Chapter II 



FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENTS 

 OF ALL PLANTS 



Abundance of Sunlight Essential 



WITH a few exceptions, the first great require- 

 ment of all plants during their growing season 

 is an abundance of daylight, direct sunlight if possible, 

 but at any rate plenty of daylight. This fact is so 

 important that it cannot be over-estimated. Indeed, 

 it is safe to say that if this one condition is granted, 

 all others can be so easily provided as to make suc- 

 cess assured with very little effort. It is only in re- 

 cent years that the value of unobstructed daylight in 

 greenhouses has been understood and appreciated by 

 professional gardeners. When the old-fashioned, 

 heavy-framed, small glass structures gave place to 

 the modern greenhouses and the wonderful results 

 became apparent, horticulturists were amazed to 

 realize how such a simple thing should have remained 

 so long undiscovered. Today, the new greenhouses 

 are "a little lighter than outdoors"; every unneces- 

 sary post and bar is zealously eliminated, any defec- 

 tive pane of glass is discarded until our old friend 

 "Sol" is made to give up to the utmost every little 

 flower producing unit that he contains. This one 

 discovery has enabled growers to produce the wonder- 

 ful Roses and Carnations that we see today and to 

 sell them at half the price that the few of similar 

 quality brought twenty-five years ago. Nothing else 



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