100 City Homes on Country Lanes 



garden farms pays as much, acre for acre, in the Cape 

 Cod District of Massachusetts as in Southern Cali- 

 fornia. In the present case, however, we are not talk- 

 ing of raising food for market, but only for the family 

 table. And it can be done on a small holding in any 

 part of the United States. I have never seen more 

 wonderful vegetables than I found in Alaska. 



There is a fallacy, too, in thinking that only Cali- 

 fornia can supply the floral setting provided in the 

 garden scheme. I was born and raised in New England 

 in a generous home that, among plenty of everything 

 else, had plenty of flowers, including the old-fashioned 

 varieties. I have spent most of my life among the 

 semi-tropical productions of California. I trust I am 

 loyal to both — the old home and the new — when I say 

 that the one is as attractive and satisfying as the other 

 in this respect. They are different — that is all. 



I dwell upon these things because they are really 

 quite vital to the way of life we arc considering. If 

 God had made a whole world and placed all its bless- 

 ings in a single corner, we should witness a greater con- 

 gestion of population than has yet occurred to vex 

 the sociologist. 



It is quite true that a winter season of four or five 

 months will have its effect on the routine of the garden 

 home and the social life of the garden city. But the 

 law of compensation still works, and if there is loss. 

 there is also gain. The vacation from garden work 

 will not be wholly unwelcome. The appetite for out- 

 doors will be sharpened when spring comes around. 

 The social life of the community should brighten with 

 the fins on the hearthstone. The opportunity for 



