254 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 29, 1861. 
warme'd air into the greenhouse as the best set hot water 
can give. 
The side ventilators will be opened in a sliding manner 
to let in an inch of air, or six inches, as the heat of the 
oven or the coldness of the night may suggest; and the 
door over the fireplace is for examining the oven, and 
dusting it out if needs be, and perhaps for putting in a 
dish of water to moisten the air, or a pie-dish of all 
manner of perfumed herbs to simmer away, for the 
purpose of perfuming as well as of heating the air of the 
house. ’ 
The whole of the outside of that casing of bricks I 
shall have covered with the best non-conducting thing I 
can find, but at present nothing occurs to me more handy 
than a foot of the driest sandy or peaty soil. But fo ■ 
my cold pit I shall have this Kiddean system at one end, 
and to range with the glass, and without an arched roof 
to the oven. I must find something flat to cover it; for 
I mean to have my propagating-light over the oven and 
make it range with the lights of the pit, so that one 
could ever find out the difference; and when there was 
no frost or want of heating for the pit, the air-vent wil 
be all but closed, and sufficient heat for propagation wil 
be uot by a fire of faggot wood, or any cheaper fuel I 
may find. 
Captain Hopkins, of Surbiton Hill, who beat me last 
year with his hardy Grapes, has a contrivance of this 
kind at the end of his greenhouse, which answers re¬ 
markably well, and has done so for some years, but it is 
worked with hot water without a boiler. He lias a coil 
of gas-pipes lining the fireplace ; one leg of the coil is a 
flow-pipe into the propagating-tank, and the other the 
return from the same. The tank is of some metal, and 
is as close as a pipe : therefore, although the heat is from 
water, it is not more moist than that which I expect from 
the Kiddean system. D. Beaton. 
THE LITTLE MARKET-GARDENER ; 
OR, 
HOW TO CULTIVATE AN ACRE OP LAND WHEN PROFIT IS 
THE CHIEF AIM, AND SHOWING HOW A FAMILY MAY 
BE SUPPORTED AND SOMETHING PUT BY FOR A RAINY 
DAY. 
I think a little information on this subject is wanted. We can 
learn from books how to grow anything, but when that question, 
“How can I grow for profit ? ” comes, it seems to be a poser. 
I have been asked hundreds of times this question, “ What 
shall I plant in my garden this time that will pay ? ” And I 
have very many times beard people say, “If yon expect profit 
from a garden you will find yourself disappointed.” 
Some will ask, “How do market-gardeners make a living and 
pay their way, if no profit is to be obtained by gardening? ” 
This question is the one I intend to answer in this work. 
I have been a market-gardener in a little way myself for 
thirteen years, and 1 have also had the management of gentle¬ 
men’s and tradesmen’s gardens the same length of time. I have 
kept a debtor and creditor account both for myself and my 
masters, and am, therefore, able to answer any question on the 
subject from my books. 
In the first place, I will show what a market-gardener may 
grow upon one acre of land; what the crops should cost to 
grow them; and what they would be likely for be worth when 
grown. 
I will, then, show bow to go about them, and I will state haw 
I have brought gardens that have been given up as good for 
nothing to be the best gardens in the neighbourhood; and, 
lastly, I will explain why gentlemen’s and tradesmen’s gardens 
do rot pay for cultivating. 
If you have made up your mind to be a market-gardener, the 
first question to ask is not “ What can I grow ? ” but “What 
can 1 sell?” I will tell you what I should plant upon one acre 
of land myself for the first year, if I were to go to a strange 
place to begin. 
I should enter in a book the quantity of everything I planted, 
and the cost of planting. I should also enter what I made of 
each crop separately, and whether I had too much of this and 
too little of that. I should then see which crops paid the most 
money, and whether I had plenty of sale for those crops. If so, 
of course, I should plant more of those crops that paid most 
money the next year and less of the others. 
An acre of land contains what we call in Shropshire rather 
better than seventy-five rods. What we call a rod contains 
sixty-four yards—viz,, a space eight yards each way. 
I reckon after I have made my walks, that I have in culti¬ 
vation about seventy-two of these rods, and will now show you 
what to plant them with the first year, and what I should expect 
each crop to cost in planting, and what I should expect each 
crop to be worth. 
first crop. 
Name of Crop. 
No. of 
Rods. 
1 Cost of 
Seed. 
Cost of 
Manure. 
Worth of 
Crop. 
£ 
S. 
D . 
.£ 
S. 
D. 
£ s. 
D 
Early Cabbage . 
