VEGETABLE GARDENING. 27 



easy to commence cultivating- in advance of the weeds. In 

 case of such crops as carrots, onions, beets and parsnips, 

 which are quite delicate when young - , cultivation should begin 

 with some hand garden cultivator, even if it is intended later 

 on to cultivate it with a ,horse implement and the crop is 

 planted with this purpose in view. Such close and careful 

 work cannot be done with any horse implement now in use as 

 with the best hand implements. Careful early cultivation is 

 of the utmost importance, since if the weeds are removed when 

 they are young the work of weeding- is small. If allowed to 

 remain until well rooted, their removal is often a very serious 

 matter, and frequently, if neglected at this early stage, the 

 weeds become so firmly established as to make it a question 

 whether to remove them or to plow under the whole crop ; and 

 often it is the part of wisdom to adopt the latter alternative. 

 Aside from its effect in the prevention of weeds, early culti- 

 vation is of the greatest value in breaking up the crust that 

 packs firmly around the tender growing- stems of plants and 

 which seriously interferes with their growth. Like all surface 

 cultivation it is also an aid in the conservation of moisture in 

 the soil. 



Importance of not Allowing Weeds to go to Seed. — A common 

 source of weed infection is often found in the few weeds that 

 are allowed to go to seed toward the end of the growing sea- 

 son in the maturing crop or after the crop has been gathered. 

 To some persons it often seems a small matter to allow a few 

 plants of pig-weed, purslane, tumble weed and weeds of other 

 kinds to go to seed in the garden, but absolute cleanliness 

 should be the rule in this particular, and it is by far the most 

 economical in practice in the long run. It requires but little 

 labor and saves much useless expense to destroy weeds that 

 are going- to seed. If the preventives for weeds here suggest- 

 ed are closely followed, hand weeding will be reduced to a min- 

 imum and will often be unnecessary with any crop. 



Weed Seeds in Manure for the Garden. — While the discus- 

 sion of the subject of manures for the garden is not the 

 special object of this chapter, yet some reference to the sub- 

 ject is quite necessary in considering- the subject of weed 

 eradication. The people of this section have not yet learned 

 the great value of barnyard manure and its proper prepar- 



