ar, as it exhausts the plants much to
bear both. =Strawberries are partial to rather a light soil=, but nearly
all other fruit-trees revel in a mixture of loam and clay, with a little
sand to keep it open. This soil does not suffer so much from drought, and,
being firmer, the larger trees can send their roots down and get a far
better hold of the ground than is possible in shingly, poor soils.

=ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL.= =Vegetables= take up a good deal of room in a
garden if they are wanted all the year round, but a few things can be
easily grown. =Scarlet runner beans=, being ornamental as well as useful,
are some of the best vegetables to grow, as they can be made to form a
convenient screen for a rubbish heap. These can be brought up from seed
sown early in April, and, when a foot high, require sticks; these come
rather expensive if new ones are used every summer, but with care they
will last two and even three seasons, though latterly they become very
brittle. On the rubbish heap, =marrows= can be grown with the greatest
facility, as they revel in the rich warmth there found. They should be
bought when a few inches high, and planted out at the end of May, as they
are only half hardy. When the flower at the end drops off they are ready
to cut; if allowed to get much larger they lose all their flavour. A few,
however, should be allowed to become quite ripe, as they can be used in
the autumn for making apple-tart, two parts apple to one part marrow, and
they also make =a good jam= when spiced with ginger, etc.

=RELATIONS OF THE SUNFLOWERS.= =Jerusalem artichokes= will flourish on a
north border, and come in very nicely during November; they are planted in
exactly the same manner as potatoes, that is, by means of pieces
containing two or three "eyes," which should go in about February. Like
potatoes, too, they can be stored; though so tall, they do not require any
sticks; these artichokes present much the same appearance as the ordinary
cottager's sun-flower (indeed, the botanical name is identical,
_helianthus_), having thick, hollow stems, covered with long, pointed,
hairy leaves.

=Potatoes are rather "kittle-kattle"= for amateurs, but where the soil is
light they should certainly be tried, especially where there is room for a
rotation of crops, as successive planting should not be made in the same
place. Beware of giving rank manure to them, a sure precursor of disease;
artificial manures, such as guano are far mor