2 
H. G. Hastings & Co., Seedsmen and Florists, Interlaclien, Florida. 
Qeneral Joints for tfie Vegetable 0arden. 
should be taken in selecting a spot for the family garden, 
to procure a place which will receive the benefit of 
of the sun, especially the morning sun. The most suitable 
soil is a light loam. When the soil is too heavy it may be 
made lighter by the addition of stable manure and working 
up the ground thoroughly. Avoid the neighborhood of large 
trees as their roots will take away the nutriment in the 
land as fast as you place it there. If there are one or more 
large trees on the outside their shade may be utilized for a 
seed bed, in which may be sown celery, cabbage and other 
seeds during the hot summer months/ These beds should 
be so arranged as to receive the morning sun. Endeavor 
to have your soil level as possible, in order that furious 
rains may not wash away the rich upper soil. The ground 
should be well deained, and have water convenient for 
use in dry weather. The best fertilizer for general use, is 
well rotted barn yard, or stable manure. Do not spare the 
manure, and be sure it is thoroughly rotted. Cow manure is the best for light, sandy soil, 
and horse manure for heavy stiff clay lands. In rich hammock lands all that is needed is 
good drainage and cultivation. For special purpose, and where stable or cow manure is not 
obtainable, Peruvian Guano, Raw Bone, Cotton Seed Meal and other commercial fertilizers 
may be employed to advantage. Cow peas sown broadcast at the rate of one and one-half to 
two bushels to the acre, and when large enough, ploughed under, are a valuable fertilizer, as 
is also Japan clover. If the land is sandy Cotton Seed Meal has a lasting effect as compared 
with some other commercial fertilizers. For growing quickly such crops as melons, 
cucumbers, etc., Blood fertilizer and Guano are desirable. For celery, soap suds are invalu¬ 
able. For peas, Canada wood ashes have proven very satisfactory, either as a top dressing 
where the peas are just coming out of the ground, or else sprinkled in the rows when planted. 
Liquid manure (made by diluting the drainings of dung heaps or stables, or by adding ten 
gallons of water to one pound of Guano) applied to young plants once or twice a we’ek, will 
hurry them wonderfully. Leaf mold is excellent for all gardens, especially these of a heavy 
soil. Muck thoroughly rotted and added to light, sandy soil is a good enricher of the ground. 
Four or five barrels of salt to the acre of land is also highly recommended. 
Never have your garden so large it cannot be well attended to. A small garden 
well manured and properly attended to will give you better returns than a larger one where 
hoeing and stirring is neglected, besides costing less for seeds. When the plants are up, 
hoeing and frequent stirring of the soil during dry weather is very beneficial, as the weeds 
are more readily killed, and the ground -retains the moisture better. 
Do not plant the same crops on the same ground in successive years. Rotate the crops. 
Where you had beets and other roots which grew under the ground last year, plant this 
year those which grow above the ground, such as lettuce, beans, Peas, etc. Also let plants 
with roots growing up and down succeed those growing off sideways. The same kinds of 
seeds sown every year in any land “ sickens” it and it will cease to produce. 
SOWING SEEDS. 
Proper judgment must be exercised as to the time of sowing, never forgetting that 
warmth and moisture are absolutely essential, and seed sown before the. ground is warm will 
frequently produce its crop later than that which had been sown after the danger from frosts 
had passed. The best germinating temperature is about sixty degrees Fahrenheit. Each 
section therefore can sow seed accordingly. The bold gardener or trucker of the extreme 
south need not fear to risk his planting, for if he happens to get caught by a frost it is but 
the cost of the seed to plant again, and if he is .successful, he gets the advantage of good 
returns. 
It is a good plan to soak all dry and hard seeds in warm water for twelve hours before 
planting. When taken out of the water, roll them in plaster and sow at once. 
Sometimes the ground is cold and wet, and rots the seed; or they are sown too deep when 
the same thing occurs ; or too shallow, and the germ is killed by the dry winds or the hot sun. 
Again, in some seasons, insects lie in wait for the young plant and cut it down, either before 
or immediately after it comes through the ground. 
Sow as much as possible in rows or drills. In this way you can readily tell when your 
plants come up, you can thin out and hoe them more easily, and they will grow much faster; 
