~The Real Thing in Greenhouse Construction—By Leonard Barron ¥% 
SOME ASTONISHINGLY CHEAP HOUSES AND SOME THAT ARE DEAR AT ANY PRICE—A 
CLEAR EXPLANATION OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES—HOW TO BUILD THE KIND THAT WILL 
BE A SOURCE OF JOY AND PRIDE, 
HE best type of greenhouse for all- 
round purposes is unquestionably 
what is known as the even span—that is, a 
house in which the roof is in the form of an 
inverted V, so as to be exposed as much as 
possible to sunlight, and having the ridge-pole 
in the centre. All other types of houses are 
HEATING PIPES. —-} =) 
BEATING Pipes. — — =i 
The plan of $1,000 greenhouse illustrated below, 
showing proper distribution of heating pipes and 
bench space 
modifications from this simplest form, and 
are designed in some way or other to fit some 
special requirements. These requirements 
may be: the cultural necessities of some par- 
ticular crop; a desire to have the atmos- 
pheric conditions inside more or less abnor- 
mal at given seasons (as in a forcing house) ; 
or an adaptation to some peculiarity of the 
situation, as when a greenhouse is built as an 
adjunct to other buildings. 
It is plain common sense that the ideal 
greenhouse is one in which the light is most 
nearly that which exists outside, and in 
which the heat is as evenly distributed. It 
is practical experience that a structure with 
as few angles and turns in it as possible, and 
with a minimum of woodwork in its super- 
structure, best answers these conditions. 
A few years ago greenhouses were built as 
Even span house without eaves, giving a maximum of light. 
all iron frame, slate benches, cement walk. 
boiler complete, can be erected near New York for $1,000 
though they were barns; heavy joists and 
rafters, such as one might use in the con- 
struction of a much more solid building, were 
used for the frame work, and small panes of 
glass were used for the glazing. From the 
earliest days of greenhouse construction, 
the line of development has been toward a 
reduction of the timber and an increase in 
the size of the panes of glass, until to-day 
the accepted standard of size for the glass, 
where the question of snow-weight is not 
a serious one, is sixteen inches wide. Even 
larger sizes are used in the best style of mod- 
ern construction, and panes 24 x 24 inches 
are quite popular in commercial buildings, 
and there is apparently actually less break- 
age in the larger sizes; 16 x 24 inches is a 
popular size. The weight of snow, however, 
is not a very serious problem, except on flat 
pitches if the inside temperature is kept to 
about 60°. Of course, the larger the pane, 
the greater the light inside the house, and the 
more natural the growing conditions for the 
plants, but as an offset to this is the expense 
of the larger sizes. Not only is the loss for 
repairs greater, but the ratio of cost in- 
creases very greatly in the larger sizes. It is 
impossible to make a quotation on the price 
of glass. It fluctuates almost as much as 
Wall Street securities. Sixteen-inch glass, 
or even fourteen-inch, will be found thor- — 
oughly practical, and economical in use. 
Greenhouse building has developed into a 
special industry, and the modern American 
greenhouse is the highest type of construction. 
It is built with as careful calculation to its 
situation and its requirements as is the coun- 
try dwelling house. Such a thing in the 
natural course of events is not a cheap thing 
This is the best model of all-purpose house; 
A house of this construction (11 x 25 ft.), with heating pipe and 
20) 
INSTEAD OF AN EVERLASTING BILL FOR REPAIRS 
oe 
The low-priced ‘‘cheap greenhouse” is a 
make-shift of some sort. Perhaps its roof is 
constructed of hotbed sash, a perfectly feas- 
ible method of construction, which for or- 
dinary commonplace gardening will answer 
admirably. Or, its foundation is merely the 
plain earth—such a building does admirably 
The lean-to is often the most practical. This one, 
18 ft. x 9 ft. 6 in., with concrete foundations, heated 
from the house water system, cost $325 complete 
in the summer time, and even in the late 
spring and early autumn, but woe betide the 
enthusiastic amateur in winter who, being 
possessed of one of these light greenhouse 
structures, has indulged in a few costly, 
exotic plants. They will be frozen, to a 
certainty! It is economy to pay a fair price 
in the beginning to secure a properly built 
greenhouse, that will withstand the trials of 
winter. Any old sort of a thing will do for a 
summer greenhouse. It is in the winter 
time that the supreme test is made. 
THE SASH GREENHOUSE 
The cheapest form of practical greenhouse 
is made by using hotbed sash supported on a 
skeleton frame, from which they can be re- 
moved entirely in summer time. The stan- 
~ dard size for the sash is 6x3 ft., and the 
house can therefore be made in any multiples 
of three feet, as regards length. The width 
of the house is governed by the pitch of the 
roof. Using two sash for an even span, the 
ends of the sash supported by a central ridge 
pole, a width of about ten feet would be 
had, giving the pitch to the roof a rise of 
about seven inches to the foot. Such a 
house can be built for very moderate cost. 
The lumber for a house may be estimated 
roughly at about $3.00 per linear foot, and 
the glass at $1.50 per foot. Carpentering 
and other labor will vary from $2.50 to $3.00 
a foot; and together with heating, a house 
of this style twenty feet long, may be erected 
for possibly $250. If iron frame is used, in- 
stead of all wood, there is greater durability, 
and the structure being more slender, will 