6 
0 
0 
6 
1 
1 
0 
3 12 
0 
Cabbage, Savoy. 
2 
0 
0 
3 
0 
7 
0 
1 5 
0 
Red Cabbaee . 
2 
0 
0 
3 
0 
7 
0 
1 >4 
0 
Cauliflowers . 
,2 
0 
1 
0 
0 
7 
0 
1 12 
0 
Broad Beans . 
2 
0 
•2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 0 
0 
Early Peas. .. 
6 
0 
6 
0 
1 
1 
0 
:2 8 
0 
Late Peas . 
2 
0 
2 
0 
0 
7 
0 
0 16 
0 
Carrots. 
1 
0 
0 
6 
0 
0 
0 
0 10 
0 
Leeks .. 
4% 
0 
0 
6 
0 
2 
6 
0 i 7 
0 
Lettuce... 
1 
0 
0 
6 
0 
2 
6 
0 10 
•0 
Onions. 
6 
0 
6 
0 
l 
1 
0 
3 0 
0 
Parsnips . 
1 
0 
0 
3 
0 
0 
0 
0 10 
0 
Radishes. 
li 
0 
0 
6 
0 
0 
0 
0 14 
0 
Early Rhubarb. 
2 3 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
2 0 
0 
Late Rhubarb . 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
10 
0 
0 15 
0 
Early Turnips . 
1 
0 
0 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 5 
0 
Strawberries . 
3 
0 
6 
0 
0 
14 
0 
3 0 
6 
Raspberries. 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
7 
0 
110 
0 
Gooseberries and Currants .... 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
14 
0 
012 
0 
Broccoli Plants. 
:2 
0 
'2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
i 0 
0 
Cauliflower and Savoy Plants „ 
2 
0 
3 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 0 
0 
Early Ashleaf Potatoes . 
10 
1 
5 
0 
0 
0 
0 
5 0 
0 
Other Early Sorts. 
14 
1 
8 
0 
0 
0 
-‘0 
5 0 
0 
72 
3 
18 
5 
8 
0 
0 
3710 
0 
SECOND CROP. 
Cahbage Plants after Second Po- 
tatoes . 
4 
0 
2 
0 
0 
14 
0 
3 0 
0 
Cauliflower after ditto. 
5 
0 
0 
0 
1 
1 
0 
3 0 
0 
Savoy after ditto . 
5 
0 
0 
0 
I 
1 
0 
210 
0 
Mangold Wurtzelafter Cabbage ... 
6 
0 
0 
6 
0 
0 
0 
110 
0 
Celery Plants after Radishes. 
u 
0 
1 
0 
0 
■7 
0 
1 4 
0 
Celery after Early Potatoes . 
6 
0 
0 
0 
0 
18 
0 
6 0 
0 
Turnips after ditto . 
4 
0 
0 
6 
0 
3 
0 
1 0 
0 
Broccoli after Early Peas .... 
4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 0 
0 
Turnips after ditto . 
2 
0 
0 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 10 
0 
Total.,... 
109£ 
4 
2 
7 
12 
4 
0 
57 4 
0 
Deduct .... 16 6 7 
Profit 
40 17 5 
A ou will see that I have said nothing about rent. I never 
look to the crops for rent myself. I always look into the pigsty, 
as I have plenty of keep for pigs that cost me very little ; and 
you must understand that tlie cost of manure null never be so 
great again, as you will make a large quantity if you follow my 
advice. 
I have set down £12 45. for manure. This is to show you 
about what quantity I should use. It costs me 7s. per top, 
delivered. I never lay out more than £3 besides for bone 
manure and guano, which cost me about £2 per year. These 
are the best manures for a second crop. You will see I have 
only set down 18s. cost of manure for six rods of Celery. This 
is to be hone manure, about one pound to the yard; to be dug 
in the bottom of the trench like farmyard manure. For Turnips 
after Potatoes I always use guano, sowing it on the ground, and 
digging it in. 
I have set down £1 Is. for manure for Cauliflowers after 
Potatoes. This is for farmyard manure. This is to get the land 
into good heart for the nest crop, otherwise I do not use it for 
second crops, as I can grow better crops of Cauliflower from 
guano at about one-half the cost. Sow it on the land and dig 
it in. 
Y ou will see I have set down 14s. for manure for Gooseberries 
and Currants. This will not be wanted after the first year. So 
that manure will not after that time cost more than £5 per year, 
and the crops, too, will be worth more money.— Thos. Jones. 
(To be continued.) 
