THOROUGH INSTRUCTIONS FOR SOWING, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATING ALL INCLUDING, ALSO, A SUMMARY OF THE WORK TO BE DONE IN A VEGETABLE GARDEN DURING EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR. 11-2419 in BY JAMES HOGG. NEW YORK: DICK & FITZGERALD, PUBLISHERS, No. 18 ANN STREET. SEST Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by DICK & FITZGERALD, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington D. C MAT PREFACE. Fifty years' experience and observation in horticultural matters has made us aware that there is a very numerous class of persons throughout the country that need and desire instruction in gardening. These persons are farmers and the business men residing in the neighborhood of our cities, who have plots of ground varying in extent from one-quarter of an acre to two or more acres-people who either do not have land enough to employ, or do not find it convenient to keep a professional gardener, but rely upon the occasional services of a laborer or a groom to cultivate their grounds. These men know but little of garden practice, and hence their employers have to devote their garden plots to the growth of the more common and most easily cultivated vegetables, and this is not often done in the best manner. It is to such employers that we dedicate this book, so that they may be able to direct and instruct those whom they employ, and provide them with that knowledge and intelligence in which they are lacking. It were foolishness to attempt to prove that a vegetable garden is a necessity, or that a large variety of vegetables for the table is a luxury and a source of great gustatory pleasure, for that is acknowledged by every one. Yet we have been much struck when visiting or traveling in the country, when noting the very limited supply and the small number of varieties grown by our country friends, especially farmers. Even when there was a good supply, the varieties were of such inferior quality that half the pleasure of the table was done away with. Lettuces that were as tough as a drumhead, tomatoes as empty and tough as an India-rubber ball, gnarly cucumbers, and peas that reminded one of sawdust or dry meal, are not very appetizing adjuncts to a dinner.. This book is not intended for the professional gardener, yet there may be in it some hints or reminders that may be of service to him, for progress is made in gardening as in any other art, and there is 466923 |