28 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



command, in the vicinity of the dwelling, should bo 

 chosen. Proximity to water is also highly important, 

 especially if it can be readily employed for irrigation. 

 Low situations are more liable to late and early frosts, 

 but their abundant moisture renders them desirable for 

 summer crops. A diversity of soils and exposures in the 

 same inclosure is desirable. 



Care should be taken that the productiveness of the 

 kitchen garden be not diminished by the proximity of 

 large trees, which are injurious by their drip to all plants 

 beneath them, and by their shade and extended roots to 

 those more remote. The small, fibrous roots of trees 

 extend far beyond their branches, and one is not safe 

 from these devourers much short of the length of the 

 stem which they nourish. If trees exist too valuable to 

 be removed, dig a deep trench near them, and cut off all 

 roots that extend into it. This will probably relieve the 

 adjacent crops from their injurious effects. 



AsrECT and Inclination. — A light exposure to the 

 south is generally to be recommended. Gardeners take 

 pride in having early crops, and this compensates in some 

 measure for their shorter duration in such an exposure. 

 A northeastern aspect is to be avoided, as our worst 

 storms are from that direction. A northwestern exposure, 

 though cold and late, is less liable to injury from late and 

 early frosts, as vegetation in such situations is sheltered 

 somewhat from the rising sun, and does not suffer so 

 much if it becomes slightly frozen. It is not the frost that 

 injures plants so much as the direct heat of the sun fall- 

 ing upon the frozen leaves and blossoms. Hence an 

 easterly aspect is generally objectionable for tender 

 plants. 



Cabbage, cauliflower, strawberries, spinach, lettuce, 

 and Other salads are much more easily brought to perfec- 

 tion in a northern aspect. Many of these run up to seed 



