A GENERAL VIEW 7 



and fertilizers, as well as the cost of labor, must realize 

 that considerable capital must be available before engag- 

 ing in the business on even a fairly large scale. 



10. Labor problems. — Vegetable growers sometimes 

 think their hours are longer and their hardships greater 

 than those of any other class of husbandmen. It is true 

 that they often work 12 or more hours a day and that 

 they are sometimes exposed to unpleasant weather, but 

 it is also true that there is usually good compensation 

 for the long hours and the hardships, if they can be called 

 hardships. Commercial gardeners, unless they use con- 

 sideraJble glass, are practically free to rest on Sunday, 

 while this cannot be said of men following some other 

 lines of farming. With skillful management the gardener 

 shojild get a profit on every hour of labor. Then, why 

 should he not observe the same hours a day as other 

 classes of producers, hiring extra help when necessary 

 and paying for all service rendered in excess of 10 hours 

 a day? The best service cannot be expected for more 

 than 10 hours, and for this reason longer days should be 

 avoided as much as possible and additional men employea 

 to do the work required. Marketing by wagon often re- 

 quires early rising and sometimes late retiring and sales- 

 men should be well compensated for this work. 



The number of men to the acre is determined by (i) 

 type of gardening, (2) tools available and (3) method 

 of marketing. In the most intensive market gardening 

 one man to the acre can be profitably employed. An 

 eight-acre market garden on Long Island gives steady 

 employment during the entire season to 13 men. In 

 truck gardening one man may be able to care for 3 to 

 15 acres, depending upon the kinds of vegetables grown 

 and system of cropping. 



It is always an advantage to plan the work so that a 

 good proportion of the men will be needed the year 



