The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-01-07
GARDENING FOR PROFIT.


 The business of growing fruits and veg etables for market Is both pleasant and remunirative. provided, however, that the business is well understood and properly managed. Gardening or truck farming, like all other farm operations of this progressive age, pays just in proportion to the amount of intelligent attention and labor applied to the business. Gardening is the highest class of farming, and class of farming where brain power has to be used, or, In other words, the man who succeeds in this class of farming must be thinker, man who reads and keeps pace with the up-to-date methods in farming.
 The system of farming that would en- able farmer to grow cotton and grain will not answer at all for the growing of fancy fruits and vegetables, such as is demanded by our leading markets of to- day.
 The work in truck farming is not or should not necessarily be laborious, not so much so as other farming. The secret in this Is to do the work at the right time and In the right way. In fact in truck farming there is something that needs attention at all times and the man who succeeds must count on working the entire time and in giving the business his undivided attention.
 Men Suited for Truck Gardening.
 There are but few men suited for gard ening. Sometimes, I am almost led to believe that successful gardeners are born and not made by training The boy who has the natural liking for things beaut- full, who is born with a love for flowers and plants and who delights in seeing trees and plants grow, Is the kind of boy to train for this class of farming, for this is the kind of boy who is most likely to make a success in agriculture and horticulture, and horticulture is only the higher class of agriculture. Few men, if they wait until they have reached middle age to commence gardening, ever make a success of the business. So to make successful gardeners, we should take the boy when young, give him thorough training and bring him up from youth right in the business.
 While we might make successful gard eners out of many boys yet the boy born with the natural love for flowers and plants will always have the advantage. Boys born with an inclination to be lazy will never become successful gardeners, nor can we make a successful gardener out of the man who is lazy. Men of weak minds or weak bodies are unsuited for truck farming. Men of strong will power, with good, healthy bodies, are the men who are most likely to make success of this class of farming. Again, no Hitter ate man is likely to succeed; education to a certain extent is absolutely necessary, for the man who succeeds in this higher class of farming must have some practi- cal knowledge of soils, plant foods, seeds and varieties must know something of chemistry, insects and insecticides and must have general knowledge of many things.
 He will also have to study and cater to the demands of the markets for mar kets are always changing. So In summing up the necessary qualifications of man who is to make a success in this line of farming we find that it is necessary for him to keep his brains at work all the time and that more depends upon brain power than upon muscle power in truck farming.
 This all applies especially to a general line in gardening or to the professional gardener, who is to make gardening his special business. There is d difference between the professional gardener and what we term truck farmer.
 The object of this article is to treat es- pecally of the matter of truck farming, or special crops, rather than that of pro- fessional gardening Truck farming, or the growing of special crops for market, may be made a success in many sections of the country In fact nearly every sec- tion of country has conditions of soil and climate that makes It adapted for some special crop or crops, and where the farm CTS of each section have learned by ex- perience what crops are best suited to their soils and climate. these crops may be profitably grown for market
 Three Essentials.
 Under the present order of things there are three essentials to truck farming in all sections. These are organization, CO., operation and education, and education is the most important of all If space would permit we could mention many experi- ences that would substantiate this state ment.
 All over our country farmers organiza- tions have been effected for growing fruits and vegetables for market. which after a few experiences have gone to pieces and today are numbered among the things of the past.
 Nearly all such failures have come about for the want of education. have known organizations where the organization and cooperation were almost perfect, yet for the want of education they went all to pieces after one or two years experience.
 Again we have known truck growers associations to give up with one seasons 8 experience, claiming that there was no money to be made In growing the crops that they had failed on. They never charge the failure to their mismanage- ment or to their want of information in the growing and marketing of their crops. There are but few crops for which there is not ready demand, and the way to make money out of any crops Is to stay by them year in and year out. Take early potatoes as an example. Some seasons as much as $50 per acre may be made in the growing of this crop, while the next crop would hardly pay expen- ses This is true of the onion as well. In fact 1t Is true with all crops First Find Crop. So. for the farmers In any community, to make a success in trek fin farming, should first find the crop or crops best suited for their locality. then organize for the growing and marketing of such crops They should prepare their soils for the highest development of these crops and should plan to stay by such crops year in and year out. through failure as well as success
 The cotton farmer never drops the cot ton crop because he makes a failure or because some seasons the crop does not pay the expenses of production: he only goes at 1t the next season with a more determined effort to win. The same is true of the farmers who grow wheat, corn, rice and tobacco. But let the farm e. h~