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712 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



SEPTEMBEil 1, 1904. 



obstruct light in this house if glazed 

 with 20x30-inch glass than if glazed 

 with 16x24-inch glass. There would also 

 be an improvement in' the light conai- 

 tions owing to the less frequent lapping 

 required by the larger glass. 



That this increase in the amount of 

 light is of great advantage in the grow- 

 ing of such cropa as cucumbers and let- 

 tuce under glass in winter there is no 

 doubt. It has long been known to vege- 

 table physiologists that, where the light 

 conditions fall below the normal require- 

 ments of the plant, increasing the amount 

 or intensity of the light by artificial 

 means, such as the use of electricity, 

 etc.,»considerably accelerates the process 

 of assimilation. It is, indeed, not dif- 

 ficult to observe practical and conclusive 

 demonstrations of the positive beneficial 

 effects which superior light conditions 

 have iipon such crops as lettuce and 

 cucumbers in greenhouses. Many experi- 

 ments have been made by the writer 

 which show this. 



The most common type of house used 

 is shown in figure 1. This house is es- 

 pecially built for cucumber growing and 

 would not be adapted to lettuce. Houses 

 of this type are furnished with beds con- 

 taining about one foot of soil, in which 

 is usually buried 2-inch porous tile foi 

 use in subirrigation. This type of house 

 is usually fifteen to twenty-three feet in 

 width and from 100 to 200 feet in 

 length. Many of these houses are pro- 

 vided with two layers of glass through- 

 out, a space of one and a half or two 

 inches being left between the layers. 

 Small ventilators are placed near the 

 top of the roof but seldom on the sides. 

 Some of these houses are built with heavy 

 wooden frames which, together with the 

 small and inferior glass frequently used, 

 results in rendering light conditions too 

 poor for the production of healthy plants 

 or large crops. The outer row of plants 

 is trained to follow up the sides and 

 roof, and, when the house is eighteen to 

 twenty-three feet in width, one or more 

 rows are planted through the middle. The 

 middle rows are necessarily more shaded 

 and invariably prove of little value as 

 crop producers in double glass houses. 

 The house from which the illustration 

 was prepared is 20x106 and cost $16.03 

 per lineal foot or 80 cents per square 

 foot of ground covered. 



The style of house shown in figure 2 

 is less frequently devoted to cucumbers, 

 but occasionally such houses are made 

 use of for that purpose. It is, however, 

 a typical lettuce house, the highest side 

 being boarded. The method of trainin</ 

 the plants is shown in the illustration 

 and is different from that practiced in 

 regular cucumber houses. 



This method of training is generally 

 adopted in houses of this type. The house 

 in which the sketch was made is 36x200 

 and cost $10 per lineal foot or 27 cent? 

 per square foot of ground covered. 



The cheapest and most economical 

 house to build and operate in the pro- 

 duction of cucumbers is an even-span or 

 two-thirds-span house of large dimen- 

 sions, such as is most frequently used by 

 lettuce growers. The construction, heat- 

 ing and management of a large house aro 

 proportionally cheaper than of a small 

 house. It is a significant fact that the 

 largest and most satisfactorily built and 

 best lighted house which we have seen 

 cost the least per lineal and iquare foot. 

 If a side hill with a southern slope were 

 available, an economical house well 



lighted and easily heated could be built 

 at probably still cheaper rates. 



In conclusion it may be stated that the 

 most important features brought out here 

 are that a large house costs less per 

 unit of structure 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 40x300 feet than 

 three small ones 20x200 feet having the 

 same total area. From various observa- 

 tions which have been made on green- 

 houses, it is evident that cucumber grow- 

 ers have in many instances shown a lack ' 



of thought and business ability in the 

 construction of their houses, whereas let- 

 tuce and rose growers, who are subject 

 to more competition in their business, 

 are continually making use of the best 

 materials and principles in greenhouse 

 construction and management. — George 

 E. Stone in bulletin of Hatch Experi- 

 ment Station. 



BOSTON. 



The Market. 



