808 
Ruralisms 
GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION. 
The greenhouse of years ago, with its 
heavy wooden rafters, small panes of 
glass, and frequently a roof composed 
of movable sashes, was a very different 
structure from the large, light and thor¬ 
oughly ventilated greenhouse of the 
present day. That there have been vari¬ 
ous fads and fancies indulged in to a 
greater or less extent by the builders 
and designers of these greenhouses, will 
be readily admitted by anyone familiar 
with the subject, but as the experience 
of years is gradually simmered down, 
the consensus of opinion among prac¬ 
tical greenhouse men appears to be that 
what is known as an even-span house, 
running from east to west, and as large 
as the pocketbook of the owner will 
permit, is the most generally useful 
structure for plant growing. By an 
even-span house is meant one in which 
the two sides of the roof are of the 
same proportions, and ot tne Same an¬ 
gle, thus distinguishing this model of 
greenhouse from what is known as a 
single-span house in which the entire 
roof is in one slope, or a three-quarter 
span house, in which the one side of 
the roof is much longer than the other 
and also built at a different angle. The 
most favorite greenhouse for commer¬ 
cial purposes at the present time is 
one that is from 100 to 300 feet m 
length, and from 22 to 30 feet 
in ' width, the sides being five to 
six feet high, and partly of glass, 
and the ridge of the roof being from 
12 to 16 feet above the ground, accord¬ 
ing to the width of the house. Much 
larger houses than these dimensions are 
being built, in some extreme instances 
as large as 750 by 150 feet ufcider one 
roof, the claim being made, and appar¬ 
ently substantiated, that these enormous 
structures cost less per square foot of 
space covered than a number of smaller 
houses covering the same area. Of 
course, these very large greenhouses 
must necessarily be very strongly built, 
having iron frames, iron post supports 
and a complete system of bracing. 
The best wood to use for greenhouse 
construction is Gulf cypress, this being 
bv far the most durable and satisfactory, 
and is used for the glass strips, the 
sills, the plates, the siding, the benches, 
and in fact for the entire wooden por¬ 
tion of the house. The size of glass 
most used for modern greenhouses is 
16 by 24 inches, double strength, and is 
commonly set the 16-inch way; that is, 
with the* glass strips 16 inches apart, 
though some houses are built with the 
strips 24 inches apart, thus making a 
slight gain in the light admitted, though 
at some loss in strength of the struc¬ 
ture. The glass is lapped about one- 
quarter of an inch, is bedded in first- 
class putty, and is firmly fastened in 
place with zinc brads. The best of 
putty is none too good to use for this 
purpose, for a greenhouse is a severe 
test on the quality of this material, and 
some of the cheap grades seem to be 
largely composed of marble dust and 
fish oil, rather than the whiting and 
pure linseed oil of which good putty 
is made. 
Abundant means of ventilation must 
be provided in building a greenhouse, 
and this is usually done by having a 
continuous line of hinged sash on each 
side of the ridge of the house, the sashes 
being connected by a shaft and geared 
mechanism so that they may be raised 
or lowered all together on either side 
of the house. All woodwork, and also 
iron work about the house must be kept 
well painted if it is to reach the limit 
of durability, for the moist atmosphere 
combined with heat is conducive to de¬ 
cay. 
The majority of commercial green¬ 
houses are built with raised benches, 
on which the plants are placed, these 
benches being usually five feet wide, 
five to six inches deep, and raised about 
two feet above the ground, the cross¬ 
bars and legs being made of 2 by 4 
or 3 by 4 lumber, according to the use 
to which the bench is to be put, and 
the floor and sides made of 6 by 1 
lumber. What is known as “pecky” 
cypress is the grade most in demand for 
bench building, this lumber being rather 
inferior in appearance, owing to its 
having been furrowed and perforated to 
a greater or less extent by borers, but 
still remains remarkably durable, well- 
built benches of this material frequently 
lasting for 12 to 14 years, or about three 
times as long as pine or hemlock. These 
benches are well coated with whitewash 
'THE RURAL 
each year, this also helping to protect 
them from decay. 
Greenhouses of the better grade are 
also built with an iron framework, the 
iron rafters being carried down into 
the ground to form the side posts, and 
sometimes set in a concrete foundation. 
This method of construction, combined 
with iron eave plates and iron purlines 
and braces, gives a very strong and rigid 
structure, but is naturally expensive in 
first cost. 
Concrete has also been taken up in 
connection with greenhouse building, 
being not only used for foundations and 
side walls, but also for benching, some 
of these benches being built solid, that 
is, with solid concrete walls, while oth¬ 
ers have an iron frame and concrete 
bottom, and still others are built with 
concrete frame and concrete slabs for 
the bottom, the latter being reinforced 
with wire netting. And as the price of 
lumber gradually becomes prohibitive, 
owing to our lack of foresight in regard 
to forestry problems, also the fine work 
of a high protective tariff, the use of 
concrete in greenhouse construction 
will undoubtedly increase very largely. 
Heating is, of course, a very impor¬ 
tant part of greenhouse construction, 
and various opinions are held in regard 
to methods and appliances. But for a 
small or medium-sized establishment a 
good hot-water system is the most sat¬ 
isfactory and economical. Of boilers, 
there is a wide choice, and one must be 
guided in a measure by the kind of fuel 
that is most available, whether anthra¬ 
cite or bituminous. The heating coils 
are usually composed of two-inch pipe 
for a modern hot-water system, or one- 
inch pipe for a steam heating system, 
the latter plan being more used in large 
establishments where a regular night 
force is employed, from the fact that 
steam heating requires more attention 
in order to maintain a regular tempera¬ 
ture. The amount of piping used de¬ 
pends upon the use to which the house 
is devoted, and also upon the location 
and exposure, but a rough rule for this 
matter is to provide one square foot of 
radiating surface to three square feet 
of glass, this rule applying to localities 
where the temperature seldom falls 
many degrees below zero. 
