GREENHOUSES AND GREENHOUSE- WORK. 



66i 



decreasing, a few of the wise, old burgomasters who had 

 not been carried away by the craze earnestly petitioned 

 the government of Holland to take measures to avert the 

 disaster which they felt must inevitably follow when at 

 last a reaction should set in. But all efforts of these 

 men were in vain ; perhaps the government was itself 

 carried away, like most of its people, for nothing was 

 done, and things were left to take their own course. 



At last the reaction set in, and tulip prices were sud- 

 denly lowered. Next day many of the more prudent 

 owners, seeing what was to come, put their whole stock 

 on the market, hoping to sell it before prices should go 



down with a rush. This only made matters worse. The 

 increase in supply, of course, lowered pricas, and prices 

 went down far faster than they had gone up. Hundreds 

 of people, at least well-to-do, and some of them rich, found 

 themselves ruined, and the mania ended as suddenly as 

 it had begun. But despite the fact that tliis bright flower 

 brought so much sorrow to Holland, it is still a favorite 

 there, and long rows of the bright red and yellow blos- 

 soms border the walks in all the gardens during the tulip 

 season, appearing well suited to the picturesque dwell- 

 ings to which they lead. 



Ernest Lawton. 



GREENHOUSES AND GREENHOUSE-WORK. 



NOTES ON FORCING VEGETABLES. 



URING three seasons the Ohio Experi- 

 ment Station has carried on vegetable 

 forcing in two greenhouses heated by 

 hot water, each 20x100 feet. The 

 houses run north and south, the north 

 ends being close against the office 

 building. The glass used is 16x24 

 inches, laid in putty and lapped. Both houses are 

 heated with hot water, but piped differently. In the east 

 house the pipes are underneath the benches, and in the 

 west house above them. The west house is more ex- 

 posed than the east, which puts the overhead system of 

 heating somewhat at a disadvantage. The slight differ- 

 ence noted in the temperature of the houses is occa- 

 sioned chiefly by unequal exposure. The tendency 

 of plants to grow spindling is somewhat greater in the 

 house piped overhead than in the other, but the differ- 

 ence is by no means marked. 



The crops grown in the two houses have been lettuce, 

 radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, asparagus and 

 pie-plant. The evidence obtained from observations made 

 upon the growth of these crops has been almost wholly 

 negative, with the exception of mushrooms, which do 

 better in the over-piped than in the under-piped house. 

 The case might be quite different with other crops. 



Some experiments made by the Hatch station, of the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural college, show a greater loss 

 of heat and a less uniform distribution of it in the over- 

 piped than in the under-piped house. The results ob- 

 tained there are decidedly in favor of under-piping, but 

 our observations, as well as those of private growers, in- 

 dicate that there are exceptions to the rule. 



A combination of the two methods has been used with 

 good results, and is to be recommended, especially where 

 mushrooms are grown under the benches. In this case 

 the flow-pipes should be placed over the middle bench 

 and the return-pipes under the side benches. The pipes 

 may be placed under the benches without detriment to 

 such crops as asparagus, pie-plant and dandelion. 



FERTILIZERS IN THE GREENHOUSE. 



A rich compost is usually employed by gardeners in 

 greenhouses and hotbeds, and the same plan has been 



followed in our own work. The question is often asked, 

 " Can compounds containing nitrogen be used with profit 

 in connection with a compost of this character ?" Cot- 

 ton-seed meal, linseed meal, sulphate of ammonia and 

 nitrate of soda were used ; the last named was applied 

 upon different plots, both at the time of planting and 

 at different stages of the growth of the crops. In solu- 

 tion it was applied also upon other plots at successive 

 periods. The scope of the experiment was extended so 

 as to include sulphate of potash and superphosphate 

 made from bone-black, and combinations similar to 

 those used in field experiments were also employed. 

 The quantity of fertilizers used upon a given area in the 

 greenhouse was fully double the amount employed in 

 outdoor work of this character, but not sufficient to in- 

 jure the plants. No special effect from the use of any 

 fertilizer could be detected ; the plots were as uniform 

 as though the same treatment had been given to all. 

 The crops grown were lettuce, radishes and tomatoes. 



The soil used in this experiment was a clay loam. To 

 fit such a soil for use in the greenhouse, the best method 

 is to compost it with stable-manure, and such is the 

 course generally followed by gardeners. The case 

 would be different with a sandy soil, as the addition of 

 stable-manure, in order to make it friable and to prevent 

 packing, is not so essential as with clay. Less stable- 

 manure would be needed with a sandy soil than with 

 clay, and the deficiency in plant-food could be made up 

 with commercial fertilizers, no doubt with profit. We 

 have taken the conditions as we find them in most gar- 

 dens and greenhouses, and the verdict of our experiment 

 is that under such circumstances, and with the crops 

 grown in this experiment, there is likely to be no profit 

 arising from the use of the commercial fertilizers named. 



SUB-IRRIGATION IN THE GREENHOUSE. 



Sub-irrigation was begun in the greenhouses in i8go, 

 in order to test the theory that frequent watering induces 

 rot in lettuce. After the lettuce-plants were transplanted 

 the second and last time, no water was applied to the 

 foliage nor to the surface of the soil, but all water that 

 was required by the plants was supplied from below. 



