November, 1909 
or professional. In 
it we may see the 
commencement of a 
system which threat- 
ens to revolutionize 
gardening methods 
in all civilized coun- 
tries. Of course, 
the idea is not new; 
for years it has been 
followed by _ the 
gardeners of Paris, 
but it has always 
been regarded as a 
makeshift policy 
rendered necessary 
by the peculiar con- 
ditions under which 
the Frenchmen pur- 
sue their occupa- 
tions. The market 
gardens of the gay 
capital press much 
more closely to the 
heart of the me- 
tropolis than is the 
case with most of 
our cities. As a 
consequence, land is 
expensive and diff- 
cult to obtain, so 
that the owner who 
followed the ordi- 
nary methods could 
not hope to get a 
suficient return 
from his property. 
Necessity, as is so 
often the case, has 
stimulated the in- 
ventive genius, and 
the growers have 
evolved a_ system 
whch has put them 
in a position that ts 
the admiration of 
the world. 
At the present 
time it is of value 
to consider the 
merits of the French 
method of garden- 
of the horticultural year has been the estab- 
lishment of the novel garden at Thatcham, 
England, which bids fair to become world- 
The fruit and vegetable farm is 
of interest, owing to the fact that it is 
owned and managed by ladies, and is in 
itself a striking evidence of what a body of enterpris- 
ing women can accomplish. ‘This is only a half of the im- 
portance of the experiment, for the subject is one which 
commands the attention of all gardeners, whether amateur 
famous. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
A Farming Experiment by Women 
By S. Leonard Bastin 
Tending the lettuce under the bell glasses 
A consultation with the French gardener 
443 
ing. The point of the whole idea consists in the employ- 
ment of every square inch of land which is available. 
That they do this to some purpose is best evidenced by the 
value of the ground—a matter which is, of course, reg- 
ulated by its productive capabilities. For comparison, two 
circles were taken, one in London and another of the same 
size in Paris. When the statistics from the two circumfer- 
ences were placed side by side, it appeared that the British 
center was an agricultural desert when compared to the 
French area. Whereas, in the former, garden land was rented 
at ten or fifteen dollars an acre, in the latter, ground com- 
a 
manded a rental 
which, in cases, was 
as much as two hun- 
dred and fifty dol- 
lars. This even 
though the climate 
and situation are al- 
most identical for 
all practical pur- 
poses. After all, the 
secret of this aston- 
ishing state of af- 
fairs is not a very 
great mystery, or 
one which can not 
be easily explained. 
From the first mo- 
ment when the 
French gardener 
takes his land in 
hand, the one aim 
of his existence is to 
enrich the ground to 
such an extent that 
things will simply 
“grow like magic.” 
Of course, it takes 
some years to bring 
the plot up to the 
highest state of per- 
fection, but in an ac- 
tual case which came 
under notice three- 
quarters of an acre 
was in a few months 
yielding as much as 
three acres would 
under ordinary 
treatment! Thus, at 
the end of a year it 
it was found that a 
piece of land one 
acre in extent, would 
be yielding produce 
worth over three 
thousand dollars a 
year—a truly mar- 
velous result. 
In the French sys- 
tem all the old- 
fashioned methods 
of digging, trench- 
