70 
House & Garden 
H. F. HUBER & CO. 
NEW YORK: 13 East 40th Street 
PARIS: 18 Faub. Poissonniere 
Qhristmas 
Qif ts 
of great charm, and 
moderate in price 
at the Huber Gab 
leries—Spanish 
and Italian Deco¬ 
rative Objects and 
Pillows, Lamps, 
Reproductions of 
Old Chinese 
Porcelains, Bird 
Cages with Stand, 
and other interest¬ 
ing and useful 
objects. Send 
for illustrated 
pamphlet. 
A Huber Reproduction of an English Silver 
Chest or combination Writing Desk ond 
Wardrobe with Mirrors on inside of doors, 
made both in Walnut and old Oak can 
be used in dining-room, living-room, library 
or bedroom as an odd piece. 
Conscripting the Greenhouse 
( Continued, from page 51) 
instead of masquerading as a luxury. 
Tomato seeds are sown in pans, and 
when large enough to handle are placed 
in 2" pots, from which, when well 
rooted, they are transferred into 4" pots. 
Once thoroughly rooted in these pots, 
they are given their final shift, either 
into large pots of 12" size or into the 
benches. The best method is to plant 
them in hills, composed of about three 
shovelfuls of compost, added to occa¬ 
sionally as the plants require more food, 
a need which will be made apparent by 
the condition of the plant and the roots. 
For supporting tomatoes light stakes 
of metal or bamboo are generally used, 
or wire stretches if they are to be grown 
along the roof. All lateral growths 
should be pinched out and the foliage 
cut away slightly to help ripen the fruit 
after it is formed. To facilitate “set¬ 
ting,” the canes should be tapped gently 
several times on bright days; this will 
usually cause the pollen to fly sufficient¬ 
ly, but during periods of dark, dull 
weather, it is safer to gather the pollen 
in a spoon or other receptacle. This is 
done by holding the „spoon under the 
flower, which should be tapped gently. 
When sufficient has been gathered, the 
flowers may be dipped in the pollen, or 
it can be transferred by means of a 
camel’s hair brush. This matter is very 
important, for without perfect cross¬ 
fertilization a very small crop and very 
inferior fruit will result. All flabby, 
malformed fruits are caused by improper 
fertilization. Good dependable varieties 
are First and Best, The Don and Stir¬ 
ling Castle. 
Cucumbers and Others 
Cucumbers are grown under practical¬ 
ly the same conditions as tomatoes. 
Hills are preferable to other methods, 
and the fertilization of the flowers must 
be attended to religiously, or the cu¬ 
cumbers will be curled up and spindling. 
The greenhouse cucumber when well 
grown should be from 12" to 18" long, 
and perfectly symmetrical. Any of the 
English forcing varieties can be grown 
—such as Telegraph, Duke of Edin¬ 
burgh or our own well-known White 
Spine. Cucumbers delight in bottom 
heat, and it is advisable to box in the 
space underneath the benches. 
Egg-plant and peppers are both han¬ 
dled in like manner. The seeds are 
sown in pans, and when large enough 
to handle are transferred into 2" pots, 
from which "they are later removed to 4" 
pots. They can either be grown in 
benches or transferred into 8" pots, but 
the latter arrangement is preferable be¬ 
cause only a few plants are necessary, 
and the pots are more easily handled^ 
thus providing for better management 
of the bench space. 
Spinach-Cither the broad-leaved or 
the New Zealand—can be grown to a 
wonderful degree of perfection in the 
greenhouse. The seeds are sown direct¬ 
ly in the benches, the broad-leaved in 
drills about 12" apart, and the New 
Zealand in hills about 15" apart. For 
the broad-leaved type successional sow¬ 
ings every four weeks will give a con¬ 
tinuous supply; one sowing is all that 
is necessary for the,New Zealand spin¬ 
ach, as it can be cut at any time. Fre¬ 
quent sprayings, plenty of plant food 
in the soil and regular feedings with 
liquid manures when the crop has ex¬ 
hausted the available plant food are 
practically the only requirements. 
