10 VEGETABLE FORCING 



purpose of vegetable forcing, the following considerations 

 should receive attention : 



(1) Cost of fuel. The coal bill is usually the heaviest 

 item of expense, although the labor sometimes costs more. 

 Growers in the bituminous regions sometimes obtain coal 

 at the mines for a dollar or less a ton. This is remarkably 

 cheap fuel and materially lowers the cost of production 

 when compared with establishments that must pay from 

 $3 to $6 a ton. It is sometimes claimed that our great 

 commercial greenhouse plants should be located at the 

 mines, so that there would be no drayage or transporta- 

 tion charges of any kind, so far as fuel is concerned, and 

 this view of the problem is worth considering. It is 

 largely a question, however, whether the freight charges 

 on a ton of coal from the mines to the greenhouse, the 

 latter located presumably at the market, will exceed the 

 express charges on the vegetables produced by a ton of 

 coal, in conveying them from the mines to the market. 

 In most instances, however, the advantage of being near 

 a good local market much more than offsets the disad- 

 vantage of transporting coal long distances. 



(2) Transportation facilities. Unless located within 

 driving distance of the market, the greenhouse should be 

 easily accessible by railroad. Many of the largest estab- 

 lishments are located near railroad centers, where compe- 

 tition secures more reasonable freight rates and several 

 large markets are easily reached. Electric lines often 

 afford cheap and satisfactory transportation. 



(3) A large, nearby market is always a great advan- 

 tage. Growers who sell from the wagon obtain higher 

 average prices than those who must make consignments 

 to city dealers. 



(4) Although many successful greenhouses are located 

 on heavy soils, the sandy types are preferred. 



(5) There must be an ample supply of water. The 

 evaporation of moisture from soil in a greenhouse, during 



