STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 113 



I d3 not wish to be considered as boasting of what I have done, or 

 can do, and please do not so consider it ; but I refer to it because 

 I can make mj'self better uuderstood, and more practical in that 

 way than in any other. 



He who attempts the business of market gardening, and expects 

 thereby to leap at once from poverty to wealth, will most assuredly 

 be mistaken. There are no large fortunes lying ready made, 

 upon this route, any more than there are upon the farm. 



I have tried both, and know whereof 1 speak. In fact I believe 

 that an ordinary farm will bear more neglect and still keep starva- 

 tion at bay than a garden. Neither is the garden any place for 

 indolent man. Such an one will surely come to an ignominious 

 end. But if you are willing to labor and learn, make a long and 

 continued effort to be successful, and to that eflFort add intelligence 

 and good common sense, you will almost surely succeed in the end,, 

 and it is to and for such persons that this paper is written. 



In the first place, how about the soil and location? 



T prefer a light sandy loam to any other soil for our purpose. 

 It will raise no larger crops than a heavy clay, or loam with a clay 

 subsoil, but it is ready to work earlier in the spring, and you can 

 get crops ready for market from a week to ten days earlier thau' 

 upon the heavy soils, and this will very often make a difference be- 

 tween a crop with a fair profit, and one with an absolute loss.. 

 Henje we will select a light sandy loam, and if it slope samewhat- 

 to the south, all the better. It must not slope toward the north 

 and it must have sufficient fall in some direction to give us good 

 drainage, or we are doomed at least to a partial failure from the start. 



We will suppose that it has a slight descent to the south, and 

 that it has been well and thoroughly drained the preceding fall.. 

 It should lie convenient to your market, not more than two miles 

 at the furthest, and half that distance is very much better. Per- 

 haps your place contains ten acres. That is plenty to begin with 

 and perhaps more than you need. 



How about the manure? Have you plenty of that on hand, or 

 near by where you can get it without an hour's delay? Still it is 

 much better to have all on hand, and have it thoroughly v/orked 

 over, and all ready for use. Now do not begin to tell me that 

 your land is so rich that you need no manure. You have splendid 

 land in Minnesota and so have we in Wisconsin, but neither State 

 has an acre of land that is fit to garden upon, that will not be 

 benefited by being iieavily manured. Remember that if you are 

 a good gardener you are taking two large crops, and sometimes 



