184 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1913 



turtiums. Although the vine masses are 

 large the carnations do not show any loss 

 of light. The general appearance of the 

 house is improved by these garlands of 

 leaves and flowers which hide the unpleas- 

 ant structural lines above the benches. 



That the walls may be covered without 

 interference is well set forth by other 

 pictures. Clerodendron, with its in- 

 tensely showy red and white flowers, and 

 Stephanotis, with its highly fragrant 

 waxy blooms, are always attractive. The 

 foliage too is heavy and persistent, and 

 neither plant can be had without the pro- 

 tection of glass. The additional pests 

 introduced by overhead vines are a negli- 

 gible item compared to the improved 

 appearance and general satisfaction. 



Now we may go a step farther. Forget 

 the plant house or propagating house with 

 its severe uniformity. Consider it as a 

 portion of your garden covered with glass 

 wherein you may control temperature, 

 moisture, light, and insects. These are 

 the conditions for growing perfect flowers 

 at all seasons. Your imagination may see 

 the benches removed and their place occu- 

 pied by cultivated ground on the outdoor 

 level; small benches on the side walls with 

 flowering and foliage vines which hide their 

 support, or creeping plants such as nas- 

 turtiums, arabis and candytuft. There 

 may be a winding brick walk so that its 

 continuity will be broken by leaning masses 

 of flowers. Maybe a grass border even, 

 or a- small pool, or a brook. The entire 

 roof will not be needed for light. The 

 structural lines may be covered and broken 

 by flowering or evergreen vines on metal 

 support. On a shady side of the house 

 you can place a rock bank and fill it with 

 ferns and begonias. In the photograph 

 shown on the preceding page is a bank with 

 several varieties of ferns, English ivy, varie- 

 ties of tuberous and fibrous begonias, vinca, 

 aspidistras, smilax and asparagus. These 

 are merely suggestive of many possibilities. 

 Do you like them? Don't you, too, want 

 a greenhouse? 



A Miniature Greenhouse 



By R. E. Rogers, Ohio 



EIGHT by nine by sixteen 

 is the size of one of the 

 most profitable little glass- 

 fronted houses that I have 

 seen for a long while. The 

 maker practically originated 

 the idea himself and did the 

 work of erecting the build- 

 ing alone. 



In all the work that he 

 does he uses flats that are 

 20 x 30 in. On the lower 

 tier of flats under the slant- 

 ing front there is room for a 

 row of nine flats with plenty 

 of space for handling them. 

 The same on the other two 

 rows allows him place for 

 27 regular flats, all where 



they can get the sunlight as long as 

 there is any sun shining. Besides this 

 there is a space back of these three 

 rows where several other flats may be 

 placed though not in the sunshine. 

 However, the sun's heat in the building 

 will keep the temperature so that by chang- 

 ing the rear flats at times, all may be kept 

 growing in good shape. 



For extra heat in cold weather there is 

 an old stove of the drum type which is 

 located at one end of the house, while the 

 stove pipe extends entirely across the 

 house and out at the opposite end. Soft 



The convenience of a door 

 and a separate heating arrange- 

 ment make this absolutely 

 practical 



This makeshift sort of greenhouse, or enlarged 

 hotbed, enables the grower to force quantities of 

 early seedlings for planting out 



coal and wood are used. A temperature 

 that is too high is easily reached so that 

 the place has to be watched. The front or 

 slanting glass is slipped into a groove at 

 the back; this acts as a water table and 

 yet allows the frame to be raised to any 

 height for ventilation. The slanting front 

 is made of five sections each three feet 

 wide. The two-by-fours that support 

 these sash in the front make up the extra 

 foot of space so that the five sashes fill the 

 sixteen feet. 



Lettuce can be brought through the 

 ground in 48 hours in this house. In four 

 days tomatoes are up. It takes one and a 

 half days to produce cabbage plants, and 

 other vegetables are correspondingly quick. 

 The top part of the house is the best place 

 for forcing seeds since the warm air is at 

 the top. By changing the flats as soon as 

 the seeds have sprouted there is a chance 

 for a great many flats to have the 

 benefit of the warmest location. 



It so happened that an old factory 

 was torn down just before this house 

 was built so that the sash bill was 

 much smaller than it would 

 otherwise have been. The lum- 

 ber was of ordinary matched 

 stuff and the other costs were 

 only for a frame, hinges, lock, 

 roofing, and flats. 



With a small town close by 

 and flowers and fruit, as well 

 as vegetables, in the house, a 

 nice profit is realized. 



The Economy of a Hotbed 



By Mary W. Porter, New Hampshire 



/^\UR first hotbed was a bottomless dry 

 v^ goods box sunk in the ground and 

 covered with a discarded window sash. It 

 wasn't much but in it we started more than 

 five hundred plants for our garden. Then, 

 when we had a farm, we rummaged in the 

 garret and found four old sashes. We 

 made a rough frame and had reasonable 

 success in getting our plants started. 



For the real one that we had the next 

 year we hired a carpenter to build the frame 

 and bought five sashes to cover it. They 

 make a bed fifteen feet long by six feet 

 wide. The glass is double with an air 

 chamber between. Even in this far-north 

 country, where zero weather comes night 

 after night for many a week, our lettuce 

 has lived through an entire winter with 

 no covering save the sash and the blanket 

 of snow. We buy the best seed obtainable. 



Our asparagus is for sale early because 

 we have the bed in a particularly warm spot. 

 A cultivation is given about as soon as the 

 frost is out of the ground, thus letting the 

 first spring sunshine warm up the earth 

 around the dormant roots. We get our 

 peas in market early because we buy early 

 seed, and our summer squashes, tomatoes, 

 cauliflower and early cabbage are usually 

 in market long before the native supply. 



Tomato plants are our "best sellers," 

 and our supply is usually exhausted several 

 days before the demand ceases. When 

 very small they are transplanted into straw- 

 berry boxes, six in a box. A pinch of 

 nitrate of soda, mixed with the earth, 

 starts vigorous growth and makes the 

 foliage a dark green. They are kept in 

 the hotbed in the boxes until large enough 

 to sell. We sold some early cabbage plants 

 set singly in paper pots. Transplanted in 

 this way the roots need not be disturbed. 



The original expense of our hotbed was 

 $23.20, itemized as follows: 



Sash and glass $17.40 



Frame 2.33 



Carpenter work 2.00 



Paint and labor 1 . 50 



The income and expenses for the past 

 year have been as follows; 

 Income 



("Tomato . . . . $10.05 



$61 .00 



Plants 



< Cabbage . 





3 



7S 





(_Cauliflower 







2<? 





("Tomatoes 





4 



7S 



Vegetables^ gbbage^. 





^6 



70 



2S 





LSummer squashes 



5 



25 



Expense 







Manure 



$ 2.00 





(Making Bed . . 

 ^Transplanting 



1 -So 





1-5° 



Seeds 







1 



OS 



6.05 



Net gain 



$54-95 



To the money gain add the vegetables 

 we have used and the result proves our 

 hotbed both a luxury and an economy. 



