FIELDS UNDER GLASS. 



453 



flowers bunch and pile themselves, often into heaps and 

 sometimes into spirals, along the line of the stem, invest- 

 ing a tall gilden-rod, perhaps, with clusters of white ber- 

 ries, and twined white and orange stems throughout its 

 whole length. It delights in damp or shaded places, and 

 belated specimens may sometimes be found there as late 

 as October. Some species of dodder are partial as to the 

 kind of plant which they woo, one so much so as to be 

 very injurious to flax, but the common species takes what 

 nature provides nearest at hand. The finest specimen I 

 have ever found was twined upon the stout, juicy stalk 

 of a tall jewel-weed, and throve famously thereon. The 

 blossoms were about twice the ordinary size, and some of 

 the great bunches of crowded bloom and fruiting ovaries 

 were several inches in breadth and from one to two 

 inches in depth. 



Still another odd plant-form, with little beauty, has 

 its place in the goosefoot order. This is Salsola Kali, or 

 saltwort, so called because the plants contain much 



alkali, their habitat being near the salt water from Canada 

 to Georgia. The first glance at the awl-shaped, spiny 

 leaves and branching habit of the plant gives the impres- 

 sion that it is a relative of the thistle ; but a closer look 

 show's that the plants are of a brighter color, stiffer, and 

 that instead of composite heads of bloom like the thistle, 

 they have a peculiar flat, green, scale-like, axillary for- 

 mation that does duty as a flower, and develops into a 

 pinkish, wing-like border to the fruiting calyx. The 

 seed, if examined with a small glass, shows an embryo 

 coiled like a snail-shell — a perfect ivy spiral. In the 

 notes on plants and flowers of the Bible given in the 

 Oxford editions, this plant is mentioned in connection 

 with the word translated "sope." The soap of Pales- 

 tine was made, from time immemorial, of olive-oil and 

 potash ; the potash was produced from the alkaline 

 plants along the salt sea-marshes. The botanical name 

 of the "sope-plant" is given as Salsola Kali. 



A'ev.< Jersey. C. S. Valentine, 



FIELDS UNDER GLASS. 



LETTUCE GROWN BY ENERGY 



■LECTRIC LIGHT. 



[jOME of the largest forcing-houses in ex- 

 istence are to be seen at W. W. Raw- 

 son's, at Arlington, near Boston. Mr. 

 Rawson is an energetic market-gar- 

 dener and he prides himself upon tak- 

 ing advantage of every improvement 

 which can in any way advance the 

 pleasure and profit of his business. He has an enormous 

 area devoted to the growing of winter crops, chiefly let- 

 tuce. Thirteen houses are devoted to this crop, and one 

 of them covers nearly one-third 

 of an acre. 



This great house was built last 

 year at an expense of $5,000. It ' 

 is so large that the ground in- 

 side is plowed with steam. It is 

 33x370 feet in outside dimensions, 

 15 feet to the ridge, 3 '2 feet high 

 on the south or lower side, and 

 12 feet on the north side. The 

 illustrations ( pp. 452, 453, 454) 

 show the interior and both sides 

 of this glass-covered field. The 

 size of the glass panes is in keep- 

 ing with the proportions of the 

 house, being 20x30 inches. This 

 glass is double-thick. No. 2 qual- 

 ity. In such houses as this Mr. 

 Rawson finds that crops can be 



more easily grown than outdoors. The dimensions allow 

 of easy movements on the part of the workmen, and the 

 body of air is so large that it remains in a comparatively 

 uniform condition, there being few drafts. Such a house 

 is simply an enclosed field. The plants grow in the nat- 



ural soil, three to four inches being removed every 

 year or two as it becomes somewhat worn or infested 

 with germs of fungi. One does not feel that he is in a 

 greenhouse as he enters this lettuce- garden on a December 

 day, but rather that he is suddenly transported to June. 



From this great house Mr. Rawson takes at one crop 

 2,000 dozen heads of lettuce, and the heads are twice the 

 size of those which we ordinarily see on the market. 

 This crop returns from $1,000 to $2, 500, according to the 

 time of the year when it is ready. All the houses are 



The North Elevation and the Electric Lights. 



supposed to grow three crops of lettuce and one of cu- 

 cumbers during the year. The first lettuce crop is taken 

 off just before Christmas, the second from February 14 to 

 March i, and the third about April i. Then the cucum- 

 bers — White Spine — are started, and another crop is ofi 



