The Fak.m G-ardek J 297 



speaking, is not a turnip. The seed can be sown in the hotbed, 

 or, as soon as the ground is tit, in the open, in rows 14 inches apart 

 and about 4 inches distant in the row. Transplant about the same 

 time as early cabbage. They should be gathered before they are 

 full size. 



The common strap-leaf purple turnip can be sown between the 

 vows at the last cultivation of corn or potatoes, and in a wet season 

 will make a good crop either in the garden or field. They can bo 

 sown the last of July after the early peas have been gathered. 



Rutabagas in A T ew York State should be sown in late May or 

 early June, in drills 18 inches apart in the garden and in the field 

 far enough apart to work with a horse. After they are estab- 

 lished they should be thinned to 8 or 10 inches in the row. 

 Rutabagas grow best when the nights are cool. 



1 have left asparagus until last, not because I consider it of less 

 importance, but because I want to take it up a little more fully. 

 There is nothing 1 can think of as being a greater acquisition to 

 the average garden than a good asparagus bed, and it takes but a 

 comparatively small one to furnish an ample supply for the 

 average family. One hundred plants set 18 inches apart in the 

 row- — and if more than one row, 4 feet apart- — should be ample. 

 The Palmetto is an excellent variety. If the bed is to be plowed 

 over plants should be set 12 inches deep. 



Again we must have plant food under the plants for best suc- 

 cess. A trench eighteen or tw r enty inches wide with two or three 

 inches of well-rotted manure well trodden down, and three inches 

 of good soil on that, is ideal. Cover plants only two or three 

 inches at time of setting and work earth in during the summer, 

 having all level by fall. After that cut tops when killed by frost 

 and burn, give light dressing of manure to work in in spring 

 and keep free from weeds. The second year some may be cut 

 and the third year a full crop. The bed will remain for many 

 years. This is satisfactory garden treatment. 



VALUABLE TOOLS 



Where there are not too many stones, a plank drag is excel- 

 lent, and, alternated with a spike-tooth harrow, will do away with 

 much raking. When the ground is comparatively free from 

 stone, the combined wheel hoe and seeder is a great labor saver. 

 Where this is not practical the implement made by putting five 

 small cultivator teeth on a handle like a hoe, and that are adjust- 

 able, is almost indispensable. By drawing it either each side 

 or between the rows, much work can be done. 



