Commercial Gardening 



a good deal to nature; but the gardener, and especially the commercial 

 gardener, cannot afford to leave his various crops altogether exposed to 

 the mercies of a somewhat fickle climate. He prepares his soil to a greater 

 depth, and feeds it more richly with manure than does the farmer; and 

 he also pays greater attention to cultural details. In addition, he must 

 gather his crops, not for cattle, but for human consumption, just when 

 they are ready, and he must pack them in such a way that they will 

 readily attract buyers in the markets. At one time, indeed, the market 

 gardener was little better than a farmer in his cultural and business 

 methods, and he sent produce to market in a very slipshod manner. The 

 stress of competition at home and the importations from abroad, however, 

 have completely changed the methods of the modern market grower. He 

 has found out by experience that the finer, better, and cleaner his produce, 

 and the better it is packed or displayed, the higher the prices and the 

 quicker the sales. He has learnt much in these respects from the way 

 produce from the Colonies and from the Continent is placed on the 

 markets, and he realizes that good stuff badly displayed will often fetch 

 miserably low prices. 



This work on commercial gardening deals principally with those 

 classes of plants that are grown in large quantities either in the open 

 air or under glass for sale in the London and provincial markets, and 

 also those that are grown by nurserymen and hardy-plantsmen in fairly 

 large numbers to meet the demands of their customers who do not 

 patronize the markets. There are, indeed, so many ramifications of the 

 horticultural trade, each intimately associated with the other, and depen- 

 dent on each other, that it may be well to say a few words about each 

 to show how one is linked up with the other. 



The Seed Trade. This branch of commercial gardening has assumed 

 immense proportions of late years. In various parts of the kingdom firms 

 have established trial grounds where their seeds are not only saved, but 

 where new varieties likely to have a ready sale are also tested and proved 

 before being placed upon the market. This work necessitates great care 

 and cultural skill; and expensive machinery, driven by steam or the more 

 modern electricity, is used to cleanse the seeds from impurities of every 

 sort. Large warehouses have to be built to accommodate the stocks, not 

 only of home-saved seed, but also of that imported from sunnier climes 

 than our own. To give some idea as to the trade done in seeds it is only 

 necessary to state that one firm alone sells each year about 50,000 bus. of 

 culinary Peas: 51,000 bus. of root-crop seeds; 6500 bus. of Beans; 41 tons 

 of seeds of the various Cabbage crops; 1300 bus. of Radish seeds; 25 tons 

 of Beet seed: 1400 bus. of Spinach seed; 10 tons of Onion seed; 17 tons of 

 Carrot seed; 220 bus. of Parsley seed; 10 tons of Parsnip seed; 15 tons 

 of Sweet Pea seed; 14 tons of Nasturtium (Tropaeolum) seed; and 3 tons of 

 Mignonette seed. Seeds of annuals, biennials, and perennials of all kinds 

 are sold in large quantities year after year, and are retailed in packets 

 costing from Id. upwards. 



