The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1886-04-24
TIL IoNII ACRE.
BY f.. +. ROE.
III THE GARDEN.
E.ou a1a.c.s NaMhLu ltann.i.,.

i,"s' Hafp,rs Noafhig Maqa-jn,.
We now approa 3h that part of the acre
to which its poSsessor will probably give
his warmest and most frequent thoughts
the garden. If property made and con
Quoted, it will yield revenue which the
wealth of the Iudies could not purchase,
for who ever bought in market the flavor
of fruit and vegetables raised by one S
own hands or under our own eyes? Sen,
timent does count. \ boy is boy, but
it makes a vast difference whether he is
our boy or not \ garden may soon be-
come a Part of the man himself, and lie
be better man for its care. Wholesome
are the thoughts and schemes it suggests;
hGaltEful are the blood and muscle re-
sulting from its products and labor
therein. Even with the purse of mi
lionaire the best of the ci.y's markets is
no substitute for garden, for nature and
life are liere, and these are not bought
and sold. From stalls and peddler's wag.
ons people can buy but dead and dYi- 9
things. The INDECENT epicures enjoy.
ment OF game is not the relish of the
sportsman who has taken his dinner di-
rect from the woods and waters.
| am otter told, ut is cheaper to buy
fruit and vegetables than to false them
have nothing to say in reply. There
| q, nl,.o,, : l,,t
experience has proved that one Of tie
5tT things TO have is a garden, either to
work in OF to visit daily when the season
permits. We have but one life to live
here, and. to ret the cheapest things out
OF it is a rather poor ambition.
There are multitudes who can never
must obtain Natures products at second
hand. This is not so great misfortune
as to have no desire for her companion
ship, OF wish TO work under her direction
in dewy mornings and shad0wy evenings
We may therefore reasonably suppose
that the man who has exchanged his city
shelter for rural home looks forward to
the galden with the natural, primal in
stinct, and is eager to make the most OF
it in all its aspects Then let us plunge
IN mCGiaS res at once.
The ideal soil for garden is a mellow,
sandy loan, underlaid with a subsoil that
is not to open or porous. Such ground
is termed grateful, ana it is not the
kind OF gratitude which has been defined
as "a lively appreciation of favors tC
come, which is true of some other soils.
This ideal land remembers past favors
it retains the fertilizers with which it bias
been enriched, and returns them in the
form of good crops until the gift is ex-
hausted; therefore it is thrifty as well
as a grateful soil. The owner can bring
it up &c the highest degree of fertility,
and keep it there by judicious manage.
ment. This sandy loam-nature's blend.
ing of sand and clay-is a safe bank
The manure incorporated with it is a de
post which can DE drawn against III fruit
and vegetables, for it does not leach away
and disappear with enc seasons rains.
Light, thin, sandy soil, with y porou.
or graveily subsoil is of a very different
type, and requires different treatment
1t is a speYdthrift. No matter how muct
you give it one year, it very soon requires
just 50 much more. You can enrich it
but you cant keep il rich. Therefore
you must manage it as one would TAXI
care of 4 2pendthrilt, giving what is es
seatial at the time, and in d way tina
permits as little waste as possible.
shall explain this treatment more full,
further on.
In the choice Of a garden plot you ma.
6e restricted to stii1, tenacious, heav.
clay. Now you have miser to deal witt
a soil that retains, but in many case
makes no proper use OF, what it receives
Skill and good management, however
cen improve any soil, and coax luXurian
crops from the most unpropitious.
We will speak first of the ideal soil al
ready mentioned, and hope that the acr
contains an area of it of suitable dimen
siJns for garden. What should be tn
first step III this case? Why, toget nor
Of it. A quarter Of an acre can be mad
equal to half an acre. You can abou
double the garden, without adding to
an inch of surface, by increasing til
depth Of good soil. For instance, grount
has been cultivated to the depth Of 81
OF seven inches. Try the experiment 0
stirring the soil and enriching it one foo
downward, or eighteen inches, or eve
two feet and see what vast difference
will result. With every inch you go Gown
making all iriabie aud fertile, you ad
, Just 50 much mere to root pasturage
When you wish to raise Z great DEAL il
crease your leverage. Roots are you
levers; and when they rest against a dee
fertile soil they If. into the air and sur
shine products that may well delight til
eyes and palate of the most fastidious
We suggest that this thorough deepening
r pulverization, and enriciing Of the so
be done at the start, when the ploug
can be used without ally distractions.
there are stones, rocks, roots---anythip
: which prevents the treatment which
: Garden plot should receive, there IS DIT
5 cided advantage IN clearing them all GU
r at the beginning. Last fall saw hal
acre that was swampy, and SO encumbel
ed with stones that one could walk 4
over it without stepping off the rocks
: The land was slcping, and therefore cap.
l BILE Of drainage The proprietor put tire
= men to work On the lower side with PICK:
shoyels and blasting tools. They turne
the soil over to the depth of eightee
inches, taking out every stone larger tina
a walnut. Eight pr ten feet apart dee
bitches were cut, and the stones, as ia
: as possible, placed in these The res
= were carted away for heavy wall. 70
I | may say it was expensive work. SO
was: yet So complete a garden spot wa
made that believe it would yield "a
interest in potatoes alone. | relate thi
instance to show what can be done.
: more fnrbidding area for garden in il
. original state could scarcely be found
Enough vegetables and fruit can be raise
from it hereafter, with annual ferti!izing
= to supply large family, and it will in
prove every year under the refining e
fects Of frost, sun and cultivation.
l. should be remembered that Guitar