CHAPTER VIII. 



COMPARISON OF OLD AND NEW METHODS. 



Criticisms Answered. — A brief outline of the New 

 Culture published in the Rural New YorJcer of 1898 

 furnished the text for criticisms by some of the Eastern 

 growers, especially in the vicinity of Boston where the 

 old glass method of field forcing is still in vogue. 



Judgment was hastily passed, and the New Culture 

 was sent to the rear, as being too expensive for the slight 

 advance in price and the limited demand for the pro- 

 duct. Answering the criticisms in a later issue of the 

 same paper it was shown that the expense of the old 

 method for forcing upon the scale carried on in the 

 West would be beyond the reach of the ordinary gar- 

 dener. As to prices and demand, large quantities were 

 grown here at highly remunerative prices and sold in 

 nearly all the large Eastern cities, Boston included, with 

 express and commission men's charges added. 



The Old Method J — As practiced in the East, the old 

 method consists simply of constructing a rough board 

 shed over the plants as they grow in the field. The 

 shed is three or four feet high on the front side and 

 one foot higher at the back to give the slope for the 

 glass. The ends are boarded up and the sash are put 

 on resting upon the rafters. No heat is used other 

 than the sunlight which the glass conserves. The forc- 

 ing usually begins the latter part of February or first of 

 March. The roots are not lifted but remain in the rows 

 four to five feet apart, and to force in quantities would 

 require glass by the acre. The same method was former- 



