August  8, 1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
125 
PROFITABLE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  GLASS  STRUCTURES 
IN  WINTER, 
(Silver  Medal  Essay  by  Mr.  E.  MORROW,  12,  Corn  Street,  Leominster.) 
The  question  raised  as  to  the  most  profitable  occupation  of  Tomato 
houses  during  the  winter  and  spring  montHb  is  as  difficult  as  it  is 
important.  There  have  been  those  who  have  been  compelled  by  self- 
interest  to  do  something  to  make  the  period  under  consideration  yield 
some  harvest,  and  their  experience  will  be  helpful.  One  thing  ought  to 
be  understood — whatever  may  be  suggested  as  most  profitable  must  be 
generally  so,  and  within  the  reach  of  the  greatest  number.  That  which 
is  to  be  cultivated  must  be  universal,  not  local,  in  its  interest  and  advan¬ 
tage.  Circumstances,  of  course,  alter  cases,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to 
understand  that  there  may  be  places  with  special  needs  demanding  a 
special,  and  what  must  be  a  profitable,  supply. 
What  can  be  everywhere  cultivated,  and  wherever  cultivated  will 
yield  the  best  results  1  That  is  the  question  of  pressing  interest.  A 
little  thought  is  sufficient  to  show  that  there  may  be  produce  interesting 
enough  in  itself,  and  with  circumstances  that  give  it  an  importance ; 
but  the  interest  is  not  sufficiently  large,  and  its  profit  is  not  everywhere 
and  always  to  be  realised.  Take  the  Arums,  for  instance.  They  are 
very  useful,  easy  to  grow,  but  are  only  needed  for  wreaths  and  church 
decorations  ;  they  are  of  no  value  for  buttonholes,  bouquets,  and  vases  ; 
the  demand  therefore  would  not  meet  the  quantity  that  ought  to  be 
grown  to  make  the  special  cul.ivation  profitable.  Besides  which,  what 
could  be  done  with  them  at  the  end  of  February,  when  the  houses  are 
wanted  ?  Easter  Lilies,  again,  are  no  doubt  expensive,  and  always 
secure  a  good  price  ;  but  they  are  not  profitable  before  February  at  the 
earliest,  and,  as  need  scarcely  be  pointed  out,  the  fuel  would  be  too 
serious  an  item  where  profit  was  the  chief  consideration,  three  or  four 
months  being  wasted,  or  at  least  without  present  return,  and  the  uses  of 
the  flowers  being  no  more  various  than  those  of  Arums. 
The  objections  to  the  Hyacinth,  the  Tulip,  the  Narcissus,  and  in 
fact  all  bulbs,  readily  occur.  There  is  the  expense  of  buying  them, 
there  is  the  trouble  of  forcing  them,  and  there  is  the  risk  as  to  their 
sale  in  view  of  foreign  competition,  so  that  the  profit  at  the  best  would 
be,  must  be,  very  discouraging.  Pot  Roses  may  be  said  to  give  very 
little  trouble,  but  they  do  not  come  in  till  nearly  spring,  and  they 
will  be  in  full  bloom  when  the  houses  ought  to  be  otherwise  occupied. 
Chrysanthemums  are  unprofitable,  for  such  is  their  cultivation  by 
private  gentlemen,  whose  gardens  are  able  to  overcrowd  the  market, 
with  the  result  that  the  price  is  not  often  the  great  object,  so  that 
market  gardeners  are  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  others.  The  thought  of 
the  plant  which  must  be  grown  to  yield  a  dozen  bunches  for  Is.  and 
Is.  Gd.  is  enough  to  set  anyone  from  their  culture,  and  especially  when 
there  is  added  to  this  the  fact  that  during  part  of  January,  and  of 
course  all  through  February,  the  supplies  are  stopped.  Other  flowers 
might  be  mentioned,  but  in  my  opinion,  as  I  hope  to  show,  the  Violet 
alone  can  fulfil  the  conditions  which  I  have  already  stated. 
Before  giving  my  reasons  for  this  opinion  with  my  experience,  let  us 
look  at  the  vegetables  in  the  same  way  as  we  have  looked  at  the  flowers. 
