3014 



ROSE 



ROSE 



Laurent Carle, Irish Elegance, Lady Pirrie, Miss 

 Cynthia Forde, Sunburst, Betty, My Maryland, White 

 Maman Cochet, Rayon d'Or, George Arends, Mad. 

 Edouard Herriot. 



Climbers. Climbing Testout, Climbing Belle Sie- 

 brecht, Climbing Cecile Brunner, Francois Crousse, 

 Gainsborough, Reve d'Or, Climbing Papa Gontier, 

 Climbing White Cochet, Caroline Goodrich, Climbing 

 Sunburst, Madame Alfred Carriere, Duchesse de 

 Auerstadt. ERNEST BRAUNTON 



The cultivation of roses under glass. 



The growing of roses for cut-flowers is the largest 

 item in the greenhouse industry of America at the 

 present time, and the total sales amount to many mil- 

 lions of dollars annually. The rose industry is the back- 

 bone of the florist business. With the introduction of 

 varieties that are prolific bloomers, roses have reached a 

 selling value which puts them in reach of the purse of 

 the masses of the people, and the demand is unlimited. 

 Exhibitions have been a factor in educating the public 

 to know roses and in bringing about their present 

 popularity. 



The industry is widespread and embraces every 

 section of the country. Southern California grows good 

 roses for the markets in the open field and better quality 

 under glass. In the dry central portion of the West 

 where roses were once considered an impossibility, 

 they are now grown with good success. The climate of 

 the eastern part of the United States seems particularly 

 well adapted to roses, and this section has been con- 

 sidered the home of the greenhouse rose industry. 

 However, careful knowledge of climatic conditions and 

 proper treatment will produce good roses in almost any 

 locality which is favored with weather cool enough to 

 allow proper time for maturity of the flowering stems 

 which, if forced into flower by excessive heat, do not, in 

 warm climates, produce the quality of bloom that is 

 obtainable where more time can be given their develop- 

 ment by lower temperatures. 



Types of rose-houses (Figs. 3482, 3483). 



There are two distinct types of greenhouse construc- 

 tion used by the large commercial rose-growers. The 

 single house has the approval of many, while the con- 

 nected houses, or ridge-and-furrow sections, are 

 favored by others, because of the smaller expense of 

 construction, the lower cost of heating owing to the 

 absence of outside walls, and the ease of superintend- 



3482. Commercial rose-house showing method of staking, wood-bench 

 construction, and connecting houses. 



ence. Advantages of the single house are its better 

 control, more light, and less trouble with snow and ice, 

 the latter being a serious consideration in the main- 

 tenance of the connected houses. 



The single house is constructed with iron frame and 

 concrete sides and built even span or two-thirds span 

 to the south. Houses strong and permanent, with 

 good ample ventilation and ample light seem to be the 

 essentials of construction. With connected houses, the 

 essential factor in addition to these is to have the gutter 

 at least 12 feet from the ground, which almost entirely 

 overcomes the effect of shade which the gutter casts 

 by diffusing this over a larger area. A heating-pipe 

 beneath the iron gutter to assist in melting snow and 

 ice is a necessity. 



The size of houses to be preferred is largely a ques- 

 tion of opinion, but there are certain factors which 

 must not be overlooked. The wide house must neces- 

 sarily be high, and a house that is high is likely to be 

 lacking in humidity, and the plants consequently will 

 suffer. This seems to be the only objection of conse- 

 quence to the wide single house. From 40 to 60 feet is 

 the normal width and should be satisfactory, and the 

 length is controlled by the capital of the owner or the 

 natural lay of the land. Houses are workable with 

 economy up to 1,000 feet provided, naturally, with 

 crosswalks at least every 300 feet to save steps for 

 employees. The width of connecting houses should be 

 from 36 to 44 feet, and the length as given also applies 

 to these connecting houses. 



Beds and benches. 



There is but small connection between the bed or 

 bench and the house containing them, except that in 

 planning new construction the approved plan is to 

 have a walk next to the outside walls and, if the proper 

 width house is selected, this can be accomplished with- 

 out varying the width of walks and beds or benches. 

 As the modern house is relatively high at the plate or 

 eave, either bed or bench may be used at the dis- 

 cretion of the builder. The construction of the bench is 

 simple, the essential point being durability; this is 

 secured by using cypress lumber and double cross- 

 pieces, which enables the builder to put nails back a 

 short distance into the bottom board and prevents the 

 breaking of the bench at the joint, as the bottoms 

 usually decay first at the ends of the boards. Benches 

 not over 24 inches to the bottom from the ground sur- 

 face are to be preferred, being easier to work, as the 

 larger part of the actual labor is on the plant itself, at 

 least 12 inches above the bench surface 

 and, if the bench is higher, the labor is cor- 

 respondingly harder. Ample drainage must 

 be provided by leaving cracks between 

 bottom boards from J4 to % inch and 

 using 6-inch width boards. The concrete 

 bench for rose-growing is in the experi- 

 mental stage and has not as yet shown 

 superiority. 



The sohd bed, so called, is not in reality 

 solid, except as to side walls. Ample drain- 

 age of the ground itself is needed, if solid 

 beds are to be built. If the soil is natur- 

 ally gravelly, the making of solid beds is 

 simple. If the soil is of heavy clay texture, 

 the building of the solid bed necessitates 

 not only under-draining the surface, but the 

 supplying of coarse gravel or ashes through 

 which the water from the soil may escape 

 to the permanent drain-tiles. These drain- 

 tiles should be laid crossways of the house 

 every 100 feet, and the smaller tile run- 

 ning lengthwise under each bed should 

 empty into these larger cross-tiles. Sides of 

 solid beds are best built with concrete 

 which can be made as thin as 2J-j inches 



