Excerpt from Jas. M. Thorburn and Co's Annual Descriptive Catalogue of Seeds, 1887: For the Vegetable Garden, for the Flower Garden, for the Lawn, for the Farm, for the Nursery

Mark the garden of? Into squares or beds of convenient size, to facilitate the practice of a rotation of crops, which is an important matter. As a rule', never let the same crop or kind of vegetable occupy the same bed or spot two years in succession. Potatoes and a few other things may form an exception to this rule, but it is nevertheless better to keep up the rotation. Every year these beds must be warmed up by a liberal coat of manure, which should be thoroughly mixed with the soil. Grow everything in drills or straight lines, not even excepting Corn and Potatoes. Larger cr0ps from a given surface are grown in this way, and cultivation becomes simple and comparatively easy. The space between the drills and other special information is given in the body of the catalogue; the least distance is named, in order to economize space it might be increased in some cases with advantage.

The ground should be frequently hoed to kill the weeds and keep the soil mellow and the proper time to hoe is just when the weeds appear above ground. Briefly, the proper way to kill weeds is never to let them grow. If the weeding be done at the time suggested, it can be mostly and quickly done by the use of a sharp-toothed steel rake.

Where the material and conveniences are at hand, much time may be gained by starting certain kinds of plants in a hot-bed, or even in a cold-frame, the later being a very convenient thing, even on a small place. The hot-bed is chiefly intended for raising early Tomatoes, Egg Plants, Peppers, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce, etc; but as all these plants can now be bought cheaply of the seedsmen at the proper time, the expense and labor of a hot-bed can in many cases be dispensed with, especially on small places.

The above brief suggestions, and the special directions dispersed through the catalogue, if carefully observed, will go far toward securing early and abundant cr0ps.

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