CHAPTER I 

 A GENERAL VIEW 



t. Vegetable gardening, or olericulture, is the art of 

 growing the crops which are commonly known as vege- 

 tables. The term "vegetable" is usually applied to the 

 edible parts of herbaceous plants. With some fruits, 

 botanically so considered, as watermelon, muskmelon, 

 tomato and eggplant, the parts used as food are com- 

 monly called vegetables. While fruits are extensively 

 employed for dessert without cooking, heat must be ap- 

 plied to most vegetables before they become palatable ; 

 notable exceptions are tomato, celery, onion, lettuce and 

 melons. Vegetables of great commercial importance are 

 asparagus, bean, beet, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, 

 cucumber, horse-radish, parsnip, pea, pepper, sweet corn, 

 sweet potato, radish, spinach, squash and turnip. The 

 potato is also a vegetable, but it is generally regarded as 

 a field crop, and it is often included in rotations with 

 grass and cereals. 



2. Market gardening, in its broadest sense, is the grow- 

 ing of vegetables for commercial purposes, but the gen- 

 erally accepted meaning is that market gardening relates 

 to the intensive culture of crops that may be planted 

 close together, that mature quickly and that offer great 

 financial possibilities for the area cultivated. The most 

 popular crops in market gardening are beets, onions, 

 celery, lettuce, radishes, carrots and other vegetables 

 which are usually cultivated with wheel hoes. Market 

 gardens are generally located near cities, which provide 

 good local markets. Land so situated is usually of high 

 value and it is necessary for the grower to secure maxi- 

 mum returns from every square foot of ground. 



