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 SB 4 15 
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THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE DATE 
 INDICATED BELOW AND IS SUB- 
 JECT TO AN OVERDUE FINE AS 
 POSTED AT THE CIRCULATION 
 DESK. 
 
 NOV 2 8 1984 
 
 m 2 4 mo 
 
GARDENING UNDER GLASS 
 
Think of a place like this, on a winter's morning! And there is no limit 
 to the kinds of things you can grow in a glass gartlen — all your own favorite 
 flowers as well as the regular greenhouse ones. This house, big as it looks, 
 is only the width of a regular "standard" ready-made glass garden. 
 
GARDENING 
 UNDER GLASS 
 
 A little book of helpful hints 
 written particularly J or those ivtio 
 would extend their gardening 
 joys around the twelvemonth 
 
 ^/ . BY 
 F^' Ff ROCKWELL 
 
 GARDEN CITY NEW YORK 
 
 DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 
 1923 
 
^^ 
 
 ^A 
 
 '^ 
 
 COPYllIGIIT, 1923, BY 
 
 DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 
 
 ALI, RIGHTS RKSKRVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION 
 
 INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN 
 
 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES; 
 
 AT 
 
 THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. 
 
 First Edition 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 N, C. State College 
 
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
 This little book on growing flowers, fruits, and 
 vegetables under glass has also something to 
 say about the structures in which the growing 
 is done. For intimate facts of that character, 
 acknowledgment is made of the cooperation of 
 the Lord & Burnham Company, Greenhouse 
 Manufacturers and Builders. 
 
 In Part Two special features have been con- 
 tributed by such well-knowm greenhouse grower 
 experts as William Turner (Pineapples, Roses, 
 Grapes) and W. N. Craig (Palms and Stove 
 Plants). Mr. John Ash is responsible for "Fruit 
 Trees in Pots the Year Round," and the chapter 
 on "All Kinds of Greenhouses" is reproduced 
 by permission from The Garden Magazine. 
 
 ^i;?5«i i 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART I 
 
 GARDENING UNDER GLASS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. What You Need to Know to Garden 
 
 Under Glass 1 
 
 If You've Gardened Outside, You Can 
 Garden Inside — The Essentials of 
 Success — Some Points on Watering — 
 Need of Light and Air — The One Rec- 
 reation that Never Goes Stale — A 
 Glass Garden without "Marring the 
 Architecture. " 
 
 11. Rebuilding the Garden of Eden . 18 
 What I Grew in My First Greenhouse 
 — ^A Big Discovery in a Little Green- 
 house. 
 
 III. You Decide on a Greenhouse: The 
 
 Fun Begins 27 
 
 Getting the Plants in Advance — Pre- 
 paring the Filling for the Glass Garden 
 —How We Made a Start — From 
 Seeds and Cuttings all in one Frame. 
 
viii Contents 
 
 CBAPTER PAGE 
 
 IV. How TO Succeed with Seeds . . 35 
 
 The First Thing Is the Importance of 
 the "Make Ready "—Starting Right 
 with the Right Soil — Preparing the 
 Soil for Sowing — Sowing the Seed. 
 
 V. The IVIagic Touch 48 
 
 Rooting the Cuttings — Pot Them up 
 before the Roots Get Long. 
 
 VI. The Fascinating Art of Soil Build- 
 ing 57 
 
 What Soil Must Be for Plants to 
 Thrive in It — The INIaterials for Soil 
 Building. 
 
 VII. Such Stuff as Blooims Are Made of 64 
 How Plants Eat — An Assortment of 
 Plant Foods to Start with. 
 
 VIII. Keeping Your Plants Hale and 
 
 Hearty 71 
 
 Things to Think of^ — Keep the Air 
 Moist — How JVIuch Water to Use-— 
 When to Give Fresh Air — When to 
 Change to Larger Pots — Growing 
 Periods and Resting Periods — Freez- 
 ing before Forcing. 
 
 IX. Overcoming the Bug Bug-a-boo. . 87 
 The "Remedy" Must Fit the Bug- 
 Chewing Insects Can Be Poisoned — 
 
Contents ix 
 
 CHAPTEB PAGE 
 
 Sucking Insects Cause the Most 
 Trouble — What to Ward Against — 
 Avoiding Plant Ills. 
 
 X. Armsful of Blooms and Plants in 
 
 Abundance 97 
 
 The Flowers You Can Count on — 
 Starting the Plants — Training and 
 Disbudding — Plants for Winter Flow- 
 ering — Have a Living-room Plant 
 Room. 
 
 XI. Bulbs — ^To Keep You Smiling . . 113 
 
 Make Them Make Roots before They 
 Make Tops. 
 
 XII. Fresh Vegetables THE Year 'Round 120 
 
 The Sure Satisfaction Ones — Start 
 Lettuce in August — Some Root Vege- 
 tables for Under Glass — Tomatoes for 
 Fall and Spring — The Vine Crops 
 under Glass — Putting on the Loam 
 Blanket. 
 
 XIII. Fruits for Your Own Picking . 137 
 
 Other Fruits to Grow in a Single 
 House — Ripe Red Strawberries When 
 the Snow Flies. 
 