Radishes are a “catch” crop, and no 
bench space need be allotted to them, 
for it is possible to get all the radishes 
any family could possibly use by sow¬ 
ing them in between the other crops. 
They will then be out of the way be¬ 
fore they interfere with the more im¬ 
portant vegetables. 
Cauliflower seed is expensive and 
should not be wasted. The best method 
of sowing is to use a 6" pot or pan, and 
scatter a few seeds thinly; this will 
give enough seedlings for a single plant¬ 
ing, and will also lessen the tendency 
of “damping off.” If this is practiced 
at intervals of about three weeks, a 
continuous supply will be the result. 
The young seedlings are potted when 
large enough to handle. When they are 
established in the pots, they can be 
benched if bench space is available; if 
not, they can be re-potted in 4" pots, 
while getting space ready for them. 
Good soil is an absolute necessity; if 
your soil lacks plant food, fork some 
good manure into the benches, and in 
any case feed freely with liquid manures 
when the plants start to develop heads. 
Any of the early varieties may be used, 
such as Early Erfurt or Early Snowball. 
When sufficient headroom is available, 
peas are certainly worth attention under 
glass. A house without benches might 
be used for this purpose. The peas 
should be sown in drills exactly as is 
done out Of doors, using varieties of 
medium height, supported with low 
poultry wire. Where peas are sown in 
benches, the rows should be crosswise of 
the bench to facilitate handling. 
Good soil is the most important factor 
in producing good peas; liquid feed¬ 
ings after the pods are formed is ad¬ 
visable, and frequent sprayings are also 
to be recommended, as peas delight in 
a cool, moist atmosphere. Use any of 
the early types; if you lack headroom 
for the varieties of medium height, use 
the dwarf varieties. Sowings made 
about three weeks apart will assure a 
good supply. 
Beets and carrots are sown directly 
into the benches; the drills are made 
across the benches and about 12" apart. 
Sowings should be made in small quan¬ 
tities about every three or four weeks, 
using forcing varieties—which are listed 
in any good catalog—and rich soil. The 
plants must be thinned out to about 2" 
apart when they are developed enough. 
Regular sprayings on bright days are 
necessary. 
Good lettuce under glass is as much 
the usual thing as is poor lettuce in an 
amateur's garden in midsummer. The 
seeds are sown in pans at three-week 
intervals, and the young seedlings potted 
or dibbled into boxes. When large enough 
to handle, they are planted in the benches 
about 1" apart. Frequent sprayings are 
advisable, but must be discontinued 
when the plants are “headed up,” or 
the overhead moisture will cause them 
to rot. Never let them get bone dry 
at the roots, however. May King, Big 
Boston and Ideal are good varieties. 
Salad Plants and Delicacies 
Water cress, onions, parsley, chervil 
cress and tarragon can all be grown for 
salads or eating greens. Onions, chervil 
and cress are sown at three-week inter¬ 
vals in drills 6" apart. Water cress 
is sown in a well prepared bed, and 
when the seedlings have started they 
may be thinned out to 6" centers. There 
should be a covering of about 1" of sand 
to offset the necessary watering twice 
daily. Parsley is thinly sown in drills 
about 1" apart, and but one sowing is 
needed. It should not be thinned later. 
The space underneath the benches is 
valuable and can be put to no better 
purpose than growing mushrooms. The 
spawn is planted in the beds of pre¬ 
pared stable manure about 4" apart in 
pieces about the size of an egg. A 
moist, even condition is advisable, and 
a covering of about 1" of sifted soil will 
help conserve the moisture. This should 
be added immediately after spawning, 
and the mushrooms should appear in 
from five to six weeks’ time. 
Rhubarb and asparagus are grown by 
the same method. Old stools are brought 
(Continued on page 12) 
