THE VE6ETABLE GARDEN. 



F practicable, the Garden should have a warm and southeasterly exposure. But when the ground slopes 

 to the north and west it is important to have it located on the sunny side of an orchard or buildings. 

 The most desirable situation possible should be set apart for the kitchen garden, as the exposure has 

 much to do with the early maturity of the crops. The soil must be in a friable state to secure the 

 prompt vegetation of the seeds and the proper growth of the plants. Soils are susceptible of alteration 

 and improvement in texture; heavy clays can be rendered open and porous, and light sandy soils may 

 be consolidated and rendered more retentive of moisture. 



To secure a fair return in seasonable crops, for the labor and outlay invested, it is essential that the 

 soil of the Vegetable Garden should be well drained, thoroughly trenched, and enriched by a judicious application of manure. 



ROTATION OK CROPS. 



A rotation of crops is as essential in vegetable gardening as in farming, as different plants appropriate different ingredients 

 from the soil. Care should be taken that deep-rooted plants, such as Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, etc., are not planted successive 

 seasons on the same soil, but should be followed by those plants whose roots extend but little below the surface, such as Onions, 

 Lettuce, Cabbage, Spinach, etc. ; plants of the Brassica, or Cabbage tribe, are apt to become diseased at the roots (club-roooted, 

 as it is termed), if too frequently planted in the same ground. 



HOT BBDS AND COLD FRAMES. 



HOT-BEDS. — There are several aids to the economical management of the garden, which are almost indispensable; 

 one of these is the hot-bed for growing early plants or vegetables. A frame, such as is shown in the illustration, may be made of 

 various sizes, according to the size of garden, from two sashes upwards. The sashes are generally made 6 feet long by 3 feet 

 •wide, but we consider 4 feet preferable. Use 8 by 10 glass. The 

 entire frame of four sashes is 16 feet 5 inches by 6 feet — allowing 

 1 inch separation on the bearers. The glass should be imbedded 

 in the putty and secured with points, and well painted every year 

 to keep in repair. After the season for use is past, store them away 

 from the weather or keep in a pile with a board covering. Care in 

 these respects will save considerable annual expense. The hot-bed 

 should have a southern or southeastern exposure, and should be 



made with fresh horse manure, which must be laid in a heap preparatoiy to being used ; when in a proper state of fermentation, 

 place the frame on the heap. Six inches of rich loamy soil must be spread over the manure, then cover the frame with the sashes, 

 and after standing a few days to allow the rank heat and steam to pass off, the seed can be sown. The heap should be made two 

 feet longer and wider than the frame. Where the ground is well drained, a better plan is to dig out a space the size of the frame 

 firom 1 to 2 feet deep, according to the s;ason and the heat required, in which the manure is placed, care being taken to pack it 

 firmly and evenly. 



In addition to the hot-bed frame, mats or shutters will be required to cover the sash during cold days and nights. 



COLD FRA3IES. — The cold frame for wintering Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Plants, etc., should l^e constructed of 

 l-inch boards 1 foot high at the back and 9 inches high in front ; short posts, set four feet apart, will keep the frame in position. 

 For ordinary gardens a frame 12 to 16 feet long and 6 feet wide will answer all requirements. The shutters should be 6 feet 4 

 inches long by 3 feet wide, made of common rough boards. The soil should be enriched by old and well-decayed manure ; the 

 object being to preserve and not to grow the plants during the winter. Give plenty of air every mild day, but do not expose the 

 plants to the sun when the ground or plants are frozen, as it will destroy them. 



Very many who read this article on hot beds and cold frames do not require the expense for a few vegetable and flower plants. 

 To such there is an excellent substitute on hand in most dwellings, in the kitchen or basement windows, facing south or east, 

 inside of which is a temperature usually not far from that required for the vegetation of seeds, and where seeds of early vege- 

 tables, or tender plants for the flower border, may be raised nearly as well, and with far less attention, than in a hot-bed. 



THOROUGH SEED TESTS. 



For the protection of the planter and the benefit of the seller careful seed tests are made before the selling season at our extensive 

 greenhouse establishment at Riverton, where each variety is subjected to the most critical test, which places us in a position to 

 determine the germinating power. 



The trial grounds at our Rosemont Experimental Farm are devoted to the growing of all new and old varieties, and furnish 

 opportunity for comparison of their relative merits, and we are thus enabled to quickly ascertain, for our customer's interest, which 

 sorts to recommend or discard. 

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