THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 203 



garden of the size under consideration, a width 

 of twelve feet in most cases would be a good 

 dimension to adopt, the length of the bed 

 running transversely and being determined 

 by the width of the ground from path to 

 boundary fence. The transverse paths need 

 not be more than eighteen inches wide, and may 

 be of cinder, if no better material is available. 

 The object is to give easy access to the bed and 

 to permit the use of the barrow without having 

 to run it over loose soil, and thus to lighten 

 labour. 



At the same time, this orderly subdivision 

 of the ground improves its appearance, giving 

 a business-like aspect to the garden and facili- 

 tating systematic cropping. 



A space should be reserved, preferably 

 screened off, for the deposition of rubbish, 

 and for the storage of manure, flower-pots, 

 stakes, and other accessories which careless 

 gardeners are too prone to leave about in odd 

 places. 



The box edgings one finds in old gardens — 

 "as prim and square-cut as a Puritan pastor" 

 — are charming to look at, but they are 

 charged, and probably rightly so, with harbour- 