 XIV. The Kind of Greenhouse to Build . 147 
 The Greenhouse to Fit the Place — 
 Why a Workroom Is Necessary. 
 
X 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 XV. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 157 
 
 Handy and Helpful Accessories 
 Soil Ingredients and Fertilizers — 
 Tools and Plant Helps. 
 
 Around the Year in the Crystal 
 Garden 165 
 
 PART II 
 
 CULTIVATION OF SPECIAL CROPS 
 
 XVII. All About Violets .... 187 
 
 XVIII. All About Pineapples . . . 195 
 
 XIX. All About Palms 202 
 
 XX. Ripe Grapes from May to Neav 
 
 Year's 211 
 
 XXI. Fruit Trees in Pots the Year 
 
 Round 218 
 
 XXII. Vegetable Growing in Frames 225 
 
 XXIII. The Handling of Stove Plants 230 
 
 XXIV. Greenhouse and Bedding Plants 239 
 
 XXV. Growing Vegetables Under 
 
 Glass 249 
 
 XXVI. Roses all Winter 265 
 
 XXVII. All Kinds of Greenhouses and 
 
 What May Be Grown There 275 
 
 XXVIII. Books to Help You Further . 287 
 
PART I 
 GARDENING UNDER GLASS 
 
Gardening Under Glass 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GARDEN UNDER 
 GLASS 
 
 In Which Are Summed Up, Briefly, the Most 
 Important Things That Make for Success 
 
 Right at the beginning I put a little summary 
 of some of the more important chapters in this 
 book about growing things in a garden of glass. 
 Putting a summary ahead of what is summed 
 has its advantages, even if it isn't the orthodox 
 way. 
 
 The sole purpose of this book is to help people 
 to grow the things they want to grow, in their 
 glass gardens. To attempt to do that at all 
 thoroughly means going into a lot of details, and 
 the details about a thing with which one is not 
 familiar are sometimes confusing. 
 
 So, for those who have not yet had much 
 experience in glass gardening, I want, first of all, 
 to dispel some of the doubts which ofttimes 
 
Gardening Under Glass 
 
 prevail; and then to make 
 as plain as possible the 
 general principles that 
 lead to success. 
 
 If You've Gardened Out- 
 side, You Can Gar-den 
 Inside 
 
 First, as to the doubt 
 worries, be assured that 
 if you have been success- 
 ful with your flowers and 
 plants out of doors, you 
 can be successful with 
 them under glass. There 
 need be no question 
 about that. 
 
 This statement is made with some positive- 
 ness, because I began greenhouse gardening with- 
 out any experience other than what I had gained 
 in gardening out of doors; and, while there was 
 much to learn, I soon found that the essentials 
 were the same for both kinds of gardening. So, 
 when any person who is over-timid about glass 
 gardening says to me, "Aren't the conditions 
 entirely unlike.'^ Doesn't one have to grow en- 
 tirely different things? Isn't a great deal more 
 skill and knowledge required in the glass garden 
 
 In the dead of winter you 
 merely push the latch — and 
 there is all the joy of your sum- 
 mer garden! 
 
What You Need to Knoiv 
 
 There are no diirk and secret mysteries al)()ut gardening under glass. 
 If plants will grow for you outside, they will inside — twelve months in 
 the year. 
 
 than in the outdoor garden?" — ^I answer, "No."" 
 True, conditions inside and outside are not 
 the same, but as conditions inside are more 
 completelj^ under the gardener's control, there is 
 no disadvantage in this. One quickly learns 
 that there are limits, and about what they are, 
 the same as in outdoor growing. 
 
 As to what may be grown in the glass garden, 
 there is practically no limit except that of prac- 
 ticability. 
 
4 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Sweet Corn and Table Peas, for instance, may 
 be grown perfectly well under glass. That 
 usually they are not so grown is because they 
 occupy so much space in proportion to the re- 
 turns. 
 
 Most of the ordinary flowens and shrubs can 
 be transferred to, or grown in, the glass garden. 
 The favorites of your hardy border and your 
 beds of annuals you may have inside as well as 
 out, and very often of a greater luxuriousness of 
 growth. The standard "greenhouse plants," 
 as they are called, are only a small part of what 
 may perfectly well be grown if one wishes to go 
 outside the lists of the usually grown. 
 
 As to skill and knowledge, it is not necessary 
 to start all over again when you begin under 
 glass. All that has been learned in the outside 
 gardening may be brought into play inside. 
 Of course, if you are progressive, you will pick 
 up new methods and details as you go on; but 
 the point is that, as a start, your experience with 
 outside gardening will enable you to begin gar- 
 dening inside, with every prospect of having it 
 go satisfactorily. 
 
 The Essentials of Success 
 
 Now any gardening, even the growing of a 
 row of Radishes or a bed of Petunias, cannot be 
 
What You Need to Know 5 
 
 successful unless a few fundamental things in 
 connection with it are right: 
 
 Soil is the first of these things. Any one who 
 attempts to do any kind of gardening very 
 quickly discovers that seeds planted in some 
 soil will come up to have only a starved and strug- 
 gling existence, or to flower prematurely, and 
 then turn yellow and die. And the same seed, 
 with the same care, in other soil, will send up 
 sturdy little seedlings, dark green and thrifty 
 looking, that will "grow hke weeds" and put 
 forth blooms as though they were doing it by 
 piece-work, at so much per dozen! 
 
