On Cottage Gardenhuj. 



337 



quantity mentioned. For instance^ if he has but 10 poles, then 

 he has only to take half the measurements, and expect only half 

 the amount of produce ; and so of any other proportionate 

 quantity. 



It is to be observed that 20 poles of good ground, well culti- 

 vated, will yield a greater quantity of vegetables than can be 

 economically used by a labourer, his wife, and three or four 

 children. In which case the overplus must either be sold or 

 employed in fattening a porker for Michaelmas and a baconer for 

 Christmas. This, with such a garden, a labourer may safely attempt 

 to do, provided he has the conveniences of a sty, an enclosed 

 yard, hog-tubs, bins, &c. ; and provided also he has a little 

 ready money to buy his pigs, bran and pollard to mix with the 

 boiled vegetables, and barley-meal to fatten off with. A pig-sti/ 

 and a gar^den assist each other greatly : and, at the same time, 

 a cock and two hens, of a good breed, may be kept for their 

 eggs — a pleasant addition to the household fare. 



There are many labourers happily placed in such circum- 

 stances, who are well to do ; and it would be a public as well as 

 a private good were all so circumstanced. But this is rather to be 

 wished for and aimed at than expected. It is, however, a most obvious 

 truth, and universally admitted, that every day-labourer, whether 

 a cottager or only a lodger in a cottage, should have the privilege 

 of renting a piece of garden-ground, to raise his own vegetables, 

 and thereby improving his condition. 



Such allotment should not be less than 10 poles of good soil; 

 which he can cultivate without encroaching much on his em- 

 ployer's time, and with great advantage to himself and his family. 

 The management and results would be in accordance with the 

 proportions already given : or, in other terms, one-half of the 

 whole for potatoes, two-sixths for cabbage, one-sixth for parsnips, 

 one-sixth for carrots, one-sixth for onions, and one-sixth for sun- 

 dries, as before mentioned. Of course, the crops might be ex- 

 pected to be only one-half oi those already stated as arising from 

 a garden twice the size. 



A labourer, having even this portion of ground, may manage 

 to fatten a pig of from six to eight or ten score ; especially if he 

 can buy a spayed sow which has had but one or two litters of pigs : 

 such an animal fattens much faster than any other description of 

 pig stock; and, with well-supplied hog-tubs, with kitchen washings, 

 and boiled vegetables, thickened with brewer's grains, pollard, 

 and barley-meal — the mass being allowed to ferment before using 

 it — will be found excellent fattening food. The silly custom of 

 throwing down raw potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and cabbage-leaves 

 to the pig is great waste, half their nutritious qualities being 

 thereby lost. 



VOL. II. 2 B 



