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INTRODUCTION
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This little book has a very definite aim—a big aim too, though two little words or even one will serve to define it—To help, or better still, perhaps—helpfulness. It does not aim to tell everything there is to tell about gardening; that would be encyclopedic and quite out of the scope of a small, practical work on gardening, but it does aim to give, in plain, everyday language sufficient and clear directions for caring for an ordinary kitchen garden in a way the least exhausting of time and strength and with all unnecessary expenditure1 eliminated. It covers all necessary detail except that of personal equation; that—Dear Woman, when the spring time calls and you go forth2 full of enthusiasm, is, in the language of the day—"Up to you." Your garden will give back to you just What you put into it—no more, and the more you give to it the less it will exact of you; neglect it ever so little and it willvi prove a hard taskmaster indeed, or a living reproach—a reproach that will burgeon3 and bloom in noxious4 weeds and sickening plants, a garden where the worm dieth not and the aphis and grub revel5 undisturbed and unchecked.

There is nothing so easy as to keep a garden in perfect order, free from weeds and pernicious insect life, nothing easier than to have the reverse of this. One cannot garden successfully on the principle that one can work in the garden when there is nothing else to do, no one to play with, nowhere to go. The garden should be first to a certain extent, and this is not an arbitrary or exacting6 condition for the toll7 exacted is paid for many times over in the peace of mind that comes from work well and conscientiously8 done, to say nothing of the economic value of thrifty9 vegetables.

There are always critical times in the life of the garden;—the gardener must recognize these and be prepared to give just the assistance the condition requires at just the time it is required; if this is done promptly10 it will surprise one whovii has had no system heretofore in the garden work to see how little time is really required to care for a garden successfully. The failure to co-operate with nature at the right time may result in many hours of wearisome work.

Take the matter of weeds;—if the planting is closely watched and the weeds cut off as quickly as they show a seed leaf above ground, and before they have stuck their roots deeply enough into the ground to make more than a mere11 stirring of the soil necessary, an entire week's crop of weeds will be destroyed with one stirring of the soil. Weeds come in relays a week or ten days apart, come not at all if the soil is kept properly stirred—which should be after every rain and between if the rain is infrequent, and it is well worth one's time to exercise a little self-denial and give this cultivation12 even though it may mean letting something else go that one would like to do.

And one need not worry too much about being scientific in one's gardening; insecticides, fungicides and the like are the allies of the careless gardener, but the wide awake, industrious13 gardenerviii has little need of them. Healthy, vigorous plants are not especially susceptible14 to insect attacks and with the exception of potato bugs15, squash bugs and cabbage worms the danger from them is merely negligible, but the careless, slovenly16 gardener is a real and pestilential danger.

There is much in choosing the right time of day for work in the garden; it is delightful17 to wield18 the rake and hoe in the cool of the afternoon, but where the object is the destruction of weeds the morning hours of a sunny day will give permanent results as the weeds will be killed by the hot sun, while those hoed up in late afternoon will often be revived by the coolness and dew of night and be ready to withstand the morrow's sun, so take the morning hours for destroying weeds, and the cooler hours for planting seeds, staking up plants, thinning out plants and the like but always the bright, dry sunny hours for tying up such vegetables as need blanching19: cauliflower, endive and the like. This will make for success in the various operations and comfort in working.

Where it is necessary to water the garden this should if possible be done after the sun has nearly or quite gone from it in order to reduce the loss of moisture by evaporation20; this is especially desirable in city gardens where the water is metered and always, if possible a night's watering should be followed by shallow cultivation the following forenoon to restore the dust-mulch and necessitate21 as little watering as possible. These are a few of the little attentions which make for success in the garden and minimize the sum of the season's work.


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1 expenditure XPbzM     
n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出;使用,消耗
参考例句:
  • The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
  • The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。
2 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
3 burgeon eS9yG     
v.萌芽,发芽;迅速发展
参考例句:
  • Seeds begin to burgeon at the commencement of spring.春天开始时种子开始发芽。
  • Plants burgeon from every available space.只要有一点空隙,植物就会生根发芽。
4 noxious zHOxB     
adj.有害的,有毒的;使道德败坏的,讨厌的
参考例句:
  • Heavy industry pollutes our rivers with noxious chemicals.重工业产生的有毒化学品会污染我们的河流。
  • Many household products give off noxious fumes.很多家用产品散发有害气体。
5 revel yBezQ     
vi.狂欢作乐,陶醉;n.作乐,狂欢
参考例句:
  • She seems to revel in annoying her parents.她似乎以惹父母生气为乐。
  • The children revel in country life.孩子们特别喜欢乡村生活。
6 exacting VtKz7e     
adj.苛求的,要求严格的
参考例句:
  • He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
  • The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移,公众的要求更趋严格。
7 toll LJpzo     
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟)
参考例句:
  • The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
  • The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。
8 conscientiously 3vBzrQ     
adv.凭良心地;认真地,负责尽职地;老老实实
参考例句:
  • He kept silent,eating just as conscientiously but as though everything tasted alike. 他一声不吭,闷头吃着,仿佛桌上的饭菜都一个味儿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She discharged all the responsibilities of a minister conscientiously. 她自觉地履行部长的一切职责。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 thrifty NIgzT     
adj.节俭的;兴旺的;健壮的
参考例句:
  • Except for smoking and drinking,he is a thrifty man.除了抽烟、喝酒,他是个生活节俭的人。
  • She was a thrifty woman and managed to put aside some money every month.她是个很会持家的妇女,每月都设法存些钱。
10 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
11 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
12 cultivation cnfzl     
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成
参考例句:
  • The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
  • The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃,不值得耕种。
13 industrious a7Axr     
adj.勤劳的,刻苦的,奋发的
参考例句:
  • If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
  • She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。
14 susceptible 4rrw7     
adj.过敏的,敏感的;易动感情的,易受感动的
参考例句:
  • Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
  • We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。
15 bugs e3255bae220613022d67e26d2e4fa689     
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误
参考例句:
  • All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞,都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 slovenly ZEqzQ     
adj.懒散的,不整齐的,邋遢的
参考例句:
  • People were scandalized at the slovenly management of the company.人们对该公司草率的经营感到愤慨。
  • Such slovenly work habits will never produce good products.这样马马虎虎的工作习惯决不能生产出优质产品来。
17 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
18 wield efhyv     
vt.行使,运用,支配;挥,使用(武器等)
参考例句:
  • They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
  • People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里,人民可以行使权力。
19 blanching 7aba5b7fda1b7a2f4e94d79f05e86fc4     
adj.漂白的n.热烫v.使变白( blanch的现在分词 );使(植物)不见阳光而变白;酸洗(金属)使有光泽;用沸水烫(杏仁等)以便去皮
参考例句:
  • Finally, blanching enhances the color of most vegetables and fruits. 最后热烫增强了大部分水果和蔬菜的颜色。 来自互联网
  • Presently, Peroxidase is employed as indicator for blanching treatments of vegetables. 目前蔬菜的热烫终点以过氧化物酶作为指示剂来确定。 来自互联网
20 evaporation Pnoxc     
n.蒸发,消失
参考例句:
  • Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
  • Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗,由此可以蒸发散热。
21 necessitate 5Gkxn     
v.使成为必要,需要
参考例句:
  • Your proposal would necessitate changing our plans.你的提议可能使我们的计划必须变更。
  • The conversion will necessitate the complete rebuilding of the interior.转变就必需完善内部重建。


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