MAY 15, 1915 



427 



$25 for hvo weeks' instruction. After that 

 I worked perhaps a year under instruction, 

 with, say, enough to support myself. Then 

 I started out for myself, as I have told you 

 in former Home papers. There were two 

 fairly good shops in our town when I start- 

 ed; but in three or four years the other two 

 had gone somewhere else. You may be sure . 

 I worked early and late. I rarely disap- 

 pointed a customer. When my health failed 

 from being too much indoors I went back to 

 the gardening of my childhood, and to 

 chickens, and, later on, bees. My ambition 



was to get clear up to the head of I he d:; s 

 as fast as possible, no matter what 1 under- 

 took. There are now countless periodicals 

 devoted to every trade and occupation ; and 

 through all my life I have availed myself of 

 these helps. With the experience you have 

 had in carpentry with your neighbor as 

 mentioned, I see no I'eason why you cannot 

 speedily become a good carpenter without 

 any special help from anybody. May God 

 give you faith and skill and energy wliile 

 you read over once more the two texts I 

 have placed at the head of this article. 



iinmuiinHiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN^ 



MICM = PME§§UEE GAEDENING 



OUK FLUKIUA GAliDEN TOWARD THE LAST OF 

 APRIL. 



Before we go back to our Ohio home 1 

 want to take the good friends who read 

 Gleanings through our garden as we take 

 visitors almost every day. I say we, because 

 when there are women callers Mrs. Root 

 usually goes along also. 



I have told you about the mulberries so 

 much I need not repeat it ; but this year we 

 have a stniicberry-bed also ; and when Mrs. 

 Root makes a pie or shortcake now, she 

 adds strawberries, more or less, to the mul- 

 berries: and in this way we think both are 



The potatops that srew in six weeks and the brush that l)rushed the skins 

 off. instead of paring or scraping. They are the Hed Triumph, and one 

 potato is shown only partly " peeled." 



improved. Right in front of the mulbemes 

 there are six rose-bushes that cost only 15 

 or 20 cts. each at Reasoner Brothers' nur- 

 sery; and although they haven't been out 

 over .six or eight weeks we have now a gi'eat 

 profusion of roses that would compare with 

 those in the city florists' show-windows. 

 Everj' morning for weeks past we have had 



roses galore to give neighbors and visitors; 

 and finer roses I do believe than I ever saw 

 before. The coUards I have spoken of are 

 now immense, and we are pulling off the 

 lower leaves for the chickens every few 

 days, and it only seems to make them grow 

 better. 1 spoke of some transplanted on- 

 ions where I used guano. Well, one row 

 40 feet long gave 100 onions averaging over 

 % lb. each. We put three in a bunch, and 

 they went off quick at a nickel. You can 

 figure up how much an acre would bring at 

 this figure. If we could wait to have them 

 mature they might bring even more money. 

 Some of them now 

 weigh close to 1 lb. 

 We are still getting 

 $2.00 per bushel for 

 our Red Triumph po- 

 tatoes. The yield in 

 our garden is about 

 1 1-3 bushels per 

 square rod, which 

 would be something 

 over 200 bushels per 

 acre. A socialist friend 

 who seems to object 

 because I advise "the 

 great army of unem- 

 ployed" to "get busy" 

 growing potatoes in 

 the back ^^ard declares 

 potatoes do not bring 

 $2.00 per bushel down 

 here in Florida. Per- 

 haps he hasn't seen such potatoes as we 

 grow, say like these above. 



Mr. Burnett, of the firm of Alderman & 

 Burnett, grocers, said in March, "Mr. Root, 

 it is a pity you cannot bring us 50 bushels 

 of such potatoes, instead of only about one 

 bushel per day." The Cleveland Plain 

 Dealer for April 17 quotes " Florida Hast- 



