204 THE POSSIBILITIES 



the square foot of ground), while the other 

 houses have cost much less than that. From 

 5d. to 9d. the square foot of glass * is the 

 habitual cost, without the heating apparatus 

 6d. being a current price for the ordinary 

 glasshouses. 



But it would be hardly possible to give an 

 idea of all that is grown in such glasshouses, 

 without producing photographs of their insides. 

 In 1890, on the 3rd of May, exquisite grapes 

 began to be cut in Mr. Bashford's vineries, and 

 the crop was continued till October. In other 

 houses, cartloads of peas had already been 

 gathered, and tomatoes were going to take 

 their place after a thorough cleaning of the 

 house. The 20,000 tomato plants, which were 

 going to be planted, had to yield no less than 

 eighty tons of excellent fruit (eight to ten pounds 

 per plant). In other houses melons were grown 

 instead of the tomatoes. Thirty tons of early 

 potatoes, six tons of early peas, and two tons 

 of early French beans had already been sent 

 away in April. As to the vineries, they yielded 

 no less than twenty-five tons of grapes every 

 year. Besides, very many other things were 

 grown in the open air, or as catch crops, and all 

 that amount of fruit and vegetables was the 



* It is reckoned by measuring the height of the front and 

 back walls and the length of the two slopes of the roof. 



