I 
December 26.J 
THE COTTAGE GARDENEli. 
197 
turn out as much produce from one acre as others will from 
two; if, then, this is true, what an important fact for 
consideration. Indeed, the same is repeatedly urged as to 
the farmer and the gardener, and all concerned in the 
culture of the soil are parties for consideration under this 
seemingly bold assertion. We are well aware that some 
persons, who imagine they have reached the pinnacle of 
perfection, will he very cross with us, and may possibly 
retort by observing, that our keen cultivators will require j 
more manure. We will not go so far as to affirm that 
liberal manurings do not form a part of high culture ; but 1 
we will just gently remind our objectors that it so happens i 
one man will make a single wheelbarrow-full of manure go as 
far as a couple in other hands ; and it may as well be added 
here, that some men by a greater amount of assiduity and 
skill will annually make a larger manure-heap than others. 
There is, indeed, much room for advance—indisputably 
so; let us at once, then, away with cavilling, and see what 
can be done. By mixed cropping is meant the introducing 
one crop between portions of an existing one, or otherwise 
so arranging a first crop that a second one may be introduced 
at intervals, whilst the first is in course of culture. This 
mode of cropping was strongly urged, and indeed extensively 
practised, in the days of the potato failure. It is, however, 
an eligible proceeding under all circumstances, provided 
the cultivator well understands the habits of the respective 
crops, and the time necessary for them to attain maturity. 
And here some distinction or classification of kinds be¬ 
comes necessary; for there are some kinds which will bear, 
or it may be enjoy, shade in tlieir earlier stages, which yet 
require all the light our autumns afford, in order to perfect 
their qualities, and give them bulk. Of such are the man¬ 
gold, the Swede turnip, the parsnip, Ac. Some few will 
succeed pretty well in a partial shade most of the summer— 
as such may be named the Drumhead cabbage, the Horn 
carrot, the common turnip, the savoy, green kale, and 
indeed all the cabbage tribe, to which may be added such 
things as lettuces, spinach, Ac. 
As for potatoes, they need all the light possible ; still 
upon warm uplands we have seen cases in which mixed 
cropping has been advantageously carried out without injury 
to the potato. This root, however, differs so much in habit, 
that what is adapted to one kind is by no means so with 
others; they must be classed into early and late before 
forcing them into a scheme of mixed cropping. In a sub¬ 
sequent paper we will point out some crops which may be 
judiciously combined; and in the meantime let us see if 
any advice can be offered peculiar to the season. 
Draining. —Once more let us point to this, the great 
amelioration in stagnant soils. If any man doubt whether 
his soil is too damp or no, let him at once put down some 
drains, or open some water-courses. The latter process, 
indeed, will soon let him know' the effect that draining will 
have. Our excuse for again adverting to it is, that this is 
the last month in which such operations ought to be carried 
out. Not but it may be done in February or March, but by 
draining in good time the soil will be in good order for 
cultural matters at "the usual time; and, moreover, a good 
schemer will want to put several things in his garden, before 
March arrives. 
Trenching. —We have before observed that too much 
cannot be said in favour of this or deep digging, whether as 
a renovator by bringing up fresh inorganic materials, by 
piromoting a greater extension of root, or to provide against 
the injurious droughts of summer. Many people, when 
they see one crop of Swedes or mangold so very superior 
to another, forthwith conclude that more or richer manure 
lias been the cause. Such is not obliged to be the case, but 
may frequently be traced to deeper digging or ploughing. 
Some crops on shallow and baked soils stand completely 
still—nay, go back as it were, during a long continued 
drought; whilst those on deep dug or trenched soils quail 
not, but steadily advance. Now, it is surely easy to imagine 
what an important loss accrues through any crop of the 
kind becoming stationary for three or four weeks in the 
height of the season. People complain of mildew among 
Sw'edes : do they not know that stagnation in the system of 
the plant is the fertile if not the only cause of this agricul¬ 
tural pest ? 
