30 



SL^CCESS IN SMALL SPECL4.LTIES. 



happened to find his right specialty, and is only in a 

 small measure the result of special environments. 



"It seems a little funny," says Mr. A. I. Root, 

 who a few weeks ago made a visit to the Grand 

 Rapids lettuce-houses, "but nowhere else on the face 

 of the earth do they grow lettuce equal to the prod- 

 uct of Grand Rapids. Even away down in Cincin- 

 nati they must send to Grand Rapids for their choice 

 lettuce. Now, the cause of this cannot be in the soil 

 and climate, as it is with the Kalamazoo celery, for the 

 lettuce is all grown under glass, or nearly all. Friend 

 Davis found out how to do it, and his neighbors all 

 around are copying him. He took me around to so 

 many different places where new greenhouses have 

 recently been put up, or are just going up, that I was 

 really bewildered. Although it was a cool November 

 day, quite a number were handling putty and setting 

 glass. Perhaps there are now something like a hundred 

 houses, solely for lettuce-growing, in the vicinity of Grand 

 Rapids. These are usually loo feet long by 20 or more 

 broad. Some men have one house, others three or 

 four, some half a dozen." 



The mere fact that Mr. Davis' neighbors, by copying 

 him, have learned the trade, proves the possibility of 

 our learning the very same thing by copying his 

 methods. 



GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION. 



Mr. Davis prefers that the house should face the south 

 with a long slope fronting the midday sun, rather than 

 that it should stand north and south, with slopes alike 

 on both sides, although a great many new houses are put 

 up on the latter plar Butting the glass is the usual 

 practice with Mr. Davis, but he thinks there is not 

 much difference in favor of it as against lapping. 



Where one has two or more houses the query is, how 

 to place them— whether close together, or with a drive- 

 way between them. Of course, there is economy in 

 the former method, especially if the middle wall is 

 omitted so that the two houses are virtually one. This 

 will do for houses standing north and south on level 

 ground. With the Henderson style (a long slope facing 

 south), they must either be on the hillside, or else have a 

 roadway between them ; otherwise the house further 

 south will shade the one behind it. On a hillside with 

 a gentle slope, where close houses are permissible, they 

 must not communicate ; for if they do, the hot air, 

 being lighter than the cold, will rush into the house 

 standing highest. Another objection to having the 

 houses stand close together is the snow that would 

 come down into the gutter. Unless the houses are made 

 unnecessarily strong, a great weight might break in the 

 sash. Of course, the snow can be shoveled out, but 

 this is a cold and disagreeable job, and somewhat dan- 

 gerous, both to the glass and to the operator. 



HEATING THE HOUSES. 



Mr. Davis' houses are heated by flues, and wood is 

 used for fuel. We had thought this style of heating 

 was pretty much out of date. But special purposes 



often make special treatment necessary. Mr. Root 

 tells us that a good many of the Grand Rapids growers 

 who have steam and hot water in some of the houses, 

 and flues in others, give the preference to the latter. 

 Mr. Davis believes that a flue is much the cheaper ; and 

 in winter, when the houses are inclined to be damp, the 

 flue seems to dry it out more effectively than either hot 

 water or steam, and the lettuce can receive with safety 

 more frequent waterings. 



HOW THE INDUSTRY BEGAN. 



Some years ago Mr. Davis came into possession of a 

 new sort of lettuce, probably a cross between the Han- 

 son and a strain whose name is unknown, brought by 

 an old friend of his from the old country, 16 or 17 

 years ago. It seemed to do remarkably well as a forc- 

 ing lettuce. By experimenting he developed a green- 

 house especially for its cultivation, and in the same 

 way he discovered the soil and manure that seemed to 

 be best suited for its growth. He uses four or five 

 inches of sandy loam, such as is found anywhere around 

 Grand Rapids, with two inches of fresh, clean horse 

 manure spread over it and forked in. This gives rank, 

 white, crisp lettuce, and seems to be superior to any 

 other soil manured by compost. Fermented manure 

 has been tried again and again, but it does not do so 

 well. Chemical fertilizers have also been tried, but are 

 found to be .' ' no good . " 



The stables of Grand Rapids save expressly for his 

 use fresh manure without straw. When it is spread 

 over the beds, it is beaten or pounded up fine with a 

 stick a little heavier than a piece of lath, having some 

 short nails driven into it. 



"No matter how many greenhouses his neighbors 

 put up," says Mr. Root, "for the last 15 years the de- 

 mand has been, most of the time, beyond the supply. 

 Of course, this may not always continue ; but where the 

 quality produced is equal to that raised by friend Davis 

 and his neighbors, there seems to be no lack of a mar- 

 ket. Even at the date of my visit — November 4— the 

 grocers of Grand Rapids were offering 20 cents a pound, 

 but the proprietor of the only lettuce that was fit for 

 market would not let it go. I asked him why ; and he 

 said that in two or three weeks it would make such a 

 growth as to make nearly double the number of pounds 

 per square yard, therefore he preferred to let it stand 

 and grow rather than to sell it as it was at 20 cents per 

 pound. Just one man, with enthusiasm and a love for 

 work both with brain and muscle, has built up this 

 great industry." 



CELERY IN KALAMAZOO. 



The celery industry of Kalamazoo, more than the let- 

 tuce industry of Grand Rapids, is an outgrowth of favor- 

 able local conditions. There is no " secret of success " 

 about it. Men and environment were specially fitted 

 for the development of the industry, and as a result, 

 " the golden product of the swamps of Kalamazoo " (so 

 James K. Reeve writes to the Independent'), "is found 

 upon the tables of hotels along the Penobscot, and 



