128 



PLANTS IN RESroENCE WINDOWS 



r / 



Fig. 184. A modem floilcultural establislunent. (Fierce Bros., Waltham, Mass.) 



pipes also can be much smaller than with hot water, 

 a two and one-half-inch pipe being amply large 

 for a house 20 by 100 feet. 



Two methods are commonly used for arranging 

 the steam heating pipes in greenhouses. In one, 

 the flow-pipe is carried to the farther end of the 

 house where it is joined by means of branch pipes 

 to the coils, which are distributed about the same 

 as with hot water. The other way is to connect the 

 flow pipes with the coils at the end nearest the 

 boiler. Each of the coils may be provided with 

 a return pipe for the drip, or all of the coils may 

 be connected at the farther end of the house with 

 one pipe which serves as a common return pipe 

 for the series. 



Literature. 



Greenhouse Construction and Greenhouse Man- 

 agement (two books), L. R. Taft, Orange Judd Co., 

 New York. For chapters on the building and care 

 of greenhouses, see also Gardening for Pleasure, 

 Peter Henderson ; Success in Market Gardening, 

 W. W. Rawson ; Vegetable Gardening, S. B. Green; 

 Vegetables Under Glass, Henry A. Dreer. The Forc- 

 ing-Book, L. H. Bailey. All recent garden books 

 are likely to offer good advice. Recent years have 

 seen great changes in methods of constructing glass 

 houses for both vegetable gardening and floricul- 

 ture under glass. The reader will need to consult 

 the current horticultural periodicals to keep in 

 touch with the progress. The tendency is toward 

 very wide houses of simple construction. Some of 

 the newer forms are shown in Figs. 184-188, as 

 well as in the pictures on preceding pages. Fig. 

 184 is redrawn from a print in The Florist's Ex- 

 change. 



PLANTS IN RESIDENCE WINDOWS 



By Charles E. Hunn 



There is no one way to grow plants in windows, 

 since there are so many kinds of plants to be con- 

 sidered ; but it will be worth while to give the 

 farmer's wife advice. There is no intention of cov- 

 ering the general question of window-gardening in 

 this article ; that will be found in many special 

 books and articles. It is purposed only to mention 

 the four or five main causes of success and failure, 

 omitting all details of the culture of special plants. 



General cultural requirements. 



Soils that will grow a good corn crop, will, with 

 the addition of manure and sand, generally grow 

 good crops of flowers. But for the best results, a 

 made soil is preferable. This soil may have for a 

 base any good garden soil or the.soil next under 

 the sod of an old pasture, to whicn may be added 

 well-rotted manure, leaf-mold and sand. The pro- 

 portion of the latter to the former will depend 

 somewhat on the kinds of roots the plants have ; 

 whether strong, stiff roots, capable of pushing 

 through the soil, or fine, fibrous roots that require 

 mellow, easily penetrated soil. 



As to the kinds of manure to use, preference 

 should be given to well-rotted cow manure, as this 

 is a cool, slowly available plant-food. Horse ma- 

 nure is of value, but heats and soon loses its value 

 as plant-food. Sheep manure, poultry manure and 

 the commercial fertilizers are best used in the 

 liquid form, dissolved in water, and are of value 

 as a stimulant after the plants have filled the pots 

 with roots. There are no rigid rules as to the 

 make-up of soils, and plants may thrive in a vari- 



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Fie. 185. Modem ereenhouse conatmction. Desisn of even-span house, 160 feet wide. (King Construction Company.) 



