CHAPTER XXVII. 

 THE VEGETABLE AND SMALL-FRUIT GARDEN. 



382. Its Location, Shape, and Shelter. The site chosen 

 for the house and its surroundings largely determines the 

 position of the vegetable and small-fruit garden. In 

 Fig. 83 the garden is north of the house, but this may vary 

 with the frontage to the road and the character of the land 

 and its slope. The garden soil should not be stiff clay, 

 nor with too great a per cent of sand. But where possible 

 soil that will work well should be selected, with porous 

 subsoil that will permit the ascent of moisture from below 

 (96). But if Nature has not provided the desired soil 

 conditions it may often be improved by tiling and manur- 

 ing. When possible, the slope should be to the south or 

 southeast. On even a slight southerly slope, with shelter 

 at the north, the soil can be worked earlier in the spring > 

 and the growth will be more rapid than on even a very 

 slight northern inclination. If the soil is a trifle sandy, is 

 well manured, and has the needed slope and shelter on the 

 north, the conditions will favor early crops of vegetables, 

 including such subtropical ones as tomatoes, egg-plant, 

 beans, corn, and melons. If in addition an irrigating 

 reservoir (401) is made on the north side to provide water 

 in time of need, the late crops will be favored, and some- 

 times, in the humid States, the early ones. A retentive 

 clay loam will not prove so easy to work as the sandy loam, 



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