DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



FORM. — The form %vilJ often depend upon ithe situation of the garden or the inclination of the ground; 

 however, it is of no great importance, and may be arranged to suit the peculiar taste of the proprietor. When it is 

 a matter of choice, a square or parallelogram is most convenient for laying out the walks and bees. A parallelogram 

 extending from east to west gives a long south wall for shading plants in summer, and a long, sheltered border for 

 forwarding early crops. In plantation gardening, an oblong square shape has the advantage of giving longer rows 

 for the plow. 



UNDERDRAINING. — There are but few gardens that would not be materially' benefitted by being 

 thoroughly underdrained. The ground could be worked earlier m the spring, the plants would resist drought bet- 

 ter, would not be injured so much bj- a wet season, and, as a rule, be vastly more productive. We have over fifty 

 miles of tile laid on our seed farms near Detroit, and think thorough underdraining one of the best investments a 

 gardener or farmer can make. We use brick tile two or three inches in diameter, laid three feet deep, from one to 

 two rods apart, and so inclined as to cany oflf the surface water from the subsoil. 



MANURES. — Regarding as a manure ever>' substance which, when added to the soil, promotes directly or indi- 

 rectly the growth of plants, a list of manures would be a long one and of little use to the amateur gardener unless 

 accompanied b}- minute directions for the successful application of each substance. We have been more successful 

 in the use of a compost of stable manure, earth, ashes, soot, charcoal dust, lime, salt, plaster, etc. than with any- 

 thing else. A thick coating of hog-pen or barn-j-ard manure thus composted spread on the garden and turned in 

 everj- spring will enrich, warm and lighten the ground better than any other application. If barn-yard manures 

 must be employed in a fresh state they should be well mixed with the soil and given to coarse feeding crops, such 

 as com and peas, but nearly all plants do better if the manure is composted and fully fermented before use. 



^\Tiere animal manure cannot be had in quantity, the most desirable substitute is a concentrated fertilizer 

 manufactured of pure ground bone. Such a fertilizer, rich in phosphate of lime, can be used in connection with 

 stable manure to good advantage. 



In general, all attempts to grow vegetables will be in vain without fertilizers of some description to enrich the 

 soil. They should be applied broadcast in preference to " manuring in the hills," and the {quantity used should 

 depend directly upon the quantity of produce annually taken from the land. 



ROTATION OF CROPS ought to be considered in planting a garden, as well as in farming. If the same 

 kind of plants is continued upon the same soil only a portion of the properties ot the manure applied is used, while 

 by a judicious rotation, everj-thing in the soil or manure suitable for vegetable food is taken up and appropriated 

 by the crop. Some crops are so favorable to the weeds that if continued long lipon the same ground the labor of 

 cultivating them is much increased, while if raised but once in a place and followed by a cleaning crop, the weeds 

 are easily kept under. Again, many crops planted continually in the same soil are more liable to be attacked by 

 the insects which are the peculiar enemies of those plants ; and different plants derive their principal nourishment 

 firom different depths of soil, hence, deep-rooted plants such as beets, carrots, parsnips, salsify, turnips, etc. should 

 be followed b3' those whose roots extend but little below the surface, such as onions, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, 

 spinage, etc. However plentiful manure may be, a succession of exhausting crops should not be grown upon the 

 same ground. In these rotations it is not necessary to apply manure to ever^j^ crop ; but for bulbous roots, as the 

 onion, and plants cultivated for their leaves, as spinage and asparagus, the ground can scarcely be too rich, and the 

 bulk of the manure may be applied to them. 



SOWING. — Warmth and moisture are essential and seclusion from the light favorable to germination. The 

 first care in so^^ing seeds should be suitable preparation of the soil so that the young roots maj' easily- penetrate it. 

 The soil should always be mellow and more or less fine for different kinds of seeds. Peas, com, beans and coarse 

 seeds do not require the soil to be as finely pu! nzed as small seeds. The seeds must be firmly fixed in the soil 

 and pressed by the earth in ever^- part m order to retain moisture sufficient to encourage vegetation ; but they 

 should not be so deeply buried as to be deprived of air or to have their ascending shoots impeded by too much soil 

 above. In all cases, seeds should be sown in freshly dug soil, that they maj- have the benefit of the moisture within ; 

 but the5'' should never be put in when the soil is really wet, as the ground will bake and the seeds pensh. Moist 

 weather in spring or summer is excellent for putting m seeds, provided the ground is mellow. Just before a light 

 rain is the best possible tim.e for sowing most seeds. When the seeds are planted the earth should usually be 

 pressed upon them with a roller or by treading with the feet in the case of large seeds, or by smoothing the surface 

 with the back of the spade or by walking over them on a board for the smaller kinds. 



The freshest seeds of some varieties often fail from improper management in sowing. When sown too early, 

 while the ground is wet, they are apt to rot ; when sown too shallow, m a dr>' time, there maj- not be sufficient 

 moisture to sprout them, or they may be destroyed by dry and hot weather after they have germinated. Insects 

 may destroy the plants before or as soon as they appear out of the ground. Powerful manures, such as hen dung, 

 guano and chemical manures, if under powerful fermentation, will frequently destroy the vitality of seeds, and 

 sometimes kill the tendei plants. Complaints frequently made that seeds are not good may quite as often be 

 attributed to other causes as to the quality of the seeds. 



The first effect of air, heat and moisture upon the seed is to change its starchy matter into a sugary pulp, the 

 proper food of the embr^'o. If at this time the seed be withered by exposure to heat without sufficient covering, 

 It will perish. It often happens that seeds are planted in freshly dug soil, and the above change in the properties 

 of the seed takes place, but the earth not being pressed upon it, the seed dries up and the embryo perishes. Others 

 again are buried too deeply, and though the seed swells, yet sufficient warmth and air are not obtained to give it 

 life. 



CULTIVATION OF THE SOIL.— The surface of the soil cannot be too frequently stirred. "If I had 

 to preach a sermon on horticulture," says Downing, ' I should take this for my text : * Stir the Soil.' " As soon 

 as the plants are above ground they should be thinned out so as not to interfere with each other's growth. At the 

 same time the soil may be loosened a little about them.w^ithout injurj' to the young plants, so as to break any crusts 

 that may have formed ; and the weeds may be removed. A little later stir the soil with a narrow hoe, taking 

 care not to cover the young plants. Ever>- weed should be cut down or pulled up, no matter how small. It is not 

 enough to keep the weeds down ; digging deeply among the plants admits the atmosphere, and actually manures 

 the young plants. In dry weather, it is ver>' essential that the soil be stirred often. The air waters the freshly 



