a
desirable accessory for operating belt machinery such as small feed mills,
pumps, and cream separators. The rating of the motor should be not less
than 3 horsepower at the drawbar for the ordinary tasks it will be called
upon to perform.

All types of attachments are available for the garden tractor. These
include plows, disks, harrows, cultivators, mowers, fertilizer
distributors, planters, sowers and seeding accessories. The prices of
these vary according to make and quality. Levers are provided for
adjusting the depth of plowing, cultivating and seeding. Some of the large
type garden tractors are equipped with a seat on a sulky attached to the
machine so that the operator can ride and have complete control over speed
and the type of work he wishes to do. A modern garden tractor will be
found very useful in taking care of a lawn or garden. In the case of
larger areas under cultivation, but not of field size, this type of
machine is rapidly gaining popularity for performing efficiently and
economically the numerous jobs that are to be done on every small farm.

_Do's_

Select a soil type that is inherently productive, fertile, retentive of
moisture and easily cultivated.

Supplement soil fertility by adding chemical fertilizers either singly or
in combination.

Buy mixed fertilizers on the basis of guaranteed analyses.

Use legumes (peas, beans, etc.) to add nitrogen to soils and increase
humus content.

Add specific bacteria for the production of various legumes.

Use manure and green crops to supply humus.

Apply lime when soil test shows need for it as plant food and general soil
improver.

Practice methods that make soils absorptive of moisture and permit escape
of excess water.

Cultivate the soil to check escape of moisture and to kill weeds.

Use a horse or garden tractor for cultivation of areas larger than the
family garden.

_Don'ts_

Don't buy land that is continually wet and swampy.

Don't expect to produce satisfactory crops on soils that are extremely
heavy or clayey or so sandy as to quickly lose moisture and fertility.

Don't try to produce crops without maintaining the humus supply in the
soil.

Don't neglect cultivation as a means of conserving moisture, destroying
weeds and stimulating root growth.

_Chapter_ VII

FOOD FROM THE GARDEN

The home vegetable garden should supply an important part of the food for
every family living in the country. Vegetables tha