24 



The Guernsey Breed 



carried in. Still another system somewhat in vogue is as fol- 

 lows : A piece of land 100 feet wide and 400 to 600 feet long 

 is laid out in tracts perhaps 40 to 50 feet wide and the longest 

 way across the field. Then two or three glass houses, each 

 40 by 100 feet, are so arranged that they can be moved up 

 or down on small railroad-like tracks, and from one tract to 

 another, thus to force any crop in the field. These houses, 

 of course, are not artificially heated. 



Everything about this greenhouse industry is carried on 

 very systematically, except the marketing. Having talked 

 many times with different growers and marketmen, I am con- 

 fident that generally a more uniform price could be obtained 

 with less waste of produce if they would organize a co-oper- 

 ative market association. Many of the growers ship in their 

 own names to the commission merchants of nearly every city 

 of Great Britain, while others sell their produce on the island 

 to wholesale merchants that market in more wholesale quan- 

 tities. 



While there is considerable commercial fertilizer used, 

 dependency is largely placed on the manure made by the 

 horses and cattle of the island. Every farm has a very care- 

 fully cared for compost heap, to which is carted not only 

 manure from the stables but every bit of waste vegetable 

 matter and scattered leaves that can be gathered from the 



Gathering seaweed on Guernsey. 



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