PREPARATION OF THE LAND 147 



ing, when valuable prizes are offered and the finest 

 types of vegetables splendidly presented. Almost 

 every vegetable during recent years has been taken in 

 hand by the hybridiser, the result generally being 

 better strains. Peas, Potatoes, Cauliflowers, Tomatoes, 

 Cucumbers, Brussels Sprouts, Carrots, Celery, Vege- 

 table Marrows, Cabbage, Onions, Beans of all kinds, 

 Leeks, and many others have been greatly improved 

 of late years. Those who are thinking and hoping to 

 excel in the production of high-class vegetables must 

 remember that much work and forethought are needful, 

 but let it not be forgotten that even when one has no 

 good position or ideal vegetable soil a splendid success 

 is not impossible. There is no soil or position in the 

 country that cannot be brought into a suitable con- 

 dition for, if not all, the majority of vegetables. Those 

 who persevere are the ones to succeed. Success is not 

 a matter of mere luck as some imagine. 



Preparation of the Land. I regard this as of the 

 utmost importance, and unless it can be brought into 

 a good state of cultivation no amount of work and 

 worry will ever produce the finest vegetables. Deep 

 cultivation must be persisted in, and in spite of what 

 other growers may say, I know from long practical ex- 

 perience that when this is systematically practised quite 

 double and sometimes treble returns are assured. It 

 is not so much a matter of size of garden or farm as 

 the way it is worked. The land must be deeply 

 drained, and the trenching practised if possible annually 

 at no less a depth than two feet six inches or three 



