230 
BACK YARD GARDEN GAME IN 1911. 
Part I. 
In January, 1911, I took an account of 
stock, so to speak, preparatory to mak¬ 
ing a plan for my 1911 garden, and I 
found the following conditions con¬ 
fronting me, which must be taken into 
consideration if I would excel the rec¬ 
ord of 1910, which had been my banner 
year up to that time: Starting next to 
the northerly hedge line of the garden, 
a strip extending the entire length and 
eight feet in width was occupied by 
four rows of strawberries, which had 
been picked two years. The first three 
rows were each two feet apart and the 
fourth row was one foot from the third. 
Between the second and third row was 
a row of onions which had been planted 
in the Autumn for scallions, following 
attempt in late Summer to get some 
spinach in the space, which attempt was 
a failure. The necessity of setting a 
new strawberry bed confronted me also, 
as by my treatment of the old patch it 
would not pay to pick it more than 
three years, and the high water mark of 
garden returns of $134.36 for 1910 must 
be passed to beat the record. 
I drew the 1911 plan, in which I 
placed the new strawberry patch on the 
opposite side of the garden, thus keep¬ 
ing the space to be plowed all in one 
piece. Learning by my former experi¬ 
ences, I laid out the strawberry rows 
two feet apart, as I had found that I 
did not give a bed close enough atten¬ 
tion to keep the foliage down if set with 
the rows one foot apart only. I then 
located the row for onion sets two feet 
from the last strawberry row; between 
each of these two rows were placed a 
row of beets. Thus I had space for 
four rows of beets, at the same time 
making sure that I should get some 
return from the space devoted to the 
new strawberry patch. Between the 
onion sets in the drill I planned to plant 
parsnips. Continuing the spacing of 
rows at two feet each for three more 
rows, the first two were designed for 
early tomatoes, which were preceded by 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
beets sown as soon as I could in the 
Spring, and the third row was for Lima 
beans, thus avoiding the space used for 
Lima beans the year before. The next 
row was spaced 18 inches from the Lima 
beans and followed by one at two feet 
from it. These two rows were for 
Bovee potatoes, which would move off 
early, and late tomatoes be set between 
in succession; the 18-inch spacing was 
to save room between tomatoes and 
Lima beans, as the two would shade 
too much to plant anything between 
them. Two feet and one-half over the 
next row was located, and in it was 
planted squash at the end away from 
peas and sweet corn, and I am two feet 
from the fourth row of strawberries, so 
that my space is used and the plan for 
the year is practically made, except for 
the succession crops to follow the 
strawberries, which were to be cleaned 
out after picking, when I would decide 
as to what should follow them. 
The lines are marked on plan to show 
the rows, with the distance between the 
rows marked at the ends of plan. The 
crop that was to go in the rows is writ¬ 
ten on each one. Then with April 1 as 
the time of starting, I marked the prob¬ 
able date of planting on each row in 
pencil, more particularly on crops of 
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PLAN OF BACKYARD GARDEN. Fig. 72. 
the house, and moving toward the house 
came cucumbers, egg plants and cab¬ 
bage, and some remaining space for 
other uses as they might arise in the 
season. 
Two feet further over was located the 
row devoted to green and wax pod 
beans, one-half each, and after another 
space of two feet a row to be devoted 
to the earliest planting of sweet corn. 
Eighteen inches over was located the 
row to contain the first planting of 
peas, then another space of same dis¬ 
tance and a corn row is located, and 
with four more rows spaced 21 inches 
each and devoted to alternate rows of 
which there are to be succession plant¬ 
ing. I allow about 15 days between 
plantings of corn and from 12 to 15 days 
for peas in succession. 
The plan completed, I made up my 
seed order from catalogues from some 
of the leading seedsmen of the eastern 
part of the United States. I patronize 
those in about my same latitude, that I 
may secure suitable varieties. My seed 
order was divided among four different 
firms and mainly confined to varieties I 
had already tried and found satisfactory. 
My seed order follows: One package 
each of Burpee’s Earliest Pink, Burpee's 
Dwarf Giant, Trucker’s Favorite and 
February 24, 
Ponderosa tomatoes; one package Early 
Yellow turnip beets; five packages Early 
Egyptian Blood Turnip beets; one pack¬ 
age Chantenay carrots; one package 
each of Winter Queen, Silver Blanching 
and Golden Self Blanching celery seed; 
one package Arlington Improved cucum¬ 
ber seed; one package Ruby Giant pep¬ 
per seed; one package Hollow Crown 
parsnip; one package Long Island White 
Bush squash; one package Big Boston 
lettuce; sweet corn, Howling Mob, one- 
half pint; Peep O’Day, one pint; Coun¬ 
try Gentleman, one pint; one pint John¬ 
son’s Record Extra Early peas; one 
quart Thomas Laxton peas; one pint 
Scimetar Wax bush bean (green pod 
beans were given me) ; two quarts onion 
sets; one-fourth pound Crimson Giant 
radish seed; one-four pound Long Sea¬ 
son spinach seed; one-fourth peck Bo¬ 
vee potatoes. To this should be added 
one-half peck onions for scallions 
in the Autumn. Cost of seed, $4.03. 