 So, in the greenhouse, good soil is wanted — 
 the kind of soil that in other garden work would 
 be called a "rich, friable, loam"; the kind of soil 
 that one finds in old beds that are well manured, 
 year after year, and kept hoed and dug, till the 
 soil in them is so mellow that one likes to dig 
 holes in it with one's fingers to set plants in; 
 and so suitable for plant roots that every little 
 seed in it will sprout and start out to make a 
 husky plant every time you leave the surface 
 undisturbed for a fortnight or so! 
 
 Such soil is needed to make plants thrive lus- 
 tily under glass, as well as outside. Usually, 
 the same soil that is giving good results outside 
 may be used inside. 
 
6 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 There is, however, this difference. Under 
 some conditions a qnite heavy clay soil will 
 give good results outside, whereas soil for inside 
 use should always contain enough decayed vege- 
 table matter (humus) and sand, so that it will 
 never pack and stay heavy and wet. Even if 
 such soil as you do have available happens to 
 be mostly clay, it can be changed and made 
 suitable for greenhouse use by following the 
 suggestions given in a later chapter. 
 
 If, then, you have good, rich, mellow old gar- 
 den soil already at hand, you have the ground- 
 work for your glass gardening. If you have not, 
 such a soil may be made up quickly by the 
 methods suggested on pages 38 and 60. Or, for 
 immediate use, obtain a quantity of soil from 
 any near-by florist or market gardener. A few 
 bushels of soil will fill a good many pots ! 
 
 Temperature, You know, no matter how 
 little gardening you have done outside, that no 
 plant will grow when it is very cold; that some 
 will grow in early spring or late fall, when it is 
 still "chilly," and that others will thrive only 
 during the warm weather of summer. 
 
 Just so, in the glass garden, you will find that, 
 below a certain temperature, nothing will grow; 
 that in a cool temperature some things will 
 thrive; and that to succeed with yet others, 
 
What You Need to Know 7 
 
 a real "hot" house is needed. But the beginner 
 usually has a lot of needless worries over the 
 "temperature problem." In the outdoor gar- 
 den you cannot maintain a special temperature 
 for each different bed of flowers. Asters and 
 Tea Roses, Snapdragons and Tuberous Bego- 
 nias, Lettuce and Butter Beans, grow in all our 
 gardens side by side, or nearly so. Now Asters 
 and Snapdragons and Lettuce are "hardy" or 
 cool-temperature plants; while Tea Roses and 
 Tuberous Begonias and Beans are "tender," or 
 warm-temperature plants. Out of doors, one 
 doesn't try to grow Head Lettuce during the heat 
 of midsummer, nor Beans during early spring. In 
 other words, gardening is adjusted to conditions. 
 It is just the same in the glass garden. If 
 you have a "cool" house and a "warm" house, 
 or a two-compartment house (and if there be 
 only one house it should have this division), 
 naturally it gives you more of a range than if 
 you have but one general house. Where two 
 houses are available, usually one is run at 45 to 
 50 degrees (night temperature), and the other 
 at 55 to 60 degrees. But in a single house, run 
 at 50 to 55 degrees, yow can grow in a fairly 
 satisfactory way most of the things that can be 
 grown in the two houses. Asters and Roses, 
 Snapdragons and Begonias, Lettuce and Beans, 
 
8 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 may all be grown in such a structure. A little 
 less heat for one of these things and a bit more 
 for others would undeniably give conditions more 
 
 You can grow dozens of things successfully in the same temporalure. 
 The idea, which some folks seem to get, that you need a special house 
 for such things, is all wrong. 
 
 nearly ideal; but conditions for outdoor growing 
 are usually short of the ideal. The point is that, 
 in either case, results that are generally satis- 
 factory can reasonably be had even when con- 
 ditions are not ideal. 
 
What You Need to Know 9 
 
 With modern standard construction and heat- 
 ing anybody can keep a house at the desired 
 temperature, and temperature troubles may be 
 forgotten if arrangements are made to provide 
 about 50 degrees for a single house, or 45 degrees 
 and 55 degrees if you have two houses. Re- 
 member, too, that when greenhouse temperatures 
 are mentioned it is always the night temperature, 
 allowing for an increase of say 10 degrees by sun 
 heat in the daytime. 
 
 Soine Points on Watering 
 
 In gardening outdoors dependence for mois- 
 ture is mostly on the gentle (or otherwise) dews 
 from heaven, using the hose or some accessory 
 system of overhead watering such as the Skinner 
 system only when the natural method fails to 
 provide adequately. 
 
 In the glass garden, on the other hand, watering 
 is wholly under control. This has both advan- 
 tages and disadvantages, but the former out- 
 weigh the latter. Getting enough moisture for 
 the plants is, of course, easy — nothing to do but 
 turn on the water. A thing that has to be 
 learned, however, is the importance of keeping 
 the soil, in pots or benches or beds, evenly moist 
 at all times. It might seem a reasonable guess, 
 at first glance, that the best way to do this would 
 
10 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 be to water a little every day — not much at a 
 time. But, on the contrary, as a general rule 
 it is better to ivater very thoroughly, so that the 
 soil is wet clear through, and then withhold 
 water until the soil begins- to get dry. 
 
