CHAPTER ONE 



THE SANITARY AND ECONOMIC VALUE OF 

 THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



IVECENT legislation has focused public atten- 

 tion in no small degree upon the subject of pure 

 food. Just what goes into the composition of the 

 food we eat is becoming more and more a matter 

 of inquiry by the consumer. It is doubtful, how- 

 ever, if the law requiring the constituents of tinned 

 goods and sealed packages to be printed on the 

 outside of the packages meets the full require- 

 ments of the case. It is probable that quite as much 

 adulterated food is sold as at any time previous 

 to the passage of the law. Many manufacturers 

 rely upon the proneness of people to accept a thing 

 as a fact without the trouble of personal investiga- 

 tion. Few people, it may be supposed, take the 

 trouble to read the labels on the goods they buy, 

 at least not until they are delivered at the house, 

 and it is doubtful if the few who do take the pre- 

 caution are much wiser for their pains. The bo- 



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