108 TLAIN AND PLEASANT TALK 



" Why, I heard so much about your garden whew ! what 

 regiments of weeds you keep. I say, neighbor, do you boil 

 that parsley for greens ?" It nettled us, and we sweat at the 

 hoe and spade all the harder, but in vain ; for we had laid 

 out more than could be well done. Nobody asked how 

 much we had done they looked only at what we had not 

 done. To be sure so many sorts were planted only to test 

 their qualities ; but the laying out of so large a work in 

 spring is not wise. A HALF well done is better than a WHOLE 

 half done. Remember there is a July as well as an April ; 

 and lay out in April as you can hold out in July and Au- 

 gust. We have profited by our own mistakes and have no 

 objections that others should do it. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN. Before you meddle with the garden, 

 do two things: first inspect your seeds, assort them, reject- 

 ing the shrunk, the mildewed, the sprouted, and, generally, 

 the discolored. Buy early, such as you need to purchase. 

 Do not wait till the minute of planting before you get your 

 seeds. Second, make up your mind beforehand just what 

 you mean to do in your garden for the season. 



Preparation. Haul your manure and stack it in a 

 corner ; do not spread it till the day that you are ready to 

 turn it under ; cut your pea-brush and put it under shelter ; 

 inspect your bean-poles and procure such as are necessary to 

 replace the rotten or broken ones ; inspect every panel 

 of the garden fence ; one rail lost, may ruin, in a night, two 

 months' labor, and more temper and grace than you can 

 afford to spare in a whole year. Clean up all the stubble, 

 haulm, straw, leaves, refuse brush, sticks and rubbish of 

 every sort, and cast it out, or burn it and distribute the 

 ashes. If you intend to do your work in the best manner, 

 see that you have the sorts of manure that you may need 

 through the season : ashes, fine old barn-yard manure, 

 green long manure, leaf-mold from the wood, top-soil 

 from pastures, etc., etc. Every florist understands the use 

 of these. 



