General View of the former and present State of
Market Gardens, and of the Quantity of Land now
occupied for that Purpose within Twelve Miles of
London.
SOME observations were made in the first volume of this work (fn. 1)
relating to the first introduction of the culture of vegetables for
sale in this kingdom; which appears, by Fuller's account (fn. 2) , to have
been about the year 1590. In some bills of fare for dinners, in
1573, I find several charges for "parsley, sorill, and strong herbs;"
and one charge of 12d. for "2 dishes of buttered peason," on the
first of July (fn. 3) , which, supposing the value of money to have been
then four times greater, would now, at that season, purchase about
eight pecks. Fuller says, that previously to the time which he fixes
for the introduction of gardening, for profit, a mess of rath-ripe, or
early peas, was a dainty for ladies, they came so far and cost so
dear. What they cost in his time (1660) he does not inform us:
the usual price now, at their first coming, is from about five
shillings to half a guinea a pottle; afterwards from ten to fifteen
shillings the half-sieve; a price sufficiently high to entitle them
to be still called dainties (fn. 4) . Giacomo Castelvetri, in a manuscript treatise (fn. 5) on the roots, herbs, and fruits eaten by the
Italians, written whilst he was in England, in 1614, has a few
observations on the vegetables used in this country. The asparagus (fn. 6) , he says, was very small and very dear in London, its culture
not being well understood; he expresses his surprise that it was not
cultivated to a greater extent, since an acre of asparagus would, in a
short time, yield more profit than ten acres sown with corn. Artichokes (fn. 7) , in England, he observes, lasted the greatest part of the
year; much longer than in Italy. Cucumbers were then eaten when
they were big and yellow, in England; in Italy they ate them when
small and green: Mushrooms were very little known in England.
The English, says Castelvetri, have two plentiful crops of strawberries in the year; the first in the middle of June, the second in
October. In the bill for Alleyne's foundation dinner at Dulwich,
Sept. 13, 1619, two "collefloreys" are charged 3s. (about 9s. perhaps, according to the present value of money); thirty lettices 4d.;
sixteen artichokes 3s. 4d.; carrots, turnips, rosemary, and bays,
only 4d. (fn. 8) .
Gardens, for the raising of vegetables for sale, were first cultivated
about Sandwich in Kent (fn. 9) . The example was soon followed near
the metropolis, whose markets are the chief vent for their produce.
In proportion as this great town has increased in population and
opulence, the demand for every species of garden luxury has in
creased also; and, from time to time, fields have in consequence
been converted into garden-ground, till a considerable proportion
of the land within a few miles of London became occupied for that
purpose. The culture of garden-ground is principally confined to
those parishes which lie within a moderate distance of the river, on
account of the convenience of water-carriage for manure, which,
since the prodigious increase of carriages, as well of hackney and
stage coaches as of those kept by private families (fn. 10) , is procured in
great abundance from the London stables.
By a general calculation, founded upon inquiries made in each
parish, it appears that there are about five thousand acres, within
twelve miles of the metropolis, constantly cultivated for the supply
of the London markets with garden vegetables, exclusive of about
800 acres cropped with fruit of various kinds (fn. 11) , and about 1700 acres
cultivated for potatoes (fn. 12) . Besides which, there are, perhaps, 1200
more cropped with various garden vegetables (fn. 13) for the food of
cattle, principally cows. This culture is carried on most extensively, in the parishes of Camberwell and Deptford St. Paul's (fn. 14) , by
persons who are called farming-gardeners. Their method is to manure their land to the highest pitch of cultivation for garden crops,
both for the market and for cattle, after a succession of which, they
refresh it by sowing it with corn.
In the parish of Fulham, the cultivation of gardens for the market
is carried on to a greater extent than in any other in the kingdom.
The quantity occupied by market-gardeners only is about 800 acres;
to which may be added nearly 200 more cultivated for the market
by farming-gardeners.
The cultivation of asparagus is carried on to the greatest extent in
the parishes of Deptford St. Paul's, Chiswick, Battersea, and Mortlake;
there being about 180 acres of it in the four parishes, of which about
70 are in Mortlake (fn. 15) ; which may be said to produce a greater quantity
of that vegetable than any parish in England. Deptford is famous
also for the culture of onions for seed; of which, on an average,
there are about 20 acres (fn. 16) . About ten acres are cultivated for this
purpose in the parishes of Mortlake and Barnes.
Fuller mentions 6l. an acre as a rent which had been given in his
time for garden-ground in Surrey; yet the occupiers, he says, paid
their rents and lived comfortably; one cannot help suspecting some
error in this statement; as the value of money is considerably decreased, and that of land much higher than it was in 1660. The
average rent of garden-ground, in most of the parishes near London,
is now 4l. per acre.