^  November  18, 1897.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
493 
COVENT  GARDEN  MARKET.— Nov.  17th, 
PKUIT. 
8.  d. 
8.  d. 
B.  d. 
s.  d. 
Apples,  i  sieve .  1  0  to  3  0 
Grapes,  lb . 
•  •  • 
0  8  to  2  0 
Cobs  . 22  6 
24  0 
Lemons,  case  . 
... 
11  0 
14  0 
Filberts,  100  lbs .  0  0 
0  0 
St.  Michael’s  Pines,  each 
3  0 
8  0 
VEGETABLES. 
B.  d. 
s.  d. 
8.  d. 
s.  d. 
Asparagus,  per  100 .  0  0 
toO  0 
Mustard  and  Cress,  punnet 
0  2  to  0  4 
Beans,  ^  sieve  .  0  0 
0  0 
Onions,  bushel . 
... 
3  6 
4  0 
Beet,  Red,  doz .  1  0 
0  0 
Parsley,  doz.  bnchs.... 
... 
2  0 
3  0 
Carrots,  bunch .  0  3 
0  4 
Parsnips,  doz . 
... 
1  0 
0  0 
Cauliflowers,  doz .  2  0 
3  0 
Potatoes,  cwt . 
2  0 
4  0 
Celery,  bundle .  1  0 
0  0 
Salsafy,  bundle . 
1  0 
0  0 
Cole  worts,  doz.  bnchs.  ...  2  0 
4  0 
Seakale,  basket . 
1  6 
1  9 
Cucumbers .  0  4 
0  8 
Scorzonera,  bundle  ... 
1  6 
0  0 
Endive,  doz .  1  3 
1  6 
Shallots,  lb . 
0  3 
0  4 
Herbs,  bunch  .  0  3 
0  0 
Spinach,  pad  . 
0  0 
0  0 
Leeks,  bunch  .  0  2 
0  0 
Sprouts,  J  sieve . 
... 
1  6 
1  9 
Lettuce,  doz .  1  3 
0  0 
Tomatoes,  lb . 
0  4 
0  0 
Mushrooms,  lb .  0  6 
0  8 
Turnips,  bunch . 
... 
0  3 
0  0 
PLANTS 
IN  POTS. 
s.  d. 
6.  d. 
s.  d. 
8.  d. 
Arbor  Vit®,  var.,  doz.  ...  6  0  to  36  0 
Ferns,  var.,  doz. 
•  •• 
4  0tol8  0 
Aspidistra,  doz . 18  0 
36  0 
Ferns,  small,  100 
4  0 
6  0 
Aspidistra,  specimen  ..."  5  0 
10  6 
Ficus  elastica,  each... 
... 
1  0 
7  0 
Chrysanthemums,  doz.  ...  4  0 
9  0 
Foliage  plants,  var.,  each 
1  0 
5  0 
„  „  single  plants  1  6 
2  0 
Lilium  Harris!,  doz.... 
.*• 
12  0 
18  0 
Dracaena,  var.,  doz .  12  0 
30  0 
Lycopodiums,  doz.  ... 
... 
3  0 
4  0 
Dracaena  viridis,  doz.  ...  9  0 
18  0 
Marguerite  Daisy,  doz. 
» » . 
4  0 
9  0 
Euonymus,  var.,  doz.  ...  6  0 
18  0 
Mignonette,  doz. 
... 
4  0 
6  0 
Evergreeens,  var.,  doz.  ...  4  0 
18  0 
Myrtles,  doz . 
... 
6  0 
9  0 
Erica  hymalis,  per  doz....  9  0 
15  0 
Palms,  in  var.,  each... 
... 
1  0 
15  0 
„  gracilis,  per  doz.  ...  6  0 
9  0 
8p0ClT116T)S  ••• 
... 
21  0 
63  0 
„  various,  per  doz.  ...  8  0 
12  0 
Pelargoniums,  scarlet,  doz. 
2  0 
4  0 
AVERAGE  WHOLESALE  PRICES.— CUT  FLOWERS.— Orchids  in  variety*. 
8.  d. 
8.  d. 
s.  d. 
s.  d 
Arum  Lilies,  12  blooms  ... 
3  0  to  5  0 
Maidenhair  Fern,  doz. 
Asparagus  Fern,  bunch  ... 
1  0 
2  6 
bnchs . 
4  0  to  8  0 
Bouvardias,  bunch  . 
0  6 
0  8 
Mignonette,  doz.  bnchs. ... 
