PREPARATION OF THE LAND. 39 



as it does away with the initial expense of draining ; 

 but, on the other hand, it should be remembered that 

 the land producing the largest and most profitable 

 crop is drained land. 



CLEAR THE LAND. 



In making a beginning in vegetable growing, it is 

 best to start aright. The greater portion of our un- 

 improved land has to be cleared, and this should be 

 done thoroughly ; every stalk, stick or chunk should 

 be removed from the field. It is a waste of time and 

 money to go into vegetable growing as a temporary 

 vocation ; it is as deserving and demanding of constant 

 and careful attention as any other branch of horticul- 

 ture. So if you can clear ten acres only half way, 

 why, you had better clear five acres all the way. It 

 has been seen repeatedly that a small piece of land 

 well taken care of brought a greater return than 

 double the amount cared for poorly. The familiar 

 adage, "What is worth doing is worth doing well," 

 has full force in vegetable growing. 



SHALL WE PLOW DEEP? 



If we have a light, sandy soil, deep plowing may 

 prove detrimental to a field that is to be planted imme- 

 diately, but some time during the year it should be 

 stirred deeply and well. The subsoil is often so hard 

 that the roots of the crop cannot enter, and so have to 

 stay near the surface and be at the mercy of any short 

 drought that may occur ; whereas, if the soil were 

 twice as deep, it could stand a much longer drouth. 

 Many subsoils do not allow the water to soak through 

 them other subsoils let the surplus water through 

 slowly. In either case, the mechanical condition of 

 the soil would be improved by an occasional deep 

 plowing. Besides giving the roots a greater feeding 



