8 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



slope perhaps only one crop could be raised. Then again, such 

 crops as melons and tomatoes that require a long season and 

 a warm location to mature could do so on a southern slope, 

 while on a northern slope they might not ripen. 



Location and Soil for Early Crops. — When the object in 

 vegetable gardening is to grow very early crops, it is important 

 to have quick-acting land. Such a soil contains a large amount 

 of sand in its composition. Soils of this class warm up very 

 quickly, and decomposition goes on very rapidly in them. They 

 also give the quickest returns from manures. If such land has 

 a southern slope, and, in addition, is protected from the north 

 and west winds, the situation will be an ideal one for the early 

 vegetable garden and for tropical plants, such as tomatoes, 

 beans, corn, etc. However, land and locations of this character 

 suffer most from drought, therefore every precaution should be 

 taken to protect them from it. S4ndy soils are especially adapted 

 to irrigation, and sometimes what were barren sands become 

 very fertile when irrigated. 



Location and Soil for Late Crops. — When the intention is 

 to raise cabbages, potatoes, turnips, beets, etc., for marketing 

 in the autumn and for crops that require but a short time to 

 mature or that prefer a cool location, a good clayey loam is 

 generally the best, and if it has a northern exposure so much 

 the better. If obliged to use a stiff clay soil, it will be found 

 to give best results if subsoiled and drained. Such land should 

 be fall-plowed and left in ridges. It will also be improved if 

 coarse manure is worked into it, since this has a tendency to 

 make the land open and more easily worked. A retentive 

 clayey loam will be more difficult to work than a sandy soil, 

 but will generally withstand drought much better, although a 

 somewhat sandy loam with a retentive, porous clay sub-soil 

 is often considered more desirable on account of the greatei 

 ease with which it is worked, and it resists drought nearly as 

 well as a clayey loam if proper precautions are used in its 

 management. 



IRRIGATION. 



Irrigation is generally considered unnecessary in this sec- 

 tion, since we raise fair and even abundant crops nearly every 

 year without its aid, but in almost any season there are periods 



