VEGETABLE GARDENING, 



CHAPTER I. 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 



Location and Soil. — The land for vegetable gardening 

 should be free from stones and stumps, and easily culti- 

 vated. Wet land should be avoided unless it can be 

 drained at a reasonable outlay: if it cannot be drained it 

 is of little worth, as scarcely anything- of value can be 

 raised on it. All land for vegetable gardening should be 

 well drained, naturally or ai-tificially, since crops on well 

 drained land suffer less from excess of water as well as 

 from drought. Drained land also gives best and most uni- 

 form returns from the manure applied to it. When drain- 

 age is lacking in the land, the raising of plants on it is so 

 very much a matter of chance that in the long run it will 

 generally prove unprofitable. Much of the land in culti- 

 vation is sufficiently drained naturally, while some land that 

 needs no drainage when used for grass or grain would 

 be greatly improved by being under-drained when it is to be 

 used for some garden crops. Land which has a gently roll- 

 ing or undulating surface and a southern exposure is the most 

 desirable for general gardening operations, as it is easily 

 worked and allows the most perfect control of the water that 

 falls upon it. When irrigation is to be practiced, such sloping 

 surface aids very much in the distribution of the water. For 

 a few crops, such as celery, cabbage, etc., the slope makes 

 very little difference, as flat and even very moist (not wet) 

 land is best. There is a very great difference in the value 

 of northern and southern slopes for various crops. This 

 difference will frequently amount to one crop a year where 



