thods, twenty acres,
from which he harvested three thousand bushels of poor potatoes; and of
another man, a "new" farmer, who cultivated only five acres, walked two
hundred miles, and produced three thousand bushels of potatoes, early
and choice, which he sold at many times the price received by the first
man.

Saxon receded the books from Edmund, and, as she heaped them in Billy's
arms, read the titles. They were: Wickson's "California Fruits,"
Wickson's "California Vegetables," Brooks' "Fertilizers," Watson's
"Farm Poultry," King's "Irrigation and Drainage," Kropotkin's "Fields,
Factories and Workshops," and Farmer's Bulletin No. 22 on "The Feeding
of Farm Animals."

"Come for more any time you want them," Edmund invited. "I have hundreds
of volumes on farming, and all the Agricultural Bulletins... . And you
must come and get acquainted with Dulcie your first spare time," he
called after them out the door.

CHAPTER XIX

Mrs. Mortimer arrived with seed catalogs and farm books, to find Saxon
immersed in the farm books borrowed from Edmund. Saxon showed her
around, and she was delighted with everything, including the terms of
the lease and its option to buy.

"And now," she said. "What is to be done? Sit down, both of you. This is
a council of war, and I am the one person in the world to tell you what
to do. I ought to be. Anybody who has reorganized and recatalogued a
great city library should be able to start you young people on in short
order. Now, where shall we begin?"

She paused for breath of consideration.

"First, Madrono Ranch is a bargain. I know soil, I know beauty, I
know climate. Madrono Ranch is a gold mine. There is a fortune in that
meadow. Tilth--I'll tell you about that later. First, here's the
land. Second, what are you going to do with it? Make a living? Yes.
Vegetables? Of course. What are you going to do with them after you have
grown them? Sell. Where?--Now listen. You must do as I did. Cut out the
middle man. Sell directly to the consumer. Drum up your own market.
Do you know what I saw from the car windows coming up the valley,
only several miles from here? Hotels, springs, summer resorts, winter
resorts--population, mouths, market. How is that market supplied? I
looked in vain for truck gardens.--Billy, harness up your horses and
be ready directly after dinner to take Saxon and me driving. Never mind
everything else. Let things stand. What's the use of starting for a
place of whic