Milk.—If milk is bought, get new milk, and do not skim it. Put it into a jug as soon as it is received. Let it stand twelve to twenty-four hours according to the season, and stir it well before it is used
Butter.—An icicle butter box, to hold from 1 lb. upwards, can be obtained, and if butter is kept in this box it will be firm even on the warmest day.
Pot au feu.—When tired after a day’s work, and not up to cooking, this and Pepperpot or Lancashire Hot Pot (the recipes in Mrs. Beeton’s cookery book) will be found a great stand-by. The pot merely has to be put on the stove, and in a few minutes a respectable meal is ready.
Life in the open air gives a good appetite, and, as a rule, no difficulty will be found in responding to it, if these slight instructions are followed.
CHAPTER IX
MARKET GARDENING
This is a branch of horticulture which requires great consideration and careful reflection, before a lady undertakes it. It needs both brains and capital. Market gardening resembles that larger sphere of jobbing combined with nursery gardening which is described towards the end of Chapter IV. Possibly less artistic sense is necessary, but far larger business capacity is essential. To succeed at all everything grown must be of the best quality, and suit the prevailing demand. There are fashions in flowers and vegetables, and these have to be studied and responded to. Then, too, in order to sell to London or other big markets, advance must be kept of others. It well repays to have green peas a fortnight before your neighbour, and more money is made if the supply of choice vegetables can be prolonged throughout the winter months. Then, again, white flowers sell better than others. These and many other tricks of the trade are not learned in an amateur way. They have to be studied under a competent master. Flowers have to be picked before the sun has opened them; they have to be packed with skill, and only certain kinds will travel well. Experience is necessary in order to know the right kind of foliage to send away with flowers.
So much, indeed, has to be learnt which cannot well be acquired at a college, that I strongly advise apprenticeship for a year or two to a nursery gardener. If it is preferred to study first at a school where surplus flowers and vegetables are sold, a good foundation of knowledge can be laid, which is considerably added to later in a market garden. I would suggest at least four years’ training for this particular branch of Horticulture.
An apprentice might well suppose that many secrets of the trade would be revealed to her. But this may prove to be a mistake. Business people are cautious as to what information they impart, and possibly more is to be acquired by keeping eyes and ears well open. Constant and careful inquiries should be made as to the price obtained for various vegetable produce, and the most likely quarters where there is a demand for it in that particular part of the country.
I am inclined to think, however, that the most useful business information is to be gained during the first year or two’s work in one’s own garden. It is gloomy to foretell such things, but mistakes are sure to happen, and from experience comes knowledge. To lose one’s own money hurts more than to see others lose.
Should the intending market gardener be a free agent, and able to select any part of England for her garden, there are two important matters for her to weigh. Where will be the best market, and what land has the most plentiful supply of water? Probably for the first venture the neighbourhood of a large seaside town, a watering-place or golf links, will be a safer market than London, which is so large and well supplied. It should be ascertained who the most likely customers will be—schools, boarding-houses, private families, etc., and the garden should be adapted to supply their wants.