Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-05-09
Two Ncrc,nI,Ie GARDEN.

/ have in mind two farmers who lived side
by side, yet who practiced very different
methods of gardening. One put all his small
plants in beds about twenty feet long and SIX
feet wide sowing crosswlse the beds in rows
eight or nine inches apart These beds were
laid out with scrupulous txactuoss were rails
ed a few inches above the surrounding sur
face and the seeds were sOwu 10y kuerliug
on narrow board placed across the bed. a
bed of the size mentioned contained from 30
to $50 feet of rows. The whole garden was
laid out in a style in keeping with the beds
1t was a little square enclosure where horse
was never known except In the spring plow-
ing. The corners were spaded up This far
mer whom We will designate As a, WAS
known to have had his garden in that same
place for at least fifteen years
Adjoining lived farmer B. who was known
to be tickle IL regard to tue location OF his
garden. for every two or three Years be would
remove 1t to some new part Of the farm. He
selected Ioamy and weil-subdued strip along
one side OF d field, perhaps along a cornfield
or a potato patch lie sowed all hi. vegeta-
bles, even his onions and radishes. in rows
twenty Inches or more apart: He old all his
cultivation by horse
Passing farmer A garden one sultry July
day, l saw u boy eudeavorlng 10 weed a bed
VI DLAUAba 4NthAll al L4t NOIh uhl 10 bt
done with the finger, and the bed was hard
to get at. It was too wide 10 allow the boy
to reach to the middle conveniently, and the
spaces between the rows were so narrow, and
the plants had grown so large. that he could
not easily stand IL the roWt Moreover. such
an undertaking would likely have marred the
beauty Of the bed. ! found by inquiry tina;
the onions were then being weeded the fourth
time, and that still another operation would
be needed. Each wedding spoiled half
day" Perhaps the boy put little spirit into
his work there is not commonly as much IL
oentive TO diligence IN such an onion patch
with July sun beating upon ones back in
sultry. tucked-up garden as there is behind d
horse in long rows and cooler soil. Tn,
boy declared that two days work mad already
been spent upon that onion patch Scarcely
less had been spent upon other parts Of tnt
garden Of no greater area. Each individual
cabbage and tomato plant had to be sur
rounded soon after II made its appearance by
a cylinder of sized paper to keep of cut
/ worms. The radishes were nearly Away
wormy, and the cEbbages and turnips wert
/ lousy. Nearly every season the garden suf
| fered from drought, and as for weeds ''AIr
] BIS garden was nowhere"
l soon after saw farmer B garden. Il va
/ a marvel Of thrift and tidiness l Learned
| that probably less than half day had beeI
/ spent on three rows Of vegetables eight rod
/ long. BY comparing the two gardens it wa
plain that the drought, the weeds and tn
numbers of insects IN AS garden were due Il
his method of cultivation and 10 the repeat
cd growing Of the same variety Of plant
upon that one piece of ground. The prod
ucts of these two gardens, as 1 learned late
in the season, were as dissimilar in size an,
quantities as their methods of treatment wer
unlike. IN AS garden the soil was well mig
exhausted for gardening purposes, although
manure was each year applied in abundance
Farmer B told me that he always had in hi
cellar an abundance of fresh vegetables, Will
farmer A complained that there was little us
in trying 10 grow vegetables on the farm
since it was cheaper for him to BUY them
American CUltiCat0y