keeping them constantly moist, and preventing them from 

 suffering in a dry time, and so producing excellent crops 

 of vegetables. Sandy soils are well adapted for raising 

 early vegetables, but are not suited for many midsummer 

 crops. 



The more clayey a soil is, the longer it will retain water 

 and the longer it will be in becoming fit to work in the 

 spring ; hence such soils are not adapted for raising early 

 crops, but will produce late crops, such as celery and late 

 cabbage. There is, however, a great difference even in 

 heavy clay soils. In some the texture or grain is coarse, 

 and hi others it is very fine. The finer the particles of 

 which the clay is composed, the more tenacious of water it 

 will be, and the longer in drying or fitness for working, 

 and when dry it will be liable to bake or harden under the 

 sun's heat, and so involve great labor in cultivating it. 



The most suitable soil for gardening purposes is a deep, 

 sandy loam, with a somewhat gravelly subsoil. Such a 

 soil is generally equably moist, will hold moisture longer 

 without becoming hard when dry, and speedily gets into 

 working order. 



Air, heat and moisture at the roots, as well as at the 

 tops, are all necessary to plant-growth; hence, the easier a 

 soil can be pulverized to a considerable depth, the better 

 it is adapted for cultivation. This is of such great import- 

 ance, that when a choice can be had, always select for a 

 garden site one with a good friable subsoil, such as a 

 sandy or gravelly clay, through which the surface water 

 will freely percolate. In such cases even a poor surface 

 soil can be made to produce good crops, and a large ex- 

 penditure of money can be saved in the item of drainage. 

 Always avoid spongy or water-lodged land, especially if it 

 is clayey, as such land requires a large expenditure of 



