No. 4.] MARKET GARDENING. 55 



Question. Hoav far apart do you plant corn which grows 

 4:y2 feet high? 



Mr. Howard. I think the question was, how far ai)art 

 should the hills of early sweet corn be planted, Avhich grows 

 41,-2 feet high. The practice of our best gardeners around 

 Boston is 4I/2 to 5 feet. A good many have planted the 

 rows 5 feet and hills 20 inches apart. 



Question. That would allow other crops to grow in be- 

 tween, would it not ? 



Mr. Howard. Yes. 



Question. I mean just that one crop. 



Mr. HoAVARD. One farmer, located in Winchester, who 

 grows 10 acres of sweet corn, plants all of his 5 feet apart. 

 He puts nothing between the rows of corn. He irrigates 

 that corn with water pumped by one of these pumps which 

 delivers 120,000 gallons a day. He told me it cost him not 

 over $5 a day to supply the water to that corn. His corn 

 rows are about (300 to 700 feet long, and the water will run 

 from one end of the piece to the other without going out of 

 sight. On some land you can't do that. As soon as his 

 corn is picked, which will be by the 25th or 28th of July, 

 he sells the whole thino; to milkmen in the neiohborhood, 

 plows the ground and plants it to celery, 5 feet apart ; and 

 he irrigates for the celery in the same way. 



Mr. H. A. Turner (of Norwell). I live some 25 miles 

 from Boston, and in our vicinity we are trying to see what 

 we can raise profitably ; and most of the farmers are raising 

 general products, and don't raise very much of anything, — 

 that is the amount of it, — a little of this and a little of that. 

 I want to ask Mr. Howard if he thinks he could succeed as 

 well 25 or 30 miles from Boston as he does where he is. 

 The land is cheap, but of course there are drawbacks, such 

 as teaming the products to market. I would like to ask him 

 if he thinks it advisable to carry on market gardening 25 to 

 30 miles from Boston? 



Mr. Howard. It depends on the man. There are men 

 within 4 miles of Boston who have done this year more than 

 $75,000 worth of business, who cannot show 2 per cent 

 profit on the business. Undoubtedly there are men who are 

 20 miles from the market who can show 20 per cent profit 



