Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-10-30
The Plow in the Garden.

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when all large vegetable gardens in
this country will bc cultivated by the
plow 10 great extent, and spade
labor, except for few special subjects,
will become thing of the past. The
use of the plow within the garden
walls has been suggested pretty often
within late years, but the suggestion
has not been as yet received with
much favor. One chief reason of this
is that our kitchen gardens are at
present so planned and arranged that
the plow could not be used TO good
advantage. The system Of dividing
the ground enclosed into small plots
or quarters devoted to both vcgcta-
blcs and fruit trees renders the use Of
the plow all but impracticablc. Be
fore IL can be introduced successfully
we must remodel our vegetable gar.
dcns, and there is no valid reason why
that should not be done, when new
ones are formed or old ones have TO
DO altered. Plow culture would also
entail larger gardens, for the close
cropping system could not so well be
followed; but that would matter but
little, for the extra ground required
would bc cheaper than the extra labor
incurred in spade culture. First Of
all, II would be necessary 70 get rid
Of the idea that the kitchen garden
must be an ornamental as well as
vegetable ground. The proprietor
must come 10 regard it in the same
light as one of his wheat or turnip
fields, and nothing more.
The present system OF cropping
kitchen gardens is the cause OF much
waste of time and labor. The more
plots the greater the extent Of useless
margins. walks, alleys, and walk cdg-
ings, that have TO be looked after.
4hc fault lies in the plan Of our kit
chen gardens, which entail certain
degree Of good order and drcssincss.
irrespective Of the necessities OF veg
ctablc culture. \ garden laid out
with trim walks, and fruit trees and
flower borders. looks simply dis.
graceful, If not kept tolerably we'll up
to the mark at all points; but do
away with the necessity for such
keeping and no one expects it. and
nothing appears 10 be wrong. One
portion Of the ground might be set
apart for the culture of small bush
fruit (all fruit trees like apples and
pears being confined TO an orchard),
and the bushes should be planted in
straight lines right across the quarter.
The remainder OF the ground would.
Of course, be reserved Tor vegetables,
and here all the Brassica tribe lin
cluding turnips), spinach. peas, beans,
carrots, bects, parsnips, onions, poto-
toes, &c, could be sown or planted
by the plow or sccd-drill in sections
without break or alley anywhere.
The small French farmers, some of
whom have only little piece of
ground, not so large as some English
kitchen gardens, follow this plan
successfully, as may be seen by any
one travelling on the railways in
France. Of course, early crops could
be grown on warm borders as at
present, but these form but frac.
tional portion of the crops Of kit
chen garden. Such n garden as we
have described would, we submit.
look much better and be much more
easily managed than one laid out on
the usual complicated plan. We shall
probably be met with the assertion,
ground worked by the plow would
not be deep enough for many kitchen
garden crops; but the objection will
barely hold good. No doubt deep
soil is beneficial, and there need be
no difficulty about trenching the
ground deeply in forming n kitchen
garden, but the farmer has proved
conclusively that as good root crops
almost can be produced in the fields
as in the garden by intelligent cul-
ture, and that, too, where the soil is
not very deep. One has only to point
TO the mohstrous mangolds, beets,
grand potato, turnip, carrot and cab
bagc crops that are constantly raised
as field crops in proof of this. 1t
should be borne in mind, however,
that very large vegetables are not
always the best for kitchen use, nor
preferred. On the contrary, moderate
sized samples are always preferred
by cooks; and, so far as this applies,
the produce of the farm just suits his
wants as well as that of the garden.
Ex-Gov. SEYMOUR says: "Agricul-
ture has always been known as the
basis of civilization with all people.
But IL has rarely If ever happened in
the worlds history that it has
wrought out such marked and rapid
changes in the credit and prosperity
Of government as those VIC now