24 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



healthful operation of the various functions of the body, are un- 

 questionably promoted by vegetable food. 



The economic benefit of home-grown esculents has been most 

 clearly discerned during the last few years and the result is a 

 gratifying increase of interest in farm gardening. More vege- 

 tables have been grown recently on California farms than ever 

 before. The low market values of some of our most important 

 special products have given an impetus to diversification of crops 

 which a century of exhortation could not have compassed. Cali- 

 fornia farmers have recognize*! as never before that sound farm 

 policy generally requires the home production of most food sup- 

 plies. Those who have endured with least hardship financial stress 

 of beginning a farm enterprise are those who have had least to 

 buy and not those who had most to sell. Many a farm has been 

 saved from the mortgagee by the yield of subsidiary products for 

 home use and for exchange for essential home supplies. In this 

 most important service the vegetable garden has done its full share 

 and has thus commended itself to the attention of many who for- 

 merly looked upon the growth of "garden sass" as a sort of ig- 

 noble pothering. The farm garden saves money and makes money 

 if it is given adequate thought and generous effort. 



This exhortation can be given forceful concreteness by the 

 following actual instance which occurred in one of our warmer 

 coast valleys : 



"My garden consists of one acre of good river bottom land, and as a 

 matter of course is under good tilth. Besides what we used at home and 

 gave away, we sold to our neighbors as follows : 



Green onions $16.00 Cauliflower $ 7.00 



Spinach 4.00 Green corn 10.50 



Early cabbage 12.00 Squashes 8.00 



Lettuce 2.25 Tomatoes 18.00 



Beets 3.00 



Turnips 4.00 Total $84.75 



What can be more profitable? Any farmer can do as well if he will only 

 try. How did we do it? I will tell you. Early in November we planted 

 top onions on one-half acre, and on the other half we planted spinach, beets, 

 lettuce, turnips, and carrots. Our seed beds were made in December, and 

 as soon as the onions were ready to pull we replaced them with cabbages, 

 pulling our onions with regard to such planting, also making room for a 

 succession of early peas and snap beans, and finally cucumbers. Of the last 

 three articles we sold a good quantity, and the product will raise the total 

 amount produced for the season to over $100." 



