18 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



The third essential is water. By due understanding and em- 

 ployment of the characters of the natural growing season and of 

 the soil in each locality, it is possible to produce a great wealth and 

 variety of vegetables in most parts of the state without irrigation. 

 In some parts succession or rotation can be carried through the 

 year by the most intelligent cultivation to prevent evaporation or 

 by the use of land naturally and continuously moistened by under- 

 flow. Still, the far greater area of the state will not give satisfac- 

 tory vegetable supply without additions to rainfall and the irrigated 

 garden should therefore be the end in view in most of our farm 

 planning. Fortunately this is not nearly so difficult to attain as is 

 commonly thought, as will be shown in a later chapter, and if the 

 farm-architect have the will to work, he will not long lack the water 

 to insure the perfection of his desires in his home garden. 



Possible Exceptions. These faint suggestions of the require- 

 ments of success in gardening, even on the narrow, farm plan, may 

 intimate that broadside exhortations to vegetable growing are not 

 wise and they may also shed some light upon the reasonableness of 

 those who claim that they cannot profitably or successfully under- 

 take it. Our great specialty farmers are apt to have their heads and 

 hands too full to think of personally mastering gardening practice 

 in a peculiar country. The attempts which have been made to trans- 

 form the ordinary farm hand into a gardener have usually only 

 yielded disappointment, and the professional gardeners who are 

 really worthy of the name find it too easy to acquire enterprises of 

 their own to warrant their wage-earning on the farm basis. It 

 might as well be conceded at once that many large farmers will do 

 better to purchase their supply from some man who has the knowl- 

 edge and the soil and water facilities for successful production. 



It is also true that in many cases the small scale specialty 

 farmer, working a small tract of high-priced land for a high-value 

 product, does well to plant his entire holding, except his house site, 

 to this product. But it is also true that other men of this class will 

 find the reservation of a garden area a most profitable proceeding. 

 What each shall do depends upon his personal traits and tastes. 



But though these exceptions exist and should be considered in 

 any claims that are made in favor of much wider enlistment of 

 California farmers in gardening for the production, at least, of 

 home supplies, the fact remains that farm gardens should be multi- 

 plied and that, with proper spirit and effort and appreciation of their 

 value, they can be more easily secured than the popular impression 

 among California farmers would indicate. There is a wealth of ex- 

 perience to show where good timely work is done, under conditions 

 either naturally favorable or rendered favorable by moderate effort 

 or investment, very gratifying results have been attained on farms 

 in all parts of California. 



Benefits of Farm Gardens. It is trite to build arguments on 

 this theme, but the points can hardly be sharpened by comment. 



