Chapter III: Part 3

Mention has several times been made in the preceding pages of Bordeaux mixture. This is a preparation used by small-fruit growers everywhere to combat diseases of a fungous character which prevail to an alarming extent in almost all sections of the country in early spring. It is a standard remedy for many of the ills that this class of plants is heir to, and no up-to-date orchardist would think for a moment of neglecting its use if he would grow a fine crop of apples. It has not heretofore come into common use among those who grow small fruit on a small scale, because it is rather difficult to prepare it properly, but now a preparation of it that is ready for use by simply mixing it with water can be obtained from all seedsmen. The use of it in spring when fruit is setting, to prevent injury from the curculio and other enemies of small fruits, is to be encouraged.

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Every gardener should be provided with pruning-shears with which to prune whatever plants he or she may grow that require frequent attention of that kind. A jack-knife answers the purpose very well in the hands of a man, but up to the present time no woman is known to have made a success of its use.

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Currant-bushes grow readily from cuttings. Insert a piece of half-ripened wood five or six inches long into the ground and it will almost invariably take root. In order to keep this plant in healthy bearing condition it should be pruned rather severely each season. Cut away all weak wood, and encourage the production of strong new shoots, from which fruit will be borne next season. Remove a good share of the old branches after they have ripened the present season's crop. If this is not done the bush will after a little become crowded with branches, and as all branches, old and new, will attempt to bear, you will be pretty sure to have a production of very inferior fruit, since it will be impossible for the bush to perfect all the berries that set and have them come up to the standard of superiority that should govern the grower. Small currants are good, as far as they go, but the trouble is--they don't go far enough. Many of them will have to be discarded when the housewife makes her selection.

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If the amateur gardener desires to give some of his vegetables an early start, I would advise him to try what may be called the "sod-method" in preference to any other. Sod is cut from roadside or pasture in fall and stacked up in the cellar for use in early spring. When seed is to be sown, invert the piece of sod, and scatter the seed over the surface, which, it will be understood, was _not_ the surface originally. In other words, what _was_ the surface is now the bottom of the piece which receives the seed. When it comes time to put the seedlings out of doors the sod can be cut apart in such a manner that each has its bit of soil, and this can be transferred to the garden without interfering in any way with the roots of the young plant.

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While barn-yard manure--especially that which contains a good deal of cow manure--is one of the very best of all fertilizers, it is not always obtainable, and this makes it necessary to resort to some kind of commercial fertilizer. If one is not familiar with any of these fertilizers he ought not to select at random, as he may get a kind not at all adapted to his requirements. I would advise finding some one who understands the peculiarity of the soil in his locality, and who has had some experience in the use of commercial fertilizers, and being governed by his advice. Experimental knowledge is often expensive, and the use of a fertilizer that is not adapted to the soil in one's garden often ruins a season's crops.

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The ideal support for pea-vines is brush, but not every gardener is able to obtain it. Some persons substitute binder-twine stretched from stake to stake. This answers very well as long as the weather remains dry, but as soon as a rain-storm comes along the twine absorbs so much moisture that it relaxes its tension and sags in such a manner as to endanger the vines which have taken hold of it. Coarse-meshed wire netting will be found much more satisfactory, as it will not sag and cannot be blown down by winds. Care must be taken to see that it _is_ coarse-meshed, as the fine-meshed sorts will not admit of the vine's working its way out and in among the meshes. If a supply of brush can be obtained, use it by all means, and at the end of the pea-season pull it up and store it away in a dry place. If this is done, it can be made to do duty for several seasons. If netting is used, do not allow it to remain out of doors in winter. By untacking it from the stakes which are set for its support, and rolling it up carefully, and storing it away from the storms of winter, it can be made to last a lifetime.

