Kvi PREFACE '^ 



Some drudgery there is, of course, and hard 

 work aplenty; but remember what "The Eng- 

 lish Plowman" says — "It is not so tiresome to 

 plow well, sir; the mind is interested." I can- 

 not imagine anyone being ever bored in a garden 

 which is well cultivated. 



That every man or woman who reads this 

 book has brains — inherited or acquired — is sure. 

 There is one thing, however, we cannot inherit 

 — experience; that must be acquired, which is 

 lucky for us fellows who write books. The 

 process of acquiring experience can be greatly 

 accelerated by reading about the adventures, 

 successes, and failures of others. 



My own experiences, as recorded in this 

 entirely informal and chatty volume, cover 

 more than fifty years. They began in Oregon, 

 when I was a boy (James Vick of Rochester, 

 New York, was at that time, I believe, the only 

 mail-order seedsman in the country — and now 

 look at the multitude of them and their enor- 

 mous business!), and will, I hope, continue 

 many more summers; for I consider life worth 

 living. Nothing, certainly, makes it more so 

 than the daily garden thrills for five months 

 every year, and the healthful exhilaration that 

 gardening brings. 



"How much better you are looking!" I said 

 to a friend last May. 



"Yes," he replied. "I began my gardening 

 three weeks ago." 



