136 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



business because they do not use business methods in disposing 

 of the product. In addition to this he should be somewhat of 

 an artist, so that he can pack his goods in such a way that 

 they are attractive to the eye for it is appearance that sells a 

 commodity. The prospective market gardener should study 

 the soil and the plants he is to grow, their peculiarities and 

 needs. Only by systematic study of the requirements of differ- 

 ent crops and their adaptation to soils and other conditions will 

 the grower be able to make a success. In addition to studying 

 these factors the grower should study the subject of fertilizers, 

 manures, methods of culture, diseases and insects, and methods 

 of grading and packing his products. 



In selecting a location for a garden we should consider 

 slope, topography, soil and drainage. In a general way the land 

 should be level or nearly so, or in case it is slightly rolling it 

 should slope to the South or East. The soil best adapted to 

 most vegetables is a sandy or sandy loam, because this type 

 of soil responds readily to fertilizers and manures and is a 

 warm soil or what gardeners call an early soil. Early soil is 

 very important because the earliest crops are nearly always 

 the most profitable. 



Vegetable growing is the most intensive kind of farming 

 and it pays to do the work on the most intensive scale. Here 

 is where we use the largest quantities of manures and fertiliz- 

 ers, and, while I am thoroughly convinced that some growers 

 use too much commercial fertilizers, what would be considered 

 excessive amounts for general farm crops will be profitable 

 for vegetables. \Ve often find gardeners who apply a ton of 

 high grade fertilizer per acre and in some cases as high as 

 two tons. This latter figure is too high for the best interest 

 of the grower and his soil. By heavy application of commer- 

 cial fertilizers without the addition of humus in some form 

 we find that the soil becomes what is commonly called "fertil- 

 izer sick." Continuous clean culture with use of commercial 

 fertilizers account for this trouble. 



For growing vegetables no fertilizer or manure is as good 

 as barnyard or stable manure, but for best results a combina- 

 tion of commercial fertilizers and barnyard manure should be 

 used. To supply sufficient plant food in barnyard manure 