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Don't depend upon home-grown seed. Some of it may be just as good as that which can be bought from reliable seedsmen, but the probabilities are that it is not, because of the tendencies of most plants to "mix." Plants grown from seed saved from the home garden often--and generally--show some of the characteristics of several varieties of the same family, and frequently these characteristics are not the ones we would like to perpetuate. Seedlings from varieties pollenized by other varieties show a decided inclination to revert to original types, and these are in most instances the very characteristics we would like to get away from. It is always advisable to procure fresh seed each season, and to procure it from men who make seed-growing a specialty.

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The housewife who likes to make her table and the food she places upon it as attractive as possible, will do well to pot a few plants of parsley in early fall. Choose for this purpose the smaller plants. Three or four can be put into one pot if the latter is of good size. These can be kept in the kitchen window, where they will be quite as ornamental as most house plants, or they can be kept in the cellar window if frost is prevented from getting to them. From them one can always obtain material for the decoration of roasts and other dishes which require garnishment.

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Squashes and pumpkins will not keep well if stored in very warm places. A room that is just a little above the frost-point is the best place for them. It will be found far superior to a cellar, as the latter is generally more or less damp, and dampness is one of the worst enemies of these vegetables. A cool, dry atmosphere is what they need, and if it can be given them they can be kept in fine condition throughout the entire winter. Care should be taken, in gathering them, to not break their stems. If this is done they frequently decay at the place where stem and vegetable unite, and this condition spreads rapidly to all portions of them.

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The question is frequently asked:

Would you advise plowing or spading the garden in fall? If it could have but one season's attention, I would advise giving it in spring. But if the owner of a garden has ample time to devote to it, I would advise plowing or spading in both seasons. Turning up the soil in fall exposes to the elements that portion of it which is most likely to contain worms and insects which have burrowed away for the winter, and it is desirable to make way with as many of these as possible. Stirring the soil in spring will do them very little harm, as the weather will be in their favor. Fall stirring of the soil is also conducive to a greater degree of mellowness than is likely to result from one operation, and that in spring, as the clods of earth that are thrown up disintegrate under the influence of frost and will be in a condition to pulverize easily when spring comes.

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The average gardener doesn't seem to associate the growing of vegetables with an idea of beauty, but he will find, if he looks into the matter, that the vegetable-garden can be made really ornamental. A row of carrots with its feathery green foliage is quite as attractive as many of our decorative plants; and beets, with crimson foliage, are really tropical in their rich coloring. Parsley and lettuce make excellent and ornamental edgings for beds containing other vegetables. Tomatoes, trained to upright trellises, are quite as showy as many kinds of flowers, when their fruit begins to ripen. Peppers work in charmingly with the colorscheme of the vegetable-garden. A little study of garden possibilities will soon convince one that it is an easy matter to make the vegetable-garden as attractive, so far as color is concerned, as the flower-garden is. And while we are at work at gardening, why not make it as attractive as possible? The pleasing appearance of it will lend additional qualities to the fine flavor of its vegetables if we believe that beauty and practicality ought to work in harmony with each other.

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Sage, summer savory, and other garden-grown plants used for seasoning or medicinal purposes should be gathered when in their prime. If one waits until late in the season before cutting them, much of their virtue will have been expended in the ripening process which all plants undergo after they complete their growth. Cut them close to the ground, and tie them in loose bunches, and hang them in a shady place until their moisture has evaporated. Then put them in paper bags and hang away in a store-room or closet for the winter. Plants treated in this way will retain nearly all their original flavor, and be found far superior to the kinds you buy at the store.

Cucumbers that have grown to full size should be gathered if not wanted for use, as to allow them to remain on the vines after reaching maturity, and while ripening, materially affects the productiveness of the plants.

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Endive is the basis of one of our best and most wholesome fall and winter salads. When nearly full-grown it must be bleached, like celery. Gather the leaves together and tie them in such a manner as to exclude the light. Do this when they are perfectly dry. If wet or damp they are likely to rot.

