VACANT CITY LOT CULTIVATION 25 



most of her waking hours were now spent either in or near 

 the garden, working among the tender plants or watching 

 them grow. Before the season was half spent she had devel- 

 oped one of the best gardens in the whole plot. Her surplus 

 produce became so large that she had to devote most of her 

 time to gathering and selling it. Finally she rented a small 

 shed on a prominent street and passers-by often stopped, 

 and regular customers came to buy the freshly gathered 

 produce, the supply being not only abundant, but of great 

 variety. 



One of the best gardens, from the standpoint of value of 

 produce as well as for the varieties of products it contained 

 and the artistic arrangement, was worked by a man who had 

 but one arm. Many other successful and profitable gardens 

 were cultivated by men and women of an age when we gen- 

 erally expect them to depend entirely upon others for support. 



Many incidents were found where such habits as drinking 

 and loafing around saloons and clubs and abusing the family 

 have been checked on account of the gardener's time and 

 attention being occupied in the little farm. 



One of the workers came for work in a condition of mind 

 and body which rendered his services almost worthless. 

 He was scarcely able to carry on his work for a minute be- 

 yond what he was shown. Each new move had to be ex- 

 plained constantly, and even then he was often found doing 

 the work in the wrong way only a few minutes afterwards. 

 Before long, however, he began to see that his place had 

 its responsibilities and that the work of Mother Nature 

 depended on his doing his part and doing it well. By the 

 tune the crops were ready to gather and market he came to 

 realize that the cost of production must come under the 

 amount received from the sale of the produce so as to 



