THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



J23 



painted that it would prevent radia 

 tion. Nonsense; it will help it. A 

 smooth surface is always a better con 

 ductor of heat than a rough one. Paint 

 all your pipes everywhere. It will 

 save them and it will help to give light 

 to the house, and light means health 

 and life. If painted in the summer-time 

 there will be no possible odor from the 

 lead, and the slight fumes of the lin 

 seed oil are more a benefit than other- 



Greenhouses for Producing Flowers. 



I have at some length given the di 

 rections for building, and the same 

 will apply precisely to houses that are 

 built to grow roses and carnations, 

 except the shape, size and aspect. The 

 object sought in these houses is to get 

 every possible ray of sunshine, and 

 besides direct sunshine, light; for 

 there are many days, yes, and weeks, 



south the other two styles are always 

 built with their walls some eighteen to 

 twenty feet removed from another struc 

 ture. Where land is cheap, and most 

 large establishments are so situated, 

 this is no great consideration; and if it 

 takes more heat, that also is not an ob 

 jection, as the results are sufficiently 

 better. The long-span-to-the-south doubt 

 less predominates throughout the coun 

 try, but that does not confirm it as the 

 best, because florists, like all other 

 classes, are great copyists, and if one or 

 two leaders said so the rest would fol 

 low like sheep, notwithstanding the 

 fact that millions of fine roses have 

 been produced for years in the long- 

 span-to-the-south houses. 



I see nothing about them in any re 

 spect to warrant their being called the 

 best houses for the purpose. If there 

 is any merit, and there undoubtedly is, 

 in the short-span-to-the-south, then the 

 others must be entirely wrong. They are 



and the back or north bench three feet. 

 If the house is twenty-two feet the front 

 bench is three feet and the back bench 

 three feet and two middle benches five 

 feet each, with three paths, each path 

 and bench being raised a foot or so till 

 the back or north path is four feet from 

 the ground. If heated with hot water 

 the pipes are mostly under the benches. 

 If steam is used the flow is most likely 

 on the side walls and the returns be 

 neath the benches. It is as well to 

 add, because it is the truth, that these 

 houses, while getting the sun s rays in 

 winter very obliquely, get it broadside 

 in the summer, making them terribly 

 hot houses in the summer months. 



The short-slope-to-the-south is also 

 built sometimes nineteen feet wide and 

 sometimes twenty-two feet. The walls 

 are of equal height, usually five feet. 

 There is a path against the north and 

 south walls and one dividing the two 

 benches, which are about six feet six 



\ Greenhouse 54x701 Built for Growing Roses. Raised Wooden Tables were Used in this House. 



in the dead of winter in our northern 

 clime when we don t see the sun at all. 



There are three styles of these 

 houses and all have their champions. 

 They are the long-span-to-the-south, 

 the equal-span, or nearly equal-span, and 

 the short-span-to-the-south. Twenty 

 years ago and less the long-span-to- 

 the-south house was considered by 

 many as the only house for winter 

 roses. Then came the very reverse of 

 that, the short-span-to-the-south, and 

 within seven or eight years many good 

 growers have gone back to the simple 

 even-span house, and from results believe 

 that it is as good a house as any. 



All of these styles when built for 

 flower producing face to the south, or 

 what is still better, facing a few points 

 to the east of that. The ridge is run 

 ning east and west, or a few points 

 north of east, and south of west. It 

 is obvious that only one style of these 

 three can have a range of glass at 

 tached, and that is, of course, the 

 short-span-to-the-south. If attached, 

 the equal span would shade the house 

 to the north of it, making one-fourth 

 at least of the north house useless, 

 and the long-span-to-the-south con 

 nected would be still worse and out 

 of the question. 



So excepting the short-span-to-the- 



expensive to build, awkward and costly 

 to arrange the benching in, more labo 

 rious to attend to, and do not get the 

 direct rays of the sun to the same extent 

 as do the equal-span or short-span-to-the- 

 south. 



The front wall is usually four feet 

 six inches (and eighteen inches or two 

 feet of it glass), the back wall eight 

 feet, the back or short rafter eight feet 

 and the long south rafter sixteen feet. 

 These are the dimensions for a house 

 nineteen feet wide; if twenty-two feet 

 wide the long rafter is eighteen feet and 

 the short one nine feet. An upright 

 1%-inch pipe supports them under the 

 ridge, with a branch holding a 1-inch pur 

 lin a foot below the ventilator headers, 

 and another upright supporting another 1- 

 inch purlin is needed half-way between 

 the plate and ventilator purlin. The 

 ventilators of these houses are always 

 on the south side of the ridge and open 

 at the ridge ; and as the ventilation . 

 should be afforded to the fullest extent, 

 it should be continuous and deep. 



It is thought necessary to raise the 

 benches so that the plants will be at 

 about an equal distance from the glass, 

 and the benches are arranged in a 19- 

 foot house as follows: The south bench 

 three feet and path eighteen inches or 

 two feet; the middle bench six feet 



inches each. The paths being removed 

 from the walls gives you the ideal place 

 to hang your pipes, whether steam or 

 hot water. 



An improvement over the house just 

 described, and one that is giving the 

 owner the greatest satisfaction (after a 

 trial of several of them he has added 

 some more of the dimensions of 22x400 

 feet), is twenty -two feet from outside 

 to outside of posts. The south or short 

 bar is nine feet, the long or north bar 

 is eighteen feet, and the walls five feet 

 high. On the south side there is a path 

 next the wall, then a 6-foot bench, then 

 a path, another 6-foot bench, another 

 path, and against the north wall a 3-foot 

 bench. There is a 1^4-inch pipe under 

 the ridge with a branch from that sup 

 porting a purlin near ventilator headers, 

 and another row of 1%-inch pipe sup 

 porting a purlin three feet lower down 

 the roof on the north side. 



Now, happening to know several of 

 these houses, I can vouch for the excel 

 lent quality of the flowera that are 

 grown in them, and having two of them 

 myself, I am ready to accord to them 

 the several advantages and merits they 

 possess. They are easy and cheap to 

 build, much more so than the long-span- 

 to-the-south. They are cheaply heated ; 

 less pipe will heat them than either of 



