A critical examination of the preceding table will show that there 

 exist considerable differences in cost and other economic features of 

 these houses. All of these houses except Nos. 1 1 and 13 are devoted 

 to cucumbers. The last named are utilized for lettuce, and in the 

 spring cucumbers are grown in them. Those marked with an aster- 

 isk are constructed with double layers of glass. These houses, hav- 

 ing been constructed at various times, show considerable variation 

 in the cost per linear foot. By comparing the costs per linear foot 

 (the expense of boiler and piping not being included), it will be seen 

 that the cheapest houses are those which are largest. The houses 

 which are 36 to 40 feet wide cost less per linear foot than those 18 

 to 23 feet wide. The cost of these houses, moreover, bears little 

 relation to the price of the materials, since some of the cheapest 

 ones were constructed when material was highest. The variation in 

 cost is in part due to the mechanical skill and business capacity of 

 the builders, and also to the fact that a large house can be built 

 relatively cheaper than a small one. The larger houses besides 

 costing less are the more substantially built ones. Even at the greatly 

 increased prices of building materials, it is not necessary at the pres- 

 ent time that a house should cost over $10 per linear foot. We have 

 seen some of the best recently constructed iron houses built for this 

 price. If we compare the cost of the various houses based upon 

 the cubic contents, the difference will be seen to be much more 

 marked than that shown in their cost per linear foot. In column 6 

 the cubic contents of each house is given, and the cost per cubic foot 

 is shown in column 7. It will be noticed that the smaller houses 

 cost the most per cubic foot. For example, house No. 2 costs 4.2 

 times as much. as house No. 13. In other words house No. 13 con- 

 structed at the same rate at which house No. 2 was built would cost 

 about $39 per linear foot instead of ^9.52, and it would cost about 

 $42 per linear foot to construct house No. 13 at the rate house No. 

 7 was constructed. House No. 7 is the most expensively constructed 

 house, whether estimated by linear foot or cubic contents. If we 

 compare the cost per square foot of ground surface which is shown 

 in column 5, which after all constitutes the most important feature in 

 a house, we find similar differences. House No. 7, which is the most 

 expensive, cost 90 cents per square foot of ground surface, whereas 

 house No. 13 cost only 23 cents per square foot of ground surface. 

 House No. 12 is of unusual width, and was built upon the founda- 



