The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-08
The Profit in Farmers Gardens,

4 II
+ Farmers are too prone to regard the
produce which they can sell as the most
important result of their efforts-the
great end of their vocation, says a writer
! in American Farmer These marketa-
bic crops are paramount; they must be
attended to whatever else is neglected,
whatever other interests are sacrificed.
| Now beg leave to dissent from such a
view of the true ends of the farmers vo-
cation. A farmer should regard as of
! first Importance the sustenance, the COM
forts. the luxuries and the benefits that
| his family can obtain from the farm.
| What he can sell to purchase fabrics,
| comforts or luxuries produced or manu-
| featured outside the farm is of minor i'm
portance, and should have second place in
his plans and labors. The gardens and
orchards may be made to produce more to
minister to the healthful wants of the
family than the fields. While l would
not advise the farmer to neglect the lat
ter, would counsel him to pay a great
| deal more attention to the former than he
has in times past.
The gardens for which I plead, for
which l solicit higher place in the regard
of the farmer, are the flower garden, the
| vegetable garden, the fruit garden, and /
may say the landscape garden. The lat
| ter comprehends not only the planting of
| trees, shrubs, vines, plants, and the max
| ing of a grassy lawn in the ornamental
| grounds around the dwelling, but the ar
rangement of all the grounds, the garden
and orchard, the fields, the farm build
/ fngsLall that go TO make up the scenery
! around the rural home in such way as
| shall give the greatest satisfaction and
| pleasure to the family. The farm is not
| only the source of subsistence to the fam
| lily, but may become the means of de-
| velopment of education. Impressions re-
ceiyed by children from the rural scenery
| amid which they are reared never forsake
| them and it is within the province of the
| farmer so to improve that scenery by
| iudicious selection and tasteful planting,
| and the location, design and construction
| of the necessary farm buildings, as to
| greatly improve the natural scenery. |
| introduce the subject at this season of the
! year because it is the proper time to ma
ture plans and commence preparations for
next springs operations. Land that is TO
| be devoted to horticultural purposes next
season should have a heavy top dressing
| of manure as soon as possible, says a
writer in the Cultivator and Country
| Gentleman If it needs draining, that
\ should also be attended to.
Farmers are too much accustomed to
regard efforts to supply the home market
4 as DGbbY DuSlllGSo, Univ IiiI VI 1lAClI
| powers while to grow grain and breed,
rear and fatten live stock to. supply other
mems families is a great business, even
| though they are obliged to sell
| some of their crops for less than
it cost to produce them They should
quickly disabuse themselves of this
| absurd notion they should reflect that
when they have succeeded IN rearing and
| supporting an ordinary sized American
family upon farm, they have accom-
plished a great work-have achieved
greater results than majority of those
! engaged in other pursuits are able to
accomplish. And a larger portion of
this suprort-as l have already re-
marked-comes from the garden. Add
to these supplies those that come from
the hennery, the apiary and the cow, and
but little beyond is really necessary in a
nourishing, wholesome, delicious, gener-
GUS diet. We depend on other countries
largely for our sweetenlng for tea ana
coffee, for spices and some other con-
diments, but, with these exceptions, how
little is the farmer dependent upon any
source exterior to the farm for his table
supplies He may have succession OF
palatable vegetables all through the year
from parsnips and satisfy, grown the
Drevious wear and left in the ground
through the winter, to spinach and
asparagus soon following, and then sue
cession of species all through the grow
ing season to the potatoes, turnips, beets,
sauashes, cabbages, caullifowers, onions
and celery for winter.use. In the fruit line,
finishing up the apples, that he has pre-
served through the winter, he could begin
to furnish. from his own garden, straw
berries. currants, gooseberries raspber-
ries. blackberries, cherries, aprlcots.
peaches, plums, pears, grapes, ounces
and apples Add to these products OF the
garden pure milk, cream and butter, eggs
and poultry. and the flesh of our domestic
animals. and the bill of fare is complete.
With all these products of the garden and
farm possible, who will say that the
farmer shall have meager dletf IL ne
does. he has only his own improyidence 10
blame for it, Nature has done her part,
But" says the farmer, II can't attend
to these petty things my gram ana nay
crops and my live stock require all my
time, There is where you make the
great mistake You magnify the lmpor-
lance of those crops that you grow Ior
other families and minify the Importance
of what YOU raise for your own family.
You cannot, with the money you receive
for the crops you sell, purchase sucn lux
uries for YOUR family as you could make
your gardens and orchards produce Ior
them; fresh vegetables, cooked before
they wilt, ripe fruits, picked wheu az
their best from trees, shrubs, vines anu
plants. You cannot purchase THESE, az
their best, in the market. The Degter
wav would be first to attend TO proVlQlng
j for the wants of the family ana then
grow what YOU are able to for the Market.
| 2 m go ov, 20 rod in other DurSQltS IN Ln5