may be digged over in a favorable season for three successive plantings, while the part devoted to early potatoes would need to be digged only twice—­once when the planting is done, and again when crop is gathered and the ground be prepared for a crop of late cabbage or turnips.  A planting table for vegetables, which is complete and comprehensive, is distributed free by the National Emergency Food Garden Commission at Washington, D.C.

It is far more important to plant seeds at the proper depth than that they should be planted thinly or thickly, for if they are planted too thin, it makes a sort of advantage by giving the individual plants ample room to develop to large size; and if planted too thick, the evil can easily be remedied by thinning or transplanting.

After the seeds come up, the size of almost all the vegetables can be increased by transplanting, in favorable soil, which gives each plant room for complete development.

It is too expensive to risk part of the land being unused or half used on account of seeds dying, or to put in so many seeds in order to insure growth that they will crowd one another.  Where possible, therefore, seeds should be sprouted and planted, not “sown.”

Lima beans planted on edge with eye down will come up much sooner than if dropped in carelessly so they have to turn themselves over.  In a small garden the time saved by such planting will repay the extra trouble.

In some things like onions and radishes, however, it is better to sow them thick, and then thin them out, so as to get the effect of transplanting without so much labor.  In others, like lettuce and all the salad plants, transplanting gives new life and energy and develops the individual plants in a way that will astonish those not familiar with what free development means.

It is wise to plant corn after lettuce and radishes are gathered, and more lettuce, corn, or salad, after the beans are picked.  Then late crops, cabbage, cauliflower or spinach, can go where early corn grew, so that the small patch may earn your living and pay big dividends.

Do not let two vegetables of the same botanical family follow each other.  For instance, lima beans should not follow green beans or peas, as all the family draw about the same elements from the soil, and are likely to have the same insects and diseases.

Do not plant cucumbers, squash, or pumpkins too near each other, as they will often inter-impregnate and produce uneatable hybrids.

Decide what you are going to do with your crop before you plant it, whether to sell it, at wholesale or at retail, to eat it, or to feed it to stock.

C. E. Hunn, in the Garden Magazine, gives the following arrangement:  “For the beginner who wants to get fresh vegetables and fruits from May until midwinter, a space 100 X 200 feet is enough.

“1.  Plant in rows, not beds, and avoid the backache.

“2.  Plant vegetables that mature at the same time near one another.