1851 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
35 
^rartirol Irabnniinj. 
Market Gardening and High Farming. 
Editors of the Cultivator —I have been taking a 
look at the market gardening and other modes of 
cultivating the soil in the vicinity of the city of Bos¬ 
ton. The amount and profit per acre obtained by 
the systems of culture there practiced, is truly sur¬ 
prising. 
I first visited the grounds of George Pierce, 
Esq., in West Cambridge. He cultivates twenty- 
six acres of land, all told. At the time of his pur¬ 
chase, his land was a light sandy loam, in a worn 
out condition, and would have been called the poorest 
kind of c plain land. 5 He has spared no pains to re¬ 
deem it from sterility. Manure has been largely 
purchased at the city stables, costing $7 per cord, 
when delivered on the farm. His whole annual pur¬ 
chase of manure amounts to from $800 to $1000. 
In applying it to the soil, the principal rule observed 
is, to put on all that can possibly do good. 
Mr. Pierce considers that a light warm sandy 
loam is the most favorable soil for market gardening; 
and that although at first it may be comparatively 
unproductive, yet, when made fat by high cultiva¬ 
tion, the crops are sure, and the land is more easily 
worked than heavier loam. 
Seven acres are principally devoted to the raising 
of fruit. In the apple orchard, the trees stand thirty- 
six feet apart, each way. As they are now mostly 
large trees, the ground is pretty much given up to 
them. A moderate coat of manure is spread over 
the surface each spring and plowed in, without par¬ 
ticular reference to the roots of the trees, but with 
special care to prevent the barking of their trunks. 
All weeds are kept down, that the trees may have 
full possession of the soil. The apples are in conse¬ 
quence large and fair, the product is large, and the 
fruit brings top prices in the market. While the 
trees were young and growing, heavier dressings of 
manure were applied to the ground, and the open 
spaces between the rows were occupied by vegeta¬ 
bles for the market. By means of this constant 
working of the land, the trees begin to bear some 
fruit in six years from the time they are set out; 
and in thirteen to fifteen years, they will produce, 
in favourable seasons, an average yield of five bar¬ 
rels per tree. From four trees of the Porter apple, 
Mr. Pierce last year sold twenty-four barrels of ap¬ 
ples, so large, smooth and fair as to command five 
dollars per barrel. Mr. Pierce is particular in so 
training the branches of his young trees as to pre¬ 
vent them from shading or otherwise interfering 
with each other; and the branches are encouraged 
to start out low on the trunk, to protect its sap 
from too high heat by the rays of the sun. 
Four years ago, an apple orchard was planted out, 
embracing four acres, the trees standing in rows 
thirty six feet apart, each way. At the same time, 
about 1000 peach trees were planted between the 
rows of apple trees, twelve feet apart each way. 
The land, for several years previous, had been de¬ 
voted to market vegetables, under high cultivation. 
The growth of trees is very remarkable; and the 
peach trees are now bearing finely. Being short 
lived, they will soon be out of the way of the apple 
trees; and then, for a few years, vegetables will be 
grown in the open spaces. 
Nineteen acres are devoted to the raising of vege 
tables for the Boston market. As before intima¬ 
ted, this land is highly manured; it is also deeply 
worked, as deep as the plows can be made to run. 
A great variety of vegetables is here raised, in order 
seasonably to supply the successive requirements of 
the market. For several weeks, in the height of the 
producing season, two and three wagon loads are 
daily sent to market, embracing twelve to fifteen 
varieties of vegetables. 
It is a leading and principal idea with Mr. Pierce, 
so to adapt different vegetables to the land and to 
each other, as to obtain at least two, and often four 
crops in a season, from one and the same piece of 
ground. For instance: on one plat of land, early 
radishes are sown broadcast, and early peas are 
sown in double drills, say five feet apart; at the 
proper time, either squashes, melons, or cucumbers 
are planted between the rows of peas: the radishes 
get out of the way of the peas, and the peas get out 
of the way of the vines; and thus three crops are 
successively matured. Enough manure is put on to 
the ground in the spring to afford full sustenance to 
all the crops. On other ground, early potates are 
raised, and marketed in season to sow turneps and 
obtain a full crop. Or perhaps after the potatoes 
the land will be sown in August to onions. In the 
fall they are covered with swamp hay or other litter; 
they remain in the ground through the winter with¬ 
out injury; in May following they are ready for mar¬ 
ket, and in June the land is. ready for any other 
crop. Or perhaps after the potatoes, spinage is 
sown for greens, and the next spring the land is 
clear. 
It is also a leading idea to get all kinds of vegeta¬ 
bles into the market at the earliest possible period; 
for any article, appearing there a week or two before 
its usual time, commands a very high price, which 
richly rewards any extra labor or pains. Mr. Pierce 
has extensive hot beds for forwarding his various 
productions for an early market. He has 250 sashes, 
or some 1400 surface feet of glass, under which all 
sorts of vegetables are started. Last spring he went 
largely into the production under glass of early 
dandelions for greens. The receipts from this 
source, in March and early April, amounted to $3 
per sash, or one shilling per surface foot of ground. 
