374 VEGETABLE FORCING 
and Belgium to the United States. Since that time and 
on account of transportation difficulties and the scarcity 
of the product, American gardeners have become more 
interested in the crop and some of them are making it an 
important factor in their operations. Wholesale prices 
in this country previous to the war probably averaged 
from 25 to 30 cents a pound, while more than double this 
price has been obtained since the supply has been so 
greatly decreased. 
There can be no doubt concerning the superior merits 
of witloof chicory as a salad plant. It does not appeal to 
all alike, but most people are very fond of the vegetable 
and do not need to cultivate a taste for it. The heads or 
shoots (Fig. 130) are creamy white in color, extremely 
tender, crisp, delicate and 
agreeable in flavor. Though 
it is generally used as a 
salad, seasoning and flavor- 
ing it in any manner that 
may be desired, the heads 
may also be cooked before 
they are served. 
There can be no question 
about this vegetable afford- 
ing opportunities to the com- 
mercial growers of the 
United States. Our markets 
are poorly supplied, and the 
demand, as the vegetable be- 
comes better known, will in- 
crease. Many of the Ameri- 
can gardeners have probably 
thought that there was some- 
thing peculiarly difficult or 
mysterious about the culture 
Fig. 130.—Witloof chicory. of witloof chicory, but we 
