The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1890-04-30
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

AAE NENLiAbi4h- bAhDEN.
The importance of a good vegetable
garden to the farmers family can hardly
be overestimated. And yet the ordinary
farmer seems inclined to ignore its bene-
hts and suffers it to become a burden to
him instead of pleasure, as it would be
considered, if properly appreciated. He
sees the profit in wheat and corn, because
he sells the product of these cereals, and
the money he gets for them is something
tangible. But the products of the gar
den are not sold, therefore he sees no
money coming in from it, aud he gets into
the habit of thinking that time and labor
given to 1t are about the same as thrown
away or wasted. And, too, a garden to
a-mGn who spends most of his time in
great fields of corn and wheat and hay
during the spring and summer, seems
very little, circumscribed affair-some-
thing hardly worth "bothering" with
too Insignificant to be given much atten-
> ton, in fact. Consequently, the vege-
table garden is pretty sure to be neglected
by the head of the family, unless the
"head" happens to be woman. If most
of time and strength 10 attend to the
garden as it ought to be attended to,
know very well that we would see fewer
patches of weeds dignifed by the name
of garden, from which few inferior
vegetables are taken during the season.
A housekeeper appreciates the advantages
OF well-stocked garden to draw from as
occasion requires. The ''men folks" ap-
preciate the vegetables which the woman
of the family sets before them at meal
time, but the despised garden fails to get
the credit it deserves for all that. Many
men seem to think that vegetables are, or
ought 10 be, spontaneous products.
There ought to be plenty of them with
out mans being obliged to do anything
to secure them. A garden ought to
plant and take care of itself. But it so
happens that gardens "are not made in
that way, and the man who is not will
ing to give proper attention to a garden
cannot expect to have one that is worthy
the name. "He who soweth not shall
not reap, y is just as true to-day as when
it was first said.
If the farmer was obliged to buy the
vegetables used in his family through the
year, he would begin to understand how
much money there is in good garden.
If he could not afford 10 buy them, he
would begin to appreciate them, as he
does not when he has even limited sup
ply, and that of inferior quality. Take
that away entirely, and he would sec
what a great benefit is derived from a
poor garden. Let him keep an account
of the money paid out, if he purchases,
and at the end of the year he understands,
as never before, the amount of good liv,
ing which the garden supplies, and he
would conclude that there is more money
in the garden than he had thought.
l would urge every farmer TO have a
garden, and a good one, for, while a
poor one is better than none at all, good
one is so much better that one ought
never to be satisfied with anything else.
Let him make up his mind to work il, at
least as well as he does other portions OF
his farm, and he will find, if he carries
out this resolution, and keeps an account
of the results, that there is no other por,
tion of the farm which furnishes so much
of the family's living, therefore none that
''paysn so we'll That this is a fact, every
one who has good garden will tell you,
II is also a fact that those who have the
best gardens appreciate them most. Poor
gardens are only to be tolerated on the
principle that "half a loaf is better than