.  July  4, 1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
.5 
The  note  (page  540)  on  watering  newly  planted  trees  reminds  me 
that  hardly  any  have  required  water  this  season.  It  has  been  exceed¬ 
ingly  dry,  but  except  in  the  case  of  a  few  large  nursery  grown  specimens 
I  do  not  recollect  ever  having  had  less  labour  in  watering.  The  reason, 
I  think,  must  have  been  the  hard  and  long-continued  frost,  during  which 
time  the  tops  at  least  were  entirely  quiescent,  in  whatever  condition  the 
roots  may  have  been.  _ 
“E.  D.  S.”  (page  550)  is  somewhat  behind  the  times  in  his 
vegetable  physiology.  It  must  be  nearly  thirty  years  since  Johnson  in 
“  How  Crops  Grow  ”  pointed  out  that  root  hairs  were,  if  not  absolutely, 
at  least  practically,  the  means  of  the  plant  obtaining  its  sustenance 
from  the  soil.  Spongioles  have  a  special  use  in  making  a  way  for  the 
feeding  roots  that  follow.  The  reason  why  so  many  pot  plants  suffer 
from  dryness  is  that  the  innumerable  root  hairs  are  killed,  and  in  the 
case  of  the  Calceolaria  dryness  generally  proves  fatal.  It  is  but  fair  to 
say,  however,  as  in  the  case  of  Pea  fertilisation,  that  many  people  are  of 
the  same  opinion  as  your  correspondent.  It  is  only  a  few  years 
since  a  University  text  book  was  in  use  which  taught  these  fallacies. 
— R.  P.  Beotherston. 
THE  PROFITABLE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  GLASS 
STRUCTURES  IN  WINTER. 
[Silver  Medal  Essay  by  Mr.  George  Summers,  Sandbeck  Park,  Rotherham.] 
“  Many  people  grow  with  more  or  less  success  Tomatoes,  Cucumbers, 
and  other  produce  for  sale  in  the  summer,  and  they  desire  to  know  in 
what  manner  the  same  houses  may  be  the  most  profitably  occupied 
during  the  winter  and  spring  months.” 
With  a  view  of  solving  the  above  problem  I  will  give  my  experience 
on  the  subject,  and  will  only  state  facts,  such  as  have  come  under  my 
own  observation,  after  a  somewhat  extensive  experience  of  what  to  grow 
with  a  view  to  profit,  as  I  consider  theory  should  be  entirely  left  out  of 
the  question. 
The  first  thing  to  consider  is  the  class  of  house  most  suited  for  the 
purpose.  Unfortunately,  many  growers  have  not  suitable  structures  for 
market  purposes,  and  it  is  really  surprising  the  splendid  results  that 
are  sometimes  obtained  by  men  in  the  trade,  who  watch  the  markets, 
and  know  just  what  is  required,  but  who  have  most  indifferent  means  at 
command.  The  majority  of  our  large  market  growers  have,  however, 
light  modern-built  structures.  The  class  of  house  I  prefer  for  Tomatoes 
in  the  summer,  and  general  forcing  in  the  winter,  is  span-roofed,  with 
the  ends  facing  due  north  and  south,  120  feet  in  length,  18  feet  in  width, 
about  12  feet  in  height,  with  top  and  side  ventilation,  with  four  rows  of 
4-inch  pipes  on  each  side,  which  will  provide  ample  heat  for  the  most 
severe  weather.  From  a  house  of  this  description  shelves  may  be  slung 
to  the  roof  for  various  purposes,  the  floor  of  the  house  being  utilised  for 
other  crops. 
Another  useful  house,  which  may  be  used  for  Cucumbers  or  Tomatoes 
in  the  summer,  and  flowering  plants  in  the  winter,  is  similar  to  the 
above,  but  is  only  12  feet  in  width,  and  8  feet  in  height.  A  house  of 
these  dimensions  I  have  found  very  useful  for  forcing  Lily  of  the  Valley, 
Tulips,  Raspail  Pelargoniums,  and  all  dwarf  growing  plants  ;  whereas 
the  former  are  more  useful  for  Chrysanthemums,  Arums,  and  other 
plants  that  require  more  room  than  can  be  obtained  in  the  smaller 
houses.  They  are  also  very  suitable  for  early  forced  Strawberries, 
which  are  placed  on  shelves  slung  from  the  roof.  The  houses  at  present 
under  my  charge  are  all  lean-to’s  facing  due  south.  From  these  houses 
are  obtained  a  maximum  of  light  and  sun,  so  necessary  for  early  forcing 
during  the  short  days  of  the  winter.  Shelves  are  slung  from  the  roof 
and  from  the  back  walls  for  Strawberries.  These  houses  are  all  used 
daring  the  winter  for  the  growth  of  the  different  plants  mentioned  in 
these  notes. 
But  what  to  grow  in  the  winter  with  a  view  to  profit  is  the  query. 