It  was  suggested  that  Tomatoes  might  be  grown  all  through  the  winter. 
The  ready  answer  to  that  is  that  they  will  not  pay  in  the  winter,  being 
rarely  served  as  salads  during  those  months,  and  the  price  not  exceeding 
Is.  per  lb.  The  fuel  and  the  trouble  would  thus  be  scarcely  covered, 
experience  showing  that  the  crop  in  the  winter  and  spring  is  often  very 
disappointing.  Mushrooms,  it  must  be  confessed,  are  very  profitable, 
but  supposing  the  culture  became  general  the  supply  would  be  greater 
than  the  demand,  and  the  price  would  accordingly  fall.  Again,  suppos¬ 
ing  when  the  Tomatoes  were  over  we  prepared  Mushroom  beds,  it  would 
be  January  before  the  profit  came  in,  and  probably  when  the  houses 
were  again  wanted  for  Tomatoes  a  crop  of  Mushrooms  would  have  to  be 
sacrificed.  Seakale  is  a  beautiful  vegetable,  but  it  must  be  passed  over 
from  a  commercial  point  of  view.  Cucumbers  may  be  viewed  in  the 
same  way  as  Tomatoes,  as  it  is  rare  to  get  good  crops  in  the  winter, 
as  there  is  not  the  demand. 
Kidney  Beans  are  profitable  and  are  in  good  demand,  but  not  suffi¬ 
cient  to  make  them  a  speciality.  If,  however,  anyone  has  a  number  of 
houses,  he  could  try  a  house  of  Kidney  Beans  and  Rhubarb.  The  culture 
of  Beans  is  very  simple  and  easy.  They  can  be  grown  on  the  principle 
given  for  the  Violet,  only  the  supports  must  be  made  a  little  longer, 
to  keep  the  plants  from  touching  the  glass.  Long  boxes,  easy  to  handle, 
about  9  inches  deep  and  the  width  of  the  shelves,  should  be  used.  Boxes 
are  preferable,  because  the  plants  seem  to  thrive  better  than  in  pots  and 
pans,  retaining  the  moisture  better ;  then  a  good  layer  of  rough  leaf 
mould  must  De  put  in,  and  the  boxes  half  filled  with  a  light  rich 
mixture  ;  the  beans  may  then  be  sown  about  3  or  4  inches  apart. 
Osborn’s  Forcing  is  a  good  variety  ;  they  do  not  grow  as  tall  as  some  of 
the  others,  and  they  come  quickly.  They  must  be  covered  lightly  about 
an  inch  deep,  and  well  watered  ;  and  when  coming  in  rough  leaf  they 
must  have  top-dressings  with  the  same  mixture ;  that  will  keep  the 
plants  sturdy  and  support  them.  Give  plenty  of  water  when  the  boxes 
are  full  of  roots,  and  feed  when  in  flower.  When  I  was  at  Lord 
Lurgan’s,  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  we  grew  enormous  crops  on  this 
principle.  If  a  succession  is  wanted  sow  every  fortnight,  for  from  the 
time  of  starting  to  pick  until  they  are  nearly  over  runs  about  two 
weeks.  The  last  sowing  need  not  be  put  on  shelves  at  once,  but  placed 
one  on  top  of  the  other  until  they  come  up  ;  this  will  make  a  week’s 
difference,  and  might  be  of  importance  to  save  time.  The  temperature 
can  be  high,  as  they  love  warmth  and  moisture.  They  should  be 
syringed  twice  a  day  to  keep  down  insects,  and  at  the  same  time  assist 
the  plants.  If  insects  come  on,  the  same  treatment  as  recommended 
for  the  Violets  should  be  applied.  Rhubarb  may  be  brought  in  and 
grown  in  the  way  described  for  the  Violets.  The  house  will  be  warmer, 
and  therefore  give  the  Rhubarb  a  better  chance  to  be  forced,  and  be  in 
the  market  earlier. 
Salads  may  be  passed  over  as  the  demand  for  them  is  very  small,  and 
most  often  wanted  by  those  who  have  conveniences  without  troubling 
the  market.  Rhubarb  is  one  of  my  specialties  for  profitable  labour  and 
investment,  and  will  be  dealt  with  later  on. 
