156 GARDEN GUIDE 



The cultivation work required on any crop will depend largely on 

 whether or not you get the first hoeing and weeding done just as soon 

 as it is possible to do it, or let it go for a few days or a week later. 

 Within a week or ten days the soil between the rows will have begun to 

 form a crust again, and new crop of weed seedlings may have sprouted. 

 This means another hoeing promptly. We do not think that it is any 

 exaggeration to say that eighty per cent of the work in taking care of 

 gardens is due to the fact that these hoeings and hand weedings are 

 allowed to go for several days after they should have been attended to. 

 The tedious task of hand weeding may be lessened considerably by 

 using one of the small hand weeders. 



Cultivation should be kept up frequently enough to maintain a 

 dust mulch at all times. Cultivation with a wheel hoe should be kept 

 up as long as it is possible to get between the rows. Then you should 

 substitute for it a double or slide hoe. The types with runners or wheel 

 to guide the blade and hold it even do much better and easier work. 

 By all means, provide yourself with one. 



INSECTS AND DISEASES. There are a number of insects which 

 are almost certain to put in appearance every season. One important 

 thing hi combating insects and diseases is to be prepared to ward off 

 attack. In cases where preventive measures are not possible, be pre- 

 pared to act immediately if trouble appears. Owing to the large 

 number of remedies, cures and poisons which the gardener sees 

 advertised or hears about, he is likely to get the idea that the question 

 of plant pests is such a complicated one that no simple and systematic 

 measures are possible. As a matter of fact, warfare with plant troubles, 

 while it is always serious enough, is by no means as complicated as at 

 first appears. The first step to take and the most important thing 

 to know is what kind of enemy you are fighting in any particular 

 case. While their number is legion, they can be classified into three or 

 four groups as spoken of in Chapter XVII, against each of which the 

 same weapons are effective. 



HARVESTING AND STORING. There are thousands of amateur 

 gardeners who leave enough fruit and vegetables on or in the ground 

 at the end of the season, to make all the difference between profit and 

 loss on their season's operations. Learn to utilize everything you grow. 

 Every head of Cabbage that splits, every ear of Corn, or handful of 

 Beans that gets too old to use, every root that is left to freeze in the 

 ground, is just so much waste. While many things can be successfully 

 stored through the Whiter, or a large part of it, others must be canned. 

 The usual mistake is to try to do all the canning in a rush at the end 

 of the season. The prejudice against canned things is largely due to 

 the fact that they are not canned until they are already old and tough. 



