CHAPTER VI. BRAINS, BRAINS, 

 AND MORE BRAINS 



WHEN Rossini was asked what were 

 the most important three requi- 

 sites for a singer, he promptly 

 answered, "Voice, voice, and 

 voice." If I were asked what 

 are the most necessary things 

 for a gardener, I would answer, "Brains, brains, 

 and brains." It takes infinitely more intelli- 

 gence and knowledge to be a successful gardener 

 than to be a popular singer of the kind Rossini 

 had in mind. 



It is all very well for a poet to talk about 

 tickling the soil with a hoe and making it laugh 

 with a crop, but if you think it's as simple as 

 that, try it and you will have the biggest sur- 

 prise of your life coming to you. 



Most gardens are too tired to laugh when 

 simply tickled with a hoe. They need food 

 and stimulants to brace up on humus and 

 phosphates and nitrates and potash and more 

 humus. If your fertilizer contains 10 per cent 

 of potash you can raise as many pounds of po- 

 tatoes on half an acre or less as you can without 

 potash on a whole acre. Think of the value of 

 such knowledge! 



If you consider sulphate of potash too expen- 

 sive, burn hard wood and save the ashes, or 

 buy them by the barrel ; they contain from 6 to 

 7 per cent of potash and are therefore more 



