m*- w - Clpdigital.org

WHAT TO PLANT
IN YOUR BACK
YARD
By W. T. WALSH
T H E other morning before
seven o'clock 1 discovered my
next door neighbor, who is
notorious in our block for
indolence, busily engaged in
digging up his back yard.
His shoulders were bent sturdily to
the task, he threw his whole weight—no
slight one—upon the blade of the spade.
and every now and then he paused not
so much to breathe or rest as to wipe off
the drops of perspiration that constantly
beclouded his spectacles.
"What are you going to plant?"
I asked, by way of encouraging
him for his display of feverish
energy.
"Potatoes." he answered,
without looking up, as he attacked
viciously an obstinate
clod of turf. "It's the only
crop worth raising. Look
where the price stands—over
a dollar a peck. Got to do
something for my family and
feel as if I was doing my bit
for my country, too."
"Know anything about raising
them ?"
"Nope, except what the
seed catalogue says. That's
enough, I guess," and as it
was once more time
to wipe his glasses, he
stopped and stared at
me. his face flushed
and swollen from exertion.
"This gardening's a
great thing. I tell
you," he continued.
l*3(KWO00 *
Didn't know there was so much fun to
real, physical labor. Got the whole family
interested in it. Wife cuts out the
eyes of the potatoes before she cooks
them. That is where we get
part of the seed. The rest of
it comes from the man who
brings the vegetables. Guess
I'm going to disappoint him
this summer. He'll be surprised
how well this garden's
going. Says I'm likely to have
trouble with it."
"What makes him say
that?"
"Well, he thinks the soil
isn't right. Says it ought to
be sandy. Tells me I'm not
going to have much luck with
those potato eyes, because I
don't know whether they come
from a prolific strain or not.
Maybe they're diseased, too.
I stand a good chance of
planting seed from plants that
have some kind of scab.
Then, again, they might have
been frost-touched. Oh,
there's lots of other troubles
besides, that I can have."
. "Cheerful chap," I commented
sympathetically.
"That isn't all, either."
went on the enthusiast. "This
same gardener said potato
seed under no circumstances
should be planted untreated.
493