76 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



that I should sell my ten acres at a tremendous 

 sacrifice, and take up my newspaper work again 

 under greater disadvantages than ever. Never- 

 theless, so firmly was I convinced that there is 

 a joy in gardening well worth striving for, that 

 when spring opened I took a little house in 

 New Jersey and began to feel my way along. 

 I was quite convinced that for a man who knew 

 nothing about gardening except theoretically, 

 only failure would result from burning my ships 

 behind me at once. So I kept on with my 

 work in the city, but moved out to the country, 

 taking a little place with a small garden. 

 Meantime I bought every popular book bearing 

 upon the subject of gardening, and I subscribed 

 to several agricultural newspapers, which I read 

 with conscientious thoroughness. I have quite 

 a little library upon agricultural matters, col- 

 lected that spring and summer. 



My garden, to begin with, was in the most 

 rudimentary condition, having been allowed to 

 run to grass. After digging up a spot about 

 ten feet square in the turf, taking the early 

 morning for the work, I decided that it would 

 require all summer to get the garden fairly 

 spaded up, and so I hired a stalwart Irishman 



