HOW TO BECOME A FLORIST. 13 



running order, should not exceed $300 per year. It will 

 be seen that the profit on the investment is good, if the 

 work is mainly done by the owner ; but a glass structure 

 of this size would not pay to hire a man to work it, 

 though it would be large enough at first for the wants of 

 an ordinary population of 5,000. But such a population 

 will buy far larger amounts in fruits and vegetables, and 

 will probably buy three times as many and give more for 

 them if fresh and home grown, than they would for 

 those that are packed and shipped from a distance. In 

 fruits, Strawberries hold the most prominent place, and 

 a quarter of an acre will contain, at two feet apart each 

 way, about 2,500 plants. If these are planted by August 

 1st, from plants layered in pots in July, the ground 

 having been properly prepared, at least 1,000 quarts can 

 be gathered as the first crop ; this is a low estimate, the 

 best cultivators claiming to gather one quart per hill of 

 the large fruiting kinds. Next in importance in small 

 fruits come Easpberries, Blackberries, Grapes and Cur- 

 rants, with which another quarter of an acre might be 

 stocked. This would leave, if there were two acres at the 

 start, an acre and a half to be devoted to vegetables. Of 

 this, one-eighth of an acre might be devoted to Asparagus, 

 and the same amount to Rhubarb, Beets and Onions, Cab- 

 bages, Cauliflower, and Lettuce, and to Celery ; Cucum- 

 bers and Melons, Tomatoes and Beans, may each have a 

 quarter of an acre, while one-eighth of an acre may be 

 devoted to other things not provided for. The cultiva- 

 tion of this quantity of land with such crops, together 

 with the care of greenhouse, would require the labor of 

 two active men during the summer months, and proba- 

 bly at some part of the time, three, but in winter, one 

 man could easily do it all. One horse would be sufficient 

 for cultivating and carting manure, etc., but the first 

 plowing of the land in spring should "be done by two 

 horses, so that the work may be done deep and thoroughly. 



