CHAPTER XV 



Forcing Houses for Carnations 



IX the early days of carnation culture, crude structures were generally 

 used for forcing; in fact, the carnation was treated as a sort of rene- 

 gade. Almost any bench, or position, that would not grow roses, or 

 some other more valued plant to advantage, was thought good enough for the 

 carnation. The early structures built for forcing carnations were usually 

 narrow, primitive houses, glazed with hot-bed sash, in which the glass 



Original Type of Sash House Used for Growing- Carnations 



was seldom more than eight to ten inches wide. Flowers grown in such 

 houses were naturally much inferior to the splendid specimens now pro- 

 duced in the modern glass structures — the evolution of the past ten years 

 of experimental carnation growing. 



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