54 THE BOOK OF MARKET GARDENING 



fruit or vegetable is equally of importance, but applies 

 to a more limited number of kinds, as there are many 

 which are cleared at one gathering only. Where suc- 

 cessional' produce can be had from the same plants, it is 

 evident there must be a larger return for the labour 

 spent upon it and the land occupied. Connected with 

 this may also be considered the "keeping" properties 

 of certain varieties, which is shown more particularly 

 in fruits and Potatoes, though it is seen, too, in many 

 flowers grown for cutting. In any produce not required 

 for immediate use, a lasting character is of substantial 

 help to the grower, as it enables him to place it on the 

 market in the best condition or to avoid any gluts. 



Appearance and Quality. — Although these have been 

 placed last in the list of characters in market plants, 

 that is not their position in the order of importance, 

 but taken in conjunction with some of the other pro- 

 perties enumerated they should rank high. The good 

 appearance of any production for sale is not merely of 

 great value, it is almost essential to securing the best 

 prices, and no market grower can afford to disregard 

 it. The majority of buyers judge by the eye alone, 

 and what is pleasant to look upon will always command 

 a wider market than imperfect, distorted, or disfigured 

 produce. In many respects the popular judgment is 

 correct : compare, for instance, the coarse, corrugated 

 old forms of tomatoes with the smooth, even fruits in 

 general favour at the present time. Every housewife 

 can give unanswerable arguments in favour of an even- 

 shaped potato with shallow " eyes 99 as against the rough, 

 distorted tuber with "eyes" like pits. Equally, too, 

 amongst apples for cooking, the heavily-ridged fruits 

 with deep stalks and "eyes" are discarded in favour 

 of the evenly-formed fruits where the waste in peeling 

 is reduced to the minimum. Unfortunately, appearance 

 and quality are not always synonymous ; some varieties, 



