56 JAMESTOWN CONGRESS OF HORTICULTURE 



there has been a marked increase in the size of the houses erected, 

 and to-day we believe that the best house that can be built is one rang- 

 ing anywhere from 50 to 60 feet in width. We are now building houses 

 56 feet in width, running east and west, in which we use 16 by 24-inch 

 glass and reinforced concrete sides, and we believe that houses of this 

 kind are the most economical in construction and operation. While 

 houses 56 feet in width are seldom seen to-day, I do not believe that 

 the limit of size has been reached by any means, and I believe that the 

 tendency will be toward still wider houses. 



Large ranges have been built of the narrower ridge and furrow 

 connected houses, in an effort to obtain large areas under one roof, 

 but we do not consider this style of construction as advantageous as the 

 large separate, wide houses. Ten years ago no one had any idea that 

 such houses as are being built to-day were even practicable. To-day 

 the tendency is to gather under one roof more area than ten years ago 

 would have comprised an entire establishment. The reason for this is 

 the tendency toward specialization and the growing of one or two varie- 

 ties of flowers by different growers, one grower devoting his attention 

 to one variety of roses, like American Beauty, one concern alone grow- 

 ing as many as a hundred thousand of this variety. The same thing 

 applies to carnations some concerns growing between one and two 

 hundred thousand carnations alone; and, of course, with the increased 

 quantities of one variety, much larger houses have become a necessity. 



The tendency here in greenhouse construction is to increase the 

 size of the house and the size of the glass, and, by the use of steel raft- 

 ers, to eliminate as much woodwork as possible in order to get the 

 maximum amount of sunlight, thus enabling the grower to produce the 

 largest number of flowers during the short midwinter days when 

 flowers bring the highest prices. 



To-day flowers are no longer considered a luxury, but rather a 

 necessity. In this connection, we might say that few people realize 

 what it costs to produce the finest flowers, especially during the short 

 midwinter days. In fact, I believe that in midwinter, when flowers 

 seem to bring phenomenal prices, they are actually produced at a loss, 

 when one takes into consideration the capital invested, the fuel con- 

 sumed, and the labor involved. Even with the prohibitive prices at the 

 holidays, I doubt whether they give the grower an adequate return 

 for the capital invested. Even in California, that land of flowers and 

 sunshine, where Nature is so kind, it is necessary to grow flowers of 

 good quality under glass, so that there, where one would naturally ex- 

 pect that flowers would have little or no value, it costs considerable to 

 produce flowers of high quality. In the East, during midwinter, when 

 there is little or no sunshine and when the amount of fuel required is 

 enormous, it is doubly so. 



Looking back at the progress that has been made during the last 

 twenty-five years, and the improvements that have been made even dur- 

 ing the last five years, one wonders what the next twenty-five years 

 have in store for us. Certainly, .the end is not yet, for we have reason, 

 to expect as much advancement in the future as has occurred in the 