 Light, moisture, temperature, fresh air. You must keep lu mind that 
 these factors, on which the welfare of your plants depends, are all under 
 your control. 
 
 Some plants naturally require more water 
 than others — whether indoors or out of doors, 
 but in the glass garden we can go much further 
 in taking care of their idiosyncrasies in this re- 
 spect. But this doesn't by any means mean a 
 particular watering schedule for each class of 
 plants. Dozens of different kinds will thrive 
 
What You Need to Knoiv 11 
 
 under practically the same amount of watering. 
 
 But the same plants need different amounts 
 of water at different seasons of the year, due 
 partly, of course, to the fact that there is much 
 more evaporation during the long hot days of 
 spring and summer than during the shorter, 
 darker days of fall and winter. 
 
 But there is another reason. Plants have a 
 "resting" period. Under normal growth, out 
 of doors, this is during the winter months. If, 
 however, we take such plants inside, and "force" 
 them to bloom, or fruit, out of season, we must let 
 them rest after they have bloomed or fruited. 
 During this resting period, which may be from 
 a few weeks to a number of months in extent, 
 they will require comparatively little water — 
 only a fraction of that needed while they were in 
 active growth, making new wood, blooming and 
 fruiting. 
 
 Most of Nature's changes are gradual. In 
 the same way, a gradual change is made in in- 
 creasing or decreasing the amount of water given 
 to plants under glass. Use common sense in 
 avoiding any sudden change or check, just as 
 you would in the care of animals. If common 
 sense is used, the watering of plants in the glass 
 garden will present no great mystery to the 
 person who has gardened out of doors. 
 
12 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 The Need of Light and Air 
 
 Before the days of modern greenhouse con- 
 struction there were dark corners and shady 
 strips and places that remained wet from the 
 "drip" from the sash bars. So the practice of 
 putting some plants, and especially seedlings, 
 "near the glass," was recommended by the 
 old practitioners. Plants did better "near the 
 glass"; probably not so much because they were 
 near the glass, as because they were then away 
 from the damp and shade. 
 
 The modern glass garden is flooded with light. 
 Little shade is cast by the supporting structure. 
 There is no perpetual "dripping" to contend 
 with. Therefore, the greenhouse builder has 
 solved many of these problems, in advance, for 
 the under-glass gardener of to-day. 
 
 But one thing must be avoided: the over- 
 crowding of. plaids. 
 
 Most plants need abundant light, and all need 
 air. Plants set too close together, in the soil or 
 in pots, will be weak and spindling and unsatis- 
 factory. Moreover, they are easy prey for every 
 bug and disease that happens along. 
 
 Give your plants room. Let them breathe. 
 Let the air get through them. Give them plenty 
 of fresh air. This will not only keep the plants 
 
What You Need to Know 
 
 13 
 
 from shading each other to an injuring extent, 
 but will avoid the conditions that are usually the 
 cause of bugs or disease getting a start; and it 
 will make it possible to control them effectually 
 if they do put in an appearance. 
 
 The same general principles which you use successfully outdoors apply 
 to the indoor garden. 
 
 So, even to the beginner at under-glass gar- 
 dening I would say there are no dragons in the 
 way. You can succeed here as surely and as 
 quickly as you have succeeded with your outdoor 
 gardening. With a working knowledge of plants 
 and of plant growth, a love for plants, and a 
 
14 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 modern glass garden, you have a world of fun 
 before j^ou! 
 
 The one Recreation that Never Goes Stale 
 
 We all feel the hankering for gardening. 
 That's why you'll find the old, stoop-shouldered, 
 gnarled-fingered mill-hand, after his day's work, 
 out on his little patch of ground, knee deep in 
 his garden. And up on the hill, far above the 
 smoking factories, where the big white mansion 
 is, if you go out through the formal garden and 
 tiptoe on the edge of the turf you will surprise 
 the lady of the house in her own private patch 
 which the gardener does not dare touch. You 
 will find her there, spending her little hour back 
 in Eden — her hurried, snatched little hour away 
 from the nerve-fraying toil of formal idleness and 
 all the irks and confinements of ''keeping up." 
 
 Yes, the Colonel's lady and Judy O'Grady 
 have the same need of their Geraniums and 
 Heliotropes and Roses. Here is one recreation 
 for both — and for all of us — that never "grows 
 stale"; that one never has to change from be- 
 cause it is always changing itself. A recreation 
 that renews one's vigor and one's vision at the 
 same time; that sweeps the cobwebs out of the 
 brain cells and lets in a flood of sunshine through 
 the attic windows of the soul, where mellow old 
 
What You Need to K 
 
 now 
 
 15 
 
 things are stored, things that it does us good to 
 look at and ponder over once in a while. 
 
 Truly, there is no other life-builder quite like 
 gardening. "But," you 
 say, "we have our gar- 
 dens but a few months of 
 the long year. During 
 the long pull of winter, 
 when we need them most, 
 they are not." But you 
 can have them from 
 January to December! 
 The feeling, the spirit, the 
 very essence of your 
 favorite secluded garden 
 nook you can have within 
 the crystal case of a glass 
 garden of your own ! The 
 same sense of quietude, of 
 shelter, of disassociation 
 from the hurry-worries 
 of workaday routine are there — the seclusion that 
 lets you let down the bars of your own mind. 
 