That much of the work of building a 
greenhouse may readily be done by any 
handy man, will be admitted, for it is 
not a very complicated structure, but 
one entirely unfamiliar with the subject 
would do well to get in touch with some 
reliable builders of such structures be¬ 
fore undertaking the job, and either get 
working plans and material from such 
a concern, or else get a thorough under¬ 
standing and a well-drawn contract 
with some such builder, and then go 
ahead, for errors in design and con¬ 
struction may prove very costly in the 
end. w. h. taplin. 
ASTER DISEASE. 
L. P., Detroit, Mich .—Aster blight of 
some kind is proving very disastrous again 
this season. It attacks many plants soon 
after they are set out. and spraying fails 
to stop the gradual turning brown of leaves 
and stems until the whole plant is withered 
and dead. Change of location avails noth¬ 
ing. and the soil is well enriched. Late 
varieties are free from the blight, especially 
Semple’s Branching, but first and secont 
early sorts are subject. Seeds grown ii 
Michigan, New York. California and Oe 
manv are all alike subject to or free fron. 
bliglit without apparent reason. It seems 
to me probable that many lots of seeds 
are somehow affected with something, but 
inquire of many seedsmen and growers 
fails to bring out any satisfactory remedy. 
Ans. —This Aster disease is a serious 
and widespread trouble, which causes 
much loss to commercial growers. We 
do not know of any specific for the 
disease, but James Semple, a very suc¬ 
cessful grower, advises liming the soil 
at the time the young plants are set out. 
Mr. Semple uses cow manure heavily, 
plowing it in the Fall before the plants 
are set; at planting time enough air- 
slaked lime is used to whiten the 
ground, and later in the season a dress¬ 
ing of guano, about 100 pounds to the 
acre, is cultivated in. Manv grower:- 
believe that the disease does not attack 
plants set on greenhouse benches as 
readily as those in the open ground, 
but it is quite possible this results from 
the use of uninfected soil, as the green¬ 
house benches would most likely be 
filled with a well-rotted compost which 
had not grown Asters before. Spraying 
with an ammoniacal carbonate of cop¬ 
per colution is advised, but it should be 
used at intervals from the time the 
plants are first set out, without wait¬ 
ing for the disease to show itself. Bor¬ 
deaux Mixture is objectionable, because 
it discolors the foliage. All affected 
plants should be removed and burned 
as soon as the disease appears. We 
believe that the Massachusetts Experi¬ 
ment Station at Amherst has published 
some literature on this subject. 
NEW-YOR K ER 
•September 13, 
/«V\. 
IS 
,<fiy 
&[»; 
V 
Clover 
takes nitrogen 
from the air and deposits it 
in the soil to make good wheat. 
But it must set early, be deep rooted 
and thrifty in order to do this. 
Potash is required. Supply it to 
your clover this Fall, when you seed 
your wheat or rye. 
POTASH PAYS 
Potash sets the crop early and well 
and enables the clover to gather nitro¬ 
gen from the air. 
to your wheat fertilizer to 
ma k e it 2-8-6, j Every two pounds of Muriate 
of Potash added to each 100 pounds of 
per'cent lncrcases the Potash by one 
Send for New Farmers’Note Book—about soil, crops 
bu a rxpert^ nd ir ,rt i >l J Zer9 ~ a B ractical book compiled' 
oy experts. Mailed on request. Free. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS, 93 Nassau St., New York 
Chicago—Monadnock Block Atlanta, Ga.—1224 Candler Bldg. 
HUBBARD’S 
GRASS AND GRAIN FERTILIZER 
The Famous “HAY MAKER ” For Fall Seeding 
Our Almanac tells all about it. 
Sent free to any address. 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD CO., 
MANUFACTURERS OF THE HUBBARD FERTILIZERS, 
MIDDLETOWN, CONN. 
RER] LAND [s? 
A High Calcium Lime in Powder Form 
Ready to apply to the land—no time and labor lost in preparing after you 
receive it. 
If you want LIME in any form be sure to get prices and analyses of 
the R-R brands. 
ROCKLAND-ROCKPORT LIME CO. 
BOSTON, 24 Milk Street ROCKLAND, ME. NEW YORK, Flatiron Building 
Our Guarantee is iust as u big and ^ road as YOU 
choose to make it. 
“SCALECIDE” 
applied to your fruit, trees will absolutely kill SAN JOSE SCALE and all Fungous troubles 
controllable in the dormant season. Five years of proofs. 
Prices: In barrels and half-barrels, 50c. per gallon; 10 gal. cans, $6.00; 6 gal. cans, $3.25; 
1 gal. cans, $1.00. If you want cheap oils, our “CARBOLEINE” at 30c. per gallon is the 
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B. G. PRATT COMPANY, Mfg. Chemists. SO CHURCH ST., NEW YORK CITY 
Steam Power 
For Farm Use 
Best because sure, cheap, safe, 
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LEFFEL 
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Box 233, Springfield, O. 
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BALING 
PRESSES 
For hay and everything that can be baled 
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Backed by more than fifty years of sys¬ 
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63 Tivoli St.. 
Albant, 
Good for a lifetime 
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Poultry, fruit, dairy, grain, stock, truck farms, 
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For Best EXTENSION LADDER at Sr 
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