202 



Commercial Gardening 



net. A flat holds 16 dozen bunches, a half -flat holding just half the 

 quantity, and measuring 20 in. by 16 in. by 6 in. The busiest period 

 is from the end of March to the middle of June, when Messrs. Beckley & 

 Holliman cut about 12 tons of cress weekly from their beds and send 

 it all over the kingdom, although Brentford market absorbs the greater 

 portion. 



An acre of Watercress beds will yield, under favourable conditions 

 and proper care, from 15 to 20 tons of cress per annum, and the prices 

 realized vary from 9 to 12 per ton. The cost of production is great. 

 Rent varies from 20 to 50 per acre, exclusive of rates, and wages take 

 a big bite out of the returns. 



The cost of carriage varies from Is. 2d. per cwt. to London, to 2s. 3d. to 

 Manchester, 3s. 3d to Blackburn and Preston, and 3s. 6d. to Blackpool and 



Southport. These prices have, 

 however, been raised 25 per cent 

 in 1912, and represent from 25s. 

 to 19s. 8d. per ton to the railway 

 companies, and in addition to rent 

 make a heavy drain upon the 

 resources of the Watercress 

 grower. [j. w.] 



The Wood Sorrel (Oxalis 

 Acetosella) belongs to a quite dif- 

 ferent family (Geraniacese) from 

 the ordinary Sorrel, and is often 

 called the Shamrock by the un- 

 initiated. It grows wild in cool, 

 shady places, and its leaves are 

 sometimes eaten as a salad, having 

 an acid flavour somewhat similar 

 to that of the Sorrel proper. 



Wormwood (Artemisia Ab- 

 sinthium). A silky hardy per- 

 ennial with divided leaves and 

 arching sprays of small yellow 

 flower-heads, having an aromatic 

 and somewhat bitter properties. 



It is best grown in rather poor soil, and in warm places. It may be 

 raised from seeds and also by division in spring, or from cuttings. The 

 shoots and leaves are used for various purposes, including vermifuges, 

 tonics, stomachics, and in the production of absinth (fig. 518). 



Fig. 618. Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium) 



