448 



HOKTICUL-TURE. 



October 5, 1907 



The Need for Better Houses Recog- 

 nized. 



I lielieve that the present up-to-date 

 methods ot rose growing had their be- 

 ginning in the vicinity of Madison, 

 New Jersey. The old pot method was 

 discarded, and roses were grown on 

 shallow benches in light, sunny, airy 

 houses, and the results obtained were 

 exceedingly satisfactory and profitable. 

 Large ranges of rose houses were con- 

 stantly erected in that section, along 

 the line of the Delaware. lyackawanna 

 and Western Railroad, and at that 

 time Madison, Summit, and other 

 towns in that vicinity were known as 

 the Rose Belt of America; but since 

 then immense ranges of glass for the 

 cultivation of roses have beeu erected 

 in so many different localities around 

 New York, Chicago, Boston, and other 

 large cities that no place in the coun- 

 try can boast of any particular su- 

 premacy. 



The same development that occurred 

 in the rose took place in the carna- 

 tion, but at a considerably later pe- 

 riod, and the present fine varieties of 

 carnations that are novi' grown have 

 all been produced within the last de- 

 cade. First came Mrs. Thomas W. 

 Lawson, which marked an epoch in 

 carnation growing. This variety was 

 the foierunner of such fing varieties as 

 Enchantress, Mrs. M. A. Patten, Bea- 

 con, White Perfection, Winsor, etc. 

 The trade was quick to discern that 

 while these improved carnations could 

 be grown in the old-time houses, they 

 could be grown much better in the 

 improved houses that were devoted to 

 rose culture. 



The Violet's Advancement. 



Another flower which has become 

 one of the most important is the vio- 

 let. In the earlier days violets were 

 grown in cold frames, covered with 

 sash and straw mats; and, of course, 

 with our severe winters, the supply 

 was small and uncertain. The same 

 improved methods of culture that have 

 taken place with the rose and carna- 

 tion followed with the violet; and 

 today violets are grown in large quan- 

 tities in light, airy houses — entirely 

 imder glass, — a method of culture that 

 fifteen or twenty years ago was un- 

 heard and unthought of. The violet 

 business has been largely centralized 

 for many years row in the Hudson 

 River valley, especially in the vicinity 

 of Poughkeejisie and Rhinebeck, which 

 has become famous as a violet-growing 

 section, where the variety called Marie 

 Louise is principally grown. Prin- 

 cess, the large single violet, which is 

 not so difficult to grow, has been 

 grown in other sections where Marie 

 Louise has not been grown successful- 

 ly or profitably. Immense quantities 

 of Princess are grown, especially In 

 the vicinity of Boston, and also in 

 some of the large Canadian centers. 



One of the most phenomenal im- 

 provements that have been made in 

 any flower has been in the chrysanthe- 

 mum, which has been dei^eloped to 

 such an extent that one who knew it 

 twenty-five or thirty years ago would 

 not recognize the immense blooms 

 grown to-day. 



Supremacy of the Easter Lily. 



Another very important flower for 

 the florist is the Easter lily, which was 

 grown only in very small quantities 



until the Introduction of the Bermuda 

 Easter lily twenty-five years ago. Prior 

 to that time, lily bulbs were obtain- 

 able only from Japan and Holland, 

 and the sources of supply were very 

 unceitain besides which, the bulbs 

 often reached this market too late to 

 force for Easter. Under these cir- 

 cumstances, the advantages of the 

 Bermuda Easter lily were immediately 

 recognized, as the bulbs could be 

 brought here in July and August, so 

 that it was possible not only to force 

 them for Easter, but they could even 

 be brought into flower by the holi- 

 days, so that the Bermuda Easter lily 

 has become one of the most important 

 flowers, especially for the Easter sea- 

 son, and is now grown in immense 

 quantities. 



