THE x« 



GARDEN YARD *° 



US is that we cannot maintain the dry mulch, 

 because we have rain on the average every three 

 days. If you knew what was coming, you could 

 save your crop through any ordinary period 

 of drought, provided you had the skill, the 

 judgment and the chance which would lead you 

 to begin your operations at just the right time." 



According to Professor Whitney there are 

 about 400 distinct types of soil so far encount- 

 ered in the United States, with varying degrees 

 of known fertility, and only eight or ten staple 

 crops growing. This, of course, does not in- 

 clude the special crops like celery; it is the 

 regular, staple field or garden crops that are 

 unnecessarily limited. These are grown on all 

 kinds of soil in all parts of the country without 

 regard to the suitability of the soil to the crop. 



The Government, through the Department 

 of Agriculture, has given a great impetus to 

 plant introduction, and you cannot of course 

 expect to rival or approach it, with its enormous 

 funds and staff of experts, but you can experi- 

 ment with the new crops it introduces. Hither- 

 to, in this country, where the soil was too dry 

 for corn or wheat, or too moist for potatoes, it 

 has been neglected altogether; but the present 

 movement includes finding crops suitable for 

 these lands. The Government has introduced 



