A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



portion of it which is most Ukely to contain 

 worms and insects which have burrowed 

 away for the winter, and it is desirable to 

 make way with as many of these as possible. 

 Stirring the soil in spring will do them very 

 little harm, as the weather will be in their 

 favor. Fall stirring of the soil is also con- 

 ducive to a greater degree of mellowness than 

 is likely to result from one operation, and that 

 in spring, as the clods of earth that are thrown 

 up disintegrate under the influence of frost 

 and will be in a condition to pulverize easily 

 when spring comes. 



The average gardener doesn't seem to as- 

 sociate the growing of vegetables with an 

 idea of beauty, but he will find, if he looks 

 into the matter, that the vegetable-garden 

 can be made really ornamental. A row of 

 carrots with its feathery green foliage is 

 quite as attractive as many of our decora- 

 tive plants; and beets, with crimson foliage, 

 are really tropical in their rich coloring. 

 Parsley and lettuce make excellent and or- 

 namental edgings for beds containing other 

 vegetables. Tomatoes, trained to upright 

 trellises, are quite as sho^vy as many kinds 

 of flowers, when their fruit begins to ripen. 

 Peppers work in charmingly with the color- 



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