 Here, in a quiet garden nook, 
 you can loaf and invite your 
 soul. 
 
 A Glass Garden 
 
 without 
 tecture ' 
 
 Marring the Archi- 
 
 How little play time we give our thoughts! 
 How easy to lose the fine sense of proportion we 
 
16 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 had when we were youngsters. We give more 
 time to some unimportant detail of a new coat 
 than to getting out for an afternoon tramp and 
 bringing back an armful of Bayberries or Bitter- 
 sweet, to add a note of cheer to the living room 
 for a twelve-month. We worry more over the 
 architectural harmony of our houses than we do 
 over the harmony of our lives. 
 
 Would a little glass garden disturb the severe 
 simplicity which we so handsomely paid our 
 architect to achieve? Then, shall we admit that 
 it is not to be considered? Shall we give in to 
 such architectural mandates, no matter if our 
 vision may be beginning to get warped and our 
 gray matter grown a little mouldy, for want of 
 that soul-refreshing touch which only mellow 
 sunshine and green growing things can give? 
 
 It is but a step from the gardening you've been doing outside to suc- 
 cess in gardening inside. Come in antl see for yourself. 
 
What You Need to Know 17 
 
 But happily for us all the day of even such a 
 trivial objection as "marring the architecture" is 
 past; for the modern greenhouse, small or large, 
 can be so perfectly harmonized, so smoothly 
 moulded into the picture, that it becomes an 
 added charm, even architecturally. 
 
 All of which but makes another reason why 
 more and more of us should learn to realize that 
 gardens are no longer dependent upon seasons, 
 climate, and weather; that they may be enjoyed 
 at will — any time, any where. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 REBUILDING THE GARDEN OF EDEN 
 
 What is your idea of Eden? If you had to 
 write a description of it, you would find yourself, 
 at the end adding a list of your favorite flowers 
 — and, of course, some fruits. You might omit 
 the apple; but peaches, and their blushing cous- 
 ins the nectarines; pears; and "the grape, that 
 can with logic absolute, and two-and-seventy 
 jarring sects confute" — for these, you would 
 surely provide! 
 
 It doesn't necessarily take a "range" of 
 greenhouses, with an imported gardener and an 
 expensive corps of assistants, to do all of this. 
 The fact is, you can grow a wide range of things 
 in a single house; and in one house with a glass 
 partition a surpassingly large variety may be 
 grown. 
 
 The first greenhouse I ever had was 15 feet 
 wide and 20 feet long. I cut the logs from which 
 the sashes were sawed, took them to the sawmill 
 and then to the planing mill myself. The glass 
 was obtained from old photographers' plates 
 
 18 
 
Rebuilding the Garden of Eden 
 
 19 
 
 with the emulsion washed off. The house was 
 heated with an air-tight stove and a tile flue. 
 
 Now I am not suggesting that you experiment 
 with any such makeshift house as that — it is too 
 expensive, aside from any other consideration. 
 That house went 
 to pieces in five 
 years, while a 
 modern standard 
 construction house 
 will last nobody 
 knows how many 
 joy-filled years. 
 
 But when I could 
 crawl into that 
 little sunshine 
 shanty, and take 
 off my sheepskin 
 coat; and smell the Geraniums, and see their first 
 bright flowers opening; and watch the Cabbage 
 plants stretching their broad little leaves to get 
 every ray ; and feel the genial sunshine hitting the 
 back of my neck, and filtering down the full 
 length of my spine — then I knew that before 1 
 had become the owner of a greenhouse I had 
 never known the keenest joys of gardening! 
 When I looked out through that fraction-of-an- 
 inch crystal sheet that separated my tiny, cozy, 
 
 The first greenhouse I ever owned was 
 only 15 feet wide and 20 feet long. That 
 little sunshine shanty showed me the 
 real joys of gardening. 
 
20 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 fragrant Eden-spot from the snow-filled world, 
 sparkling cold even in the noon sun, then I 
 marvelled how any one who loved flowers, the 
 touch of plants, and the fragrance of fresh earth 
 could get along without an all-year-round 
 garden. 
 
 And I wonder yet. 
 
 What I Greiv in My First Greer^house 
 
 In that Httle "two-by-four" glass garden I 
 grew — about everything, I was going to say. 
 But of course I didn't have American Beauty 
 Roses, Farleyense Ferns, nor Orchids; but I did 
 have Geraniums, Heliotrope, Daisies, and a 
 dozen varieties of Begonia. Then there were 
 Carnations in pots, several kinds of Ferns, some 
 of the hardier Palms; a few good old-fashioned 
 Fuchsias; a big Flowering Maple acquired at 
 an auction sale; and a Lemon tree that the scale 
 got the best of because I didn't know what to do 
 for it. There was Lantana, of repelling odor, 
 but kept for its cheery little rosettes of color; 
 Tradescentia, that took possession of all the 
 ground under the benches. German Ivy that 
 wanted to run all over the place, smothering 
 everything else. Asparagus plumosus, with its 
 wonderful green lacery; Oxalis and Ice Plant 
 blooming their heads off in the hanging baskets 
 
Rebuilding the Garden of Eden 
 
 21 
 
 they dangled from ; a Cactus that blossomed reg- 
 ularly for Memorial Day, and an old Amaryllis 
 
 These, and a good many other good things. 
 
