94 
do a good honest job at spading. The harrowing is no less 
important than the plowing. It must be not only thorough, 
but deep. An Acme or one of the disc harrows is the best 
to use for the first two or three times over the piece; this 
should be followed by a smoothing harrow, or one of the 
above set for ‘‘smoothing.”’ As the plow turns the furrow 
it will leave many lumps unbroken and many empty air 
spaces deep in the soil. Deep harrowing breaks up these 
lumps and fills in the holes below the surface. Getting the 
surface smooth by harrowing shallow, and raking, accom- 
plishes the double purpose of preparing a seed-bed and a 
soil mulch, about both of which more is said below. 
MANURES AND FERTILIZERS 
Where it is to be had, the gardener’s chief reliance should 
be placed on good old well-rotted stable manure. No satis- 
factory substitute has yet been found for it. When one 
orders manure, it should be obtained at a reliable place, and 
one should demand only that which is well rotted up, stable 
and barnyard mixed. The benefit of manure as fertilizer 
is due not alone to the plant food it contains, but also to 
the “humus”’ it furnishes the soil, thus keeping it open and 
porous and in condition to absorb and retain moisture. It 
should be spread broadcast on top of the soil, two or three 
inches thick, and plowed under. 
In buying “‘fertilizer,” the purchaser should keep in mind 
that it is the number of pounds of actual plant food—nitro- 
gen, available phosphoric acid, and actual potash—that de- 
termines the value of his purchase, and not the number of 
pounds of fertilizer. It will be cheaper to get a high-priced 
brand, such as is labelled “Market Garden” or “high-grade 
potato with ro per cent. potash,” than a cheap “low-grade”’ 
sort. The analysis should be as near ‘4-8-10” (that 1s, 
4 per cent. nitrogen, 8 per cent. available phosphoric acid, 
IO per cent. actual potash) as you can find it. Better still, 
a es and far cheaper, if you can 
purchase the following ma- 
terials, get— 
Nitrateiof Sod asec acces ceeiccciesie 100 Ibs. 
Muriate or sulphate of potash.... 200 “‘ 
Acid phosphate..-_._-..-......... 300 “ 
High-grade tankage.............. 400“ 
and mix your own fertilizer. 
These amounts will give 
you enough for one half to 
one acre of ground, accord- 
ing as they are used with or 
without manure. Fertil- 
izers should be spread on 
broadcast after plowing, 
and harrowed in. ‘There is 
no danger of your getting 
your garden soil too rich. 
The non-professional al- 
most invariably errs in the 
opposite direction. A well- 
enriched, well-prepared soil 
is the indispensable founda- 
tion of the successful garden. 
PLANNING THE GARDEN 
Our garden makers have 
in the past given altogether 
too little attention to plan- 
ning their work definitely 
ahead. It has, in fact, been 
the opinion of some that in 
so doing they would sacri- 
fice part of the pleasure and 
joy of garden making. I 
believe this to be a great 
mistake. Not only is the 
eficiency of the garden in- 
specimens of the common 
garden Leek 
Sturdy 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
March, 1912 © 
A head of crisp-leaved salad Lettuce 
creased by careful fore-planning, but there is a certain zest 
and pleasure in taking your measured plot of soil and trying 
to make it in yield and appearance come up to your ideal. 
This work, as well as mastering the details of cultivation, 
etc., constitute the technique of gardening. The musician’s 
constant practice and study do not mean that he takes less 
joy in music; your pleasure in gardening will not be lessened 
by the fact that you make yourself master of the mechanical 
and scientific details of the art. 
The ideal to which you would work up, however, may be 
one of many. Do you want a garden that will give you the 
most complete and bountiful supply of vegetables possible, 
or do you prefer to get the commoner sort from the green- 
grocer and spend your limited garden time in growing to 
perfection a few choice things, such as Asparagus, Strawber- 
ries, Lima Beans, Muskmelons or Seakale? Do you want 
a little “patch,” to dig around it just for the fun of the work 
and to see things grow, or do you count to get what you 
can for the table, and at the same time keep the garden an 
ornamental feature of the place? ‘These are the general 
questions which must be decided before you can go ahead 
with your plans. The suggestions for planting on page 97 
give possible solutions of some of these problems. They 
are meant merely as suggestions, however, and may be 
altered or changed to suit one’s personal taste or require- 
ments. There are, however, a number of general principles, 
based on good common sense, which one does well to keep 
in mind when planning the garden, especially the garden 
designed to furnish the greatest variety and quantity of 
vegetables possible from a limited area. As such a garden 
is likely to be the one most in demand, we will consider 
it first. 
In the first place, we must take into consideration the 
fact that a number of the crops grown will occupy the 
ground only part of the season; in other words, they will 
mature and be cleared up in time for the ground to be used 
for something else. Radishes, Lettuce, early Beets, early 
Cabbage, are examples of this class. These and the late 
vegetables used to follow them, such as Celery, late Cab- 
bage, late Beets, are called succession crops. The garden 
should be so planned with these second plantings mixed. 
Then there are certain crops which, if planted at the 
same time, will mature at different seasons. Often they can 
be planted on the same plot, usually in alternate or skipped 
rows, and the early crop is out of the way by the time the 
second one needs all the space. This is called ““Companion 
Cropping.” Lettuce between early Cabbage, Radishes be- 
tween Carrots, Celery between Onions, are examples of this 
system. Then, too, some of the taller-growing things, such 
as Corn and Peas, should not be placed immediately south 
of low-growing things, especially such as require all the sun- 
