292 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



onion, often fail to come up from the fact that they are not 

 strong enough to penetrate the crust, and beans, melons, cucum- 

 bers, and the class of plants that come up with a curved stem, 

 also often perish under the weight of water-soaked clay. All 

 these seeds can be sown in shallow drills, and instead of cover- 

 ing them with the clay soil, a little sand used for the purpose. 

 This will not only make a stand surer, but as pure sand usually 

 contains no seeds there will be less labor in weeding the 

 young plants. 



There is a best time in which to perform every operation in 

 gardening, and he is most likely to be successful who knows 

 when this time is, and is ready to do the work then. A delay 

 of a single day in preparing the land and putting in a crop will 

 sometimes make all the difference between success and failure, 

 and two or three days' waiting will often add many dollars to 

 the expense of cleaning an acre. The gardener should visit and 

 inspect every part of his garden daily and be ready to concen- 

 trate his force upon the part which most needs it. He should 

 also have at his command extra help for times when it is needed. 



Disposing of Garden Crops. It is not enough to know 

 how to grow good garden crops, for the profit will depend largely 

 on the market and the success the gardener has in selling. It 

 would be foolish for a man living several miles from a village 

 to undertake to grow perishable crops which must be sold the 

 day they are gathered. He may find such crops as sweet and 

 Irish potatoes, melons, turnips, and squashes profitable, but he 

 should not attempt to do a regular market garden business. I 

 think any village of one thousand inhabitants will support one 

 good gardener, and the best way to manage is to sell direct to 

 the families, as, if you try to furnish them through the groceries^ 

 the commissions and goods that are allowed to become stale and 

 unsalable will largely reduce the profits, and as the people will 

 not get their vegetables fresh, the amount consumed will be 

 greatly reduced. 



If you intend starting in the business, notify all the families 

 in your village some weeks in advance, either personally or by a 

 printed circular, and as soon as your vegetables are ready, drive 



