662 



GREENHOUSES AND 



GREENHOUSE- WORK. 



Two beds, one in each house, were fitted up for the pur- 

 pose. The middle portion of the bed was floored with 

 matched flooring laid in whitelead so as to be water- 

 tight. The ends and sides were also made water-tight. 

 In the bottom of these beds, or benches, three-inch tiles 

 were laid iV^ feet apart, and so arranged that water 

 could be supplied to each row of tiles as desired. A six- 

 inch layer of soil was then placed on the benches, cov- 

 ering the tiles out of sight. 



Three crops of lettuce and one of tomatoes were 

 grown in each of these beds. The effect of the treat- 

 ment upon the lettuce-rot was by no means decided, 

 there being possibly a little difference in favor of sub-ir- 

 rigated beds. The disease was not very troublesome in 

 either case, and further trial is necessary before any- 

 thing can be affirmed on this point. 



The effect of sub-irrigation upon the growth of both 

 lettuce and radishes was remarkable, but on tomatoes it 

 was less noticeable ; upon cucumbers it was decidedly 

 beneficial. The first crop of lettuce on the sub-irrigated 

 bed was 30 per cent, heavier than the crop on the bed 

 treated in the ordinary manner. There was a still 

 greater difference in the second crop, the gain being 

 about 50 per cent, in favor of sub-irrigation. Sub-irri- 

 gated radishes came to marketable size earlier and were 

 larger than those grown by the ordinary method. The 

 difference in earliness was more marked than in total 

 weight. Nearly half of the sub-irrigited radishes were 

 marketed before any of the others were ready to pull. 

 Long radishes were benefited more than the turnip- 

 rooted sorts. 



When greenhouse beds are properly arranged for sub- 

 irrigation, watering is less laborious than by the old 

 method, as it need not be done so frequently, nor with 

 the same care. The amount of water required is as easily 

 determined by the condition of the soil and appearance 

 of the plants as in the ordinary method of watering. 



THE WATER-BENCH. 



This is simply a water-tight bench, so named to dis- 

 tinguish it from the soil-bench, and may be constructed 

 on the same plan as the benches used for sub-irrigation, 

 except that for convenience the sides ought not to be 

 more than two inches high. This bench may be of any 

 dimensions, and in any part of the house. It will not 

 usually be found necessary to devote any more space to 

 the water-bench than is required for seed recently sown, 

 and young plants in flats, nor is it needful to have the 

 bench located in the best part of the house. Perhaps 

 the best plan is to construct a water-bench in a part of 

 the house that is to be devoted to young plants, and im- 

 mediately underneath the first bench put in another of the 

 same dimensions. The second or lower bench can be used 

 for germinating seeds, and little or no light is required. It 

 should be a foot or more below the bottom of the upper 

 bench, so as to give room to pass flats in and out easily. 



The use of these water-benches is to water seed just 

 sown and young plants recently transplanted, without the 

 application of water to the surface of the soil. Seeds 



are sown in flats containing two inches of soil ; these flats 

 are then transferred to the water-bench, and watered by 

 means of sub-irrigation, which is accomplished by letting 

 into the water-bench sufficient water to soak the soil in 

 the flats quite thoroughly, but not enough to make it 

 mortar-like or pasty. Small plants are transplanted into 

 flats and treated in the same manner. 



The flats in which seeds are sown may be kept in the 

 lower water-bench until the seeds germinate and the 

 young plants appear, but if kept in a dark place much 

 longer than this, injury would, of course, result. In the 

 upper water-bench young plants may be kept as long as 

 desired, and watered by sub-irrigation as often as need 

 be. This method of watering is satisfactory, and saves 

 labor. The soil can be thoroughly and evenly watered 

 in this manner, and there is no danger of washing out 

 seed, or knocking over young plants. The method is 

 especially applicable to small and delicate seeds. 



Out of doors in the summer time we have used suc- 

 cessfully a simple shallow vat for watering strawberry- 

 plants in pots and for germinating seed. When surface 

 watering is practiced, it is quite a difficult matter to ger- 

 minate seeds succe.ssfully in summer time, but by this 

 plan success is complete. 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR FORCING. 



A great variety of garden-crops may be grown in the 

 greenhouse, but the question to be considered first of all 

 is, what crops will pay best for forcing ? The markets 

 determine this question largely, hence we find that crops 

 which pay well in one locality may not in another. 



Lettuce of the non-heading class, such as Grand 

 Rapids and Simpson, is the most profitable crop for 

 forcing here, with the possible exception of mushrooms. 

 Two crops of lettuce are taken from the beds, followed 

 by tomatoes, with lettuce between the rows. The houses 

 are thus occupied by tomatoes late in the season, when let- 

 tuce cannot be grown with profit. The prices received for 

 tomatoes here late in spring and early in summer are 

 nearly equal to those that can be obtained in midwinter, 

 but even if such were not the case, it is better to keep the 

 houses occupied as long as possible. Cucumbers can be 

 grown instead of tomatoes, but are less profitable. Rad- 

 ishes are fairly profitable, the turnip-rooted sorts more 

 so than the long kinds, because of the shorter time re- 

 quired to grow them. Beans can be grown successfully, 

 but are only fairly remunerative. Cauliflower does not 

 pay at the prices that can be obtained here. The space 

 under any of the benches can be used for forcing as- 

 paragus, pie-plant and dandelion, at any time during the 

 winter. The prices obtainable for these crops do not 

 make them very profitable, but the entire space can he 

 thus utilized to good advantage. Mushrooms can be 

 grown under benches where there are no pipes. This 

 crop is very profitable when well managed. 



Vegetable-growing in greenhouses is an undeveloped 

 industry in this state, and its possibilities are great. Not 

 only may greenhouses take the place of hot-beds to a 

 great extent, but they serve to lengthen the season, and 



