JANUARY: FIRST WEEK 3 



problem of making a living on a real farm pick out your 

 specialty and lay out your lines for experiment and expan- 

 sion with that in view. But first fix the mental photograph 

 of what you want to accompHsh. Then you can follow a 

 step-at-a-time poUcy as circumstances permit, which will 

 not mean wasted effort. A step at a time in a straight hne 

 toward a definite goal will mean rapid progress; steps in no 

 fixed direction may mean no progress at all. 



Look Over Tools and Seeds 



Even on the very small place quite a number of vegetable 

 seeds accumulate as the result of left-overs from former gar- 

 dens. The garden-Hne breaks, trowels and hoes are lost, 

 glass in the hot-bed sash gets broken, tools are lent to neigh- 

 bors who forget to return them, and there are a hundred 

 and one other little things that, if attended to now, may save 

 a great deal of annoyance and delay and possibly consider- 

 able loss later on. It is an excellent plan to put everything 

 in order now in the tool shed and the seed boxes, to make 

 any needed repairs, and to make at least mental notes of 

 the various things on hand and those that will be needed 

 by spring. 



Seeds left over from the previous year's garden may or 

 may not be good. The first rule for the gardener is: When 

 in doubt throw them away! Never for one moment let the 

 price of a new lot of seed weigh against the possibiUty of 

 even partial failure. Some seeds, however, keep for a num- 

 ber of years, as follows: Beans, 3; beets, 6; broccoli, 5; 

 cabbage, 5; carrot, 4; cauliflower, 5; celery, 8; cucumber, 10; 

 eggplant, 3; endive, 10; gourds, 6; kohl-rabi, 5; leek, 3; 

 lettuce, 5; sweet corn, 2; muskmelon, 5; onion, 2; oyster 

 plant, 2; parsley, 3; parsnip, 2; pea, 2; pepper, 4; pumpkin, 

 4; radish, 5; spinach, 5; squash, 6; tomato, 4; turnip, 5; 

 watermelon, 6. 



Usually there is no way of telling how old the seed is when 

 you get it, so the only safe method is to test for germination 

 any that may have been left over. Take a small box, such 



