The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-27
AGRICULTURAL
A GARDEN.
Important Requisites Necessary TO
Secure n Good One.

important Requisites Necessary to
Secure Good One.
single square rod well prepared, 1u-
diciously planted and cared for, will be
more satisfactory than an acre poorly
planted and neglected. A rich, sandy loan
is best, but one need not despair If that
is not available garden which will be
at least some satisfaction can be made on
any soil. Whatever the soil, it must be
made friable by thorough and judicious
working and rich by liberal use of ferti-
lizers if we would have good vegetables.
OF manures, we'll decomposed stable ma
nure, where straw bedding is used is the
best.
PREPARATION OF THE GROUND.
Thorough prepare ton of the ground is
of vital Importance in raising good vegeta-
bles; if this work is we'll done, all that fol-
lows will be easier. The garden should be
well plowed spaded, taking care If it is
a clay soil that the work is not dcsie when
it is too wet. If a handful from the bot
tom of the furrow moulds with slight pres
sure into a ball which cannot be easily
crumbled into fine earth again, the soil is
II
to work all summer The surface should
be made as fine and smooth as possible
with the harrow or rake 1t is generally
necessary to pillow the whole garden at
once, and to do this in time for the earliest
crops; but the part which is not planted
for some weeks should be kept mellow by
frequent cultivation.
SOWING THE SEED
There is more prolific source of dis
appointment and failure among amateur
gardeners than hasty, careless or improper
sowing of the seed. A seed consists of
minute plant minus the roots, with a suf-
fcient amount of food slowed in or around
it to sustain it until it expand it's
leaves, form root and provide for itself,
the whole enclosed in hard and more or
less impervious shell. To secure germina-
ton, moisture, heat and a certain amount
of air are necessary The first steps are
the softening of the hard, outer shell, the
developing of the leaves of the plant from
the absorption of water, and the changing
of the plant food from the form Of starch
to that of sugar. In the first condition the
food was easily preserved unchanged but
the plant with its undeveloped leaves and
no root was incapable of using it, while
in it's sugary condition it is easily appro-
priated but if not used it speedily decays
itself and induces decay in the plant. A
seed then may retain it's vitality and re-
main unchanged for years, while after
termination has commenced, check of a
day or two in the process may be fatal
There is no time from that when the seed
falls from the parent plant until it in turn
produces seed when the plant is so sus-
ceptible of fatal injury from the overabund-
ance or from the want of sufficient heat
and moisture as between termination and
the formation of the first true leaves and
it is just then that it needs the aid of a
gardener to secure favorable conditions
These are:
F1rst-A proper and constant degree of
moisture without being soaked with water
This is secured by making the surface of
freshly dug soil SO fine and the pressing
of the soil over the seeds so firmly with the
feet or the back of the hoe, that the de-
gree of moisture remains as nearly uniform
possible
Second-A proper degree of heat, secured
by sowing the seed when the temperature
OF the soil is that most favorable to germ-
nation. Too high temperature is as
detrimental to some kinds as one too low
is to others. The proper temperature for
each sort may be learned from a careful
study of the most successful gardeners
in your vicinity.
Third-Covering the seed to such a depth
that while uniform degree of heat and
moisture is preserved the necessary air
Gil h. 81,
the tiny stem push the forming leaves into
the light air. This depth will very with
different seeds and conditions of the soil
and can be learned only from practical ex-
perience. In general, seeds Of the size OF
the turnip should be covered with half
an inch of earth pressed down, while corn
may be an inch, beans an inch to two
inches and peas two to six inches deep.
Fourth-Such condition of soil that the
ascending stems can easily penetrate it.
and the young roots speedily find suitable
food. We can usually secure this by
thorough preparation of the ground and
taking care never to sow fine seeds when
the ground is wet. Occasionally heavy
or long continued rain followed by bright
sun will so bake and crust the surface that
it's way through it, or few days of strong
wind will SO dry the surface that no seed
can terminate. In such cases the only
remedy is to plant again.
CULTIVATION
Not only should every weed be removed
as soon as it appears but the crust which
forms after a rain should be broken up ant
the ground stirred as soon as it is dry
enough to permit it. The more freauentl,
and deeply the soil is stirred while tn
plants are young the better but as the
develop and the roots occupy the ground
cultivation should be shallcwer until if he
comes mere stirring of the surface. w
have seen hundreds of acres of vegetable
where the yield and quality has been ma
terially lowered by injudiciously deep an,
close cultivation after the roots of tn
plants had fully occupied the ground,
HOT BEDS
For early vegetables, some provision 70
starting certain plants earlier than can b
done in the open air is necessary; for thi
purpose nothing is better than a good no
bed, and its construction is so simple an
the expense so light that every garde
should have one. A hot bed proper not onl
protects the plants from the cold, but sur
plies bottom heat. BY this term the gal
dener means that the soil is constant
kept several degrees warmer than the al
above, that being the condition so far a
heat is concerned which is most favorabl
for rapid and vigorous growth. 1t is ev
dent that to produce this we must in som
halo