 Vegetable plants, too, I 
 started here — Cabbage, 
 Cauliflower, Beets, Lettuce, 
 Onion (easiest thing in the 
 world to start early, and 
 enable you to get those 
 whacking big bulbs such as 
 you see in the Fall Exhibi- 
 tions), Celery, Peppers, Egg- 
 plants, Cucumbers, and 
 Melons. 
 
 Incidentally, I sold enough 
 plants (after using all I 
 needed myself) to pay back 
 all the cash I had put into 
 the proposition. 
 
 But I have something more interesting to tell 
 you about than all of these. 
 
 A big Discovery in a little Greenhouse 
 
 The first spring I had that little house I made 
 a big discovery; but I never discovered it was a 
 discovery until years later, when I realized how 
 restricted a list of flowers is always recom- 
 mended for "greenhouse culture." 
 
 Greenhouse or cold- 
 frame grown Onions with 
 tops cut back for trans- 
 planting in the garden. It 
 not only gives quick 
 growth but the Onions 
 will be much larger. 
 
22 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 An astonishingly wide range of things can be grown in a single small 
 house. Imagine, for instance, what you could do with one like this. 
 
 Get away from that ''greenhouse culture" re- 
 striction — it is the wrong idea. Here is why I 
 say so: 
 
 That Httle greenhouse of mine was built in 
 February. It was made possible then by re- 
 moving a big pile of manure from the sunny side 
 of a shed. The manure had kept the ground 
 from freezing, so we were able to dig post 
 holes and get some soil to start growing things 
 in. 
 
 Now, had I ever before worked in a green- 
 house, undoubtedly it would not have occurred 
 to me to try so manj' things. It wasn't ortho- 
 dox! But just as soon as the ground began to 
 
Rebuilding the Garden of Eden 
 
 23 
 
 thaw in the spring, I (hig up about everything 
 diggable, and put a sample of each in that httle 
 sun-shanty to see what would happen: Rhu- 
 barb and Asparagus; Strawberries from the gar- 
 den; Hardy Roses; clumps of Lily-of -the- Valley; 
 Hardy Pinks; Iris; Phlox; Violets; Peonies; even 
 things from the woods, such as wild Columbine, 
 Crane's-bill, and Bloodroot. 
 
 That, of course, wasn't orthodox greenhouse 
 procedure, but no one had ever told me any 
 better! Apparently the things I lugged into my 
 little garden early that spring didn't know any 
 better, either. For they all started to grow, just 
 
 Think ul yuLir yiceiiliuuse, not as a greenhouse, where you should 
 grow "greenhouse" crops, but just as a glassed-in garden where you 
 can grow your own favorite things— flowers, plants, or vegetables — any 
 time of the year. 
 
24 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Don't confine yourself to the regulation greenhouse flowers. Grow 
 your favorite — Nasturtiums, Daisies, anything you like. 
 
 as they would a month or so later out of doors. 
 With the exception of one or two, whose root 
 systems had been too badly disturbed in the 
 process of taking up, everything flowered as 
 cheerily and freely as if it had never been 
 changed. 
 
 So this little experience coupled with things 
 I have since done, or seen done, has made it very 
 clear to me that the usual conception of a green- 
 house and its possibilities is a falsely restricted 
 conception. 
 
 Don't think of it as a greenhouse! Think of 
 it as a protected garden, where you can have 
 
Rebuilding the Garden of Eden 
 
 25 
 
 your favorite flowers — flowers that will not grow 
 outdoors in your climate; vines, shrubs, and per- 
 ennials; anything you want at most any time 
 you want it. 
 
 Think of your glass garden, not alone as a 
 place to grow these things in for cutting, but as 
 a storehouse from which to keep the living room 
 fresh and fragrant with living plants in a way 
 no cut flowers can keep it. 
 
 Think of your glass garden as a garden of your 
 own where you may have the pleasure of gather- 
 ing blooms you have 
 grown with your own 
 hands. What a pleasure 
 to be able to send such 
 personal messengers of 
 cheer to some sick or 
 sorrowing acquaintance ; 
 with your card to say: 
 
 "Gathered these this morn- 
 ing, just for you, in my own 
 glass garden." 
 
 Think of your crystal 
 garden as a place to live 
 in, to relax in, to play in; 
 where you can come to 
 know your flower friends 
 
 In the glass garden you learn 
 to know your flower friends 
 even more intimately than you 
 ever know them outside. 
 
26 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 even more intimately than you have 
 ever known them in your out-of-doors 
 garden. 
 
 For instance, take the matter of ! 
 
 But no! That will have to wait. It 
 is near the middle of the afternoon 
 now, and I have six trees of Apples, 
 nice sun-reddened Baldwins, waiting 
 to be picked, so that will have to go 
 over to the next chapter. 
 
