March 1, A. D. 1906. 

 ADDRESS 



BY 



J. LEWIS ELLSWORTH, Sec'y of State Board of 

 Agricultuee. 



Subject: — Vegetables. Best Varieties for the Home G-arden. 



I was asked to treat this subject in a general way and I will 

 begin at the beginning. 



The importance of vegetables has been increased and their value 

 has been found out ; the low prices of vegetables, after the first 

 that are brought to market, are such that they are not now a 

 luxury as they were fifteen or twenty years ago, and most fami- 

 lies find them really a necessity and they save much of the meat and 

 grocery bill. Of their healthfulness I have no need to speak. 

 Where vegetables are not found the people are sick with scurvy. 

 There are certain acids in different varieties of vegetables that 

 people need, and I think people should use more vegetables 

 than they now do. There is no need for people to be without 

 vegetables, even if they have only a small back yard, and the 

 Board of Agriculture has published a pamphlet on the School 

 Garden. In the first place I will call your attention to the 

 value of vegetables grown here in Massachusetts, which amounts 

 in one year to $5,546,296. There are 28,000 acres returned 

 as growing vegetables for the people of Massachusetts. 



The first thing to be done, whether you have a small garden 

 in your back yard or elsewhere, should be to lay your plans in 

 the spring. Have a definite idea of what you wish to do. If 

 you are going to lay out a quarter of an acre, plot it out on 

 paper. Have a place for beets, peas, sweet corn, and so on. 



