20 MV HANDKERCHIEF GARDEN, 



Henderson's books are all first-rate, "Gardening for 

 Pleasure," for your purposes, being perhaps the best. 

 " Gardening for Profit " is also very good, though de- 

 signed more for market gardeners than for handker- 

 chief gardening. If possible, I would also have Mrs. 

 Treat's "Injurious Insects of the Farm and Garden." 

 It's a handy book to have in the house, in case 

 of war within your borders. These books, and all 

 others on gardening and rural life, may be pur- 

 chased of the Garden Publishing Company, New 

 York. Reading, selecting varieties to plant, and 

 planning out the work, may well fill the first six 

 weeks of the year. By all means make a map or plan 

 of your grounds, drawn to scale, so that you can see 

 exactly what can be done. I did this in January, and 

 laid out on paper every row of plants I wanted, be- 

 fore ordering the seeds. Afterwards the plan was of 

 great value as a guide in using all my garden space 

 to the utmost economy. It was also useful in econo- 

 mizing seeds, and in serving as a guide as to the 

 quantities of each kind to be bought. It is also a 

 good idea to preserve these plans to compare with 

 the actual results when the crops are gathered. We 

 are almost certain to plant too much of some things, 

 and the plan will be a guide in next year's purchase 

 of seeds. 



There is also another advantage in making a plan 

 of the future plantings. To get the greatest possible 

 return out of the soil we must produce two crops each 

 year, or three crops in two years. Suppose your 

 garden is the usual city back yard, 25 feet wide and 

 60 feet long. Out of this bit of ground you must 

 wring in one season all it is capable of producing. 

 The ground must be stuffed with plants — not a foot, 

 not an inch being wasted. If lettuce plants will ma- 

 ture when planted 12 inches apart, radish or some 



