286 



HORTICULTURE. 



March 9, 1907 



The Sunlight Problem 



Owing to the unusually long continued dark weather 

 which we have experienced during the present winter, 

 the importance of the sunlight problem, which is always 

 of great interest to rose growers, has been forcibly im- 

 pressed upon us. Now is the time when all our bug- 

 bears rise before us, wide houses vs. narrow, steep vs. 

 flat, ridge and furrow vs. separate, and so on through 

 all the list. 



Theoretically, of course, the problem is very simple. 

 All you have to do is to pitch your roof so that it will 

 catch the largest number of rays of light during the 

 shortest days, and there you are, nothing left for you 

 to do but produce the goods. Unfortunately, this plan 

 at the present day doesn't work out well in practice and 

 we are compelled by the high cost of materials and 

 labor to seek another course. 



The question as it appears to me then is this; in order 

 to secure cheap construction, what per cent, of the total 

 possible sunlight can we sacrifice without lowering the 

 per cent, of profit on our investments? So far, the 

 solution of this problem has seemed to be an almost 

 hopeless task, but if I may judge from what I have 

 seen recently, should say that the near future ought to 

 produce some sunlight facts which will remove us from 

 the realm of the "rule of the thumb." 



For some time past Dr. Geo. E. Stone, of the Massa- 

 chusetts Experiment Station, has been conducting a 

 large number of sunlight tests by an original and very 

 ingenious chemical determination. His method has 

 proven very accurate in practice and the data which he 

 has compiled will, I firmly believe, go far to settle the 

 question for the grower as to what is the best type of 

 house suited to his particular requirements. Dr. Stone 

 has promised to publish the results of his investigations 

 and I am sure they will prove interesting, not only to 

 the grower, but also to the horticultural building com- 

 panies as well; for, these latter have not yet such a 

 monopoly of all building knowledge as some of their 

 advertisements, with the catchy phrases, would lead us 

 to believe. 



During the month of February, under the direction 

 of Dr. Stone, I was enabled to make a few light tests, 

 and the results of at least two of them have a practical 

 bearing. No doubt we have all heard the old story of 

 the light being stronger directly beneath the glass than 

 it is at any considerable distance from it. When wide 

 houses were first built the cry was that the light must be 

 weak so far from the glass. Well, possibly it may be 

 and the thing for us to do is to find out, if such be the 

 case, what is the limit of width for a house. Certainly 

 it is not forty feet, for I have found with the method 

 mentioned above, and it is a very sensitive light test, 

 that there is absolutely no difference in the intensity of 

 the light over the back bed and the front bed, when the 

 rays enter from the south side of the house (that is to 

 say, before the sun has crossed the ridge.) This of 

 course does not settle the question but I am convinced 

 that, as far as loss of light is concerned, we will have 

 to gfo considerably beyond forty feet to find it. 



One other thing which I have determined is that we 

 cannot always tell by the "looks" of a house exactly how 

 much sunlight a particular form of construction will 

 admit. For example : I was particularly anxious to test 

 the difference between glass sixteen inches wide and 

 twenty-four inches wide, in standard iron frame houses 

 with the conventional rafters, one having the sash bars 

 spaced sixteen inches apart and the other twenty-four 

 inches. I was, however, unable to do so, and for this 

 reason : the rafters in the house with the twenty-four 



inch glass were five inches in depth, whereas those in 

 the one with sixteen inch glass were only four inches. 

 From all appearances, as far as the eye could Judge, the 

 wide glass certainly looked the lighter, but, nevertheless, 

 by actual tests, reckoning the out-of-doors light at one 

 hundred per cent., the four inch rafter and sixteen inch 

 glass gave eighty per cent, of possible light, while the 

 five inch rafter and twenty-four inch glass gave seventy- 

 five per cent. While in this case I did not find out 

 what I started to do, I did learn that, with the facts 

 obtained, it does not take an expert at juggling figures 

 to discover readily what the limit in depth of rafters 

 ought to be for an iron frame house. 



As the old saying goes, "Facts are stubborn things," 

 but it is to these we must stick if we would solve the 

 problems which confront us. 



Chrysanthemum Notes 



At this season of the year, every lover of the chrysan- 

 themum is turning over his stock, sifting out varieties 

 that are superseded by more promising rivals, weighing 

 many old favorites in the balance, and if found wanting, 

 reluctantly perhaps, consigning them to oblivion, few 

 having room for sentiment in the growing of this pop- 

 ular flower. 



But it seems a pity that some, at least of the smaller 

 varieties should not be continued in cultivation, for 

 many of them are beautiful in color and fonu, though 

 not up to the required standard in size, and the time 

 will come when beauty will be a greater 'consideration 

 than size, for every purpose, excepting perhaps the ex- 

 hibition table, and properly so, for comparatively few 

 have the privilege of attending exhibitions, while hosts 

 of people enjoy a few flowers in their homes. 



Commercial chrysanthemums should embrace flowers 

 grown in every style, to suit the individual fancies of 

 the flower buyers. Large blooms for those who care for 

 them, dainty natural grown sprays for the purely aes- 

 thetic tastes, and singles and pompons for the poorer 

 classes, who are unable to purchase the large individual 

 blooms, and which are also inore suitable for the sur- 

 roundings for which they are intended, and often 

 among this class we see flowers appreciated and cared 

 for until the last vestige of life remains, and these go 

 far to engender that love for flowers that is most desir- 

 able and of inestimable importance to the florist who 

 grows them. 



Grown naturally without disbudding, chrysanthe- 

 mums could be sold at a price which would place them 

 within the reach of thousands who are unable at the 

 present prices to enjoy such a luxury, thereby adding 

 impetus to the sale of such flowers, and consequently 

 l^ringing increased revenue to the man who grows them. 



A naturally grown chrysanthemum plant is most 

 serviceable for decorative purposes, and makes a grand 

 show, giving good value for the money invested. This 

 should impress the consideration of the private gar- 

 dener. Many of the single varieties are particularly 

 well adapted for this kind of work, and as they are 

 yearly becoming more popular, a great future is in 

 store for them. 