 Do you know of anything that 
 gives as much fun as gathering the 
 fruit you have watched, sprayed, and 
 tended, through the blossoming of 
 spring and the growth of summer? 
 Well, there is one thing to equal it and 
 if you have ever watched fruit trees 
 in tubs under glass slowly awaken 
 house the Jj^^q jjf^ j^j^(| burst iuto a mantle of 
 
 greater part 
 
 of the year, blooui whilc all outsidc is stiU wintry, 
 vou know what it is. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 YOU DECIDE ON A GREENHOUSE I THE FUN BEGINS 
 
 That first little greenhouse that I have been 
 telling about did not do for very long. It was 
 "crowded to the gunwales" the first spring, in- 
 deed. I didn't know what under the sun we 
 should do with all the plants when fall came 
 again, because they never would go back into 
 that little house — I could see that! And I 
 wouldn't consider leaving any of them to the icy- 
 fingered mercy of old General Jack Frost. 
 
 I certainly did a lot of worrying about it, but 
 the plants didn't — they just went on growing and 
 blooming and helping to make life more joyful 
 for every one who came in sight of them. Even 
 when the rain fell not, and moisture was gone 
 from the soil, they put on more blooms ! 
 
 But before the nights were frost3% the frost 
 was provided against. The owner of the neighbor- 
 ing place drove into my yard one August day and 
 wanted to know if I would like to rent his place. 
 A friend of his who had it was leaving and he 
 didn't want the greenhouse that was on it un- 
 
28 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 occupied. I thought of all my plants. So I 
 took it. 
 
 But here was a problem. jNIy house was 15 
 X 20 feet, which equaled 300 square feet of 
 "flower space." The new liouse was 80 x 22, or 
 1,760 square feet; and a run of frames the entire 
 length outside besides, which brings us to the 
 subject of this chapter; for as soon as j^ou decide 
 on a greenhouse the fun begins. At least, mine 
 did. 
 
 Getting the Plants in Advance 
 
 Here it was the middle of August and 1,760 
 square feet of greenhouse space to fill, and I 
 without any knowledge of what to get and the 
 necessity of making that house pay its wa3^ 
 
 Luckily, the man who was working for me was 
 not quite ignorant of greenhouse work. In fact, 
 he had had considerable experience on that very 
 place. But that wasn't all! He was one of 
 those natural-born plant hypnotizers — the kind 
 that can stick a dead twig upside down in the 
 ground, and when you're not looking will say 
 some mysterious formula over it and have it 
 sprouting green in a fortnight. You have met 
 that sort? So far as I have ever been able to 
 solve the mysterj^ it is just a love of growing 
 things, so strong that it outbalances gravity, and 
 
You Decide on a Greenhouse 29 
 
 pulls the beauty that is in all the common earth 
 at our feet right up into leaf and flower, color 
 and perfume. Weird, maybe, but what a lot of 
 that brand of weirdness the world could stand ! 
 
 Well, to get back to those 1,760 feet! When 
 we had cleaned it out, and all the old pots and 
 dead plants picked up, it did look as big as the 
 inside of a barn — bigger, indeed — big as an ar- 
 mory, in fact. 
 
 We had six weeks in which to get ready to fill it 
 before we took possession, which is much the same 
 situation you will surely have while w^aiting for 
 your house to be put up and turned over to you, 
 with the heat turned on. It always happens 
 that way! 
 
 Preparing the Filling for the Glass Garden 
 
 Here's how we did it. I am telling this, not 
 so much to show that it is not an expensive 
 matter to "stock" a greenhouse, as to give an 
 idea of how one may go about having the wonder- 
 ful fun of filling the glass garden, almost with 
 one's own hands, right at the start. 
 
 From what we did, the reader can see what 
 another can do — always keeping in mind that the 
 greenhouse is a garden wherein can be had what 
 you will (within reason), when you will, and how 
 you will. 
 
30 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 First of all, I went to a neighboring town, and 
 spent the day visiting the several greenhouse 
 establishments there, and still, looking back upon 
 that occasion as one of the big days in my life. 
 
 By starting in advance, you can have scores of plants, half grown and 
 in bloom, ready to put on the benches the minute your house is completed. 
 
 wonder why everybody does not want to be in the 
 greenhouse business. 
 
 The thing that did surprise me, however, was 
 the fact that the greenhouses did not grow more 
 kinds of flowers. There would be whole houses 
 of Carnations, or Roses, or Lilies, without an- 
 other kind of plant. And most of the little old- 
 fashioned kinds of plants that I wanted, the 
 growers didn't bother with! 
 
You Decide on a Greenhouse 31 
 
 But at last I ran across an old-fashioned, more 
 or less antiquated place that came nearer my idea 
 of what a greenhouse ought to be. Old vines, 
 some of which had evidently been growing there 
 for years, covered the north walls. There were 
 shelves and hanging baskets ; things tucked away 
 under the sunny sides of the benches — dozens of 
 different kinds of things. In some places there 
 were little narrow walks one had to squeeze 
 through sidewise to avoid brushing the vines 
 that hung down from the benches; and doors 
 you had to stoop to get under. Horribly ineffi- 
 cient, undoubtedly, compared to those modern 
 light, airy, open ranges I had been through; but 
 what a place to spend one's days in! Surely, 
 eating one's bread in the sweat of one's brow 
 would not be a severe life sentence here! 
 
 From the old fellow who owned this place, 
 with an accent as strong as his pipe, and speech 
 as knobbly as his knuckles, I secured just the 
 kind of an assortment of plants I wanted. He 
 took as much interest in my new venture as 
 though he were a long-lost uncle, and put in 
 extra things — cuttings of this and that; gave me 
 minute instructions about the idiosyncrasies of 
 each; warned me against coddling them too 
 much ; and made a final urge to come again soon 
 and spend the day. 
 
