A YEAR'S WORK IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

The following monthly notes are not intended to supersede the detailed

instructions on the several kinds of Vegetables which appear in the

preceding pages. The present object is to call attention to the work

that must be done, and the work that must be prepared for, as the

changes of the seasons require and the state of the weather may permit;

yet some amount of detail is included. Merely to offer reminders would

be to exclude the great mass of amateurs, and the less experienced of

practical gardeners, from participation in the advantages of these

monthly notes, and to restrict their use to a few practical men who are

masters of every detail of the business of gardening. The routine under

each month is generally in harmony-with that already recommended, but

certain variations of practice are suggested which may prove of service

in some districts and under particular circumstances.



A work on gardening demands of the reader the exercise of judgment. If

blindly followed, it may prove as often wrong as right; for it is not in

the power of the authors to influence the weather in favour of their

directions, or to insure to those who may follow their guidance a single

one amongst the many conditions requisite to success. Although the times

named for certain operations are the best as an average, peculiarities

of climate and of season will require some modifications, which each one

must discover for himself; and after the seed of any vegetable has been

sown it is not always needful to give subsequent reminders of

successional sowings. These naturally follow in accordance with the

requirements of each particular garden. With such allowances duly made,

these notes will, it is hoped, prove thoroughly practical, and tend

materially to aid the cultivator in obtaining from the vegetable garden

an abundance of everything in its season, and of a quality of which he

need not be ashamed.