.Jaiumry 5, 1097 



HOKTICULTURE 



il 



THIS WIDE HOUSE QUESTION 



How is a man to know things in this 

 world — absolutely know before he in- 

 vests several tliousands in an idea 

 that may be still in its experimental 

 stages? The grower must be sort of 



ridge. (See cut of section). This 

 gives us a big volume of air aloft, 

 which when once heated is a protec- 

 tion against sudden changes and pre- 

 serves a more uniform temperature 



gambler — willing to take a long chance and humidity." 



and put a theory into practice to up- 

 hold his personal views. 



The writer recently visited L. B. 

 Coddington's range at Murray Hill, N. 

 X, where along with five three-quarter 

 span cypress houses, each 350 feet by 

 18 1-2 feet, he has two 400-footers, 

 iron frame, one 37 1-2 feet wide, and 

 his last one 55 feet. Having tried the 

 narrow, the wider and the widest and 

 having tried erecting his own houses 

 and having it done by the builder, Mr. 

 Coddington stood in a position to make 

 comparisons. He has many years ex- 

 perience in the rose business and in 

 addition to this range at Murray Hill, 

 owns another at New Providence, N. 

 J., of 62,000 sq. ft. glass area. What 

 he and his wide-awake foreman had 

 to say about this last house, which 

 was erected by Hitchings & Company, 

 will undoubtedly interest the reader. 

 I said to him: In general terms, how 

 do you like your big house? 



"I like it in every way; I find that 

 such a construction gives us all pos- 

 sible light, that the eave line with its 

 metal plate and glazing bar bracket 

 make an indestructible joint of great 

 strength and give a freedom from ice; 

 that because of the rigid framing and 

 . the provisions for expansion and con- 

 traction, the glass breakage is prac- 

 tically nothing. I am thoroughly con- 

 vinced that 400 feet is about the right 

 length for economy in working and 

 freedom from the complicated heating 

 problems of the extremely long houses. 

 The sides are 6 feet, with a 22 foot 



"As to ventilation, the fresh air is 

 more evenly distributed, and when it 

 had reached the plants, is thoroughly 

 warmed up and acts as an insulation 

 against chills. There are fifty-foot 

 runs of sash operated by easy running 

 gears which are a distinct economy in 



working a large house, as the sash can 

 be opened and shut in about half the 

 time it takes to run up and down 

 three small houses covering same 

 space." 



In reply to other queries Mr. Cod- 

 dington stated that the house runs 

 east and west at a perfect level, but 

 with an inside rise of 2 1-2 feet from 

 south to north — the first bench only 

 11) inches in height — each following 

 bench 2 inches higher, making the 

 back one 32 inches; taking this in 

 connection with the 2 1-2 feet floor 

 rise, each bench is about 5 inches 

 higher than its southerly neighbor &o 

 that in the shortest day one can stoop 

 down to the edge of the bench on the 

 farthest walk and always see the sun. 

 "There are nine benches, each 3 ft. 

 11 in. wide, with ten 22 inch walks. 

 Four plants to a bench are all that 

 can be worked to advantage and I be- 

 lieve thoroughly in the side walk; 

 you make up in quality what you 

 possibly lose in quantity — and quality 

 is what we are striving for. The 

 heating is by steam — the gravity 

 system. The houses are connected 