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Some gardeners use what is called onion "sets" instead of seed. These "sets" are the result of sowing seed very thickly in spring the season before they are wanted for planting. As soon as their tops die off in summer--as they will if seed was sown thickly enough--store in a dry and airy place, and the following spring replant. By this method large onions are obtained very early in the season. Most market-gardeners depend on "sets" instead of seed.

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Mention has been made of a few of our pot and medicinal plants. Here is a larger list for those who are interested in plants of this kind: balm, sweet basil, caraway, catnip, camomile, coriander, dill, pennyroyal, peppermint, saffron, tansy, and wormwood. Our grandmothers had unlimited faith in the medicinal qualities of some of these plants, and many a mother will be glad to know that she has a stock of some of them stored away for winter use when colds and coughs are prevalent among children or grown people. Some of the old home remedies are far preferable to those we are accustomed to using, as they are harmless, if they do no good, which is something that cannot be said of most drugs that are taken into the system.

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Don't wait for the currant-worm to show itself on your bushes. You can safely count on its coming. Act on the defensive in advance by spraying your plants thoroughly with an infusion of Nicoticide, keeping in mind the fact that it is easier to prevent an insect from establishing itself on your plants than it is to get rid of it when it has secured a foothold there. In spraying, be sure that the infusion gets to all parts of the bush. Throw it up well among the branches. Simply spraying it over the plant isn't what is needed. It must reach the under side of the foliage, and all parts where insects and other enemies might hide away and escape contact with the infusion used.

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When the small-fruit plants in your garden show evidence of having outlived their usefulness, don't try to renew them, but dig them up and plant new ones. You cannot make a satisfactory plant out of one that has begun to show age. It is a good plan to set a few new plants each season. If this is done there need be no gap in the fruit-supply, as there will always be some coming on to take the places of those whose days of usefulness are over. Too often we neglect our gardens until they are in such a debilitated condition that we get but slight returns from them, and then we set to work to make them all over, and in this way we fail to get as much out of them as we ought to. By planting something each season we keep them up to bearing-point, and have no "off seasons."

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I wonder how many housewives who may read this little book have ever dried sweet-corn for winter use. Not many, I think. But if they were to do so one season I am quite confident that thereafter they would not willingly be without a generous supply of it, for it will be found far more delicious than the ordinary canned article. In drying it, some cook it for a few minutes, and then cut it from the cob and spread it out on plates to dry. Others do not think it worth while to cook it, but cut it from the cob as soon as gathered, and dry it by first putting it in the oven for a few minutes before exposing it to the sun to dry. The little time in the oven is equivalent to the partial cooking spoken of. Turn it on the plates on which it is spread every day, and do not consider it dry enough to store away until it appears to have parted with all its moisture. Then put it into paper bags or glass jars, and set away in a cool, dark place to remain until you desire to use it. Soak it for two or three hours before putting it on the stove to cook. When properly cooked it will be tender and have a more delicious flavor than canned corn. The generous use of butter and cream will make it a dish that is fit to set before a king.

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Those who happen to live in places where it is not possible to have cellars, because of low ground, can have places in which to store vegetables for winter use that are really preferable to the ordinary cellar, by constructing what might be called above-ground pits, for want of a better name. Build up a wall four or five feet high, and bank up about it with so much earth that frost cannot penetrate it. Cover with a roof that will keep out cold and rain. Have a doorway opening into it from an entry built after the fashion of the little storm-vestibules we put over the front doors of our dwellings in winter. In other words, an entry into which we can step and close one door behind us before we open the one that lets us into the place where our vegetables are. Such a room can be constructed with but little expense. Because of its being above ground it will be drier than a cellar, and in the majority of cases it will be more convenient to get at. It should be boarded up with a good quality of matched boarding, and its walls should be lined with two or three thicknesses of sheathing paper put on in such a manner as to show no cracks or openings.

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The best place for a vegetable-garden is where the soil is naturally well drained and where there is a slope to the south. Such a slope enables it to get the full benefit of sunshine, and sunshine, it will be found, is an important factor in successful gardening. If such an exposure is out of the question, aim to make conditions as favorable as possible. A closely boarded fence on the north side of a garden affords excellent protection from cold winds early in the season, and helps greatly in keeping away frost in fall, when many plants are maturing.

