The Spectator., 1916-04-14

By J S Knox. Extension Horticultur.
 ist, University of Arkansas
 No other area on the whole farm will compare in value with the home garden. If properly prepared fertil. ized. planted and cultivated. a one. acre garden is easily worth 3100 00 to the farmer, and. if he counts i'll the garden truck at the same price he pays fot 1t at the grocery store, he will nnd that S10o.0o Is . low esti- mate of the crop grown in the gar. den. There are hundreds of homes in the state of Arkansas where. ex- csptins possibly in early sumnsI, tAsre is nothing to be had from the garden. and every year ws arc ssnd ing thousands of doalAzv te othsr states to buy vegetables that should bs grown iz cur own gardens. We ds not need . better market for what ws oan grow ia . small garden than that of supplying our own tables
 Location.-In selecting a location
 
 points should be censidsrsd; CD The Sell. ln order te Esw vegetables nat ars sf eA4 hAghaSs s~Alny . necessary to havs . deep. ,sch, loose and noisturs-rstain1ng soil vsSeta blss grown on . poor soN vhevs growth is slow arc vsry apt to bs tough and strinsy or unfit for eating Durposss. The moisture retaining property k also . desirable oae. e. pssialiy dusIAG the dry. hot days sf summer UAlsss the seil is loose is very hard ts get . seand q tAs small seeded plants. because they do not possess the necessary vitality te push their way through . hard, crusty soil. Then. teo. it is very difBeult to cultivate small plants whom the soM is compact CT crusty.
 (r sits-rAe sardea should. K possible. be located O . gentle south or southeast slope. Such slopes arc moro exposed to the sun and will warm up some earlier in the spring Of the year IT there is dseable slope and sleva vaiion 1t will be aN ths better. have noticed in several aal fsrsnt instancss that vsSstAbsis loeaA cd on . slope are not killed SC carly In the fall by frost as are tAsss h the levsl lowlands. It Quits ofss1 happens that we have a Killing frost early Tn the tAA. and after that it may be . month before we have an other frost This was true this last fall, and the gardens oa the sloping places could therefore bs used to aA- vantage some weeks later (s) Near ness to water supply If an abundAat supply of water can be had, it is 70 much the better, Considerable wator may be needed in the transplautinS sf the different vegetables. (D Near nose to home rhA l consider . veFy important factor. because gardens that are located . long distance from tks home seldom reoeavs the attention they dsssrve. The sardsn should. if possible. be located near the hornA. % tAAt it will require only few stsDs fss the housewife to gather the days eapply or vegetables.
 Seed Too little stress is aea~Tally laid on the importance of good seed for planting purposes. No matter how ideal the soil. cltnAAts, site. rainfall etc. one cannot set best results when only half of the seed serMina,s This can partly be overcome by sowing twice as many seed As are neosssary, but the plants arc also apt to lack in vitality II is therefore a good Idea to test garden seed before planting. or at least to get them from some re liable seed house Any farmer oan. within vsry short time, prepare . seed tester at home. The following kind is very satisfactory:
 Take an ordinary dinner plate and place on the shelf Now take . piece of heavy cotton flannel and vet 1t thoroughly. put one end into the plate, and onto this count 100 seed of the kind which you dssAre to test Nov fold the otAsr end of the cloth ovsr this and press firmly. % a 10 bring it in direct contact with the seed. Next invsrt . second dinner plate over this one and place the tesser in . fairly warm room, whore the tenn psrature dsss not fall below 65 or 70 degrees F Keep the cloths moist for eight or ton days then remove the top plate and the cloth cover and count the number of seed that have germinatsd (sproutsd). The number that have serminatsd will be the per cont of gsrmination. The above h very simple and inexpensive way of deter mining whether or not your garden seed are worth planting. and as II can be done during the winter CT be- fore the planting season ia oa. .