THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



all, cannot but wonder how far the usual insect- 

 icides, especially the arsenates, may go in the cir- 

 culation of the plants to which they are applied. 

 There are certain plant-poisons herbicides on the 

 market which it is claimed will kill out scrub oak, 

 burdock, Canada thistle, and like persistent peren- 

 nial growths; whether it does it or not, the fact 

 remains that plants have the power of absorbing 

 and carrying through the sap circulation to a 

 limited degree foreign matter applied upon the 

 surface. 



It is considerations like this which make the 

 growing of one's own kitchen vegetables so desir- 

 able, for though it may be practically necessary for 

 the large grower to employ the aid of various 

 poisons in order to produce a crop of any or many 

 specific vegetables, on the restricted area of the 

 home garden in many cases it is neither necessary 

 nor desirable. 



There is another point that has weight with the 

 careful housewife that of perfect cleanliness. If 

 vegetables look clean and fresh one is apt to infer 

 that they are fresh from the garden. This may 

 be anything but the case. Market gardeners are 

 not independent of time and seasons any moru 



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