814 



HOETICULTURE 



December 13, 1913 



HORTICULTURAL WHYS AND WHEREFORES 



By Edwin Jenkins, before the North Shore (Mass.) Horticultural Society, Dec. 5, 1913. 



"Every why hatli a wherefore." — Shakes- 

 peare. 



Mr. President and Members. My 

 plea this evening is for tliouglit, 

 meditation and observation, a plea 

 to everyone to try and satisfy him- 

 self with the reason for his every 

 act connected with his work. Many 

 men who dwell within the ranks 

 of horticulture go through life 

 without knowing, or caring very 

 much to know, why they do many 

 (even of) the simplest of every-day 

 operations. That some of these men 

 are quite successful growers I am will- 

 ing to concede, but I think you will all 

 .agree with me when I affirm that did 

 they but add some deep and correct 

 reasoning to their practice they would 

 be still better cultivators, broader men 

 and more likely to earn the respect of 

 their employers and their associates. 



In the development of my topic I 

 have asked some questions and I have 

 answered them to the best of my 

 knowledge, but with all humility, re- 

 alizing that there is more than one 

 side to most questions and that the 

 other side may be more nearly the 

 correct one than the one advanced by 

 the speaker. Here and there, I may 

 ask a question but attempt no answer, 

 trusting to learn from you, or, at the 

 very least, to set some one thinking. 

 Some may regard my "Whys" as tri- 

 vial, but to those I would say, Remem- 

 ber that this is a plea for thought re- 

 garding the simplest actions and op- 

 erations, with the idea of forming 

 such a habit of mind that we shall be 

 everlastingly questioning; believing 

 that such a habit of mind, once de- 

 veloped would not only result in bet- 

 ter and more intelligent work but 

 would lend an added interest to our 

 occupation, making work a greater 

 pleasure, thus benefiting alike the 

 worker and his employer. 



Why Water Plants? 

 Let us commence with one of the 

 simplest kind of questions — Why do 

 "we water plants? Because they need 

 ■water or moisture you will say, and 

 this is perfectly true, but does that 

 tell it all? Is there not something 

 deeper that the man with the water- 

 ing can or the hose should have a 

 thorough grip upon before he can 

 water with brains as well as water? 

 Should he not realize that the roots of 

 all plants are of the nature of a sponge 

 and can take up no food whatsoever 

 except that which is held in solution 

 in -water? He should understand that 

 before the plant rfeaches the dust-dry 



stage the roots have ceased to take 

 up water, because the soil particles 

 have the power of withholding from 

 three to ten per cent of water from 

 the plant and therefore that amount of 

 water may as well be non-existent as 

 far as the plant is concerned. He 

 should know that the vital actions of 

 the roots cease near the freezing 

 point, hence the necessity of shading 

 frozen plants, as they will perish of 

 starvation should the sun or a drying 

 wind have free access to them during 

 the time the roots are inactive through 

 low temperature. He should further 

 realize that among the other evils of 

 letting plants get too dry is the produc- 

 tion of cracks in the soil, as this 

 cracking will break many of the fine 

 root-hairs which are the feeders and 

 needless to say will give a severe 

 check to the pant. And so this very 

 subject of watering might be enlarged 

 upon as to fill a volume, but enough. 



Why Ventilate Greenhouses? 

 Why do we ventilate the green- 

 houses? First, to regulate the tem- 

 perature, and secondly but no less im- 

 portantly to set the air in motion. 

 This motion of the air has an invigor- 

 ating, stimulating, life-giving effect 

 upon plants as it has on animals. 

 Heretofore we have been taught that 

 air that has been used was to some 

 extent chemically impure and there- 

 fore injurious to plants and animals, 

 but the latest and best scientific infor- 

 mation assures us that it is largely a 

 matter of cooling and setting the air 

 in motion. This being the case, there 

 are times when we might regulate the 

 temperature of a greenhouse without 

 the use of the ventilators, yet for the 

 vvell-being of the plants it is desirable 

 to operate the ventilators and keep 

 the temperature to its proper level of 

 fire heat. 



Why Damp Down? 

 Why do we wet the greenhouse 

 walks and floors, or, in regular green- 

 house parlance "why do we damp 

 down?" Not to keep down red-spider, 

 I hope, nor because we were told or 

 made to do it during the days of our 

 apprenticeship. There is sound good 

 reason for damping down such houses 

 as are occupied by plants whose na- 

 tive habitat is the shaded, humid, tro- 

 pical forest because we must supply 

 the heat they require artificially and 

 as this is usually of such amount that 

 the air becomes too dry so we must 

 likewise supply humidity by artificial 

 means. Rut because this is true of 



some plants and some greenhouses it 

 does not follow that damping- down is 

 desirable in all greenhouses; far from 

 it. It may be stated as a general pro- 

 position that rose, carnation and chry- 

 santhemum houses are sufficiently sup- 

 plied with atmospheric moisture by 

 the regular waterings and sy ringings; 

 in fact, we should be very glad of some 

 means of drying the air to some ex- 

 tent at times. Diseases of tomatoes 

 grown inside as well as all the various 

 fungous diseases which affect other 

 plants are easier held in check in a 

 fairly dry atmosphere than in one 

 reeking with moisture. Damping is 

 generally overdone. Exception might 

 be taken to the above statements 

 about not damping rose, chrysanthe- 

 mum and carnation houses and this 

 applies to very hot, dry days; on such 

 days damping has a very beneficial 

 effect, first by cooling the air, which 

 cooling is almost independent of the 

 temperature of the water used for 

 damping as it is the work done by 

 turning the liquid into a gas which 

 absorbs the heat of the atmosphere, 

 another beneficial effect of damping 

 the houses on extremely hot days be- 

 ing that by moistening the atmosphere 

 w'e cut down the transpiration of 

 water by the leaves, and transpiration 

 goes on more rapidly at such times 

 than the roots can supply, which 

 causes wilting and sometimes burn- 

 ing, though the plants be ever so wet 

 at the root. 



Why Certain "Aspects?" 

 Why is it important to give a cer- 

 tain aspect to a greenhouse and the 

 correct pitch to the roof? I introduce 

 this subject because it seems to me 

 highly important that every gardener 

 should have this well fixed in his mind 

 as he may be called upon any time to 

 select a site for a greenhouse, and 

 should he make any great error in this 

 selection and the greenhouse be built, 

 nothing but trouble and dissatisfaction 

 will follow for all time. Generally 

 speaking, the good firms of green- 

 house builders will, by suggestion or 

 otherwise, see that most houses are 

 correctly placed as regards aspect, 

 hut although this is so. it should be 

 nevertheless a part of every gar- 

 dener's knowledge to know what is the 

 right aspect. For those plants that 

 make their growth and finish between, 

 say March and November 1st. a house 

 running north and south and. of 

 course, facing east and west, will be 

 very satisfactory, especially If of the 

 even-span-roofod typo. Such houses 

 make good graporios, peach hotises 

 and chrysanthemum houses but for 

 winter growing of roses and carna- 

 tions houses running east and west are 