I introduced the culture of the Ber- 

 muda Easter lily in Bermuda about 

 twenty-five years ago, and for many 

 years 1 believe that one-third ot the 

 revenue of the Bermuda Islands was 

 derived from the culture and sale of 

 this bulb. It has been grown there in 



F. R. PlERSON 



immense quantities, the annual output 

 for many years being two million bulbs 

 and up, one year Laving reached as 

 high as four million. Unfortunately, 

 with bad cultural methods, the quality 

 of the bulb has deteriorated; still, the 

 Bermuda-grown lily is an important 

 factor. But the Japanese bulbs have 

 made great inroads into the demand 

 for the Bermuda bulbs, on account ot 

 the lower price for which the former 

 can be supplied, and the fact that by 

 reason of more rapid steamers and 

 transcontinental railroads, it is possi- 

 ble to bring the bulbs here as early as 

 September, so that the Bermuda lily 

 does not occupy the important position 

 today that it did fifteen years ago. 



Other Bulbous Stock. 



Among other buloons flowers, th.; 

 lily of the valley is one that has held 

 its supremacy. This always has been, 

 and probably always will ire, in great 

 demand; while other bulbous stock, 

 like tulips, narcissi, and especially hya- 

 cinths, do not occupy the prominent 

 place today that they did in former 



years. In the larger cities, especially 

 in the east, they are not very profit- 

 able. They are more largely grown in 

 the west and in interior towns, where 

 the supply of roses, carnations and the 

 other finer fiowers is mors or less limi- 

 ted. Bulbous stock is more largely 

 grown in Europe than in this country, 

 because, owing to the lack of sunlight 

 there, roses and carnations can not be 

 produced as easily as they are here, so 

 that the Europeans are more depend- 

 ent on bulbous stock; but, recently, 

 English growers have found that in 

 following the American method ot us- 

 ing shallow benches and building very 

 light houses, very good restilts can be 

 obtained. This is especially so with car- 

 nations, English growers having 

 learned that they can do much better 

 with our improved American varieties 

 than with the varieties that they have 

 grown heretofore; and there is begin- 

 ning to be a large demand for our new- 

 est and best sorts. 



Advent of the Wide Greenhouse. 



In the character of the greenhouses 

 devoted to the cultivation ot cut flow- 

 ers there has been a wonderful ad- 

 vancement in the past twenty-five 

 years. Twenty-five years ago 11-ft. 

 houses were in the majority. Then 

 came houses 18 to 20 ft. in width, and, 

 when fifteen years ago, we built a 

 range of four iron houses, each 20 ft. 

 by 300 ft., it was considered .a model 

 range, being much in advance of any- 

 thing that had been built up to that 

 time: out during the last five years 

 especially, theie has been a marked 

 increase in the size of the houses 

 erected, and today we believe that the 

 best house that can be built is one 

 ranging anywhere Irom 50 to 60 ft. in 

 width. We are now building houses .5$ 

 ft. in width, running east and west, in 

 which we use 16 x 21 glass and rein- 

 forced concrete sides, and we believe 

 that houses of this kind are the most 

 economical in construction and opera- 

 tion. AVhile houses 56 ft. in widtli are 

 seldom seen today, I do not believe 

 that the limit of size has been reached 

 by any means, and I believe that the 

 tendency will be toward still wider 

 houses. 



Large ranges have been built of the 

 narrower ridge and furrow connected 

 houses, in an effort to obtain large 

 areas under one roof, but we do not 

 consider this style of construction as 

 advantageous as the large, separate, 

 wide houses. Ten years ago no one 

 had any idea that such houses as are 

 being built today were even practi- 

 cable. Today the tendency is to gather 

 under one roof more area than ten 

 years ago would have comprised an 

 entire establishment. The reason for 

 this is the tendency toward specializa- 

 tion and the growing of one or two 

 varieties of flowers by different grow- 

 ers, one grower devoting his attention 

 to one variety of roses, like American 

 Beauty, one concern alone growing as 

 many as a hundred thousand of this 

 variety. The same thing applies to 

 carnatioiis — some concerns growing 

 between one and two hundred thou- 

 sand carnations alone: and. of course, 

 with the increased quantities of one 

 variety, much larger houses have be- 

 come a necessity. The tendency here 

 in greenhouse construction is to in- 

 crease the size of the house and the 

 size of the glass, and, by the use of 



