KITCHEN-GARDENING.

CHAPTER I.

GENERAL REMARKS ON KITCHEN-GARDENING.

PREVIOUS to preparing a kitchen-garden, the gardener should provide a blank-book, and prepare a map of his ground, on which he should first lay out a plan of his garden, allotting a place for all the different kinds of vegetables he intends to cultivate. As he proceeds in the business of planting his grounds, if he should keep an account of everything he does relative to his garden, he would soon obtain some knowledge of the art. This the writer has done for more than twenty years, and he flatters himself that a publication of the results of his practice will be interesting and useful to his readers.

If gardeners would accustom themselves to record the dates and particulars of their transactions relative to tillage, planting, etc., they would always know when to expect their seed to come up, and how to regulate their crops for succession; and when it is considered that plants of the brassica, or Cabbage tribe, are apt to get infected at the roots, if too frequently planted in the same ground, and that a rotation of crops in general is beneficial, it will appear evident that a complete register of everything relative to culture is as essential to success in the kitchen-garden as in agriculture proper.

Those who have not a garden already formed, and cannot avail themselves of such a slope of ground or quality of soil as they desire, must take up with such as may be within their reach. If practicable, a kitchen-garden should have a warm and south-easterly exposure. But when the ground slopes to

the north and west, as is frequently the case, it is important to have the garden located on the sunny side of a grove, forcst, or out-buildings. Every person, previous to choosing a location for out-buildings and a dwelling-house, should select the most desirable situation for the kitchen-garden.

LAYING OUT THE GROUND.

If desirable, a border may be formed around the whole garden, from five to ten feet wide, according to the size of the piece of land. Next to this border, a walk may be made from three to six feet wide; and the middle of the garden may be divided into squares, on the sides of which a border may be laid out three or four feet wide, in which the various kinds of herbs may be raised, and also gooseberries, currants, raspberries, strawberries, etc. The centre beds may be planted with various kinds of vegetables. The outside borders will be useful for raising the earliest fruits and vegetables, and serve for raising and pricking out such young plants, herbs, and cuttings, as require to be screened from the intense heat of the sun.

The mode of laying out the ground is a matter of taste, and may be left to the gardener himself, the form being a thing of trifling importance in the production of useful vegetables; and it matters not whether the ground be laid out in beds of four or ten feet wide, provided it be well worked, and the garden kept neat and free from weeds. One should determine what kind of vegetables he designs to raise as well as the quantity of each kind. If the object be simply to supply one family with vegetables, it is better to appropriate only a small plot of ground to this purpose, as a large garden at a distance from a good market is not always a source of profit, while it requires a great deal of labor to keep it in order. It is far better to have a small plot of ground of only a few square rods thoroughly pulverized, well manured, and properly dressed, than one twice, as large, and all these things alluded to, only half done. Very many persons in the country, who raise no garden produce for

market, err greatly in laying out gardens much larger than they cultivate profitably.

All standard trees should be excluded from a kitchen-garden, as their roots spread so widely, and imbibe so much moisture from the ground, that little is left for the nourishment of any plant within the range of their influence; and when in full leaf, they shade a large space, and obstruct the free circulation of the air, so essential to the well-being of all plants. Moreover, the droppings from some trees are particularly injurious to whatever vegetation they fall upon. When any plants require a shade it is infinitely better to make a temporary protection with wide boards placed on stones, or billets of wood, than to attempt to plant in the shade of trees. In the absence of wide boards for screening plants from the intense heat of the sun, two or more narrow boards may be placed side by side.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE GARDEN.

The cut herewith given, represents a very satisfactory man ner of disposing of different kinds of plants and vegetables in the kitchen-garden. The illustration requires no explanation. The arrangement can be varied to suit the fancy or convenience.

MANURE.-HOW APPLIED.

One important point to be attended to, is to have a supply of good, well-rotted manure ready to incorporate with the soil; and also a portion of ashes, soot, tobacco-dust, and lime, for the purpose of sowing over seed-beds in dry weather, to destroy insects, which sometimes cut off young plants as fast as they

come up.

If the ground cannot be all manured every year, as it should be, it is of primary importance that those vegetables be provided for which most need manure. A perusal of the catalogue will enable the young gardener to judge of the kinds of garden products which require it most. Good, rich manure is indispensably necessary for the production of Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Lettuce, Spinach, Onions, Radishes, and Salads in general.

In the event of a scanty supply of manure, those kinds of vegetables which are raised in hills or drills, may be manured immediately under the seed or plants by applying a light dressing before the seed is dropped, being careful to cover it with soil, so that the seed may not come in immediate contact with stimulating fertilizers.

As some cultivators, by their method of using manure, show that they have very erroneous ideas as to its real object or utility, I would remind them that manure should be employed with a view to renovate and strengthen the natural soil, and not as a receptacle for seed. In order that manure may have a salutary effect, it should be thoroughly incorporated with the earth by the operation of digging or ploughing. When it is used in hills or on a given spot, it should be well pulverized

and mixed with the earth so as to form a compost. These remarks apply especially to strong animal manures, the excrements of fowls, as also to soaper's, tanner's and glue manufac turer's manure, rags, etc. Lime, ashes, bone-dust, poudrette, urate, salt, sulphur, gypsum, nitrate of potash, and other porta ble manures, may be sown broadcast over the land previous to harrowing or raking it, or such manures may be formed into a compost when used in hills or drills. They should in every case be used with caution, as an indiscreet use of them will destroy the seed or plants, and thus defeat the cultivator's object. Many gardeners can corroborate these facts, from having used strong compost as a mould for their hotbeds, thereby poisoning the germs of the seed, and causing the plants to die off prematurely; and it is notorious that a great proportion of failing crops is occasioned by an injudicious mode of using manure.

IMPROVING POOR SOILS.

Much depends on the manures used on particular kinds of soil. The great art of improving sandy and clayey soils consists in giving the former such dressings of clay, cow-dung, and other kinds of manure, as will have a tendency to bind and make them more compact, and consequently more retentive of moisture; and to the latter, coats of horse-dung, ashes, sand, and such other composts as may tend to separate the particles and open the pores of the clay, so as to cause it to approach as nearly as possible to a loam.

SALTPETRE AS A FERTILIZER.

Saltpetre is pernicious to many species of insects; it is also an excellent manure, and may be used to great advantage when dissolved in the proportion of one pound to four gallons of water. This liquid, applied to plants through the rose of a watering-pot, will preserve health and vigor. Soapsuds are equally beneficial, if used occasionally in the same mannersay once a week. These remedies, applied alternately, have