2  0 
4  0 
Carnations,  12  blooms 
1  0 
3  0 
Narciss,  white  (French) 
Chrysanthemums,  12  bnchs. 
2  0 
6  0 
dozen  bunches  . 
2  6 
4  0 
,,  „  12  blooms 
0  6 
2  6 
Orchids,  var.,  doz.  blooms 
1  6 
12  0 
Eucharis,  doz . 
4  0 
6  0 
Pelargoniums,  doz.  bnchs. 
4  0 
6  0 
Gardenias,  doz . 
2  0 
3  0 
Roses  (indoor),  doz . 
0  6 
1  0 
Geranium,  scarlet,  doz. 
„  Tea,  white,  doz.  ... 
1  0 
2  0 
bnchs . 
4  0 
6  0 
„  Yellow,  doz.  (Niels) 
1  6 
4  0 
Lilac  (French),  bunch  ... 
3  0 
6  0 
„  Red,  doz.  blooms  ... 
1  0 
1  6 
Lilium  lancifolium,  short. 
,,  Safrano  (Englishjdoz. 
1  0 
2  0 
per  12  blooms  . 
1  0 
1  6 
„  Pink,  doz . 
1  0 
2  6 
Lilium  longiflorum,  12 
„  outdoor,  doz.  bnchs. 
4  0 
6  0 
blooms  . 
4  0 
6  0 
Smilax,  bunch . 
1  6 
2  6 
Lily  of  the  Valley,  12 
Tuberoses,  12  blooms 
0  3 
0  4 
sprays  . 
1  0 
2  0 
Violets,  doz.  bnchs . 
1  6 
2  0 
Marguerites,  doz.  bnchs..,. 
2  0 
3  0 
,,  Parme  (French),  bch. 
2  6 
3  6 
WORKING  AT  HIGH  PRESSURE. 
This  does  not  include  an  eight-hours  day — high  pressure  does  not 
admit  of  this.  At  any  rate,  garden  or  farm  cannot  afford  it ;  they  are 
always  at  high  pressure.  There  is  alsvays  work  enough  to  occupy 
all  hands,  and  work  that  calls  imperatively  for  the  doing.  If  the  actual 
crops  do  not  need  attention  (and  we  find  we  are  never  long  off  the 
land),  there  is  extensive  work  at  our  door  with  the  live  stock  of  all 
sorts,  in  which  the  farm  abounds,  or  ought  to  abountl.  The  prepara¬ 
tion  of  the  different  foods,  the  feeding  hours,  the  cleansing  of  boxes 
and  sheds,  is  work  that  demands  constant  and  careful  attention. 
Nothing  slipshod  here,  if  you  please.  Regularity  and  punctuality 
must  be  ever  to  the  fore. 
Here  we  find  .the  difference  that  constitutes  first  or  second-class 
farming.  An  extra  man  costs  money,  but  an  extra  man  often  insures 
much  more  than  his  wage  by  the  care  and  assiduity  exercised  towards 
those  animals  under  his  charge.  Mind,  we  always  are  keeping  a 
sharp  look  out  on  the  labour  bill,  yet  still,  at  the  same  time,  we  know 
that  one  man  cannot  do  the  work  of  two,  and  it  is  the  falsest  economy 
to  have  yards  full  of  badly  fed,  badly  bedded  cattle.  It  is  the  same 
on  the  land.  Good  farming  is  ever  exacting.  The  land  is  ready  to  do 
its  share,  and  it  repays  the  worker  for  thorough  cultivation.  We  fancy 
we  do  things  fairly  well  in  England — that  is,  we  fancy  we  get  a  fair 
return  for  our  labour,  but  just  now,  after  reading  an  account  of  a 
Mr.  Hallock  and  his  farm  (78  acres)  in  the  State  of  New  York,  we 
begin  to  think  we  have  much  yet  to  learn.  True,  the  circumstances 
are  different,  soil  different,  but  we  suppose  that  he,  too,  like  us,  is 
subject  to  great  variations  of  climatic  influences.  We  speak  of  our  year 
as  one  of  changing  seasons,  and  truly  it  is  so,  for  in  no  two  years  are 
any  two  given  seasons  alike.  Nothing  is  more  certain  than  the 
uncertainty  of  our  weather.  All  this  adds  to  our  difficulty,  and  our 
summer  seasons  are  generally  but  short. 
