20 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



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." 



This is not an isolated instance. Anyone can do it who can 

 command the "essentials to success" previously considered, and 

 almost anyone can utterly fail of doing it without them. A hint is 

 given of the succession of crops possible in the California garden. 

 There will be much of that hereafter, and it will also appear that 

 making seed beds for winter-growing vegetables in December is 

 altogether too late. Many vegetables should be edible by that time, 

 from a beginning in August and September. 



The social benefit of the farm garden may enter the realm of 

 sentiment but it is none the less true, potent and precious. The 

 farm with a garden is an inexpressibly better home than without it. 

 The garden wins interest; it dispenses content. It awakens home 

 pride and strengthens home love. It has actual educational value 

 in that it directly imparts useful lessons in plant growth and re- 

 quirements which are applicable to all other farm operations. It 

 has lessons also to quicken the love of the beautiful which, in turn, 

 leads in all phases of home improvement and lifts the standard of 

 rural manhood and womanhood. 



Of Especial Applicability to California. All these benefits of 

 the installation of a garden area on the farm should be especially 

 striven for in California because they can be realized here in excep- 

 tional measure. The well-planned California garden is evergreen. 

 It admits of succession and rotation within the year, so that a 

 twelve month is the producing equivalent of twice or thrice its dura- 

 tion in wintry climates. Here the garden does not insist upon in- 

 truding its claims just in the "rush of spring work" which is known 

 in lands of more marked seasonal transitions. It is well content to 

 be "ahead of the rush" the whole year round, but it must be ad- 

 mitted that it stubbornly rebels against being behind it. Not only 

 is succession of tender growths made possible by the long f restless 

 term, but more than half of the common garden vegetables are so 

 hardy that they maintain growth even through our short frosty sea- 

 son and, with irrigation on lands which need it, thrive the whole 

 year in the open air. Rich is the endowment which a semi-tropical 

 climate bestows upon the gardener. He who does not avail himself 

 of it for his own comfort and profit buries his talent into the earth. 



The Garden in Mixed Farming. During the last few years, 

 aside from the greater interest in vegetable growing on the part of 

 the settlers, which has been noted, there has been a decided gain 

 through the efforts of newer residents to make their smaller hold- 

 ings self-supplying and income-yielding, as well, by due attention to 

 vegetable growing. All through the state, but especially in south- 

 ern California, the interest has quickened and the accomplishment 

 has shown that the old idea that only special, narrow areas were 



