VI 



THE SIMPLICITY OF SELF-MAINTAINING 

 FERTILITY THAT EVERYONE CAN HAVE 



THERE are two principles and practices 

 which have been mentioned repeat- 

 edly. One is the vital importance 

 of cultivation, of keeping the soil 

 loose and friable at all times. The 

 other is the imperative necessity of an intelligent 

 use of fertilizers. With these two essentials pro- 

 perly attended to the ideal garden is nearer reali- 

 zation than all other sets of conditions put together 

 can bring it. 



And yet I wish nothing less than to make these 

 subjects bugbears to the backyard gardeners, any 

 more than to the farmer of broader acres; to make 

 him feel that he must give hours of study, experi- 

 ment and thought to the questions before he can 

 make his garden successful. On the contrary 

 I want to emphasize, and I want you to realize, 

 the simplicity of it; to realize how many scien- 

 tists and painstaking investigators have done 

 these very things with the result that the knowl- 

 edge is available to you in brief, compact, defi- 

 nite form, such that you need only acquaint 

 yourself with a few facts and practical instruc- 

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