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THE ILLIIOIS FAEMER: 



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Gardening. 



The importance of a good garden to the 

 farmer,can hardly be overrated. It furnish- 

 es his table with much desirable and healthy 

 food. A day's labor in the garden will pay 

 him better than a day devoted to any other 

 work. 



The garden, too, is important for the me- 

 chanic, the laborer or professional man. But 

 few persons are so much employed that they 

 cannot spend half an hour each day for the 

 garden. Women and children promote their 

 own health by occasionally doing light work 

 in the garden. We need not dwell upon 

 these facts ; for they are too well known to 

 be questioned. 



Most of our soils in the West make good 

 gardens. If there is too much clay in the 

 soil it can be improved by well rotted ma- 

 nure. The soil should be rich, deep and 

 dry. That which does not bake is best. If 

 the garden has a southern aspect, you will 

 obtain vegetables early — an object very 

 desirable. A flat garden, take the season 

 through, produces better than one on an 

 inclined plane. 



Having selected your ground for a garden 

 have it well protected by fence from hogs, 

 cattle, and even fowls. If in the country, 

 many vegetables can be so grown that they 

 can be cultivated by the horse and plough. 

 Of these varieties are beets, parsnips, car- 

 rots, corn, potatoes, cabbages, beans, onions, 

 turnips, radishes, lettuce, spinach, and many 

 other smaller plants and vegetables, should 

 be cultivated in beds. But most persons 

 can judge in this case. Other articles, such 

 as cucumbers, squashes and melons, must be 

 cultivated in hills, and these planted at a 

 good distance from each other. One fact 



must always 



be borne in mind ; to have 



vegetables in perfection, they must have 

 room to grow, and have the benefit of sun 

 and air. Without this is done, good veget- 

 ables cannot be grown. » ' '»J ' ' 



The planting of garden seeds depends 

 somewhat on the state of the season. For 

 many seeds the blossoming of the apple in- 

 dicates the proper time ; but even then the 

 young crop is often cut ofi by frosts and re- 

 planting is required. Dry weather is best 

 for sowing, because the earth can be proper- 

 ly worked. Small light seeds require but 

 little covering; while peas and beans will 

 bear a heavy coat of earth. To be successful 

 with the bean, it is not usually safe to plant 

 them in this latitude before the 6th of 

 May. 



We here append a list of some of the lead- 

 ing vegetables. . ! 



Aktichoke. — This is grown for the flow- 

 ers. It produces them the second year.— 

 They are cooked as asparagus or eaten as 

 sallad, and are ev luxury. The seed should 

 be sown in the spring and the plants trans- 

 planted where they are to stand in the fall. 



Asparagus. — This should be sown in the 

 spring and transplanted the next spring, on 

 light ground, made very rich, ten inches 

 apart. 



Beans — bunch. — The early Mohawk is 

 the hardiest, its seed large, kidney shaped, 

 brown and purpled marbled. Early China, 

 excellent variety, both for snaps and shelled 

 beans, green or dry. Early Yellow six 

 weeks — quite early, and a good bearer. — 

 Early Cluster — a small early variety. Early 

 Valentine — very early, excellent for soups, 

 remains a long time brittle and tender. 

 Thousand-to-One —a great bearer, has round 



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