156 APPENDIX. 



judgment, a vari3ty of things may be m-ide to follow 

 each other in this way, so that no spot of ground need 

 necessarily remain unoccupied for a single day during 

 the whole season. 



The ground must be kept free from weeds, and well 

 worked at all times. When the weather is dry, use the 

 hoe more frequently than usual, (a narrow, low-pronged 

 rake is best), which will enable the ground to absorb 

 moisture from the atmosphere, of which it always con 

 tains some, even in the dryest weather. Frequent 

 stirring of the soil is important in another respect, in 

 keeping it open and porous, and enabling it to take 

 up the gases of the atmosphere, which constitute no 

 inconsiderable portion of the food of plants. It will 

 also give an earlier and better crop. Discard the prac- 

 tice of earthing your plants, except for the purpose of 

 blanching. Hilling should not be tolerated, except in 

 soils naturally retentive of moisture ; the true remedy 

 for which consists in underdraining, and not in hilling. 



The preceding remarks are mostly -of a general 

 nature, but a few words may be said here of the time 

 and labor necessary to cultivate and keep in order a 

 garden like that here described. A person familiar 

 with the operations to be performed, and expert in the 

 use of implements, can generally perform the necessary 

 labor (unless he is dronish) without detriment to his 

 daily business ; on the contrary, he will find himself 