We would, liow'ever, have the process of trenching rightly 
understood, inasmuch as some persons waste manure 
through the operation being ill-conducted. When a c oating 
of manure has to be introduced in the process, it is no u nusual , 
thing to see it pared as clean into the bottom of the trench 
as though the operators was going to make a neat walk, 
'this is sad work; manures do most good by being in¬ 
timately mixed with the soils; the more so the better. | 
However, since it would be rather too tedious a process to 
equally blend it all through the soil, the next best plan is to ! 
dig the first spit, without what is termed “paring,” which in 
nine cases out of ten is merely a convenience to the operator. 
When the ground is to be dug two spits, the first spit manure, 1 
and all should be a thin, but very deep one. The second will of 
course be clear soil, and need not be so deep ; six inches in 
general will suffice. By these means the manure is brought 
much more within reach of the young plant, and is, withal, 
more intimately mixed, especially if dug thin, and scattered 
! abroad in the act, instead of being piled primly up in a com¬ 
pact body. When there is much of mere weeds, or long and 
| coarse herbage to bury, it may be pared down in the old way; 
i but if the surface be of field or pasture character, by all 
means dig it as if manured, taking a thin deep spit first, and 
■ a shallow one next. 
Some persons introduce manure between the "spits,” and 
it’is by no means a had.plan, although it of course con- 
j siderably increases the amount of labour. When the latter 
j is no object, we should say, introduce a more decomposed 
kind of manure midway, such as the shovellings of the dung- 
hole or dung-heap. 
Economical Application oe Manures. —We are perfectly 
1 aware that the cottier’s manure-heap is neither very capacious, 
| nor composed of any great variety of materials, neither is it 
1 necessaiy it should be so. It is, however, generally com¬ 
posed of at least two kinds, not differing in quality, but in 
texture. The small holder should learn the meaning of 
texture ; a point too much, by far, overlooked. We may ob¬ 
serve, for the information of such, that all coarse vegetable 
materials, such as the refuse of recent crops, haulm, fresh 
weeds, or trimmings of any kind, whether from hedge, bush, 
or plant, in a somewhat fresh state, and not having been 
subjected to fermentation, is termed raw organic matter, 
because the organism, or, in plainer words, the structure or 
fabric of what was once the living vegetable, has not been 
broken down. Again, all dark soily-looking matter, such as 
generally is to be found at the bottom of old dung-heaps, or 
even at the bottom of an old wood-pile, is termed decomposed 
organic matter, the vegetable fibre having been broken down 
by putrescence. Our learned readers will no doubt excuse 
such attempts to bring the language of science within the 
reach of our ordinary' peasantry. 
Now, although quality is doubtless the first consideration, 
generally speaking, there are eases in which mere raw 
organic matter, before described, is of eminent service; 
indeed, with regard to some crops, even more so than the 
most highly concentrated manures. Such cases consist, in 
the main, of what are teimed hard worn or exhausted soils: 
scientific men are in the habit of calling them “effete,” 
which in plain English signifies worn out. For instance, if 
we had to cultivate a piece of moorland, from which all the 
stunted herbage, moss, fern, heath, Ac., had been removed, 
leaving nothing but a dark moorish sort of earth, loose and 
incoherent, we should prefer an old heap of half-rotten 
weeds as compost, to grow potatoes or indeed any other crop, 
to a good dressing of the best Peruvian guano. And, to 
digress for a moment, it may be added, that this would not 
prove a manure of permanent stability without the marly or 
clayey principle; for manures, whether vegetable or animal, 
require a permanency of moisture, as well as a free access 
of air, to render them nutritive to the growing crop. 
Our space is now nearly exhausted, and we must conclude 
with an exhortation to the cottager, to study these points well 
before the cropping season commences ; for it is only by such 
things attentively considered that any positive advance can 
be made. The subject of mixed cropping will be handled 
in due time. 