First  on  the  list  I  would  place  Chrysanthemums,  a  considerable  number 
of  which  should  be  grown,  according  to  the  convenience  for  wintering 
them.  The  bulk  of  them  should  be  grown  for  late  flowering  during 
December  and  January,  as  much  higher  prices  can  then  be  obtained 
than  would  be  possible  during  November.  Flowers  of  good  average 
quality,  cut  from  bash  plants,  in  November  only  make  2s.  6d.,  or  less, 
per  dozen  bunches: — twelve  blooms  in  a  bunch  ;  but  Chrysanthemums 
can  be  grown  to  pay,  even  at  that  price,  where  land  is  abundant  and 
cheap.  Plant  out  the  Chrysanthemums  in  rows  3  feet  apart,  which 
should  be  done  as  soon  as  all  danger  of  frost  is  past  in  the  spring, 
stopping  the  plants  two  or  three  times  during  the  summer.  They  will 
make  rapid  growth,  and  only  need  attention  in  keeping  the  weeds  down. 
Early  in  October  the  plants  should  be  lifted  and  placed  on  the  floor  of 
the  Tomato  house,  making  the  soil  as  firm  as  possible  about  the  roots, 
settling  all  in  with  a  good  soaking  of  water.  If  the  operation  is  care¬ 
fully  carried  out  the  plants  will  not  suffer  in  the  least,  and  the  grower 
will  be  rewarded  with  a  great  crop- of  flowers,  many  more  than  can  be 
grown  under  any  other  system  ;  consequently  if  the  returns  are  small 
for  each  consignment,  they  will  still  pay  in  the  aggregate  if  the  bulk  is 
large. 
White  varieties  are  the  most  useful,  and  sell  better  than  coloured. 
Those  that  I  have  been  most  successful  with  grown  on  this  system  are 
Lady  Selborne,  Elaine,  Madame  Lacroix,  Madame  Louis  Leroy,  and 
Stanstead  White,  which  bloom  in  the  order  of  naming,  the  flowering 
season  extending  from  September  to  the  new  year.  Grow  in 
temperature  not  exceeding  40°  from  fire  heat,  only  keeping  sufiBcient 
heat  to  exclude  frost,  the  ventilators  being  left  open  night  and  day, 
except  when  actually  freezing.  On  dull  showery  days  a  little  heat 
should  always  be  kept  in  the  pipes  to  dispel  moisture.  The  plants 
should  be  watered  in  the  morning,  not  allowing  them  to  suffer  in  this 
respect  at  any  time,  or  the  blooms  will  be  small,  and  many  deformed. 
Prices  for  these  varieties  grown  on  this  system  have  during  the  past 
two  years  ranged  from  2s.  6J.  in  November  to  lOs.  per  dozen  bunches 
at  the  end  of  December. 
The  aim,  however,  should  be,  whether  in  cultivating  fruit  or  flowere 
for  market  or  home  consumption,  to  endeavour  to  grow  feach  and  all  te 
as  great  perfection  as  possible.  Some  people  appear  to  think  anything 
FIG.  1.— MR.  GEORGE  SUMMERS. 
will  do  for  the  market,  but  after  a  trial  they  will  findjto  their;co8t_that 
it  is  only  the  best  that  will  make  top  prices. 
With  this  object  in  view  I  am  now  working  the  bulk  of  my  stock  of 
Chrysanthemums  on  a  different  system,  although  it  entails  more  labour, 
I  am,  however,  satisfied  with  the  result  from  a  financial  point  of  view, 
as  instead  of  the  above  prices,  36j.  and  upwards  were  obtained  for  weeks 
together  for  the  same  number  of  blooms.  The  cuttings  are  taken  at  the 
usual  time,  placing  two  in  a  thumb  pot.  As  they  become  well  rooted 
they  are  placed  in  larger  sizes  till  they  are  eventually  placed  into  pot« 
9  inches  in  diameter,  in  which  they  will  remain  to  flower.  The  plants 
are  not  stopped  until  they  have  made  about  18  inches  of  growth,  when 
the  point  of  each  plant  is  taken  out.  From  this  break  three  shoote 
should  be  allowed  to  remain,  and  by  the  time  they  have  grown  3  feet  in 
height  they  will  again  break  naturally.  The  plants  should  then  be  gone 
over  to  reduce  the  shoots  to  from  fifteen  to  twenty  to  each  pair  of  plants 
according  to  their  strength,  removing  all  side  8hoot8,>bnt  not  interfering 
with  the  others  till  the  terminal  buds  are  formed.  The  small  buds 
surrounding  the  terminal  should  be  removed,  and  on  the  first  appearance 
of  frost  the  plants  must  be  placed  in  their  flowering  quarters,  or  be 
provided  with  some  temporary  covering.  By  the  latter  means  they  may 
be  retarded  several  weeks,  which  is  a  great  advantage,  for  as  a  rule  I 
have  found  that  the  later  they  are  the  better  prices  they  make.  When 
placed  under  glass  and  the  days  are  bright  and  warm  it  is  impossible  to 
keep  them  as  late  as  may  often  be  done  in  the  open  air  under  temporary 
coverings. 
In  growing  a  number  of  plants  on  this  system  I  have  found  it  of 
advantage  to  partly  plunge  the  pots  on  any  spare  piece  of  land  that  may 
be  convenient.  We  usually  plunge  them  on  a  piece  of  Strawberry  land 
from  which  the  fruit  has  been  gathered.  By  adopting  this  method 
much  less  water  will  be  required  than  if  the  plants  were  stood  in  the 
open  and  their  pots  exposed  to  the  sun.  From  plants  grown  on  this 