Fruit  needs  only  a  passing  word,  except  the  Strawberry,  to  which 
some  attention  may  be  called.  There  are  many  market  growers  who  have 
to  supply  the  market  as  well  as  their  customers  with  the  various  produce 
that  may  be  in  season,  and  for  such  it  may  be  pointed  out,  as  was  said 
in  the  case  of  Beans  and  Rhubarb,  a  house  could  be  had  of  Strawberries 
and  Rhubarb,  the  principle  of  growing  these  being  very  much  the  same 
— namely,  two  crops  in  one  house.  The  objection  to  the  Strawberry  is 
that  too  many  months  pass  without  getting  a  profit,  and  besides  which, 
just  when  they  are  in  perfection,  the  houses  are  wanted  for  Tomatoes, 
FIG.  18.— ME.  E.  MOKBOW. 
though  it  is  possible  to  get  over  a  little  of  the  difficulty  by  the  Tomatoes 
intended  for  this  house  being  kept  growing  in  pots,  and  placed  in  the 
other  Tomato  houses  till  wanted. 
With  regard  to  the  culture  of  Strawberries  their  growth  in  pots  is 
not  universal.  My  experience,  therefore,  may  not  be  out  of  place .  The  first 
thing  is  to  select  healthy  runners,  say,  from  Vicomtesse  Hericart  de  Thmry 
and  President,  which  are  as  good  as  any,  and  are  my  favourites ;  place 
them  in  little  pots,  with  a  flat  stone  over  the  top  of  the  root  to  keep  the 
plant  from  pushing  up  out  of  the  soil ;  shade  the  root  or  get  nice  pieces 
of  turf,  making  a  hole  in  the  centre,  and  filling  in  with  sandy  soil ;  keep 
well  watered  until  they  are  well  rooted,  then  cut  off  the  connection  from 
the  old  plant  and  leave  for  a  week  or  so.  Pot  into  4-inch  pots,  and 
plunge  in  coal  ashes.  When  they  fill  these  pots  with  roots  pot  very 
firmly  into  or  7-inch  with  a  mixture  of  stiff  loam,  well  decayed 
manure,  and  a  good  sprinkling  of  sand  ;  leave  about  an  inch  or  so  from 
the  rim  for  top-dressing  ;  then  put  all  together  in  some  sunny  spot  and 
not  plunge  them,  they  being  better  without  plunging,  as  the  sun  at  this 
time  of  the  year  is  not  powerful,  and  will  be  beneficial  to  them.  Never 
allow  the  plants  to  get  dry,  and  when  the  autumn  rains  come  too  heavily 
turn  them  on  their  side,  and  when  the  frost  comes  on  they  must  be  pro¬ 
tected,  or  the  pots  will  break.  By  December  top-dress  the  plants,  and 
get  them  into  the  house,  and  do  not  feed  them  until  they  come  into  bud, 
or  perhaps  they  will  run  to  leaves,  though  loose  potting  has  a  tendency 
to  do  this  more  than  feeding. 
In  some  places  the  pots  are  in  saucers,  but  I  prefer  turf.  The  best 
crop  I  ever  saw  was  grown  on  turf  round  the  shelves  of  a  conservatory. 
This  might  seem  an  eyesore  to  a  good  many,  but  when  the  turf  is  cut 
well  and  evenly,  and  placed  on  shelves  of  the  same  width,  there  is  not 
much  to  grumble  at.  A  little  chemical  manure  should  he  sprinkled  on 
the  turf,  as  the  plants  seem  to  enjoy  it.  This  is  better  than  saucers,  for 
the  stagnant  water  is  injurious  to  the  bottom  roots.  Now  the  tempe¬ 
rature  of  this  house  ought  to  be  gradual,  and  air  should  be  given  on  fine 
days  until  the  temperature  is  60'^.  When  in  flower  they  must  have  as 
much  air  and  as  even  a  temperature  as  possible,  not  forgetting  the 
watering,  as  they  must  have  plenty  of  water. 
When  the  fruit  is  set  all  the  little  and  late  ones  should  be  discarded, 
as  this  will  help  the  first  set  of  fruit  and  discharge  the  crop  quicker 
