little use, and a larger, better, and more profitable crop could be 

 grown without them. One cucumber grower stated that the two outside 

 rows averaged two-thirds more fruit than the two middle rows. 

 This was what might be expected by one familiar with the results of 

 inferior light conditions to which the plants are subject, and the char- 

 acteristic abnormal features which they exhibit. One of the most 

 expert growers of cucumbers remarked that he could obtain a larger 

 crop with two rows in a house 30 feet wide than with four. This 

 statement refers to a crop in the spring of the year when the light 

 conditions are the best, and would have very much more weight if made 

 with reference to winter crops. The number of rows of cucumbers 

 in houses 10, 11, 12 and 13 allows more space and better, light 

 conditions for the plants than exist in any of the other houses, 

 and a much fairer comparison of the amount of coal burned per 

 plant would be obtained if it were based upon t\yo rows instead of 

 four in houses Nos. i to lo. If these houses were therefore esti- 

 mated on the basis of two rows instead of four, which would double 

 the amount of coal per plant in houses i to 10, the results would be 

 quite different. 



The cheapest and most economical house to build and operate in 

 the production of cucumbers is an even or two-thirds span house of 

 large dimensions, such as is most frequently used by lettuce growers. 

 The construction, heating and management of a large house are 

 proportionally' cheaper than of a small house. It is a significant 

 fact that the largest and most satisfactorily built and best lighted 

 house in the table cost the least per linear and cubic foot. If a side 

 hill with a southern slope were available, an economical house well 

 lighted and easily heated could be built at probably cheaper rates 

 than any shown in the table. 



In conclusion it may be stated that the most important features 

 brought out here are that a large house costs less per unit of struc- 

 ture than a small house. The cost of operating the same is pro- 

 portionally less. The cost of production is less in a large house 

 than in a smaller one, and it would be more economical to manage 

 one large house 40 by 300 feet than three small ones 20 by 200 feet 

 having the same total area. From various observations which have 

 been made on greenhouses, it is evident that cucumber growers have 

 in many instances shown a lack of thought and business ability in 

 the construction of their houses, whereas lettuce and rose growers. 



