The garden may be divided into three parts or sepa rate gardens, — the fruit-, vegetable- and flower-gar dens;orallmay be combined in one. (Figs. 331 and 382). On the farm there are advantages in having the three divisions in one lot, and that not far from the house. The daily supplies may be gathered easily, and it will be more con stantly under the eye and will be less liable to neglect. However, it may be best to have each separated a little from the others, when land is abundant. The work can then be performed more easily than when all are mixed together.
Location of the garden.
The vegetable-garden may be a part of any field crop, such as corn or potatoes, the vegetables being planted at the ends of the field rows so that both crops may be cultivated at once.
The best soil for the apple, pear and plum trees is a rich, deep, moist loam, on an elevation sloping to the southwest, west or northwest, to insure good circulation of air and thus some freedom from blights and rots. The peach and the cherry do best in a thinner soil, if possible on a north west or western slope. The cherry, especially the sweet varieties, will grow on the lawn or by the roadside without cultivation, so long as the soil is good. The peach is generally given thor ough cultivation, but may be made to grow in turf if an abundance of plant-food is supplied, and the grass is cut frequently under them, or a mulch is spread as far as the branches extend. The trees must be made to grow vigorously, whether in the garden or on the lawn. [See the article on Fruit-growing.] Small-fruits generally succeed well on any deep, loamy soil containing an abundance of organic matter from decaying turf, stable manure or green crops turned under.
Making the garden.
If the land for the garden is clear and we are starting a new one, the first effort is to put the soil in good condition by plowing under a liberal quantity of stable manure, or by growing a cover-crop to be plowed under the season before the garden is to be made. For this purpose, peas and oats may be sown in the spring, and when the latter are in bloom the crop is turned under and harrowed thoroughly a few times until about August 1. Then peas and barley are sown. This crop is left on the land until the follow ing spring to protect it from washing, and is plowed under whenever the land is needed, from April to June.
For vegetables, a dressing of five to ten cords per acre of fine, rich stable manure should then be worked into the soil with a disk- or spring-tooth harrow. If stable manure is not available, any good commercial garden fertilizer may be used, at the rate of one-half to one ton per acre, or 50 to 120 pounds per square rod. This may seem to be a
large quantity of fertilizing material to apply, but garden vegetables must make a quick growth to be• succulent. Market-gardeners frequently use fifteen to twenty cords, or more, of stable manure per acre, and commercial fertilizer in addition, and make greater profits than if less were used.
The large orchard fruits.
Given a well-fitted soil, good trees are the first essentials for success. They should be secured from a reliable nursery as near home as possible. Strong No. 1, two-year-old trees of apples, pears, cherries and European plums should be chosen having a clean, straight trunk and a growth of three to six clean branches, one to two feet long, starting at three to four feet from the ground. No. 1 one-year-old peach, Japanese plums, and some varieties of cherries, are better than older trees. Many orchardists prefer a small No. 1, or a No. 2 peach tree, as a low head can be formed more certainly from it than from larger trees.
Preparing the trees for planting.—As the roots of trees dug from the nursery are largely de stroyed in digging, it is always best to remove a large part of the top at planting. Cut the lateral shoots back to a few inches in length, cutting out entirely any shoots not needed to form a good head. In the formation of the head we leave only three or four main branches. Each of these is branched when a foot or more in length. The pur pose is to have three or four main lateral branches and one central leader.
The modern orchard tree is grown with a low head, the main branches starting about three or four feet from the ground ; but in a mixed garden, where we cultivate other crops among and under the trees, they must be trained higher in order that the horse may go under them with the plow and cultivator.
Planting.—If the land has been fitted by deep plowing, the hole for the tree need be only as large as the spread of the roots ; if not, then a hole considerably larger must be dug, making the soil fine and mellow a foot or more deep. Fine, rich soil must be worked firmly about the roots until the hole is nearly full and the roots well covered, when the remainder of the soil is spread on loosely to serve as a mulch. Coarse green sta ble manure should not be placed in contact with the roots, but it is very valuable on the surface about the tree, or over the roots when the hole is about half-filled.