214 HOUSES FOR CARNATION GROWING 



wide house not so long than a narrow house. The wide 

 house can be added to as circumstances permit, which is 

 much cheaper than rebuilding the narrow ones. In wide 

 houses the volume of air is increased, which is one of the 

 elements to success. The plants grow better in every 

 stage and are not liable to suffer so much from the sudden 

 variations of the temperature due to outside influences. 

 The cost of heating the wide span house is also cut down 

 considerably over the same area of ground space covered. 

 The heat can be better and more economically apphed. 

 Ventilation at the ridge can be given without danger of a 

 downdraft on the plants. It is essential to the welfare of 

 the plants to guard against any sudden rise or drop in the 

 temperature owing to outside influences, and this is almost 

 unavoidable in narrow houses. The lighter the house, 

 the better the results; a better grade and greater quantity 

 of blooms can be cut. 



A striking illustration of this was aff'orded the writer 

 during a typical late Winter day. It was a clear, bright 

 morning, followed by a sudden drop in temperature and a 

 snowstorm at noon. Visiting one of our genial and most 

 successful florists who at present has modern wide houses, 

 the advantage of the wide, versus narrow, house was dis- 

 cussed. ** Wait and see," was his comment. At 4 p.m., 

 snowing fast, the thermometer stood correct for Carna- 

 tions, and with still a crack of ventilation at the ridge 

 and the fires untouched. On returning home where similar 

 conditions had prevailed, the narrow houses, it was found, 

 had been closed tight and the fires started before twelve 

 o'clock. 



Permanency is the keynote today looking to the 

 minimum of upkeep and depreciation. Growers agree that 

 the best house is none too good, and a poor thing is dear at 



