486 



HORTICULTURE 



April 13, 1907 



Fruit and Vegetable Forcing at Irondequoit^ N. Y. 



A House of Cucumbers 



View flora Above. 



That Irondequoit occupies a unique and compara- 

 tively enviable position among localities where fruits 

 and vegetables of various kinds are grown in great 

 abundance, all who are familiar with the situation are 

 aware; and that it is not alone for the great quantities 

 of fruits and vegetables that are produced witliin the 

 borders of the town, that she is noted, but for fruits and 

 vegetables of superior excellence in appearance and 

 cjuality. 



Intensive, expensive, and extensive are words which 

 convey to one nearly the entire thought, in connection 

 with the culture and growth of fancy vegetable stock 

 by the green truck gardeners. To give an idea of one 

 immense farm is difficult. It is not extensive as to 

 acres, but extensive as to yield ; intensive in science and 

 expensive in maintaining, yet returns a fair profit. 



Vegetable growing is most profitable especially the 

 green house department, for the reason that there is a 

 greater demand for good green truck in winter than in 

 the hot months of summer. The risks on crops may 

 be greater, but the profits are correspondingly large. 

 Some gardeners make a business of growing mixed 

 crops, while others specialize with one. By mixed crops 

 is meant the growing of lettiice, radish, cucumbers, 

 parsley, beets, tomatoes, carrots, and other vegetables. 

 The mixed crops in Irondequoit green houses seem to 

 pay better profits because of the town being near to city 



A HousK OF Cucumbers 



View from Below. 



markets which demand a large quantity of first-class 

 truck. TJie gardeners do not handle their own product 

 on the city market, but sell in wholesale to the retail 

 merchants. The grower ships much of his produce to 

 other city markets, finding it safe to ship 50 to 300 

 miles, so Ihat the field of the grower is rather broad. 

 But in shipping the grower must take into considera- 

 tion the extra expense of express and freight rates for 

 transportation. 



In the early days of gardening in Irondequoit land 

 could be purchased for $50 to $100 per acre, but at the 

 present time one is fortunate to find a good piece of 

 gardening land for $1,000 per acre. The average size 

 of a gardener's plot is ten acres. The gardener when 

 he starts to build up his garden-farm after building 

 house, barn, and sheds, puts up greenhouses, it may be 

 one or two possibly more, and they may vary in size 

 from those spaded by man to those ploughed by horse 

 power. The cost of the houses may be $1,000 or $3,500. 



In floral culture more than one kind of flower can- 

 not always be grown to good advantage in one house, 

 but vegetable? are difl'erent. One can see many houses 

 with five or six different kinds of vegetables in a good 

 state of growth. To build up a garden-farm like the 

 average in Irondequoit would require an investment of 

 nearly $20,000. The ten acres of land would cost 

 $10,000, three good gi-eenhouses $5,000, a good house 



