4 GARDEN PROFITS 



wornout ban of uselessness and*ugliness, I do not 

 claim to advance any wonderful new scheme, 

 to disclose a "marvellous secret of success" (for 

 which I charge one dollar), or to convey an in- 

 fallible means of making a fortune in six months. 

 The reported fabulous returns from such crops as 

 ginseng are rarely, if ever, actual, and at best, 

 success in such cases depends upon an uncertain 

 market thousands of miles away. But vegetables 

 and fruits are staples; they find markets every- 

 where, while guaranteed freshness and quality, 

 contrasted with the doubtful, wilted store prod- 

 uce, are at a premium even in the height of the 

 growing season. It is often possible to arrange for 

 an exchange of goods — especially if you are within 

 reach of the typical village "general store." Even 

 the actual financial gain is intensified when we can 

 deliver peas, beans or corn, which it has given us 

 only pleasure to raise, and receive in return gro- 

 ceries, meat and the like, without having even to 

 mention the inflated price of beef and the increased 

 cost of living. In fact, for the owner of a small 

 garden, there need be no such thing as "increased 

 cost," for the soil grows ever more generous under 

 care and attention, and with proper precautions 

 can be made to yield not less, but more and more 

 with each succeeding year. 



Therefore, while I do not wish to mislead any 

 reader into expecting an independent fortune 

 from the backyard, yet I do maintain that there 

 is such a thing as making a few hundred feet of 

 soil produce money. Not a few of the (literally 



