Vegetables
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
herbs used for the table and for feeding stock. The term is of indefinite application. The directors of the twelfth United States census endeavored to collect statistics and have published the following results: Name. Acreage. Total yield. Potatoes . . . . . 2,938,952 273,328,207 bushels Sweet potatoes . . . . . 537,447 42,526,696 bushels Onions . . . . . 47,983 11,791,121 bushels Chicory . . . . . 3,069 21,495,870 pounds Beets (not sugar) . . . . . 8,144 2,624,121 bushels Carrots . . . . . 6,200 2,280,280 bushels Parsnips . . . . . 926 266,595 bushels Radishes . . . . . 1,721 21,610,730 bushels Cassava . . . . . 755 9,784,310 pounds Green beans . . . . . 15,004 1,512,642 bushels Green peas . . . . . 30,443 2,123,318 bushels Tomatoes . . . . . 197,489 32,633,788 bushels Sweet corn . . . . . 199,729 14,533,817 bushels Cucumbers . . . . . 31,991 5,286,252 bushels Eggplants . . . . . 689 3,639,572 number Pumpkins . . . . . 3,341 6,020,600 number Squashes . . . . . 4,228 8,700,501 number Watermelons . . . . . 199,849 190,727,105 number Musk melons . . . . . 60,854 143,307,663 number Cabbages . . . . . 150,156 432,864,430 heads Rhubarb . . . . . 1,512 8,798,796 pounds Cauliflower . . . . . 2,571 9,123,930 heads Kale . . . . . 1,264 395,587 bushels Lettuce . . . . . 2,632 1,063,994 bushels Spinach . . . . . 3,573 1,111,967 bushels Asparagus . . . . . 10,192 12,231,542 bunches Celery . . . . . 9,327 16,467,904 bunches Mixed kitchen gardens . . . . . 2,115,570 $113,871,842 value Under glass 96,230,420 sq. ft. Ten states, New Jersey , Rhode Island , Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, New York , Maine, Michigan, and Florida, report that an average of from twelve to fifteen out of every hundred acres of plowed land are devoted to vegetables. The same states report that from a third to a sixth of their entire crop value is derived from vegetables. Over half the farms of the United States report the raising of vegetables for home use or for sale. See article on each vegetable. European artichoke. Vegetables commonly used Japanese artichoke. Tubers of same. Blossom of same. Vegetables commonly used Horseradish. Vegetables Sea kale. Blanched root of same
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's 1910 table, drawn from the twelfth (1900) U.S. census, shows a country where over half of all farms grew vegetables and where New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut led in the share of plowed land given to them. Commercial vegetable growing has since migrated west and south: California, Florida, Arizona and Washington now dominate, with California alone accounting for roughly half the value of the nation's fresh vegetables, while only a small fraction of farms grow them for market at all. The potato figures show the other great change: about 2.9 million acres yielded 273 million bushels in 1900, whereas today under a million acres produce a considerably larger crop, because per-acre yields have risen several times over through improved varieties, fertiliser, irrigation and pest control. The 96 million square feet reported "under glass" has grown into an industry of climate-controlled greenhouses and hydroponic operations, and freezing technology, commercialised from the late 1920s, has broken the old link between vegetables and their local season.
Written for this edition, 2026.