456 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



CABBAGE, DWARF GREEN CURLED. 



iii the quantity and quality of the crops. 

 Unless the surface soil is constantly stirred, 

 the beneficial results which should follow 

 every fall of rain are not so lasting. It is 

 only natural to suppose that, after the rain 

 has passed, and the sun and winds dry the 

 surface of the soil, little air can pass 

 through the crust-like covering. Then 

 hoeing contributes so much to the well- 

 being of the plants. By this operation the 

 crust may be broken up, and the soil 

 opened to the air, with the result that 

 roots of the different crops readily absorb 

 the plant food thus provided, and develop- 

 ment proceeds at a much greater rate than 

 would otherwise be the case. The question of preparation of the garden soil having now been 

 fully dealt with, attention should be turned to the arrangement of the proposed crops. 



A PROPER ROTATION of crops must always be observed if successful culture be desired. 

 There are a few exceptions to the rule, but in most cases it is important to adopt a regular 

 system of cropping the garden. Soils contain such varied ingredients — some useful to one 

 plant and some to another that it is only possible to uet the most out of each part of the 

 garden by planting a succession which will feed on and consume the different chemical 

 constituents, until the time comes for their replenishment, by applications of manure, either 

 artificial or animal. Soils certainly in some gardens are more suitable for some crops than for 

 others, but even in such cases it is possible in the course of time to add the ingredients which 

 are lacking, so that ultimately, by a proper rotation, one may get all the produce to an equal 

 standard of excellence. There is a rule to observe calculated to give eminently satisfactory 

 results, and it is this: The rotation of crops should he of such a character that plants of the 

 most diverse kind, which draw their sustenance from different levels, should follow one 

 another. Thus if shallow-rooting plants of the character of Potatoes, Turnips, and Lettuce, and 

 the like, w hich absorb and assimilate the fertilising constituents on the surface of the garden, 

 are raised during the first year, then first they should be succeeded by those subjects which go 

 down very deep, as, for example, the tap-rooted Parsnips, Carrots, and Beet. Then, again, in 

 the third year the most suitable crop would be a medium-rooted one, and would naturally 



include Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and similar vegetables. 



this way the deep-rooting 



vegetables, passing through the upper stratum, would consume whatever was of value in the 

 way of plant food in the little worked soil at the lower level, and the maximum advantage 

 would be obtained from a yiven piece of ground before the time was reached for breaking it 



thoroughly up, laying it fallow, and expos- 

 ing it to the sweetening influences of frost 

 and air, and giving it something more than 

 its usual dose of manure. Mention was 

 made earlier of a few exceptions to the 

 general rule of the necessity for rotation, 

 and in this category we may safely include 

 the vigorous-rooting Leeks and Onions. 

 These hardy esculents succeed well in the 

 same quarters year after year, and as 

 they revel in soil constantly enriched with 

 generous dressings of manure, -each sea- 

 cauliflowkr. MAGNUM bonum. son ' s further supply of food makes the 



