8 VEGETABLE FORCING 



handicapped by transportation charges and other diffi- 

 culties. In order to meet the competition of both classes 

 it is necessary to use every possible means to maintain a 

 low cost of production. Greenhouse growers have suc- 

 ceeded remarkably well in this respect, and nothing has 

 contributed so much to the advancement and extension of 

 the industry. 



Various factors enter into this problem, the following 

 being the most important : (1) Durable and substantial 

 greenhouses of semi-iron frame construction at moderate 

 cost. (2) The elimination of benches, concrete beds or 

 other fixtures, which increase the cost of construction and 

 maintenance, interfere with tillage, handling of manures 

 and the general management of the house. (3) Improved 

 systems of heating and ventilating. (4) Overhead water- 

 ing, which reduces the cost of labor for this operation to 

 a minimum. (5) Better facilities for harvesting and 

 marketing greenhouse crops. (6) Larger greenhouses. 

 The cost of growing 100 pounds of lettuce in a house 

 covering one-tenth of an acre is necessarily greater than 

 in an acre or a five-acre range. (7) Soil sterilization and 

 better sanitation have made possible the use of the same 

 soil indefinitely, the heavy expense of making frequent 

 changes of the soil being thus eliminated. (8) Improved 

 varieties adapted to greenhouse culture have done much 

 for the industry. (9) Proximity to market, railroad, and 

 supplies of manure and coal. (10) A trained and regular 

 force of employees. 



Capital required. The capital required to engage in the 

 vegetable-forcing industry depends upon conditions 

 which are so variable that it is difficult to give estimates 

 of definite value. The cost of a good semi-iron form of 

 greenhouse construction for an acre is approximately 

 $20,000, although such houses have been constructed for 

 several thousand dollars less than that sum ; two acres of 

 land in the suburbs of a good market would probably cost 



