June, 1912 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
It is worth all the trouble and attention one may give it to bring the vegetable garden to such a delectable state as this 
moving the weeds—is all-important for two reasons. It 
admits the air and moisture necessary to bring about those 
Muskmelons should not be set out 
too early 
changes in the soil which 
release and make available 
the locked-up plant food. 
lt further saves and con- 
serves the moisture, held by 
the soil, which must be pres- 
ent to enable the growing 
plants to assimilate the 
plant food after it has be- 
come available. To express 
the importance of these con- 
ditions more emphatically 
let us use a couple of illus- 
trations. Plant food in un- 
cultivated soil is like raw 
potatoes or frozen meat; 
the feeding plant roots can- 
not make use of it until its 
form is changed, any more 
than a hungry man could 
thrive on the frozen meat 
or raw vegetables. Plant 
food in dry soil remains 
useless to the plants be- 
cause they have no means 
of taking it up, any more 
than our hungry man could 
make use of the meat and 
potatoes even after they 
were cooked, if his hands 
were tied behind his back. 
It has been proved that 
plants take up through 
their roots and evaporate 
through their leaves about 
500 pounds of water for 
every pound of dry ma- 
terial added to their weight. 
Your own experience tells 
you how important moist- 
ure is to the growth of plants, and these figures verify it. 
‘What has this,” you ask, ‘“‘to do with your tedious ‘fre- 
quent cultivation?” Very 
much indeed. Both experi- 
ence and science prove con- 
clusively that on hot, bright 
days the water in the soil 
is drawn up to the surface 
and evaporated. Itis drawn 
up through minute tubes 
which form in the soil, just 
as it will soak up through 
a piece of blotting-paper if 
you hold one end in water. 
On the other hand if we 
keep the surface of the soil, 
for an inch or two deep, 
constantly stirred and dust- 
dry, we both prevent these 
moisturc-wasting tubes 
from forming and shade 
the soil below, just as if the 
whole garden were covered 
over with a mulch of leaves 
or pine needles—and you 
know how nice and moist 
you will find the soil under 
a heap of leaves or even a 
big stone!—when every- 
where else it is dust dry. So 
you can understand why I 
repeat in capitals, FRE- 
QUENT CULTIVATION IS 
THE MOST IMPORTANT TASK 
IN THE SUMMER GARDEN. 
Having realized the im- 
portance of keeping up the 
dust-mulch, the next ques- 
tion is how to do it in the 
quickest way. And the an- 
swer is, use a wheel-hoe. 
There are many makes and 
Every garden should have its melon 
patch 