Mention is made in the above paragraph of good drainage. This is quite important. If the soil of a garden is _not_ well drained, many kinds of vegetables cannot be grown in it, and few will attain to even a partial degree of success. Therefore see to it that by ditching, or the use of tile, all surplus water is properly disposed of. Much good can be done to a heavy soil by adding to it sharp, coarse sand, old mortar--anything that will have a tendency to counteract the heaviness resulting from undue retention of water or a naturally too close character of soil. If sand is obtainable, and your garden is one in which clay predominates, use it in generous quantities. You will find it as beneficial as manure. Spread it over the surface before plowing or spading, and work it in thoroughly. A few seasons' application will bring about a very marked change for the better in any garden whose soil cannot be made fine and mellow without the addition of some disintegrating matter. Good drainage must be secured in order to grow good vegetables, and the use of tile will be found a most effective remedy for the evil of a soil unduly retentive of moisture.

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In almost all localities there will be families who have no garden, but who would make liberal use of vegetables if they were easily procurable. There is a chance for boys and girls to earn an "honest penny." If it is found that there is likely to be more in the home garden than the family can make use of, canvass the neighborhood for customers for the probable surplus. It will be found an easy matter to dispose of it. I know several amateur child gardeners who secure enough in this way to pay for all the seed they need. Some of them have regular customers each season, and gardening begins to look to them like a profitable occupation. I don't know that they will become professional gardeners, but they will be learning something as well as earning something while they are fitting themselves for whatever occupation in life they may decide on, and what they learn in the garden will be of benefit in after-life in more ways than one.

Don't neglect to save everything that can be made use of for fertilizing purposes. In many a home the "suds" of washing-day are disposed of as worthless. If applied to growing things in the garden they will often prove as beneficial as the application of a fertilizer that costs quite a little sum of money. Especially is this the case if the season happens to be a dry one. If there does not seem to be a need of more moisture in the soil on wash-day, save the soapy water against a time of need. It will be sure to "come handy" during the season.

Some families are so unfortunate as to have no cellar. Few vegetables can be kept well, or for a great length of time, in ordinary rooms, unless something is done to modify the conditions usually existing there. If a large box is filled with dry sand, potatoes, parsnips, salsify, beets, and carrots can be buried in it and made to retain their freshness for an indefinite period. Of course this storage-box should be kept as far as possible from artificial heat, and no dampness should be allowed to come in contact with it, as sand absorbs moisture almost as readily as a sponge, and the satisfactory keeping of the vegetables named depends upon dryness more than anything else. The lower the temperature of the place in which vegetables are stored the better, provided it never gets below the freezing-point. Where boxes of sand are used, slight freezings are not likely to seriously injure vegetables, as the sand extracts the frost so gradually that but little harm is done. But hard freezing must be guarded against or premature decay will result.

It is an excellent plan to bury some of the vegetables named above in a dry place in the garden, for use in spring. They will be found as fresh and crisp as when put into the ground, if covered deep enough to protect them from frost.

XII

HEALTH IN THE GARDEN. A CHAPTER EXPRESSLY FOR WOMEN READERS

The writer of this book often finds women who seem "all run down," without being able to tell of any positive physical ailment. Inquiry generally develops the fact that they have overworked; that they have been confined to the house the greater part of the time, busy with household matters, and that in caring for others they have neglected to care for themselves. Though I am not an M.D. I take the liberty of prescribing for patients of this class. My prescription is a course of treatment in the garden. I insist on their getting out of doors, where the air is pure, and the sunshine bright and warm, and Nature is waiting to give her pleasant companionship to whoever signifies a desire to make her acquaintance.

