380 THE NEW GARDENING 



advantageous to establish a complete French garden. 

 Only where there is a commercial outlet for the produce 

 should it be considered. The heavy cost and the great 

 amount of labour involved alike stand in the way of 

 French gardening for home purposes alone. 



When market-gardening comes under consideration 

 the French system is entitled to due deliberation. It 

 should be examined thoroughly in all its aspects. Theo- 

 retically things can be worked out to a nicety with the 

 aid of the multiplication table : on the debit side so 

 much ground at a particular price, so many frames and 

 cloches at obtainable figures, so much manure at a given 

 cost per load, so much in wages ; on the credit side, so 

 many thousand Lettuces at an average of a penny each, 

 so many pounds of Tomatoes at 43. 6d. per stone, so 

 many Cauliflowers at 33. per dozen, and so forth. In 

 practice it is not so satisfactory. One thing can be 

 established readily enough, and that is that a gross sum 

 of between five hundred and a thousand pounds per acre 

 per annum can be realized, given a sale for the bulk of 

 the produce grown at average prices. This seems to 

 leave an ample margin, but it is not too great, consider- 

 ing the heavy expenses involved. Indeed, a profit the 

 first year is impossible and very unlikely the second. 



It seems desirable, in view of the public interest in 

 French gardening, to make a detailed inquiry into it, 

 bringing into purview, not merely the various crops and 

 the methods of growing them, but also what might be 

 called the tactical considerations outlet for produce, 

 site and so forth. 



In the first place, the would-be marketer must in- 

 quire into the question of markets. He might find what 

 appeared at the outset to be a good opportunity, because 

 suitable land could be acquired cheaply, resolve itself 



