VEGETABLES 



that two of our favorite fruits find themselves in the list — 

 the muskmelon or .cantaloupe, and the watermelon. 

 The list of fifty given will be useful to refer to when the 

 question of fertilizing is under consideration. 



All of those plants whose edible portions grow 

 below the ground — all root vegetables — should have 

 light, mellow, rich soil. All stones and even small 

 pebbles should be worked out of it, if perfect roots are to 

 be produced, smooth and clean on their surfaces. Some 

 gardeners, growing specimens for exhibition, go so far 

 as to sift earth, well mixed with pulverized rotted 

 manure, into holes previously dug out, but this is more 

 trouble than many will care to take, and not necessary 

 excepting on unusually stony soil or hard clay banks. 



For the benefit of those who may wish to try this, 

 or who have land demanding such preparation, however, 

 it may be said that for the deepest-rooted vegetables, 

 like salsify and long beets, the holes m.ust be two feet 

 or more deep and three to four inches broad. The 

 earth must of course be taken out, and the sifted earth 

 put in place of it. Sow three or four seeds in the 

 space, but leave only one strong seedling to mature 

 finally. Thinning must always be done before vege- 

 tables crowd each other at all, to be effective. 



All vegetables that are used during the summer — 

 all green vegetables — are better if not allowed to ma- 

 ture fully. This is one advantage of having a garden, 

 for unless such vegetables are home grown, they are 

 practically unattainable. Market gardeners grow for 

 appearance and size, naturally, and must therefore 



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