ABC of Vegetable Gardening

Those who have never had a garden of their own, but have bought vegetables in the ordinary market, are not in a position to understand the wide difference between the article we buy and the one which is taken directly from the ground and eaten at once. While it is possible to keep most vegetables looking fresh for a considerable time by the use of water and ice, it is not possible to make them retain that delicacy of flavor known only to those whose vegetables go straight from the garden to the kitchen. If you want any vegetable at its best you must grow it in your own garden. I would not be understood as advocating the giving up of garden-work to women and children. I would not deny man the pleasure of sharing in it. But I would urge the importance of interesting women and children in it, and of encouraging them to take part in it from the viewpoint of health. Benefit in other respects will become so apparent, after a little, that further encouragement will not be necessary. Most women who have some leisure-especially if they are of the housewife class-will be so pleased with the results of gardening that they will be glad to supplement the labors of the man of the family by what they can accomplish in it, if he is employed in work that will not allow him to devote much time to the garden. And they will find that the boys of the family-and the girls as well-can be made to take an active part in the good work with but little encouragement from their elders. It is natural for both boys and girls to dig in the soil, and it is well to encourage them to dig to some purpose. It is natural work, and healthy work, and work that will do more to keep the average child out of mischief than any other influence that can be brought to bear on it. But I would not allow the child to get the impression that I gave it garden-work to do as a mischief-preventative. That would spoil everything. Aim to interest the boys and girls in the mysterious processes of nature. Encourage them to plan and execute as much of the work as can safely be trusted to them. In a short time you will find that most of them are equal to all the requirements of the ordinary garden. I have often been told by those who have had years of experience in garden-work that at least half one's living for half the year can be obtained from the garden, even if it happens to be a small one, and my own experience bears out the truth of this statement. If we grow our own vegetables we are quite sure to have a greater variety to add to the daily bill of fare than would be the case if we were to buy them. We have them when we want them without making a trip to the market for them, or depending on the uncertainties of telephone orders which grocers so frequently fill by sending vegetables of a quality that would not satisfy us if we gave them personal inspection before purchasing. The entire family will be delighted with the frequent changes that can be made in the bill of fare, and no one more so than the housewife who often finds it a difficult matter to plan for a variety of food when the family income does not warrant a liberal outlay. No owner of a bit of ground that can be made into a garden can afford to let it remain unused. If he does so he does it in disregard of the economy which most of us are obliged to consider and practise in these days of high prices and the increasing cost of daily living. Have a garden if you can.