MODERN GARDENING 
3*3 
already familiar sight of barrows of fruit being sold at less 
than one penny a piece was unknown in the nineteenth cen¬ 
tury. 1 Besides this welcome fruit from the Colonies which 
cannot be grown here, an immense amount is imported from 
abroad which, with a little more enterprise, could be raised in 
the country. Early vegetables are also imported from abroad 
in great quantities, and it is no doubt a meritorious desire to 
supply these at home that has led to the sudden craze to 
embark on the French methods of market gardening. This 
consists chiefly in growing early crops under bell-glasses on 
highly manured ground. The soil round Paris where this 
system pays best is exceptionally rich, but undoubtedly it is 
a profitable business elsewhere when thoroughly understood. 
There is no reason why it should not succeed in England when 
entrusted to experienced hands, which does not always appear 
to be thought necessary. It requires a large outlay per acre, 
and extremely hard work of a technical nature. A similar 
system was in vogue near London a hundred and fifty years 
ago. 2 
One characteristic of present-day gardening is the share 
that women take in it. Thomas Tusser and all the old writers 
frequently pointed out that the care of the garden was within 
the department of a good housewife, but the “ lady gardener ” 
is the product of the last few years. It was only in 1891 that 
the Horticultural College at Swanley admitted for the first 
time a lady student, but by 1896 there were thirty-nine, in 
spite of a strong prejudice against women taking up the work 
seriously. In 1903 the college was turned into one entirely 
for women, and sixty-three students entered. Since then 
the number of students has fluctuated between sixty and 
1 The Daily Graphic, October 4, 1905, has a headline, “ A Procession 
of Bananas—Half a Mile of Vans.” The paragraph gives an account of 
a special train which took 14,000 bunches of bananas from the cargo of 
a ship from Jamaica just arrived at Avonmouth. Three hundred men 
quickly loaded up 100 vans, which started from Paddington to dis¬ 
tribute the fruit throughout London and the suburbs. This was in 
the early stages of the banana trade, which now is established, and 
creates no excitement in newspaper columns. 
2 See p. 240. 