There is health in the garden. But because one has to dig for it some persons prefer to keep on enjoying their old miserableness day after day and year after year. These are the incurables--the "chronic" cases that one cannot expect to do much with or for. But those who are willing to exert themselves in an effort to get back the tone that life has lost to a considerable extent will find that work in the garden is a better tonic than our doctors have a record of in their pharmacopoeia.

The earth fairly tingles with life in spring, and by putting ourselves in contact with it we absorb some of this vitality. We breathe in the wine of a _new_ life, and we thrill with a thousand sensations that can come only from putting ourselves in close touch with Nature. You can tell a woman who needs a change from indoors to outdoors that she ought to take more exercise, but if you advise walking the chances are that she won't walk much. That kind of exercise doesn't appeal to her, and to make whatever kind of exercise she takes effective it must be something that affords her pleasure--something that she enjoys more than she does doing things from a "_sense of duty_," or simply because she has been _told_ to do it. What is needed is some form of exercise that has _an object in it_--a definite object, rather than the more or less abstract one of "regaining health."

Give her a few packages of seeds and arouse in her the enthusiasm to have a garden and she will get the very best kind of exercise out of her attempt to carry out the plan, and the "definite object"--in other words, the garden--that she has in mind will keep her so delightfully busy that she will forget all about the health-features of the undertaking until it dawns upon her with startling suddenness some fine day that she "has got her health back." How or when it came she cannot tell you. All she knows is that she feels like a new woman. After that there will be no necessity to repeat the prescription, for one year's half-way successful work in the garden fixes "the garden habit" for all time. Nothing else can afford so much pleasure and exercise in happy combination as gardening, or exert a greater fascination over the person who allows herself to come under its influence.

I cannot begin to tell you what wonderful and delightful things I have learned in the garden. It is like having the Book of Nature opened before you and being taught its lore by the book's own author. You see magical things taking place about you every day, and every day there are more of them, to set you thinking and wondering. You may work until you are tired, but you do not realize physical wear and tear because your mind has something else that it considers of greater importance to busy itself over. Only after the work of the day is done will you become conscious of physical weariness, and then it is that you find out what the luxury of rest is; to fully appreciate rest we must first understand what it is to be really tired.

Lassitude, ennui--these do not give us a knowledge of genuine tiredness, therefore we are not in a condition to receive the full benefit of that rest which means a reaction of the physical system until we have done some kind of work that makes reaction necessary in order to establish a normal equilibrium. The rest that comes after getting really tired is so full of delightful sensations that we admit to ourselves that it is richly worth the price we have to pay for it.

There is a subtle charm about garden work from its very beginning. The seed we sow has a mystery wrapped up in it. The processes of germination are as fascinating as a fairytale. The development of the tiny seedling is a source of constant wonder to us. We watch for the first bud with eager impatience, and it has to be on the alert if it succeeds in opening without our being on hand to observe the performance. Spring begins the story, summer carries it forward, and autumn seems to complete it, but there is always the promise of the retelling of the story another year to keep us interested from the end of one season to the coming of another. Garden work is a sort of thousand and one days' entertainment, in which the interest is continually kept up--always something to look forward to--always something new.

The woman who grows weary over the monotony of household duties, but cannot put them entirely aside, will find relaxation in the garden. The change will rest her. And the woman who has no household duties to claim her attention needs something to get interested in. Both will find the necessary stimulus in growing flowers.

But in order to do this it must not be "played at." Set about it because you mean to accomplish something. A week after you have begun in earnest you will find yourself looking forward impatiently to the hour that takes you out of doors. You will forget about the gloves that you probably provided yourself with at the outset. You won't be bothered with veils. Tan will have no terrors for you. You will look upon dirt as something pleasing because you begin to see the possibilities in it. You will go back to the house with an appetite that makes plain bread and butter delicious.

Have a garden.

And do all the work in it yourself.

That's the secret of the benefit you are to get out of it.

THE END

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

-Plain print and punctuation errors fixed.

End of Project Gutenberg's ABC of Vegetable Gardening, by Eben Eugene Rexford