The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-03-20
Two Kinds of Gardens.
Chicago Times

Chlcago Times
The more land farmer owns the poorer is
his garden The best gardens in the country
that are tended by farmers are in the Eastern
States, where the soil is poor and the land is
divided into small farms The poorest gar
dens are in the prairie districts of the West,
where the farms are generally large and the
soil is very rich. In the East a small farmer
finds garden necessary for the support of
his family, He raises i'll it every kind of
vegetable that will grow in the latitude where
he lives, ana endeavors to produce them as
near perfection as possible. He has hot
bed for starting vegetables very early in the
season, and a cellar for preserving those that
mature late during the winter. He laises
vegetables for food and for relishes. He en-
deavofs to have succession of certain kinds
of vegetables from the latter part of spring
till late in the fall. He sows lettuce, radshes,
cress. peas and beans at intervals OF few
days or weeks from April till August He
cultiyates both late and early varieties of
many vegetables. He gives great attention
to the production of squashes, melons and
cucumbers. He raises many dellcacies like
vegetable oysters egg plants caulihower and
celery. He produces large quantities of
fruits and vegetables TO be converted into
pickles. He plants sweet corn at different
times, so to have roasting ears in their
prime during several months If there is an
oversupply at any time, the grains are cut
from LIE COD anu uIleu LOT use III the winter.
Lima beans are also dried. Tomatoes are
raised for use when they are ripe and for
canning and making catsup. A large pro-
portion of the food for the family comes
from the garden, and not infrequently
considerable is realized from the sale
of garden vegetables in the nearest
large town. Especially is this the case
when asparagus and rhubarb are raised.
Nothing contributes more to good living than
supply of fine vegetables gathered when
they are in their best state and served while
they are still fresh. They diminish the guam
tity of meat, fish and bread required for the
support of the family and reduce the
amount of grocers bills. They furnish the
best kind of food to use during warm weather.
and insure great variety of dishes. Ii
rightly managed, no crops produced on q
farm pay better than garden vegetables, and
none are more conducive to health and hap
piness.
The majority of the large farmers in the
West have very poor gardens. They raise
but a limited variety of vegetables, and these
are of inferior quality. Generally the Yegeta-
BILE garden is located near the house and
other farm buildings, so it will be convenient
to work in during odd hours when labor can
be spared from the field. 1t is often sur
rounded by a fence erected with view of
keeping out cattle and fowls, though
it affords no protection against the
latter The fence shades the ground, inter
fereswith the employment of the plow and
cultivator, and affords a shelter for weeds
and grass. In many cases trees and bushes
grow alongside of the fence, produce more
shade, and send their roots into the soil ssthat
is planted to vegetables. The land devoted
to the garden is poorly prepared. owing to
the difficulty OF using implements drawn by
horses 1t receives no greater amount OF
manure than land devoted to grain and potit-
toes With rare exceptions the seeds of all