The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1909-05-17
INTENSIVE FARMING
NEAR THE CITY OF PARIS.

The possibilities of two and one
half acres when cultivated by highly
intensive methods are described by
Ernest DOLE in the Success Maya
zine, in writing f h vegetable gar
dens in the districts near Paris. To
give a concrete impression of the tiny
size of these gardens and the money
expended for equipment Mr.. Poole
says:
In a garden which covered only a lit
tie over two n one-half acres, nearly
six thousand dollars had been spent
on equipment. In addition $500 wen
each year for rent INC taxes, another
for a fresh supply of manure and sew
hundred more were expended on
lesser items. During one season of
over six months eight men and women
labored here, working almost e
day from 8 or 4 o'clock in the morn
ing until 8 or 9 O'Clock at night.
Tons of Vegetables in one Year
A bare list of the produce that came
in one year from this small plot would
take at least two pages. 1 can give
here only the principal items:
Over 20, 900 pounds of carrots; over
10000 pounds of onions, radishes and
other vegetables sold iby weight; 5000
heads OF cabbage; 5000 heads of eau
liflower; 5000 baskets of tomatoes;
5000 dozen of fruit; 154 900 heads of
lettuce. A total of over II million
pounds of vegetables. And more than
half of this was marketed in advance
Of the season, in the winter and early
spring.
A miracle indeed-the Gardens of
the Hesperides brought UP to date
for the instance which I have given
is no exceptional case. In the reports
I have read, and in my own excur-
sions about Paris, / "a found scores
of gardens where the same astounding
results are attained.
There are now some 1000 gardens
of this kind-Jardins m~araichers, they
are called-where now intensive Gull
ture is pFacticed in the environs of
Paris. All are within a radius of six
miles; most are less than a half mile
from the city n some are even in
side the Notifications. They are small
ranging from four acres down to a
fraction of one.
No Secret System Employed
And on these tiny plots of ground
the system has bee slowly worked
out BY the ceaseless labor OF three
generations. AS yet, the laboratory
Of the chemist has done little or no.
thing here. No newly discovered
principles are employed. The system
IS easily Ineligible, for the men who
have developed 1t in the last seventy
years have been plain gardeners. illit-
crate folk, most of them who have
met there every d
The French system consists in no.
thing more than making the utmost
use of the fertilization of the soil by
manuring, of the natural heat of the
sun intensified by glass covering,
(which also affords shelter to the grow
ing plants,) and of the artificial heat
already familiarly employed by every
gardner, which is produced in the pro-
cess OF oxidation in. decomposing m a
nure.
Richness Of soil, shelter, warmth,
and plenty of moisture-there is moth
ing new to horticulture in any of
these things; nor except in degree n
in the elaboration with which the fer
tilizing system has been worked out,
Is thers. anything newer in the les
or appliances by which tine ends are
attained.
The gardens, whenever possible, are
placed on land with a slope to the
south, m are we'll protected by walls
on the north and east, walls built to
reflect light as we'll as to give protec-
ton from the northwest winds. The
ground is practically covered with
glass, not as in a greenhouse, but by
glass frames In h pen, three
hight" frames of uniform size, twelve
feet by four and a half; and also
by glass bells. These, too. are OF uni