Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1855-11-23
The Kitchen Garden.

A productive garden is not only luxu-
ry and a cause of enjoyment to the farmer
or man of wealth, but is also a constan,
source Of amusement, and supplies many
of the wants of the mechanic, as we'll as
of the poor. No laboring man, whether
agriculturist or mechanic, is SO unceasiDgly
occupied that be can not spare half an
hour each day for his garden and no pro,
fessional man, nor any other one confined
to indoor employment, who has the COM
mand of a rod Of ground, ought to be
without the exercise and the exertion re.
ouired for keeping Ia good order sinai
garden. His wife and children will be
benefited by the light labor and the me-
chanic will, by such occasional change
from his ordinary employment, secure
more constant and vigorous health. The
sowing and the cultivation of his vegeta.
bles, the blossoming Of his trees, and the
gathering of his fruits and flowers, will all
afford interest and qualification. 1t is an
amusement to be coveted beyond all 9TH
ers, and leads to nothing but good-to
nothing sensual or vicious. 1t can not
give rise to bad habits, but, on the contra
ry, will serve to protect man from the
allurements Of dissipation and vicious in
dulgences. a garden, in fact, is essential
to the health, comfort, and well-being of
the mechanic and day-laborer; and it may
also be said to be essential to the comfort
and enjoyment of individuals of every
class.
In the case of the journeyman, or day
laborer, what can be SO delightful as half
an hour spent in his garden, with his wife
and children around him, after his toll !?
The change from laborious exertion to the
lightest of all outdoor employments must
be to him a relief. To the farmer, too, rs
well as to the professional man, how many
broken hours will pass unemployed, and
perhaps without enjoyment, if he has not
a garden in which to occupy Lis time, and
in which he may occasionally try expert
ments on a small scale, either for amuse-
ment, or for verifying the experiments Of
others, before carrying them into practice
on his farm.
SOIL AND CULTIVATION.
In selecting the situation of a garden,
the soil is of secondary importance for,
in this respect, it may be improved every
year by trenching, draining, manuring, or
by bringing good earth or other materials
to the favorite spot. Indeed, some per-
sons choose a heavy, moist, or wet soil for
a garden, in order to show their skill and
perseverance in its improvement; to which
nothing more contributes to its produc-
tivenes, than trenching the ground deep,
and throwing it up into rough ridges for
the frost to act upon during the winter, as
we'll as the sun in summer and early spring.
The soil, in all cases, when properly pre-
pared, should be deep and rich, and dry
and friable enough to admit of cultivation
a day or two after a rain, and tenacious
enough to withstand drought.
The best soil for a garden is rich and
deep loan. by loam, is meant mellow,
fertile soil, not stiff and greasy like clay,
nor very loose and open like gravel and
sand, but having these carths in such pro-
portions as, in the blending, the exclusive
characteristics of each disappear. \ loan
may be clayey, sandy, or calcsreous AMI
when it is dark.colored, abounding in vee
etable mould, it contains rich nourishment
for plants. The most desirable soil for
garden cuts like butter-does not stick OBJ
stinately, but is short, tolerably light,
breaking into small clods, is sweet well