e c ; e * e c.* ? < t a <: 

 2 ; ; : : j ^VEGETABLE FORCING 



made its greatest and most rapid development since 1900. 

 In 1894, Taft called attention to a house near Arlington, 

 Mass., which up to that time was probably the 

 largest ever erected for the forcing of vegetables. It was 

 33 feet wide, 370 feet long, and covered nearly one-third 

 of an acre. In 1912 a range of the ridge and furrow type 

 that covered 10 acres was completed at Toledo, Ohio. 



Three men were particularly prominent in connection 

 with the early history of vegetable forcing. No one did 

 so much to encourage the growing of crops in frames and 

 in inexpensive greenhouses as Peter Henderson. He 

 taught both by example and by writing, and his books 

 are so practical that they are still greatly prized by vege- 

 table growers. In New England, W. W. Rawson exerted 

 a great influence on greenhouse production. He was one 

 of the first to construct greenhouses for the forcing of 

 vegetables, and he was especially prominent because he 

 built and advocated the building of greenhouses of larger 

 proportions than were known previous to 1894. His 

 writings were also valuable in promoting the industry. 



In the West, Eugene Davis has been one of the most 

 prominent figures in this industry. He has been the 

 leader at Grand Rapids ; his first houses were built in 

 1876 and others were added to his range as market de- 

 mands increased. These were probably the first vege- 

 table forcing houses built in the Middle West. For many 

 years, Grand Rapids supplied practically all the green- 

 house produce that was consumed by the large cities of 

 the Middle West. Mr. Davis is best known as the 

 originator of the famous Grand Rapids lettuce and the 

 Davis Perfect cucumber. 



Prominent sections. Boston occupies first place in the 

 commercial importance of its vegetable-forcing interests. 

 Most of the houses are located in suburban towns, 

 Arlington and Belmont being the most important. In 

 1912, there were 16 establishments of two acres or more, 