There is not much new to chronicle for 

 the past week's market. Boses are com- 

 ing of somewhat better quality. They in- 

 clude some very good Carnot and Kaiser- 

 in fronl a number of growers. The best 

 bring about $6 per 100. Beauties are 

 rather more plentiful. In addition to 

 Worcester Conservatories, the Waban 

 Consevatories, Anderson and "Williams 

 and one or two others are sending in 

 good blooms. Prices range from $6 to 

 $18. Brides and Bridesmaids seldom 

 fetch over $2. A good many of the 

 poorer grades are handled by the fakirs. 



table classes drew fine displays. For 

 collection of fifty vases of asters in not 

 less than twelve varieties, Mrs. J. L. 

 Gardner, Wm. Thatcher gardener, and 

 W. J. Clemson, J,. O. Kristenson garden- 

 er, Won in order named. Two fine collec- 

 tions of thirty varieties of hardy herba- 

 ceous platits were staged. Carl Blom- 

 berg was first and Walter Hunnewell, 

 T. D. Hatfield gardener, second. 



W. G. Winsor showed over sixty va- 

 rieties of cactus dahlias. The blooms 

 were very fine. Mrs. L. Towle also had 

 a fine collection. E. S. Wheeler showed 

 a collection of seedling gladioli, Mrs. 

 E. M. Gill a general display and L. H. 

 Atkins a table of flowers grown in an 

 apartment house yard, the latter receiv- 

 ing honorable mention. About 150 va- 

 rieties of fungi containing edibl6, poison- 

 ous, deleterious and "unknown quality" 

 sorts were staged. 



The next regular exhibition is the big 

 autumn show of flowers, plants, fruits 

 and vegetables September 22 to 25, A 

 splendid exhibition, which will fill all 

 halls, is expected. 



Various Notes. 



George Anderson, of Hyde Park, and 

 Mr. and Mrs. E'. J. Canning and famUy, 

 of Northampton, Mass., were among the 

 passengers returning on the S. S. Ivernia, 

 on August 24. 



The new flower market under Music 

 Hall is in the hands of a contractor, who 

 hopes to have it completed early in Sep- 

 tember. The new location is very cen- 

 tral and has ample floor space. It un- 

 fortunately has a serious defect in lack 

 of light. There are no windows at all, 

 and the only daylight comes from the 

 entrance doors, making artificial light a 

 necessity at all times. The facilities for 

 teams approaching the entrance are also 

 not of the best. We wish the new mar- 

 ket a prosperous career, for they undoubt- 

 edly have the well-wishes of a large cli- 

 entele. We honestly believe, however, that 

 a location nearer the South Terminal sta- 

 tion would have been more convenient 

 and better in many ways. The auction 

 sale of stalls in the new market occurs on 

 August 31, that in the Columbus avenue 

 market taking place on September 3. 



Prize lists containing all prizes of- 

 fered by or through the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society at the coming 



Fig. 2. Lettuce House 36 Feet Wide Planted to Cucumbers. 



Carnations from the new indoor crop 

 are now arriving from several growers. 

 Some nice outdoor stock is also coming 

 in. The best sell at $2 and $2.50. Glad- 

 ioli are quite plentiful and still sell at $2 

 to $3. Lily of the valley brings $2 to $4. 

 Asters are very poor, many being badly 

 spotted. Demand for asparagus, adian- 

 tum and smilax is light. 



'Weekly Exhibition. 



The last of the free weekly flower 

 shows at Horticultural Hall occurred on 

 August 27. There was not a very large 

 display of flowers, but the fruit and vege- 



chrysanthemum and rose shows will be is- 

 sued in a few days. 



John K. M. L. Farquhar sailed for 

 Europe on the S. S. Ivernia on August 

 30. He will visit Great Britain, Holland, 

 Belgium, France and Germany in the in- 

 terest of his firm. He carried over in cold 

 storage a box of blooms of Farquhar 's 

 new Christmas lily to show to London 

 experts. He will return about the mid- 

 dle of October. 



W. E. Doyle had a nice lot of Clero- 

 dendron Balfouri in the window of his 

 Boylston street store the past week, 



W. N. Craio, 



