108 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1893. 



seem as though if one wished to invest $1000 or more in glass that a 

 house should be the more profitable. 



While I will not try to describe any methods of raising crops or 

 plants under glass that I have observed or practiced, it will not be 

 out of place to call your attention to the fact that the professional 

 market gardener spends much more time raising his plants than do the 

 average farmer and gardener where these occupations are combined, 

 and that I think is one of the principal reasons why the large gardeners 

 are apt to be so much ahead of the smaller ones in the market. 



They transplant more and give the plants more room in the bed and 

 by so doing get plants that arc better rooted and hardier. 



For a main crop this is not so important, but where you would have 

 anything very early it should be in such a condition as to start as soon 

 after setting as possible, and my own observation seems to lead me to 

 believe that the more business a gardener did the more particular he 

 was to have good plants. 



There are many advantages of raising quite a number of crops as 

 it brings the work more even through the season and there are few 

 seasons that are poor for all crops and the more one has the greater 

 are his chances of having some paying ones, but on the other hand 

 some land is especially adapted to some crops and some men seem to 

 be especially successful in growing a few crops, and there are certainly 

 many advantages of growing large fields of anything and should the 

 public market that is being talked about at the present time become a 

 success I think more of our small growers would find it to their ad- 

 vantage to turn their attention to a few special crops. 



This applies especially to those who are giving most of their atten- 

 tion to some line of the dairy business. 



At this season of the year when we are trying to decide on the acre- 

 age to plant to each crop if we could know what the season would 

 favor and what would do poorly we might plan with some certainty 

 what crop it would be best for us to increase our acreage of, and what 

 we are raising as much of as profitable, but it is so often when there 

 is a decrease in the acreage there is a decrease in the average yield 

 per acre. Squashes and potatoes illustrate this the past season. 



While it is not desirable, ordinarily, to grow crops that are not 

 adapted to our land or location, or such crops as we dislike to handle, 

 there is little use of our changing just because the crop happened to 

 do poorly or sell low last year. 



It seems to be necessary to succeed in any business, to start on 

 some general line and stick to it. 



