



those of the dwarf kind, and undei 

 them those vegetables which do not 

 require much sun may be raised to 

 advantage. Raspberries, gooseber- 

 ries, and currants are planted in the 

 rows between the trees. These rows 

 being thirty or forty feet apart, leave 

 ample room for vegetables ; but in 

 those gardens where the finest vege- 

 tables are raised, and particularly in 

 those which are appropriated to the 

 growth of seeds, no trees are permit- 

 ted to shade the ground ; even the 

 hedges, if there are any, are kept low 

 and clipped, that they may not give 

 any shade, or harbour small birds. 



" A garden should always be laid 

 out in a regular form, with narrow par- 

 allel beds, and paths between them. 

 One or more roads, of sufficient width 

 to allow a cart to pass, should inter- 

 sect these beds at right angles, for 

 the convenience of bringing manure 

 and taking off the produce. The beds 

 should not be above six feet wide, so 

 that a person may easily pull up 

 weeds or gather the vegetables with- 

 out treading upon the beds. The sur- 

 face soil taken from the paths serves 

 to raise the beds, and in retentive 

 soils may carry off the superfluous 

 water after sudden and violent rains. 

 The whole ground should have been 

 trenched two spits deep or more ; and 

 this trenching should be frequently 

 repeated, to mix the upper with the 

 under part of the soil, and distribute 

 the decomposed dung throughout the 

 whole depth. Thus in time a rich 

 black mould will be produced, in which 

 every kind of vegetable will grow 

 most rapidly. For early plants, and 

 those which are used in winter, and 

 require to be protected from frost, 

 narrow beds are made lying in a di- 

 rection east and west, and sloping to- 

 wards the south, wiln the north side 

 raised high, so that their surface 

 forms an angle of twenty or thirty de- 

 ' grees with the horizon. This gives 

 the plants a protection from the north 

 winds, and exposes them more to the 

 influence of the sun. In very frosty 

 weather, these beds are covered with 

 mats or loose straw. We do not 

 mention frames covered with glasa, 



317 



