THE VEGETABLE FORCING BUSINESS 



173 



THURSDAY MORNING 



Mr. Greffrath : The topic for discussion this morning 

 will be ''Vegetable Forcing." We have with us a man who is 

 going to take up this subject who has had experience as a 

 grower, and we maj^ expect some valuable points. Professor 

 Watts. 



THE VEGETABLE FORCING BUSINESS. 

 R. L. Watts, State College, Pennsylvania. 



I have said many times within the last year or two, that 

 if I were to select a business along horticultural lines, I should 

 give first consideration to vegetable forcing. My reason for 

 making this statement is that, in vegetable forcing, condi- 

 tions affecting production are under control. I might have 

 included floriculture in this statement, because I believe this 

 industry offers just as great inducements as vegetable 

 forcing. 



I do not hesitate to speak of vegetable forcing as a line of 

 farming, because we have men who are growing crops under 

 glass on a farm scale. There are men who have four, seven, 

 and even ten acres under glass, and all in one house. Nine 

 or ten acres in one house is real farming under controlled 

 conditions. I have a man in mind who has not had a failure 

 in his greenhouses for the last fifteen years. We need not 

 fear such cold weather as this if we have made proper pro- 

 vision in the way of a good boiler and proper fuel. We need 

 not worry very much about hail because, if we are business 

 men, the greenhouses will be insured. We need not worry 

 about destructive frosts that occur in the spring and fall of 

 the year, because a good heating plant will protect our crops. 

 We need not worry about water, because an overhead sys- 

 tem of irrigation may be used at any moment. We need not 

 worry about the soil being filled with pests that cause losses 

 out of doors, because we can literally cook the soil with 

 steam. We need not worry about insects that feed upon the 

 plants, because these may be destroyed by fumigation. Farm- 

 ing under controlled conditions is an attractive proposition. 



There are many large towns in Pennsylvania, and in other 



