VI 
editor’s preface. 
diagram of his own kitchen garden, which is one 
acre in size, as laid out for a year’s work. Some 
varieties grown are not marked in the diagram, as 
they are worked in as parts of other rows, but this is 
all fully explained in the body of his treatise. 
To add to the value of the book as a plain and 
practical guide for the novice in gardening, we have 
had illustrations engraved showing the two plans 
of hotbeds, the methods of storing roots for winter 
use, etc. We have also inserted engravings, mostly 
drawn‘from nature, of the leading varieties of vege¬ 
tables described in the text, that the gardener may 
have an accurate idea of the form of the different 
varieties and may be able to tell whether his pro¬ 
ducts are of the right type. 
We take pleasure, also, in publishing the essay of 
Miss L. M. Moll, of Illinois, which was awarded the 
second prize. We are glad to note that she- has been 
explicit in describing the culture of some of the less 
generally grown varieties of salads and herbs which 
are valuable adjuncts to the table, and upon which 
Mr. Darlington has failed to treat. Some of the 
methods described in this essay are, however, unne¬ 
cessarily laborious. For instance, the wide bed of 
perennials, as described, would require considerable 
hand labor to keep the soil loose and free from weeds; 
while, if planted in long rows, horse cultivation 