We  have  not  the  advantage,  too  (or  at  least  only  a  few  of  us),  of 
being  so  near  such  a  market  as  New  York,  and  the  American,  as  a 
rule,  is  a  greater  consumer  of  fruit  and  vegetables  than  the  average 
Englishman.  Apparently  Mr.  Hallock  is  his  own  carrier — that  is,  by 
means  of  water — so  that  must  reduce  the  freight  bill  considerably. 
We  have  water  carriage  here,  but  most  of  our  canals  are  only  adapted 
for  the  slow-going  barge  or  keel.  We  do  not  utilise  steam  power  except 
on  our  rivers.  We  trust  mainly  to  railways,  and  they  generally 
contrive  to  make  their  own  terms,  which  are  very  advantageous  to 
themselves. 
We  confess  we  are  a  good  deal  puzzled  to  know  where  market 
gardening  ends  and  farming  begins.  The  produce  of  this  States 
farm  savours  so  of  market  gardening,  of  course  on  a  large  scale.  We 
rather  wish  we  could  see  some  particulars  of  English  market  gardens 
— i.e.,  their  size  and  so  forth.  Most  market  gardens  have  a  certain 
amount  of  glass.  This  farm  appears  to  have  none,  or  at  least  no 
mention  is  made  of  it,  and  we  presume  the  climate  is  such  that  the 
Cucumbers  and  Squashes  grown  need  no  protection  against  the 
weather. 
The  produce  of  this  farm  runs  something  like  this : — Potatoes, 
4500  bushels,  early  ;  Potatoes,  1800  bushels,  late;  early  Cabbages, 
4260  barrels'' ;  corn  cobs  (Green  Maize),  1000  bushels ;  Strawberries, 
9000  quarts;  Onions,  8350  bushels.  Of  these  2300  bushels  were 
grown  from  sets.  Then  there  is  other  produce  not  distinctly  specified, 
or  with  no  note  of  quantity,  such  as  Carrots,  Cucumbers,  Squashes, 
hay,  Onion  seed,  and  Carrot  seed.  The  ground  never  lies  idle  here. 
The  early  Potato  crop,  which  was  dug  the  first  week  in  July,  yielded 
300  bushels  per  acre.  The  ground  was  at  once  planted  with 
Cucumbers,  Carrots,  Squashes,  or  Maize,  the  head  or  cob  of  which  is 
eaten  green  as  a  vegetable. 
Mr.  Hallock  finds  it  pays  to  set  new  Potato  seed  ;  he,  like  us, 
finds  the  varieties  so  soon  deteriorate,  and  he  grows  what  used  to  be 
a  favourite  here.  Early  Rose.  We  have  improved  upon  that.  We 
believe  some  of  our  good  “earlies”  are  of  American  birth.  To  lose 
no  time  the  Potatoes  are  well  sprouted  before  being  set.  The  Onion 
crop  seems  to  be  most  prolific.  We  ask,  Can  it  be  there  is  no  Onion 
maggot  in  New  York  State  ?  The  Onions  are  placed  in  lines  14  inches 
apart,  and  between  the  rows  we  find  Carrot ;  the  Onions  are  lifted 
first,  and  then  the  Carrot  has  the  ground  to  itself.  Carrots  are  sown 
as  late  as  July  ;  well,  that  may  do  in  New  York  State,  but  we  fear  it 
would  not  answer  here.  Here,  again,  all  Carrot  seed  is  sprouted  before 
being  drilled,  which  it  is  through  a  special  contrivance  which  prevents 
tlie  breaking  oif  of  the  sprouts. 
Cabbages  fluctuate ;  we  should  fancy  a  season  too  cold  for  tenderer 
vegetables  would  help  to  raise  the  value  of  the  Cabbage.  It  is  said 
that  if  the  English  working  man  can  get  plenty  of  (coarse)  greens,  he 
prefers  fat,  rough  mutton,  as  the  grease  of  the  mutton  and  the 
“  greenery  ”  form  a  diet  that  his  soul  loves.  There  is  no  doubt  of  it 
that  few  dishes  are  more  delicious  to  the  unspoiled  palate  than  a  bit  of 
bacon  boiled  in  the  pot  with  Cabbage  or  Spinach. 
Mr.  Hallock  does  not  forget  to  feed  his  land,  as  it  so  well  feeds 
him.  Not  forgetting  the  home  manure,  he  will  purchase  as  much  as 
1000  two-horse  cartloads  of  stable  manure.  Now  we  are  not  quite 
sure  about  this  stable  manure.  Sometimes  the  term  “  stable  ”  is 
♦  We  are  not  told  weight  of  these. 
