The Washington herald., 1912-08-25

I ing; but when her father died and left
his ranch to be divided among his chill
| dren. Miss Boots did not let her broth
ers manage her share with theirs She
wanted II separate. because-well. be-
cause she always had wanted what be-
longed TO her. individually, with no part
nership.
She had begun on her own hook. in her
own dooryard. as a child when, with
money earned from chickens. she bought
COW. With this beginning she kept
on until she had quite a herd. breeding
from fine strains OF Holsteins.
Whatever she now has. whether a
cow, a collie. strawberry plant or a
wagon, 1t must be the best. In addition
10 cattle. Miss Boots has made a spe-
cialty OF tomatoes, potatoes, strawber-
ries and raspberries. When the land
gets poor she plants alfalfa
Turned Love Into Money.
Years ago an invalid woman in Ven
tura, Cal. stepped out of her back door
into her flower garden in the hope of
sharing the husbands burden of support
ing the family. She loved her flowers,
and by working among them she chung
fast to the slender thread by which her
life hung. She turned that love to &C
count, and In time the name Of Theodo-
sia B. Shepherd came TO be known
among florists. from ocean to ocean, as
seed grower. and the originator of
many splendid new varieties of flowers.
In that first little garden Mrs. Shep-
herds helper was her six-year-old
daughter. and as the business grew
Myrtle Shepherd learned the ways Of 1t
unconsciously. Her marriage took her
away from home, but when with her
mothers passing there came a question
OF selling the gardens, she could not let
them go. Thus she took the manage
ment Of the business.
Already she had learned that the thing
to do was to specialize. She began with
petunias, that faithful denizen Of the
humblest garden. She has doubled It
and heightened the stem and coaxed 1t
into colors and forms that rival the
orchid, and her latest achievement, one
toward which fioriculturists have striven
for years. is the causing of the double
varieties to seed. Meanwhile, she has
carried on successfully a general florist
business. giving particular attention to
climbing and tree begonias, double white
sweet peas. and other varieties Of flow
ers which were originated by her
mother.
Where Originality Counted.
When Mrs Laura E. Barlow. OF Sebas-
topol, Cal, married and settled on q
thirty-eight-acre farm. she took an in
terest in the berry business. too. Berry
growing was then a new venture in Cali
fornia and the first year It was hard to
sell the crop. so Mrs. Barlow made jam.
She continued to do this until mar
ket was found for the fresh fruit. More
land was bought, and apple trees were
set out between the berry bushes. and
then one day Mrs. Barlow found her
self with nearly 200 acres and six chill
dren to care for alone. She did not
sell the ranch and move to town, but
continued the business, attending to
every part OF II herself.
The principal trouble in the country
is getting help at harvest time. One
season Mrs. Barlow had an inspiration
and arranged for $50 boys from an aid
society in San Francisco to come up
and camp near her place during the
berry season and pick the fruit. This
gave the boys a fine outing and a chance
to make some Saoney and solve grave
problem for Mrs. Barlow. The plan has
worked well for several years and shows
the value of originality on a farm.