HOME GARDENS 3 



"distant pastures being greenest and the distant 

 opportunity more attractive." 



In the country the home garden is all too often 

 looked upon as beneath the notice of a full-grown 

 self-respecting man, and is relegated to the back- 

 ground in the farm pl'ans as deserving only of the 

 consideration of the women and children. A few 

 roasting ears from the field, some corn beans, a few 

 tomatoes and some cabbage, together with the ever- 

 present potato, just about cover the list of avail- 

 able vegetables in all too many country homes. 

 This meager list, supplemented by the pork barrel, 

 salt, sugar and cheap coffee from the grocery, to- 

 gether with heavy and poorly baked bread, tends 

 to destroy the health, sour the disposition, and is 

 responsible for far more of the discontent and un- 

 happiness of farm life than is usually attributed to 

 it. All too often the city man's table is better 

 supplied with fruits and vegetables the year round 

 than is that of the country dweller. 



Those interested primarily in the general lines of 

 farming often feel that it is much better for them to 

 grow a few more acres of corn or of wheat and buy 

 these products of the orchard and garden, which, 

 of course, require some effort and some expense to 

 grow. This line of reasoning is all well and good 

 in many cases, provided these products are bought 

 in abundance for the use of the farmer and his 

 family. As a matter of fact, however, in niriety- 

 nine cases out of every hundred if the fresh fruits 

 and vegetables are not produced upon the farm, 

 they are never bought in anything like an adequate 

 quantity. These products should be looked upon as 

 what someone has called "luxurious . necessities," 

 and especially so in connection with farm life. 



