COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION 77 



I have personal knowledge, and probably 

 there are others. 



The pioneer daffodil farm is near Peters- 

 burg, Va., a second started up near Ports- 

 mouth, Va., and the third is situated a few 

 miles southeast of St. Louis, Mo. 



It is significant that these three daffodil 

 farms are situated in practically the same lati- 

 tude ; not too far south for the well doing of 

 hardy daffodils, and yet not so far north but 

 that their open ground flowers can be pro- 

 duced sufllciently early to compete — especially 

 for Easter trade — with the daffodils forced 

 under glass in the North. These farms com- 

 mence to cut flowers in March. 



A FLOWER "farm" 



The soil of the Petersburg daffodil farm 

 is ordinarily good "corn ground," a long cul- 

 tivated sandy loam. This was manured heav- 

 ily and plowed. A subsoil plow followed in 

 the furrow to break the hardpan and open the 

 subsoil, mole-track like, to a depth of eighteen 

 inches. A crop of cowpeas was grown on the 

 land and plowed under in the fall. The next 



