6 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



the soil is closely tilled. The soil on a southern slope can 

 be worked much earlier in the spring- than that having a 

 northern exposure, and often by proper management two 

 crops may be grown in one year in such places, while on a 

 northern slope perhaps only one crop could be raised. Then 

 again, such crops as melons and tomatoes that require a 

 long season and a warm location to mature could do so on 

 a southern slope, while on a northern slope they might not 

 ripen. 



Location and Soil for Early Crops.— When the object in 

 vegetable gardening is to grow very early crops, it is im- 

 portant to have quick-acting land. Such a soil contains a 

 large amount of sand in its composition. Soils of this class 

 warm up very quickly, and decomposition goes on very rap- 

 idly in them. They give the quickest returns from manures. 

 If such land has a southern slope and, in addition, is pro- 

 tected from the north and west winds, the situation will be an 

 ideal one for the early vegetable garden and for tropical 

 plants, such as tomatoes, beans, corn, etc. However, land 

 and locations of this character suffer most from drought, 

 therefore every precaution should be taken to protect them 

 from it. Sandy soils, when irrigated, become most pro- 

 ductive. 



Location and Soil for Late Crops. — When the intention is 

 to raise cabbages, potatoes, turnips, beets, etc., for mar- 

 keting in the autumn and for crops that require but a short 

 time to mature or that prefer a cool location, a good clayey 

 loam is generally best, and if it has a northern exposure so 

 much the better. If obliged to use a stiff clay soil, it will 

 be found to give best results if subsoiled and drained. Such 

 land should be fall-plowed and left in ridges. It will also 

 be improved if coarse manure is worked into, it since this 

 has a tendency to make the land open and more easily worked. 

 A retentive clayey loam will be more difficult to work than a 

 sandy soil but will generally withstand drought much better, 

 although a somewhat sandy loam with a retentive porous clay 

 sub-soil is often considered more desirable on account of the 

 greater ease with which it is worked, and it resists drought 

 nearly as well as a clayey loam if proper precautions are used 

 in its management. 



