8 MY HANDKERCHIEF GARDEN. 



from home during a part of April. By May seventh 

 all were dead save five, and the first work done was to 

 fork up a little spot in the garden and set out those 

 five plants. On the same afternoon the pot of young 

 lettuce plants was brought out to the ground and a 

 place, four feet square, was forked up and made 

 smooth. On this little bed was set out, about five 

 inches apart, a few dozen lettuce plants. There were 

 some left which were given away to a neighbor — the 

 first crop for the season. 



The soil proved to be very tough and stiff, and one 

 Italian man spent one day in trying to spade it ever 

 and nearly perished in the attempt. After that I •'Ud 

 all the work myself, forking up the ground in little 

 beds as it was wanted. This labor, with the tools a'ld 

 more seeds, brought the expense of the garden on the 

 first cf June up to $5 88. On the thirteenth of June 

 the first lettuce and radishes were placed on my table, 

 and the garden was credited with the first return, five 

 cents for a fine head of lettuce and five cents for a 

 bunch of breakfast radish. 



The price of a fair average head of lettuce in the 

 village store on that day was five cents. I had had 

 been paying that sum every day for two or three 

 weeks, and often paid more. The day I picked that 

 head of lettuce I saved five cents on the bill at the 

 store. It was perfectly fair and right to credit the 

 garden with the retail price of lettuce for that day. 



My labor? Oh! yes! It cost labor to raise it, cost 

 the seed and the flower pot, and all the little proces- 

 sion of odd minutes spent in caring for the crop. 

 These were worth money, if my time was worth any- 

 thing at all. My time is worth something for about 

 five hours out of the twenty-four. The time spent m 

 caring for the lettuce plants was sirnply unavailable or 

 "off time" of no value, except as a time for exercise. 



