Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-03-08
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Farmers Pulletln Ia. Under the
above caption the point is made by
w. F. Masse~ of the North Carolina
station, that market gardeners in the
South Atlantic coast plain do not suf-
iciently intensity their operations.
The area cultivated is generally too
large for the most satisfactory results
Not enough glass is used. North Caro-
lima is as near New York city as YER
mont is. and much better adapted to
growing crops under glass because of
the simpler structures needed, the less
coal required for heating them, the abb
sence of long-continued cloudy wealth
er. and the greater abundance of win
ter sunshine Yet Vermont competes
with North Carolina in the New York
market. Crops like lettuce, which
grow in the North in the hothouses.
can be grown in the South in simple
frames under loose glass sashes in
the greatest perfection, an advantage
which Southern planters should not be
slow to avail themselves Of
The common practice OF growing
lettuce in the South under cloth, for
market, Is discouraged. Glass should
be used instead. 1t is more efficient
and much cheaper in the long run.
With glass other crops besides lettuce.
like beets and radishes, can be grown
in the winter, and seedlings of egg
plants and tomatoes forwarded in tho
spring. After skill has been attained
in handling sashes on a cold frame.
the transition to the greenhouse and
heated hothouse follows naturally.
Crops which require little skill in their
production in the open ground can hs
grown by anybody and are cheap. The
greater skill which is necessary 10
growing crops under glass limits cora-
petition and increases the profits.
The lettuce, for instance, which Is
grown under plant cloth, goes to mar
ket usually in barrels, and is sold as
Southern field lettuce by the barrel.
Lettuce grown well under glass ard
shipped in handy boxes is sold by the
dozen at higher price, and competes
with the Northern greenhouse lettuce.
The gardener with glass gets his let
tuce into market at the Christmas
holidays, and is ready at once to re-
plant for a crop to compete on more
favorable terms with the crop OF the
man who is using cloth, and as the
spring crop usually sells for more than
the midwirter crop, his lettuce. hein@
in better condition, brings more
money. l have gotten three times the
price for lettuce on the 1st of April
than / got during the winter months.
though the first paid very we'll The
many uses to which glass sashes can
be applied is another argument for
their use. After the lettuce crop Is
shipped the tomato plants are hard
ened off in the frames, and as after the
1st of March in this climate the lettuce
does not need the glass, an extra set
of frames can at once be used for the
tomato plants that have been started
in hotbed or greenhouse. And after
the tomato plants are removed to the
field the very tender eggplant can be
set in the frames and protected dur
ing the chilly nights. and thus brought
on at a time when it will command a
good price Or hill of cucumbers
can be planted under each sash from
plants started in pots in the green
house and brought on earlier than
those in the open ground far south of
US. Then after all the plants have
used the glass there is no better place
for the drying of fruit in summer than
under these same sashes. Those
whose interest is in the strawberry
crop can use the sashes to cover straw
berry plants set for this purpose in
frames, and if the sashes are put over
them the 1st of March or a little ear
lier, the crop is rapidly advanced and
the blooms protected from frost, 30
that the fruit goes to market far ahead
of the open-air crop.
Volunteer PIums-
From Farmers Review: In your
issue of January 18th 1 notice an arti-
Gle on the Wild Goose plum. have
something remarkable to say about
that plum. Ten years ago purchased
a farm in Wayne county, Illinois
There was one plum tree on which the
plums began to ripen about the 25th of
June. Some plum sprouts came up,
and I saved them. In three years
they bore fruit, which was little late
in ripening. l began to save other
sprouts that came up. and now l have
plums till the first of October These
trees bear heavy crops every year, and
the fruit is of fine quality. How can
this be accounted for? l have never
transp1anted, but have just saved the
sprouts as they came up l would like
to know il any of the readers of the
Farmers Review have had a similar
experience with the Wild Goose plum;
or is this some other kind? The p1ums
are bright red in color and large In
size. IL. Fidler.