CHAPTER VII 



SOME METHODS 



WE must not put all our time into one crop unless we are 

 rich enough to do OUT own insurance ; for drought, or damp, 

 or accident, ill-adapted seed, or general unfavorable con- 

 ditions may make failures of one or more crops. But in 

 variety and succession of crops is safety and profit. In 

 order to succeed, crop must be made to follow crop, so that 

 the ground is used to its full capacity. To leave it fallow 

 for even a week is to invite weeds and to lose much of the 

 advantage of tillage, as well as so much time. 



In the North, seeds of many kinds should be sown from 

 the first of March to the first of August ; in the South they 

 should be sown in every month. 



By following the simple time tables for planting you will 

 find work ready and crops maturing and ready for sale in 

 every month in the year. 



There is an admirable table of the time to plant, given in 

 "How to Make a Vegetable Garden," though it does embrace 

 some weird vegetables, explaining, for instance, that "Pats- 

 choi is used like chards," and that "Scolymus is sowed like 

 Scorzonera." 



One can live while waiting for the crops to come up, for 

 many crops mature rapidly. 



Specialties give employment only during a few months 

 of each year and bring returns only at periods of the year, 



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