2 THE BOOK OF MARKET GARDENING 



notwithstanding the demands caused by the advance 

 of population. The position of the market gardener 

 may therefore be briefly summarised as follows : he is 

 secure of a great and increasing market for his produce, 

 but except for that of the highest quality, always in 

 limited demand, prices will rule low ; and to meet this 

 his methods must be rigorously revised, wherever there 

 is the slightest chance of improving returns by extra 

 care, or reducing expenses by better systems. 



The productive power of good land under the best 

 cultivation is only fully understood by those who have 

 spent a life in its study ; it is one of the greatest 

 blessings accorded to well-directed industry. British 

 growers can claim in this respect that they are rivalled 

 by few and excelled by none, where attention has been 

 concentrated upon the best types of market gardening. 

 It is not in general cultivation that defects are so 

 conspicuous as in the neglect of details, in imperfect 

 organisation, and in rough methods of placing their 

 produce before the public. Any business that is worthy 

 of a man's utmost exertions, both bodily and mentally, 

 must pay for starting and conducting in a systematic 

 manner. Certainly, in modern market gardening this is 

 one of the first essentials, otherwise the expenditure of 

 capital and labour will be heavily discounted, and the 

 greatest skill in cultivation will not suffice to ensure 

 financial success. Organisation and directing power are 

 as much a necessity as the physical strength required in 

 the work. 



The purpose of the following pages is to review the 

 chief stages of a market gardening business ; to point 

 out the most notable and prevailing defects, with such 

 remedies as long experience in horticulture has found 

 to be generally effective, suggesting also methods which 

 are worthy of trial, and indicating the lines upon which 

 the most successful businesses are conducted. Intended 



