ON REARING KITCHEN VEGETABLES. 



47 



a THE ART AND PRACTICE OF GARDEMNG. 



Gardening, as an art, ought to be practised so as to 

 accord with the principles of science, in supplying plants 

 with proper food, and affording them due exposure to 

 light and air, and sufficient shelter from cold and other 

 external injuries. 



In carrying into effect any of the principles of science, 

 some consideration is necessary, with regard to the 

 peculiar structure and habits of the different plants, 

 before submitting them to any particular kind of treat- 

 ment; and as the deepest acquaintance with science 

 would fail in this particular, it is obvious that science 

 alone can never teach an individual what particular 

 management is necessary for certain crops ; therefore, to 

 convey a more correct and accurate notion of this im- 

 portant part of the subject, the succeeding pages will 

 be devoted to practical directions for cultivating and 

 managing the various kinds of culinary vegetables, fruits, 

 and flowers. 



I.— ON REARmG KITCHEN VEGETABLES. 



As the food of plants can be reduced to a few simple 

 principles • in the same way the food of man, so far as it 

 is derived from the produce of the garden, is composed 

 chiefly of the various combinations of carbon, and the 

 three gases, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen ; in the forms 

 chiefly of starch, gluten, sugar, and fibre. 



The most nutritive of these is starch, or rather the 

 basis of starch, discovered by M. Biot, and termed 

 Dextrine; and the least nutritive is fibre. A good pro- 

 portion of that, however, which is less nutritive is useful ; 

 for food is far from being most wholesome when too 

 refined, otherwise an exclusive diet of dextrine, or of 

 essence of beef, would be the best ; but experience proves 

 the contrary. 



As we proceed, we shall mention the proportions of 

 starch, sugar, and fibre, in the common garden vegetables 

 used for food, so that some estimate may be formed of 



