10 LAYING OUT. 



The best exposure is one sloping to the south or south- 

 east ; next, one to the south-west. The exposures to the 

 northerly points of the compass are proportionally bad as 

 they approach the north point, which is almost useless for 

 general gardening purposes. 



The kitchen garden should be as near the dwelling as 

 possible, when not inconsistent with the laying out of the 

 grounds, should they be of any extent; and even then 

 provision can often be made for its proximity to the house 

 by masking it with ordinary trees and shrubs. Proximity to 

 the house is desirable for convenience' sake, for preventing 

 depredations, and for affording an oversight of the work- 

 men, when a regular gardener is not kept. It is also well to 

 have it as near to the stables as possible, provided poultry 

 are not kept there, unless in enclosed runs, as they are 

 a great annoyance and source of damage to a garden. 

 Where they can be had, a pond, a stream of water, or a 

 well are desirable accessories to a kitchen garden, as they 

 frequently save a large amount of labor in carrying water 

 from a distance. 



LAYING OUT. 



The simplest and best form for a kitchen garden, is a 

 parallelogram, with a wide walk through the centre. In 

 large gardens this should be seven or eight feet wide, to 

 admit the passage of a cart or wagon. In smaller gar- 

 dens it should be at least five feet wide, in order to 

 allow of the free passage of a wheelbarrow. Eight and 

 left from this centre walk the beds for the different sorts 

 of vegetables may be laid out. A border from four to 

 six feet wide should be laid out next to the boundaries, for 

 the growing of the smaller vegetables borders facing to 



