TtlE aAj?DE.V. 101 



pleasure grotmds and hardy plant borders, where a strong clump of the 

 common asparagus vrould be a great ornament, as well as of use. I shall 

 plant a hundred or more g<XKi clumps of asparagus in our borders here, 

 partly for its tender shoots in spring, partly for its spray for cutting during 

 the bummer and autumn months, but mainly for its feathery grace as a 

 beautiful, hardy plant. In many a villa garden, even where good asparagus 

 may never be seen raised in the ordinary way, a capital supply could be ob- 

 tained by simply dotting a few plants here and there in borders, and on tlie 

 margins of shrubberies, not only as single specimens, but as groups and 

 masses — never, however, nearer to each other than four feet." 



Tr&iniug Toiuatoei. — A housewife, who vouches for the success of her 

 plan, makes these suggestions for tomato training: " When the plants are 

 ready for the garden, make a considerable hill of good compost. Chip ma- 

 nure is excellent, and a quantity of chicken manure is good. After the hill 

 is made, drive a long stake through it. This may be six feet high. Set the 

 plant near it. The training will require attention. The plant will immedi- 

 ately begin to sucker, or throw outside shoots, just above each leaf. These 

 must be cut off, and then the plant will run up vigorously. Tie it to the 

 stake, and do not be afraid to use the knife. Keep on cutting each stem 

 that appears in the axil of a leaf, and keep on tying. The first bearing 

 branches come directly from the body of the plant. Remember that this 

 trimming must be continued as long as the plant bears. Thus trained, the 

 fimit is superior in size, quantity, and flavor, besides being less liable to rot 

 or drop off." 



Bending Do>rn Onions. — Many old truck farmers have caused snrprise 

 to lookers-on at their work, to see them bending over their onion tops. The 

 time to do this is when some begin to show signs of flowering. The method 

 is tlms explained: " This operation may be done by the hand, but time is 

 saved by two persons each holding one of the ends of a pole in such a man- 

 ner as to strike the stems an inch or two above the bulbs. This is called 

 Maying over,' and is of great benefit to all crops of onions, as the growth of 

 the stems is thereby much checked, and the whole nourishment throws 

 into the bulbs. It is an old practice in family gardens, and has never £uled 

 to give satisfactory results." 



Early Cucnml>«r8 and 3I«lons. — For early melons or cucumbers many 

 plant the seeds on inverted sods cut about four inches square. The soda 

 are placed in a frame of any kind, and covered to the depth of half an inch 

 with mellow, rich earth. The plants root firmly in these sods the same as 

 they would in small flower pots, and may safely be transplanted as soon as 

 the weather becomes settled and warm. For melons this is an excellent 

 plan, since our seasons are scarcely long enough to ripen them before the 

 cool nights of autumn, when the seeds are planted in the ground in the 

 usual way. 



Benefits of Hoeing. — Any one passing along where there are gardens 

 can nearly always find evidences of the benefits of a constant stirring of the 

 soil. The man who cultivates continually has always a better crop than has 

 the one who is satisfied with a hard surface. The benefits from a loose soil 

 are, in fact, so great as what many a load of manure gives. Those who have 

 flower-beds know how much better plants grow when the ground is stirred. 

 In the growing season all the rain that falls is needed by the crops, and & 

 loose soil keeps the rain which the hard ground allows to run ofiC 