Soil was brought into cellar and 
thawed and dried out in proper shape 
bo riddle, when I put it through ash 
riddle and used in seed boxes, which I 
get about three inches deep; any deeper 
than three inches is only unnecessary 
weight to handle. The Earliest Pink 
and Dwarf Champion tomato seed were 
sown on February 10 and set in a sunny 
window at once. I had a tinner take 
some sheets of tin, size 20x28 inches, 
and turn up a half-inch edge all around 
them, soldering the corners and give 
them a coat of paint. In these I set my 
seed boxes and pots when I use them, 
thus protecting any tables on which I 
wish to set plants. I had a compost in 
my garden which was made in the 
Autumn out of all the waste vegetable 
matter which I kept throwing in a pile 
all through the preceding Summer, and 
in the Autumn all bean and tomato 
vines, etc., were cut in short lengths 
and composted with a load of cow man¬ 
ure, which I bought for that purpose. 
This compost I forked over about the 
15th of February. From time to time I 
had sifted my coal ashes into a pile in 
the garden. Water on the seed boxes 
as needed every second or third day was 
about all we could do for the garden in 
the month of February. 
STANTON ICIRKBRIDE. 
{To be continued.) 
the MAPES COMPLETE and 
SPECIAL CROP MANURES 
THE STANDARD FOR GENERATIONS 
1905 
POTATOES 
-- 1911 
SEVEN CONSECUTIVE YEARS FIRST PRIZES ON POTATOES QUEENS-NASSAU COUNTIES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 
First Premium on Potatoes 
R. C. Colyer, Woodbury, L. /.—First premium on Potatoes, 7th consecu¬ 
tive year Queens-Nassau Counties Agricultural Society, 1911. Best sample 
Delaware late, half bushel potatoes. Had only seven articles shown and 
took six first premiums. 
First Prize en Potatoes, 6th Consecutive Year Queens-Nassau Counties Agricultural 
Society, 1910 
Basket of early potatoes grown by R. C. Colyer, Woodbury, L. I. 
Five First Prize Crops for Quality, Queens-Nassau Counties Agricultural Society Fair, 1909 
Richard C. Colyer, Woodbury, L. I —Carman No 3, Green Mountain, 
Rural New-Yorker, Sir Walter Raleigh, best bushel Green Mountain. 
Two First Prize Crops for Quality, Queens-Nassau Counties Agricultural Society Fair, 1908 
R. C. Colyer , Woodbury, L.I. —The two varieties of potatoes, Carman 
No. 1 and Sir Walter Raleigh, that took first premiums at Queens-Nassau 
Counties Fair this fall were grown with Mapes Fertilizers. 
Three First Prize Crops for Quality, Queens-Nassau Counties Agricultural Society Fair, 1907 
R. C. Colyer, Woodbury, L.I. —The three varieties of potatoes, Green 
Mountain, Carman No. 1 and Carman No. 3, that took first premiums at 
Queens-Nassau Counties Fair this fall were grown with Mapes Fertilizers. 
Three First Prize Crops for Quality, Queens-Nassau Counties Agricultural Society Fair, 1906 
R. C. Colyer, Woodbury, L. /., reports, November 27, 1906—“The three 
varieties of potatoes, Green Mountain, Carman No. 3 and Sir Walter Raleigh, 
1 sent you, took the first premium at the Queens-Nassau Counties Fair this 
fall, were grown from your fertilizer. We grew about 300 bushels per acre. 
Sprayed the vines six times with Bordeaux Mixture.’’ 
First Prize Crop for Quality, Queens-Nassau Counties Agricultural Society Fair, 1905 
Extract from letter of grower, Richard C. Colyer , Woodbury , L. I., Novem¬ 
ber 15, 1905— “We planted our potatoes on clover sod. Manure spread on half 
of patch with 700 pounds of Mapes Potato Fertilizer, and on the rest we used 
a half ton Mapes Potato Manure alone. We did not see any difference. Yield 
was great, fully 300 bushels per acre. Sprayed the patch seven times with 
Bordeaux Mixture.” 
We will send new book, 1912, entitled, “A Full Review of Chemicals 
and Clover together with our descriptive pamphlet to any one interested 
THE MAPES FORMULA & PERUVIAN GUANO CO. 
143 LIBERTY STREET, NEW YORK 
