MAY: THIRD WEEK 133 



being pulled out by the roots; and strips and spots of soil 

 where there are no weeds at all are left undisturbed. 



A row gone over in this way will appear thoroughly done; 

 but every weed broken off instead of being carefully pulled 

 out by the roots will come back stronger than ever, and the 

 spots where no weeds were visible are likely to be green with 

 them within a week. It always saves time and work in the 

 end to break up every square inch of crust and to destroy 

 every weed the first time over. A small hand weeder helps 

 considerably in this work — the kind with a strap to slip 

 over one finger, so that the thumb and forefinger can be 

 used without dropping the weeder, is a most convenient 

 time-saver. 



"Thin Out" Early for Best Results 



After you have the best of the weeds, the next thing is to 

 thin out properly. A plant out of place is a weed, and every 

 extra onion, carrot, parsnip, stalk of corn or cucumber is a 

 thief of plant food and room and should be pulled up before 

 it gets big enough to do damage. Beans should be thinned 

 to three or four inches apart; beets to three inches apart; 

 carrots, two to three inches; corn, three or four stalks in a 

 hill, or eight to twelve inches apart in the drill; cucumbers, 

 two or three plants in the hill; kohl-rabi, three to four inches 

 apart; lettuce, six to twelve inches — by thinning out first to 

 six inches and then using every other plant; onions, two to 

 four inches, but do not thin out until the maggots have got 

 through with them; parsnips, three to four inches while stiU 

 small; peas, four to six inches — where the seeds have come 

 up strongly these are often left much too thick; radishes, 

 half an inch to an inch for the spring sorts, and two to four 

 inches for the summer and winter kinds; muskmelons, two 

 or three vines to a hill as soon as well started; squashes and 

 pumpkins, two or three vines to a hill; spinach, two to 

 four inches except New Zealand, which requires much more 

 room; Swiss chard, six to ten inches; turnips, three to four 

 inches, thinning very early, especially when the seeds have 

 come up thickly. 



