346 CORNISH MARKET GARDENING 



for this land, but even at that price farms are in 

 demand, and a small holding of some 20 acres 

 without any buildings upon it that was up for sale 

 was expected to command about ;ioo an acre. 



Indeed, much of this Penzance market gardening 

 looked like one of those industries which would be 

 regarded as impossible did they not exist. To grow 

 broccoli and potatoes alternately on the same land 

 for forty years would itself be declared impossible, 

 yet there can be no very pronounced deterioration 

 of crop, nor has any special disease manifested itself. 

 There were great complaints of finger-and-toe or 

 club-root, and some men did roundly assert that the 

 land is getting sick and ought to go down to grass 

 for a few years, though that was not possible unless 

 the rents were abated. Certainly the area under the 

 very special farming is shrinking, and though great 

 profits have been made we were told that very few 

 of the old gardening families still remained in the 

 business. Such facts were more significant than 

 opinions about the deterioration of the crops, for 

 who could be otherwise than pessimistic in a season 

 of such continuous rains and lack of sunshine, when 

 the broccoli did not grow but were turning blue day 

 by day. Another fact to be taken into account is 

 that the standard of quality is rising ; St. Malo presses 

 close on Penzance for early potatoes, and it was 

 agreed that second-rate broccoli have become un- 

 saleable because of the uniform excellence to which 

 the Roscoff growers have accustomed the market. 

 Labour also has been getting dearer, though the 

 standard wage was still no more than i8s. or 2os. 

 a week, or 35. 6d. a day when men are only engaged 

 for the spell of work. As regards the early potato 

 crop, competition is likely to increase rather than 



