Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-01-25
The vegetable Garden.

For many a month i'm the wear the table OF
many an industrious country-home has rarely
any other vegetable than potatoes. Some have
tomatoes for a few months, corn for a few weeks,
and now and then there may be dish of Lima
beans. We say nothing Of the cabbage i'm some
places, but as a general thing good vegetables
are not the particular attraction of a farmers
table. When We come to meat, preparations,
pies, buildings, sauces, and ali such knick-
knacks, the farmers girls are not behind the
rest of the world.
But it is not their fault. liz it was unreason-
able to expect the Israeltes to make brick
without straw ID is a worse case here. If the
head of the household do not raise the vegeta-
bles, how shall the girls cook them? and that
they do not raise them is a general complaint
and lamentable fact. Even when they are
brought to feel that the women win have vege-
tables, they go to work grudgingly. They must
"get the cOrn-grOund ready'-"and put in the
oats, or something or another, and can't afford
digging up the garden. But the 'spOwer behind
the throne" insists on it: a little manure is
dragged on to some Out-of- ;he-way piece o.
the land the soil scratched over with the
pillow, and then with the harrow; and then the
women or boys must get along as best they
can.
Now, this is not the way the thing is always
done; but our readers will bear witness to the
fact that they have none Of them to 90 far to
find the picture we have drawn. Now, most
men like good vegetables preferring some kinds
to others Of course, and the indifference can
only be through supposing it costs more to raise
them properly than it does.
One Of the mistakes of vegetable growing for
ones own personal use is to grow more than is
required. Too much ground is taken up. Too
much labor then has to be given i'm proportion
to the desire result. Vegetables as a rule
require much richer soil than the average of
farm crops; but when once they have a deep
rich soil, it is wonderful how many a yery
small piece Of ground will produce. I'm this
little place of ours. Germantown, are a yery
large number Of small houses owned by work,
ingmen and mechanics, many of whom by the
agency of the building societies, so poSular
here, become their own landlords The lots
may not be more than forty or fifty feet front.
by hundred feet deep; yet many of these men
get a quantity Of vegetables from these lots.
besides the space the buildings occupy thai
would astonish our country friends And ALI
this, too, without more labor than little tune
before or after daily work affords. But they
make the ground rich and deep; and this
makes it light, so that the spade or fork works
easily in it, and thus they get without much
care the good results we see. There is no rea-
son why the country vegetable garden should
not be as good as these. Indeed, it ought to he
better, as things to work it properly are better
to hand.
We hope that those who I'D to this time have
had but poor gardening conveniences will nor
allow the coming season to pass without improy-
ing them; and those who mp to this time have
been worrying. along with a miserable sstruck
patch,". or without any kind OF garden at all.
will resolve to do better in future -Germant CON
Telegraph.