38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



surplus of strawberries and sweet corn, and had many appli- 

 cations for the fruit and corn by the village people. About 

 three hours daily Avere used in delivering the products to 

 his customers, and at such prices as paid him a clear profit of 

 $175 per acre, which was five times as much as the average of 

 his farm crops. In addition, the sale of the strawberries 

 created an mcreased demand for cream, which was sold 

 at higher prices in consequence. 



I have said that the degree of success will usually be in 

 proportion to the quality of the soil ; so, when it can be 

 done, select land that is level, and well drained by having a 

 gravelly or sandy subsoil, and not less than ten inches in 

 depth of good soil. If you are not a judge of soil, look 

 around the neighborhood and observe the farm crops ; if 

 these are not strong and vigorous, rest assured that the soil 

 is not such as will answer for market-ijarden work. Ao;ain, 

 get as near to your market as possible, and see that the 

 roads leading thereto are good. This is particularly 

 important if your market is a large city like New York, 

 Boston or Philadelphia ; if you are growing for a local mar- 

 ket, — supplying a small town at retail, — this is not so 

 important. The business of market gardening, though 

 healthful and fairly profitable, is exceedingly laborious, from 

 which anyone not accustomed to manual labor would quickly 

 shirk. The labor is not what might be called heavy, but 

 the hours are long, — not less than an average of ten hours a 

 day for both summer and winter. No one should engage in 

 it after passing middle life, neither is it fitted for men of 

 feeble constitution ; for it is emphatically a business in 

 which one has to rough it, and if it is to be prosecuted 

 successfully, the owner must put his shoulder to the 

 wheel at least as strongly as his roughest employee. The 

 most successful market gardener I ever knew was John 

 Riley. I put him as foreman in charge of my market gar- 

 dens when he was but twenty-one years of age. In six years 

 I sold him the place he had charge of, consisting of eight 

 acres, two thousand sashes, horses, implements and crops, 

 for twenty-one thousand dollars. He paid three thousand 

 down (which he had saved from his wages and what I 

 had paid him for boarding the men) , and in three years paid 



