Abstract
UNTIL the beginning of this century, allotments were chiefly to be found in rural districts; but at the present time, largely owing to the stimulus given to the movement during the Great War, nearly four times the number are situated in urban, as compared with rural, areas. Advice on their management is frequently required, particularly by residents in towns and cities, and the publication by the Ministry of Agriculture of an illustrated bulletin (No. 90. “Allotments”. London: H.M. Stationery Office, Is.) should prove of immense practical value to all holding or contemplating holding an allotment. The scope of the bulletin is wide, and only an indication of its range can be given here. Questions of soils and their treatment, manures and manuring, with a special section on lime, are dealt with in some detail. Full directions follow for the cultivation of all the ordinary market garden crops, such as potatoes, the cabbage group, peas, beans and root vegetables and to a lesser extent fruit and flowers. Advice is also given on simple methods for purposes of protection and forcing. Only a small section is devoted to pests and diseases, as the reader is referred to the more detailed publications on the subject already issued by the Ministry. At the end of the bulletin a summary of work appropriate for each month of the year will be found, together with useful hints for those intending to exhibit their vegetables at shows. Further, the business side of allotment holding is not overlooked, and a part of the bulletin is devoted to questions of rules for allotment associations, tenancy agreements, choice, planning and layout of sites and the methods by which an individual can, where practicable, acquire an allotment.
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Garden Allotments. Nature 137, 610 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137610c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137610c0