84 The Principles of Vegetable- Gardening 



inferior quality and to improve it. This is true of all 

 intensive farming ; for intensive farming wants quick, 

 positive, and large results. The closer one is to his 

 market, the smaller his area, and the greater the variety 

 of crops which he is to grow, the greater is the neces- 

 sity of securing land in prime condition. 



But if one has small capital, he may not be able to 

 secure such land. In such case, he takes land which 

 is either naturally inferior or which is run down. It 

 is a favorite advice of the market- gardening writers 

 to avoid run-down lands. It is said to be imprac- 

 ticable to attempt to reclaim them. This kind of 

 advice has been over -emphasized. If run-out land 

 lies right and is naturally well drained, it can be 

 brought into profitable condition, in the great majority 

 of cases, with comparatively little trouble and expense, 

 if only the person goes at it right. It requires time 

 and patience. The first thing to do is to till well and 

 to add fiber (preferably by means of clover). The 

 common notion that commercial fertilizer is the first 

 resort in such instances is in most cases a grievous 

 error. The fertilizer is for the purpose of adding 

 plant-food, not of ameliorating the soil. If market- 

 gardening is attempted on run-down land, the gardener 

 should select the best part of the area for his more 

 intensive efforts, giving it what manure he has and 

 bestowing upon it his best efforts in tillage. The 

 remainder of the place can then be slowly brought 

 into condition by cover -cropping, rotation, and other 

 cheaper means. Four or five years, at the outside, 

 should usually suffice to bring the average worn-out 



