We
suggest that this thorough deepening, pulverization, and enriching
of the soil be done at the start, when the plow can be used
without any obstructions. If there are stones, rocks, roots,
anything which prevents the treatment which a garden plot should
receive, there is a decided advantage in clearing them all out at
the beginning. Last fall I saw a half-acre that was swampy, and so
encumbered with stones that one could walk all over it without
stepping off the rocks. The land was sloping, and therefore
capable of drainage. The proprietor put three men to work on the
lower side with picks, shovels, and blasting-tools. They turned
the soil over to the depth of eighteen inches, taking out every
stone larger than a walnut. Eight or ten feet apart deep ditches
were cut, and the stones, as far as possible, placed in these. The
rest were carted away for a heavy wall. You may say it was
expensive work. So it was; yet so complete a garden spot was made
that I believe it would yield a fair interest in potatoes alone. I
relate this instance to show what can be done. A more forbidding
area for a garden in its original state could scarcely be found.
Enough vegetables and fruit can be raised from it hereafter, with
annual fertilizing, to supply a large family, and it will improve
every year under the refining effects of frost, sun, and
cultivation.
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