A INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS. 



choicer and rarer the product, the greater should be the 

 care in finding a market for it. Common things are not 

 worth great effort in the marketing, but uncommon things 

 are worth nothing less than such effort. 



A dealer in hothouse vegetables in New York writes that 

 "most all forced vegetables bring good prices in winter, 

 but they must be packed and shipped in first-class order. 

 A good many people raise fine vegetables in winter, but 

 they do not understand the packing, and the products are 

 spoiled in shipping." The average prices of forced vege- 

 tables in the New York market for the winter of 1895-6 

 are given me by this dealer, as follows : 



....... . . 



Beans, in bundles of 40 ..... 10 to 20 through the winter. 



"Chicory, escarole and remain salads generally bring 

 good prices in winter."* 



SPECIFIC REMARKS. 



The category of forcing crops. The vegetables which 

 are forced to edible maturity under glass are conveniently 

 distributed into two groups, the "cool" plants, and the 

 "warm" plants. 



The cool plants are such as thrive best in a night tem- 



* These three plants are not properly forced vegetables in the sense of 

 being grown in glasshouses, and are, therefore, not included in this book. 

 They are grown in late fall, and are bleached in cellars or in frames ; or, 

 in the case of chicory, the roots (raised from spring-sown seeds) are dug 

 in the fall and stored in a dark cellar, where the leaves soon start. The 

 chicory may also be grown under benches much like asparagus, if it is kept 

 dark in order to bleach it. Escarole is bleached endive. Romain salad is 

 winter Cos lettuce. Sea-kale is often forced in frames after the manner of 

 asparagus, and it might be managed in the forcing-house if necessary. 



