FARM GARDEN 



FARM GARDEN 



275 



one. (Figs. 381 and 382). On the farm there are 

 advantages in having the three divisions in one lot, 

 and that not far from the house. The daily supplies 

 may be gathered easily, and it will be more con- 

 stantly under the eye and will be less liable to 

 neglect. However, it may be best to have each 

 separated a little from the others, when land is 

 abundant. The work can then be performed more 

 easily than when all are mixed together. 



Location of the garden. 



The vegetable-garden may be a part of any 

 field crop, such as corn or potatoes, the vegetables 

 being planted at the ends of the field rows so that 

 both crops may be cultivated at once. 



The best soil for the apple, pear and plum trees 

 is a rich, deep, moist loam, on an elevation sloping 

 to the southwest, west or northwest, to insure 

 good circulation of air and thus some freedom 

 from blights and rots. The peach and the cherry 

 do best in a thinner soil, if possible on a north- 

 west or western slope.. The cherry, especially 

 the sweet varieties, will grow on the lawn or by 

 the roadside without cultivation, so long as the 

 soil is good. The peach is generally given thor- 

 ough cultivation, but may be made to grow in turf 

 if an abundance of plant-food is supplied, and the 

 grass is cut frequently under them, or a mulch 

 is spread as far as the branches extend. The trees 

 must be made to grow vigorously, whether in 

 the garden or on the lawn. [See the- article on 

 Fruit-growing.'] 



Small-fruits generally succeed well on any deep, 

 loamy soil containing an abundance of organic 

 matter from decaying turf, stable manure or 

 green crops turned under. 



Making the garden. 



If the land for the . garden is clear and we 

 are starting a new one, the first effort is to 

 put the soil in good condition by plowing under 

 a liberal quantity of stable manure, or by growing 

 a cover-crop to be plowed under the season before 

 the garden is to be made. For this purpose, 

 peas and oats Tnay be sown in the spring, and 

 when the latter are in bloom the crop is turned 

 under and harrowed thoroughly a few times until 

 about August 1. Then peas and barley are sown. 

 This crop is left on the land until the follow- 

 ing spring to protect it from washing, and is 

 plowed under whenever the land is needed, from 

 April to June. 



For vegetables, a dressing of five to ten cords 

 per acre of fine, rich stable manure should then be 

 worked into the soil with a disk- or spring-tooth 

 harrow. If stable manure is not available, any 

 good commercial garden fertilizer may be used, at 

 the rate of one-half to one ton per acre, or 50 to 

 120 pounds per square rod. This may seem to be a 

 large quantity of fertilizing material to apply, but 

 garden vegetables must make a quick growth to' 

 be succulent. Market-gardeners frequently use 

 fifteen to twenty cords, or more, of stable manure 

 per acre, and commercial fertilizer in addition, 

 and make greater profits than if less were used. 



The large orchard fruits. 



Given a well-fitted soil, good trees are the first 

 essentials for success. They should be secured 

 from a reliable nursery as near home as possible. 

 Strong No. 1, two-year-old trees of apples, pears, 

 cherries and European plums should be chosen 

 having a clean, straight trunk and a growth of 

 three to six clean branches, one to two feet long, 

 starting at three to four feet from the ground. 

 No. 1 one-year-old peach, Japanese plums, and 

 some varieties of cherries, are better than older 

 trees. Many orchardists prefer a small No. 1, or a 

 No. 2 peach tree, as a low head can be formed 

 more certainly from it than from larger trees. 



Preparing the trees for planting. — As the roots 

 of trees dug from the nursery are largely de- 

 stroyed in digging, it is always best to remove a 

 large part of the top at planting. Gut the lateral 

 shoots back to a few inches in length, cutting out 

 entirely any shoots not .needed to form a, good 

 head. In the formation of the head we leave only 

 three or four main branches. Each of these is 

 branched when a foot or more in length. The pur- 

 pose is to have three or four main lateral branches 

 and one central leader. 



The modern orchard tree is grown with a low head, 

 the main branches starting about three or four feet 

 from the, ground ; but in a mixed garden, where 

 we cultivate other crops among and under the 

 trees, they must be trained higher in order that 

 the horse may go under them with the plow and 

 cultivator. 



Planting. — If the land has been fitted by deep 

 plowing, the hole for the tree need be only as 

 large as the spread of the roots ; if not, then a 

 hole considerably larger must be dug, making the 

 soil fine and mellow a foot or more deep. Fine, 

 rich soil must be worked firmly about the roots 

 until the hole is nearly full and the roots well 

 covered, when the remainder of the soil is spread 

 on loosely to serve as a mulch. Coarse green sta- 

 ble manure should not be placed in contact with 

 the roots, but it is very valuable on the surface 

 about the tree, or over the roots when the hole 

 is about half-filled. 



After-pruning and care. — If young trees ^re 

 properly pruned when set out, they will require 

 but little pruning until they begin to bear, except 

 to check the growth of shoots coming out on the 

 trunk or along the main branches that are not 

 desired to make a well-formed head. Here and 

 there should be cut out branches that cross others 

 or tend to smother their foliage by drooping down 

 on them. The tree should be kept shapely. In 

 pruning old fruit trees, the aim should be to pre- 

 vent crossing and crowding of the branches and to 

 thin out the old wood, so that the number of fruits 

 is reduced, and young and vigorous wood will take 

 its place. The ends and the highest branches should 

 ■ be cut back so that the lower branches will be 

 renewed and sunlight and air admitted. 



Pear, peach and plum trees are pruned in prac- 

 tically the same way as the apple, except that 

 they all need more heading in to force the growth 

 into the lower and lateral branches. 



