DIGNITY AND VALUE OF 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 
^NE of the most gratifying indications of horticultural progress in California is the in- 
creasing interest in the gro\vth of vegetables for home use. It is true that the com- 
V^CJ— mercial production of vegetables for local sale or for distant shipment is advancing to 
p^^^^ a higher plane in public esteem, and is no longer looked upon as the special province 
rifc^ r1 I I of recent arrivals from the Orient or the Mediterranean. Truck-farming and market- 
gardening are coming to be . regarded as honorable eflforts even by those who formerly 
considered growths which were not held aloft by a tree-trunk or a vine-stump as rather beneath 
their notice. One result of this change in the Californian view is seen in the large shipment of 
early vegetables to eastern markets, and the income accruing to the state from this source. Another 
and perhaps a more important result, on the whole, of the different view of the dignity of vegetable 
gardening, is the increasing appreciation of the value of the home garden and the recognition of the 
superiority of home-grown esculents — fresh, crisp and delicious — carried to the kitchen while the 
delicate fragrance of the well-tilled earth and the dew of heaven still cling to their roots and foliage. 
There are many considerations upon which this growing interest in the home vegetable garden 
may be urged as salutary and satisfactory. Unquestionably the highest consideration is the service 
which is rendered to public health and comfort. It is a matter which needs no argument. All apostles 
of dietetic reform agree upon the desirability of the free use of vegetables, and all are strenuous in the 
claim that they shall be as /res/i as possible. Unquestionably those who have the opportunity to secure 
this important factor of health and comfort and do not embrace it are not wise. 
Another consideration which presses quite close in these days of small things financially is the 
husbanding of income by producing an important food supply instead of purchasing it. It has often 
been claimed that the home supply of vegetables could be bought for less than it could be grown. 
Perhaps this was true in many cases, when all our industries were yielding large returns. No doubt 
men who were promoting large enterprises to produce high-priced products, or making improvements 
which gave their lands high sale value, could not afford time even for the supervision of a garden acre 
But granting that, though it has not been demonstrated, and the experience of some enterprising meii 
points the other way, it does not follow that home supplies of vegetables can not be profitably grown 
now. In fact, it has been the experience of many during the last two years that the home garden, 
the home cow and the home poultry-yard have saved the farm and the comfort of the household, which 
the orchard and vineyard were powerless to secure. Many estimable families have lived well and had 
funds to spare for home comforts because they had the will and the skill to make an effort. And the 
good breadth of garden, with the wise utilization of the home water supply, was the most important 
factor in the undertaking, because in the variety of its products it was the mainstay of the family table, 
and its wastes and surpluses did much to enable the cow and fowls to make their contributions.' 
Such experience as this, which has been noted in all parts of the state, is also making another 
important suggestion, and it is being acted upon. The local supply of vegetables in small towns is 
coming from adjacent farms to an extent not before realized in California. Farmers who have learned 
that work and water will yield fine vegetables almost everywhere in California have found also that 
these vegetables are in demand. The local grower, if he is wise and industrious, always has the advan- 
tage over the distant market-garden center. He can sell at the same price and still have the cost of 
transportation as a profit, and the freshness of his goods almost always gives him more than that. 
Evidently California is but just entering upon her career as a vegetable-growing state. We seem 
to have forgotten until recently that horticulture is not alone the growth of fruits, but it is gardening 
with all that the word implies — fruits, vegetables, flowers. We have more to do in all these lines, it 
is true, but in vegetable growing we shall make notable advances in all directions. 
California is growing vegetable seeds for all parts of the world, and yet, perhaps, Californians are 
behind all the world in using those seeds for their own good health, comfort and prosperity. But this 
will not long be true, and each one can do something to hasten the better times. Take the high-class 
seeds of a trustworthy dealer, give them good treatment in care, culture and moisture, and the results 
of experience' will render any future exhortation unnecessary. 
Assoc, Prof. 0/ Horticulture, University of California: 
President California State Floral Society: 
Horticultural Editor " P.icific Rural Press," San Francisco. 
"CALIFORITIAK FRUITS. AHD HOW TO GROW THEM." By Professor E. J. WICKSOH. Uluatrated. $3.00. 
(Third edition now In preparation.) 
