Vol. LXXVII, 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co., 
333 W. 30th St.. New York. Price One Doliar a Year. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 21, 1018. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter. June 26, 1879, at the Post 
Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
No. 4513. 
A Backyard Garden and its Earnings 
Nearly 25 Cents Per Square Foot 
[Some of tlie backyard g'ardens started diirius the 
past two years have been remarkably successful. These 
amateur giirdeners have shown many farmers what can 
be done with a piece of land. Starting with good soil, 
stuffing it with manure and fertilizer, crowding plants 
and giving thorough 
culture. Home of these 
back - to - the - yarders 
have done wonders. 
The following .state¬ 
ment by Tj. if. Wil¬ 
liams of Pennsylvania 
is one of the best re¬ 
ports yet received. Mr. 
■Williams has a yard 
31x00 feet. This we 
figure as 1,S00 feet, or 
a little over four per 
cent of an acre, lie 
sold ,$440.19 worth of 
vegetables, which we 
ligure at the riite of 
$10,000 per acre—or 
about three times as 
much as Mr. Williams 
claims. You will see 
that he used at the 
rate of 90 loads of 
manure per acre, and 
Avho can estiniiite the 
amount of hand labor 
required V De we be¬ 
lieve such a _ result 
would be possible on 
an entire acre or more? 
Yes, and we expect to 
have a report of such 
an outcome!] 
G ross sales. 
—I am sending 
you a report of my 
sales from my small 
garden, less than one 
eighth of an acre. 
An acre worked this 
w'ay would yield and 
bring me in for one 
year to the amount 
of $3,521.52. One 
could afford to hire 
a man at $100 pen 
month for the year, 
then be $2,321.52 to 
the good. 
Garden laud 31x00 ft. 
Sold from May 
10 to May 
31 . $77.08 
,lune sales.... 154.41 
July sales.... 48.25 
Aug. sales.... 05.98 
Sept, sales... 55.49 
Oct. sales.... 31.14 
To Nov. 8th 
sales . 7.24 
Total.$440.19 
CROPS AND 
METHODS.—I will 
explain how I did it, 
and the crops that 
were grown. Of 
course all know that 
this could not have 
3een done growing 
ordinary crops of po- 
latoe.s, corn or cabbage. We must crowd the land and 
produce the most valuable crops. In the first place 
j! have a hotbed of six sash, 3x6, and two cold 
frames, each 6x18, nsed for transplanting plants 
(started under glass) and covered with muslin fas¬ 
tened to franms. i start tomatoes, lettuce and pep- 
oer plants, getting strong lettuce plants to set out 
hi tne open the latter part of April, I raise a lot ot 
-ettuce, suen as Grand Rapids and Big Boston. This 
is grown quickly and runs into money fast. 1 sold 
240 dozen tomato plants, three and four transplant¬ 
ings, at 35c per dozen. I rai.se tomato, pepper, 
celery, cauliflower and cabbage plants, which I have 
a good sale for, and all come in May and June. Then 
when the tomato plants are out of the cold frames 
I set these beds full of good strong celery plants set 
six inches each way (White Plume), When I can¬ 
not u.se a iioe (that is, a small hoe), and the plants 
get above the boards, I put up another 12-inch board, 
and then it is all boxed in. Then the blanching goes 
on, so I sell this celery in August and September. 
Tl'.en set these bods full of head lettuce for Full 
trade; get 5c per head. 
SUCCESSIVE CRDl’S.—I have my garden all 
spaded over in the Full, and all the manure I can 
work in under. I set out in early Spring about 60 
to 70 quarts of onion sets for green bunch onions, 
set about one inch apart and rows 10 inches apart, 
as the ground is strong and rich. When I begin to 
pull green onions I set out Grand Rapids lettuce 
between the rows, so I bring two good crops along 
at the same time, and when the onions are all off I 
give the lettuce a 
good hoeing and have 
city water to sprinkle 
Avith, wdiich fetches 
it along fast. Wlien 
these two crops are 
out of the Avay I 
Avork the ground up 
in July and set it out 
to beets and radishes 
or anything that Avill 
bring quick money, 
lettuce, spinach or 
SAviss chard, which 
sells Avell at 10c per 
bunch, so that I make 
three crops on the 
ground. I generally 
set out about 1,000 
lettuce plants very 
early, set six inches 
each Avay, by using 
a six - inch board 
marker to set ac¬ 
curately ; then put a 
six or eight-inch 
board all around it 
to tack on muslin to 
keep off the cold ait 
till Aveather Avarms 
up to gWe it a good 
start. These plants 
have all been trans¬ 
planted once, and 
have good roots. 
From this celery I re¬ 
alize about ,$35, and 
it is off the ground 
June 15. Then I Avork 
the ground over, set 
it to early celery, same 
amount, 1,000 plants, 
all set 6x6. Then 
later, as it groAvs, 
board it up Avith 12- 
inch boards so it is 
boxed in. When it 
groAA's ahoA'e the 12- 
inch boards put an¬ 
other 12-inch board 
on it. This crop is 
out of the Avay in 
early September. 1 
realize from this crop 
$40 to $50. 
T H E T III R D 
CROP.—For a third 
crop on this ground I figure to have some nice strong 
lettuce plants. Big Boston, as this crop groAvs aa-cII 
cool nights and Avarm days. I also raise lots of Fall 
radishes; use salt and keep maggots aAvay. I have 
been on this place three years last July; it is hard 
clay ground. I put on in the three years 34 tAvo- 
I'orse loads of manure. 10 barrels of hen manure, 
also salt and lime. I sowed seven roAvs of White 
Globe ouiou seed, sowed very thick, in order co get 
Barns and Registered Ilolstcins on a Green Co., Wisconsin, Dairy Farm. Fig. 653 
