VEGETABLE-GARDENING 



VEGETABLE-GARDENING 3437 



year sees progress. Much remains to be accomplished 

 in study and classification of varieties and types, and 

 in the improvements of methods of seed-breeding and 

 production. These problems are especially difficult 

 because the crops are chiefly annuals, and changes take 

 place with great rapidity. Experiment stations are now 

 taking up this work on a sound scientific basis, a thing 

 that could hardly be said of most early taxonomic 

 studies. They are enjoying the cooperation of seed 

 houses. 



There are great numbers of insect and fungous pests 

 that attack the vegetable-garden crops. See article on 

 Diseases and Insects. The spray-pump has now come 

 to be a necessary adjunct to any efficient vegetable- 

 garden. However, there are many difficulties beyond 

 the reach of the spray, particularly those that persist 

 year by year in the soil or which attack the roots rather 

 than the tops. For such difficulties, the best treatment 

 is to give rotation so far as possible and to avoid carry- 

 ing diseased vines back on the land the next year in 

 the manure. Even the club-root of cabbage can be 

 starved out in a few years if cabbages or related plants 

 are not grown on the area. 



In its best development vegetable-gardening is essen- 

 tially an intensive cultivation of the land. Often it is 

 conducted on property that is too high-priced for ordi- 

 nary farming. Land that demands rent on a valuation 

 of $1,000 an acre is often used for vegetable-gar- 

 dens; and higher-priced land, held for other uses 

 later, may be used temporarily. There is also intense 

 competition near the large cities. These circumstances 

 force the gardener to utilize his land to the utmost. 

 Therefore, he must keep the land under crop every day 

 in the year when it is possible for plants to live or 

 grow. This results in various systems of succession- 

 cropping and companion-cropping, whereby two or 

 more crops are grown on the land the same season or 

 even at the same time. (For examples of companion- 

 cropping, see Market-Gardening.) Market-gardening is 

 usually a business that demands enterprise, close atten- 

 tion to details, and much physical labor. If, with his 

 knowledge of vegetable-growing, the gardener combines 

 good business and executive ability, and an intimate 

 knowledge of market conditions, he should be able, 

 however, to make it a profitable and attractive busi- 

 ness. Although the outlay is likely to be large, the 

 returns are direct and quick. 



Extent and growth of the industry. 



The most recent published statistics of vegetable-gar- 

 dening in the United States are those of the Thirteenth 

 Census, 1910. According to the report of this census, 

 based on the crop of 1909, the acreage devoted to 

 vegetable production in the United States was 7,073,379 

 acres, including 3,668,855 acres of potatoes. The total 

 value of all vegetables reported for that year was 

 $418,110,154. Of the total number of farms in the 

 United States, 4,969,540, or 78.1 per cent reported 

 having farm-gardens; 4,261,776 gave the acreage 

 devoted to vegetables and the value of the product. 

 41,731 farms reporting vegetables to a value of over 

 $500 each, and 4,220,045 farms less than $500 each. 

 ''Farms of the former group usually produce vegetables 

 chiefly for sale and make them an important part of 

 their business, while on a large proportion of the other 

 farms vegetables are raised only for home consump- 

 tion." In 1909, the value of the vegetable crop (includ- 

 ing potatoes) in the following states amounted to over 

 10 per cent of the total value of all crops in the respec- 

 tive states: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 

 Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, 

 Pennsylvania, Michigan, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- 

 ginia, West Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Nevada. 



According to the figures, the production of vege- 

 tables between 1899 and 1909 increased from $237,- 

 000,000 to about $418,000,000. This includes the potato, 



which is grown partly as a farm crop and partly as 

 a vegetable-garden crop. With this most important 

 commodity omitted, the corresponding figures for the 

 miscellaneous vegetables are $139,000,000 and $251,- 

 000,000. The increase in the production of all other 

 horticultural products, including fruit, flowers, nursery 

 products and nuts, is from $152,000,000 to $273,000,000. 



A map showing centers of vegetable production in 

 the United States would show changes no less marked. 

 New districts have been established almost without 

 number in all sections of the country. The business is 

 much more evenly distributed throughout the United 

 States than formerly, and the states that have been 

 regarded as great trucking states are no longer holding 

 their preeminence without question. Thus, Illinois and 

 Indiana have become great vegetable states, with the 

 market-gardening for Chicago, trucking in southern 

 Illinois for both Chicago and St. Louis, muckland 

 trucking in the swamplands (see Muckland-Gardening, 

 Vol. IV), and production of crops for the cannery. 

 Similar statements might be made of other states. Ten 

 years ago, truck-farming was thought of principally as 

 production of vegetables in the South for shipment 

 North. The advance in the importance of vegetables 

 in the dietary, together with the rapid growth of the 

 more southerly cities, has brought about a marked 

 development in the production of vegetables in north- 

 ern parts for shipment southward, particularly the 

 cool-season crops for consumption when the gardens 

 of the warmer climates are practically unemployed on 

 account of the heat. The production of cabbage and 

 potatoes in the North for shipment southward has long 

 been a great industry, but of recent years important 

 centers in the growing of cucumbers, peas, beans, and 

 of the muckland crops, celery, lettuce, and onions, have 

 been developed. Improved transportation facilities 

 have made California an important source of supply 

 for eastern markets. 



The canning industry as connected with vegetable- 

 gardening has been an important factor in making pos- 

 sible a continuous supply of vegetables throughout the 

 year, and this industry has recently made much 

 progress. Three phases of this industry utilize vege- 

 table-garden crops factory, farm, and home canning. 

 Factory canning uses the products from a compara- 

 tively large acreage of crops on the truck-gardening or 

 general farming scale. Corn, tomatoes, peas, and string 

 beans are extensively handled by canning factories. 

 Farm canning promises to be a means whereby the 

 market-gardener or truck-fanner may turn his crops into 

 greater profit when markets are glutted. Home canning 

 is a means of preserving a supply of perishable vege- 

 table products from one's kitchen-garden for home use. 



The insistence of the population on a supply of 

 vegetables through all the months has made possible 

 the construction of greenhouse ranges, many of which 

 are now measured in acres. The crops are lettuce, 

 cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes in the order named. 

 While the business is not so satisfactory in the autumn 

 months, because of poor growth conditions and on 

 account of light demand, the returns after the first of 

 the year are sufficient to render the business profitable 

 and to justify increases in the areas under glass. 



Market-gardening has kept pace with the growth of 

 the cities, although some of the famous centers are 

 declining on account of the great increase in real-estate 

 values. The auto truck is an important factor in mak- 

 ing it possible for the gardener to take advantage of the 

 lower interest charges incident to the use of more 

 distant lands. 



In the practice of vegetable production, the most con- 

 spicuous development has been the introduction of 

 overhead irrigation. Hundreds of acres are now watered 

 in this way. The value of this practice is evident when 

 it is considered that moisture is more often than other- 

 wise the factor which prevents the gardener from reap- 



