February 19, 1914. 



The Florists' Review 



18 



GREAT GREENHOUSES GO DOWN 



UNDER WEIGHT OF HEAVY SNOWS IN THE EAST 



The Longest Greenhouse in America, at Madbury, N. H., and 

 the Widest House, at North Wales, Pa., Both Give Way 



|Y a strange coincidence the 

 longest greenhouse in Amer- 

 ica, and the widest, the two 

 largest glass roofed struc- 

 tures in the world, both col- 



lapsed St. Valentine 's day. 



Une of these houses was that of Wm. 

 H. Elliott, at Madbury, N. H. It was 

 60x1,360, and about one-third went 

 down. The other was the famous house 

 of the Florex Gardens, at North Wales, 

 Pa. It is 172x750 and the way it looked 

 the day after the storm is shown in the 

 accompanying illustration. 



Worst Storm in Years. 



The heaviest storm in many years 

 swept over the north Atlantic states 

 February 14. From Philadelphia north 

 into New England the fall of snow was 

 the heaviest known within the period 

 that the greenhouse industry has had 

 its great development. The test put 

 upon glass roofs was the most severe 

 that has been known since the big 

 modern houses have come into exist- 

 ence. The snow was deep and wet and 

 in addition to its great weight there 

 was the pressure of a high wind. Small 

 losses were numerous and that there 

 were not more of them, and more im- 

 portant losses, is a splendid testimonial 



to the stability of up-to-date green- 

 house construction. . 



The Collapse at Madbury, N. H. 



About noon February 14, during the 

 height of the fiercest snow storm New 

 England has experienced in some years, 

 a section of William H. Elliott's mam- 

 moth greenhouse, at Madbury, N. H., 

 collapsed, owing to the tremendous 

 weight of snow lying on the roof, 

 added to a cyclonic gale with 

 an average velocity of sixty miles per 

 hour. At Madbury the snow lay from 

 three to five feet on the level, many 

 drifts being ten to fifteen feet deep. 

 The fallen part of the house measures 

 60x400, being practically one-third of 

 the big house, which measures 1,360 

 feet long, and contains about two and 

 one-half sections, one being devoted to 

 carnations and the balance to roses. 



None of the working force was in the 

 collapsed section when it fell, but those 

 in an adjoining section said it seemed 

 to fall from the ridge. By means of 

 canvas and boards a temporary parti- 

 tion was at once made at the broken 

 end and, unless a severe cold wave ar- 

 rives, Mr. Elliott says he will save the 

 balance of the house. In spite of his 

 heavy financial loss, Mr. Elliott is op- 



timistic and will rebuild as soon as 

 weather conditions permit. He has not 

 lost his faith in wide houses. The 

 fallen house had been erected about 

 six years ago, from Mr. Elliott's own 

 , plans, all the construction work being 

 carried out by his own mechanics under 

 his own direction. Probably none in 

 the growing business had made more of 

 a study of greenhouse construction than 

 Mr. Elliott, and he was practically the 

 pioneer builder of big, roomy houses 

 such as are now in vogue. At no time 

 in the past had the fallen house shown 

 any sign of weakness, but cyclonic snow 

 storms are sometimes too much even for 

 the best built houses. Zero weather 

 followed right in the wake of the snow 

 storm. 



The Collapse at North Wales. 



The collapse of the famous house at 

 the Florex Gardens, North Wales, Pa., 

 occurred at about 6 a. m., February 14, 

 following a heavy fall of snow that 

 later turned to ice, the pressure on the 

 glass being increased by the high wind. 

 The house is 172x750 and about forty 

 feet to the ridge. The south side for 

 about half its length gave way. From 

 the appearance of the wreck as shown 

 in the illustration it appears that that 





*ar•!^■ 



West Half of the Great Greenhouae, 172 x 750, at the Florex Gardenst North Wales, Pa., as it Appeared After the Collapse. 



