On Cottage Gardening. 



325 



purchase of good manure for his garden ; for by such exchange 

 or purchase he will be sure to reap a double advantage. 



Another thing which the cottager who is short of dressing should 

 be aware of is, that manure in a liquid state is most effective. 

 When single plants, as cabbage, or a bed of seedlings of the same, 

 or of any other kind, require watering, manured water — that is, 

 such as had some kind of dung steeped in it — should be used. The 

 drainage from dunghills is most valuable for such purpose, if not 

 too strong ; but its strength is easily reduced by the addition of a 

 portion of clear water. In some countries, where the soil is dry 

 sand, the cultivators have cesspools sunk on purpose for making 

 this liquid dressing, which answers the intention admirably. 

 By the knowledge and application of such means fine crops of 

 kitchen vegetables may be produced, while, if they are neglected, 

 a very different result will be the consequence. 



Another means of keeping ground in good heart is by following 

 a judicious rotation of cropping. It is bad management to grow 

 the same kind of crops repeatedly on the same spot, and therefore 

 the crops must be made to change places every year. This will 

 be practically explained in the sequel, and a diagram and plan of 

 a garden given as an illustration. 



The proportion of crops to the whole garden and to each other 

 is a material affair for the consideration of the cottager. That 

 crop which remains longest in use, and which, consequently, is 

 most serviceable in a family, will of course command the greatest 

 share of the ground. In all cases the potato will have, undoubt- 

 edly, the preference, not only because they are a good substitute 

 for bread, but because a safely-secured winter-store of them is of 

 the greatest importance to the labourer. Supposing, then, that 

 the principal part of the ground is occupied with potatoes, the re- 

 mainder will receive those that are the next valuable as eatables, 

 namely, cabbage and their varieties, carrots, parsnips, onions, 

 turnips, common beans, and above most of the latter, the useful 

 rough-runner kidney bean, so extremely useful in a cottager's 

 family. There are some other vegetables which may be recom- 

 mended for a labourer's garden, but they v/ill be noticed here- 

 after. 



There is one circumstance which every manager of a garden, 

 especially those who are confined to a limited spot of ground, 

 should ever be well aware of^ — -and that is the practicability of 

 having a constantly recurring succession of crops on the same piece 

 of ground. This is a practice which farm or rural labourers in 

 general are but little acquainted with, though when judiciously 

 planned and executed it is of the greatest advantage. Mixed 

 crops are allowable in cottage gardening — for instance, a sprink- 

 ling of radish and coss-lettuce seeds may be sown with the onions. 



