60 THE HOME ACRE. 



has taken his dinner direct from the woods and 

 waters. 



I am often told, " It is cheaper to buy fruit and 

 vegetables than to raise them." I have nothing 

 to say in reply. There are many cheap things 

 that we can have; experience has proved that 

 one of the best things to have is a garden, either 

 to work in or to visit daily when the season per- 

 mits. We have but one life to live here, and 

 to get the cheapest things out of it is a rather 

 poor ambition. 



There are multitudes who can never possess an 

 acre, more or less, and who must obtain Nature's 

 products at second hand. This is not so great a 

 misfortune as to have no desire for her compan- 

 ionship, or wish to work under her direction in 

 dewy mornings and shadowy evenings. We may 

 therefore reasonably suppose that the man who 

 has exchanged his city shelter for a rural home 

 looks forward to the garden with the natural, pri- 

 mal instinct, and is eager to make the most of it 

 in all its aspects. Then let us plunge in medias 

 res at once. 



The ideal soil for a garden is a mellow, sandy 

 loam, underlaid with a subsoil that is not too open 

 or porous. Such ground is termed " grateful," and 

 it is not the kind of gratitude which has been de- 

 fined as " a lively appreciation of favors to come," 



