CHAPTER I 
A GENERAL VIEW 
t. Vegetable gardening, or olericulture, is the art of 
growing the crops which are commonly known as vege- 
tables. The term “vegetable” is usually applied to the 
edible parts of herbaceous plants. With some fruits, 
botanically so considered, as watermelon, muskmelon, 
tomato and eggplant, the parts used as food are com- 
monly called vegetables. While fruits are extensively 
employed for dessert without cooking, heat must be ap- 
plied to most vegetables before they become palatable; 
notable exceptions are tomato, celery, onion, lettuce and 
melons. Vegetables of great commercial importance are 
asparagus, bean, beet, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, 
cucumber, horse-radish, parsnip, pea, pepper, sweet corn, 
sweet potato, radish, spinach, squash and turnip. The 
potato is also a vegetable, but it is generally regarded as 
a field crop, and it is often included in rotations with 
grass and cereals. 
2. Market gardening, in its broadest sense, is the grow- 
ing of vegetables for commercial purposes, but the gen- 
erally accepted meaning is that market gardening relates 
to the intensive culture of crops that may be planted 
close together, that mature quickly and that offer great 
financial possibilities for the area cultivated. The most 
popula: crops in market gardening are beets, onions, 
celery, lettuce, radishes, carrots and other vegetables 
which are usually cultivated with wheel hoes. Market 
gardens are generally located near cities, which provide 
good local markets. Land so situated is usually of high 
value and it is necessary for the grower to secure maxi- 
mum returns from every square foot of ground. 
