EXPERIENCE IN FIELD CULTUKE. 91 



Abram Van Sicklen of Jamaica, L. I., who devotes about 

 12 acres to the crop besides 300 sash for cold forcing. 

 One of his main fields appears in the illustration. 



The plan of management is as simple and inex- 

 pensive as possible. Plants obtained by division of old 

 hills are set 414 x 2 i/^ feet. The soil is light clay loam 

 and is well manured before plowing. Cultivation begins 

 early in spring, is repeated as often as the ground gets 

 hard or weeds appear, and continued until plants begin 

 to die do^vn in autumn. Manure is plowed in each fall 

 and sometimes a dose of ready mixed commercial ferti- 

 lizer is applied in the spring. Stalks are pulled only 

 once each season, but the harvesting is quite thorough, 

 all the large stalks being removed. The crop is marketed 

 just as pulled, leaves on, and stalks tied in bunches of 

 two or three pounds. These bunches are packed on 

 market wagons as closely as possible and carted 10 or 12 

 miles to market. Mr. Van Sicklen estimates the yield 

 at 10 tons per acre in favorable seasons. He does not 

 consider the outdoor crop very profitable on account of 

 low prices in recent years. When the market is oversup- 

 plied, the surplus must be sold to canners at almost give- 

 away prices. The variety grown on the Van Sicklen 

 farm is the Victoria, which although later than the 

 Linnaeus is of better size and appearance, and as soon as 

 it enters the market the smaller kind is crowded out. 

 Canners will not usually buy the Linnaeus. Growers who 

 have extra early land find it nevertheless profitable, be- 

 cause it reaches the market several days before the Vic- 

 toria. 



Four acres of Mr. Van Sicklen's 12-acre tract are 

 devoted to growing plants for the cold frames. After 

 once forcing, these plants are usually thrown away as 

 worthless. Hence new plants must be started every 



