CHAPTER IX 



The Vegetable Garden 



Good gardeners make good gardens ; 

 Good gardens make good crops ; 

 Good crops make good prices ; 

 Good prices make good gardeners. 



—Sol O'Man. 



" It is unfortunate that so many farm gardens 

 are ruined at the outset by inferior seed. In the 

 country," writes A. B. Ross of Pennsylvania, " we 

 depend on the country store for our seed far too 

 much, and we are careless. Look out for the 

 gaudily illustrated seed box. If you knew its hoary 

 and shameless record you might believe in total 

 depravity. Old seed, inferior seed, everything that 

 makes the garden third rate, is hidden in the little 

 5-cent envelope. And, if your congressman gets 

 the government to send you garden seed, vote 

 against him; he hasn't enough sense to be allowed 

 at large in Washington. Just why it is that our 

 great agricultural department does not put out 

 better garden seed, I cannot understand. In our 

 farming work we have had invaluable and most 

 accurate assistance from the government for several 

 years; it would be hard to over-estimate the benefit, 

 but as for the garden seed, we will have none of it. 



" As a matter of fact, there is no such thing as 

 cheap seed. Twenty dollars a pound for cauli- 

 flower seed the Long Island truckers pay, and are 

 glad of the chance to get it. They could buy for 

 $5 a pound, but they could not afford to take that 



121 



