I 



PART II. HORTICULTURE 



CHAPTER X 

 THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



THE plan of every farm, village or suburban house 

 should include a good vegetable garden to supply the 

 home table. Not only are vegetables a highly necessary food, 

 but they are much more palatable when taken from the 

 garden fresh as needed instead of bought in a market. Nor 

 is a well stocked market easily available to most of our 

 homes. Hence, unless the home raises its own supply of 

 vegetables, those who surround the table are likely to suffer 

 from lack of variety and the absence of certain food qual- 

 ities required for health. Without vegetables the table is 

 also more expensive because of requiring more of the high 

 priced foods such as meats and bread. 



The vegetable garden can be made the most profitable 

 part of a farm. Half an acre of ground planted to a suit- 

 able variety of garden crops will, if properly cared for, 

 yield over one hundred dollars' worth of vegetables each 

 season for the family table. This is from ten to twenty 

 times what the same amount of ground in farm crops will 

 produce. Although the garden requires considerable atten- 

 tion, the labor demanded is not great compared with the 

 returns in profits, good health and human efficiency. 



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