American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-05-23
The Family Garden.
BY A PRACTICAL HAND.

BY A PRACTICAL HAND.
THE garden is domestic institution in
our country, receiving more and more at
tention every year. 1t not yet sufficient
ly appreciated by the majority of our
people. Too many farmers consider their
gardens of slight importance, and many
persons who own small plots in the town
or city think they can buy their vegeta-
bles cheaper than they can raise them.
We think they are wrong, at least the
majority of them. The garden can and
ought to be made source of profit,
health and enjoyment Our modern i'm
provemens in gardening and fruit cul-
ture have made it possible for the hum
best laborer to obtain at small cost many
" a dish fit to set before a King" This
is as it ought to be, for we are all sover-
eigns in America. Nature is bounteous,
she resents slight; treat her Indifferent
ly and she will repay with equal indiffer-
ence, but treat her kindly and you will
rejoice as you behold the return which
she will make you as the reward of your
labor.
LOCATION AND SOIL.
1t seems rather late in the season to
give advice upon the selection of a spot
for a garden, the nature of the SOIL where
understanding and trenching are neces-
sary, but these things lie at the founda-
ton of success. A garden to be nicely
located should be near the house, slope a
little to the south, and be protected from
the cold north and west winds either by
hill, hedge of sheltering trees, or
close, high, board fence. The soil should
| be deep, free from stone, have enough
sand in it to keep it from packing down
hard or baking after heavy rains, and
color. The subsoil should be semi
porous. If it is so compact that it holds
the water until it evaporates, it should be
underdrained. No land pays better tor
draining than the garden; the crops are
often doubled by it. Land well-drained
is almost independent of rain and drought.
1t makes the atmosphere around more
healthy. 1t admits air into the soil,
warns it, improves its texture, and brings
everything forward earlier.
PREPARATION OF SOIL
A thorough preparation of the sur
face soil is very important in order to
obtain the best results; it not only helps
the better growth of the plant, but saves
much after culture. Subsoils inclined to
be tight are, after being underdrained,
very much improved by subsoiling, that
is, loosening the under soil-trenching,
as it is called when done with the spade.
In small gardens, or where there are trees,
shrubs or plants liable to be injured, the
pillow should not be used. The digging
fork is the best implement. With farm
ers, however, and those who have large
gardens and keep horses, the expense OF
growing many vegetables can be very
much lessened by planting certain crops
by themselves, and making the pillow do
the work which otherwise would have to
be done by hand.
PLOTTING.
Where rows can be made 100 or 200 feet
in length, we would devote portion ex
clusively to potatoes, peas, beans, tOma
toes, eggplant, peppers, sweet corn
squashes, melons, cucumbers, cabbage
cauliflowers and such other annual grow.
ing vegetables as are planted in hills or
rows sufficiently wide apart to admit the
pillow. 1t is better not to put the same
crop on the SANG spot year after year. In
order to make the land as remunerative
as possible, and make everything work to
an advantage, plant the early maturing
crops, such as early potatoes, cabbage,
peas, onions, etc, by themselves, so that
when taken off in June or July they will
leave a cleared spot to plan. cabbage, tur
nips and pickles. The ground to be thus
treated should be rich and mellow. The
berry patch should be by itself The per
manent beds of asparagus, rhubarb, straw
berries and the annual sowed beds oil
onions, beets, etc, we would have al Join
ing the main path; sowing the's seed of the
latter in long, straight rows from the patti
back, say thirty feet, which is gooC
the old-iashioned way of small beds with
paths between. A garden is sometime:
helped in appearance by planting the
tall growing stuff in the back ground.
FERTILIZERS.
Manure is the next essential; don't for
get it. 1t is the food of plants. They are
Intelligent things Gf we may use the
word), and 1t is useless to attempt to chea
them No matter how rich garden may
be thought to be, most things will be ben
Gifted by more manure. While well
rotted barn or stable manure is the best, q
change of fertilizers is often beneficial
Sweepings os paved streets are excellent
lime and ashes are good-lime in limited
quantities and occasionally. Ifother land
can be used for garden purposes, "A resi-
two, cropping it with clover, is excellent
every six or eight years for IA season OF
Clover and its roots are very recuperatine
to an overwor>ed soil. Do not burn W
grass or throw weeds or sods il
the road, but dig them under, OF
put them in "A heap in one corner of the
garden, To rot for future use.
SEEDS.
If you have not already on hand all yot
need, buy at your earliest convenience
} all You need. Vegetables are divided
into hardy and tender The hardy one:
: can be sown AS early in the spring as tn,
ground can be worked. The tender one:
e want to be LETT until all danger of frost il
1 past-until corn plssting time A few OF
} the most common that are hardy ar,
} onions, bcets, carrots, parsnips, radish
= turnips, lettuce, celery and asparagus
= These should be sown in beds in drill
2 ten or twelve inches apart each way. Pc
$ tatoes three feet apart in rows. Peas fou
anart in rows roots IL
beds one foot apart each. The beds of thu
D latter for family use should be five or 81!
S feet in width with little alleys between
= to permit of wedding and cutting withou
tramping. The tender vegetables ar
beans, melons, cucumbers, squash, toma
= toes and sweet corn.
5 Farmers who have the land ought T.
make the raising Of small fruit a promi