30 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



tivating in advance of the weeds. In case of such crops as car- 

 rotS; onions, beets and parsnips, which are quite delicate when 

 young, cultivation should begin with some hand garden culti- 

 vator, even if it is intended later on to cultivate it with a horse 

 implement and the crop is planted with this purpose in view. 

 Such close and careful work cannot be done with any horse im- 

 plement now in use as with the best hand implements. Careful 

 early cultivation is of the utmost importance, since if the weeds 

 are removed when they are young the work of weeding is small. 

 If allowed to remain until well rooted, their removal is often a 

 very serious matter, and frequently, if neglected at this early 

 stage, the weeds become so firmly established as to make it a 

 question whether to remove them or to plow under the whole 

 crop; and often it is the part of wisdom to adopt the latter 

 alternative. Aside from its effect in the prevention of weeds, 

 early cultivation is of the greatest value in breaking up the 

 crust that packs firmly around the tender growing stems of 

 plants and which seriously interferes with their growth. Like 

 all surface cultivation it is also an aid in the conservation of 

 moisture in the soil. 



Importance of Not Allowing Weeds to go to Seed. — A com- 

 mon source of weed infection is often found in the few weeds 

 that are allowed to go to seed toward the end of the growing 

 season in the maturing crop or after the crop has been gath- 

 ered. To some persons it often seems a small matter to allow a 

 few plants of pig-weed, purslane, tumble weed and weeds of other 

 kinds to go to seed in the garden, but absolute cleanliness should 

 be the rule in this particular, and it is by far the most economi- 

 cal in practice in the long run. It requires but little labor and 

 saves much useless expense if the weeds that are going to seed 

 are destroyed. If the preventives for weeds here suggested are 

 closely followed hand weeding will be reduced to a minimum 

 and will often be unnecessary with any crop. 



Weed Seeds in Manure for the Garden. — While the dis- 

 cussion of the subject of manures for the garden is not the 

 special object of this chapter, yet some reference to the subject 

 is quite necessary in considering the subject of weed eradica- 

 tion. The people of this section have not yet learned the great 

 value of barnyard manure and its proper preparation for best 



