2 VEGETABLE FORCING 
made its greatest and most rapid development since 1900. 
In 1894, Taft called attention to a house near Arlington, 
Mass., which up to that time was probably the 
largest ever erected for the forcing of vegetables. It was 
33 feet wide, 370 feet long, and covered nearly one-third 
of an acre. In 1912 a range of the ridge and furrow type 
that covered 10 acres was completed at Toledo, Ohio. 
Three men were particularly prominent in connection 
with the early history of vegetable forcing. No one did 
so much to encourage the growing of crops in frames and 
in inexpensive greenhouses as Peter Henderson. He 
taught both by example and by writing, and his books 
are so practical that they are still greatly prized by vege- 
table growers. In New England, W. W. Rawson exerted 
a great influence on greenhouse production. He was one 
of the first to construct greenhouses for the forcing of 
vegetables, and he was especially. prominent because he 
built and advocated the building of greenhouses of larger 
proportions than were known previous to 1894. His 
writings were also valuable in promoting the industry. 
In the West, Eugene Davis has been one of the most 
prominent figures in this industry. He has been the 
leader at Grand Rapids; his first houses were built in 
1876 and others were added to his range as market de- 
mands increased. These were probably the first vege- 
table forcing houses built in the Middle West. For many 
years, Grand Rapids supplied practically all the green- 
house produce that was consumed by the large cities of 
the Middle West. Mr. Davis is best known as the 
originator of the famous Grand Rapids lettuce and the 
Davis Perfect cucumber. 
Prominent sections—Boston occupies first place in the 
commercial importance of its vegetable-forcing interests, 
Most of the houses are located in suburban towns, 
Arlington and Belmont being the most important. In 
1912, there were 16 establishments of two acres or more, 