32 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Of course, this old enthusiast was not making 
 the money that his more up-to-date competitors 
 did; but I wondered if he wasn't getting more 
 out of his greenhouses. 
 
 How We Made a Start — From Seeds and Cuttings 
 
 Arriving home, I found that Pat had rigged up 
 a couple of frames in my absence — regular 3x6 
 feet size, such as can readily be made by any one 
 out of a few boards; or may be bought ready- 
 made, ready to go together in a jiffy, with the 
 handy corner cleats that bolt them together. 
 
 One of these frames we filled with sand, for 
 starting cuttings. (You want to know what 
 kind of sand and how much soil; and mayhap, 
 what a "cutting" is.^^ Of all that, in good time.) 
 For the present let us consider what can be done 
 — starting with nothing, a few weeks' time, and 
 some enthusiasm. 
 
 From seed we started : Lettuce plants, to have 
 ready for setting out under glass; a few Beets, 
 just enough for an experiment, for our own use; 
 the following flowers — one small packet of seed 
 of each, in most cases — Begonias, several sorts, 
 so we could have our pick of the most attractive 
 varieties; Heliotrope — the same way; Petunias, 
 Ageratum, "Irish" Daisies, as Patrick insisted 
 on calling them, because they grow wild in that 
 
You Decide on a Greenhouse 33 
 
 wild little Island — though the catalogues call 
 them Bellis perennis or "English" Daisies. 
 Then there were Candytuft, Lobelia, Stocks, and 
 Mignonette for cut flowers — and for fragrance. 
 
 So the next step, once you've decided on a glass garden, is to start 
 ings to go into it^flowers for cutting, plants for winter and spring, and 
 
 th „ . 
 vegetables 
 
 Just for my own amusement, some Forget-me- 
 nots, Portulaca, some Pansies, to bloom in the 
 winter, and Salpiglossis (the latter not for its 
 name, but because I had read about it in a maga- 
 zine), and wanted to see what that wonderful 
 "velvety texture" was like. 
 
 All in one Frame 
 
 "All these in one frame," do you say? "Yes, 
 Ma'am. In the other frame we put cuttings of 
 
34 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 all the plants I already had from my little 15 x 20 
 foot greenhouse; such as Geraniums, Begonias, 
 and Ice Plant" (Mesembryanthemum it is called 
 in the catalog). Right here let me remark that 
 if the seedsmen's business could be killed by 
 names, it would have been buried long ago. 
 And all others mentioned in the last chapter. 
 
 Did you ever grow plants from cuttings? If 
 not, you may find some helpful suggestions in the 
 next few pages. We pretty much cut to pieces 
 all the new plants I had bought, to get all the 
 cuttings we could from them. 
 
 Of course, all of these are simple little things — 
 for some of them you may not care at all ; but the 
 point is, you can begin to have your fun choos- 
 ing the things you want, selecting them, growing 
 them yourself, if you like, as soon as you know 
 you are going to have a winter garden. 
 
 As you will see, with the aid of frames you can 
 have a whole garden full of things ready to go 
 into your glass garden the moment the roof is on. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 HOW TO SUCCEED WITH SEEDS 
 
 Creating a thing is always a more joy- 
 giving achievement than merely possessing it. 
 To get all the fun there is in glass gardening, 
 of course, it is essential to know how to grow 
 your own plants, as well as to take care of 
 them. 
 
 To be skillful at the art of starting plants 
 from seed is to know the pleasure of feel- 
 ing that you can add at will to the variety 
 or the amount of the things in your glass 
 garden. 
 
 Fortunately, when I had the problem of filling 
 the suddenly acquired greenhouse, I had had 
 some past experience in starting plants from seed 
 to fall back on. But I soon found that there 
 was a lot more to learn. 
 
 What I learned from experience I wish, so far 
 as possible, to save another beginner from having 
 to experiment over. So in this chapter we are 
 going into details. 
 
36 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 The First Thing Is the Importance of the "Make 
 Ready''' 
 
 The first thing I learned was that the most 
 important part of the work of growing plants 
 from seed is done before you touch the seed. 
 It is in the "make ready" that success or failure 
 lies in nine cases out of ten. 
 
 Now, a seed is one of the most wonderful pieces 
 of mechanism ever devised. Compared to a 
 seed, the most ingenuous time-bomb ever put 
 together is a crude, clumsy affair. Think of it! 
 In a spherical shell, so small in many cases as to 
 be almost microscopical, is stored material which 
 is capable of exploding the shell when the proper 
 conditions arise, a week, a month, or years later; 
 and not merely that, but also of feeding the deli- 
 cate living organism produced until it can sup- 
 port itself, in its own wonderful way, from the soil. 
 
 So, when you stop to think of it, the wonder 
 is not that there are some failures in getting seeds 
 to grow, but that there are any successes. The 
 mere physical feat performed by the tiny sprout 
 in forcing its way up through what, in compari- 
 son to its size, is a gigantic layer of stones and 
 soil, should make it obvious that only favorable 
 conditions can bring success. 
 
 The favorable conditions, of course, are mois- 
 
Hoic to Succeed ivith Seeds 37 
 
 A seed "flat" prepared for seed sowing. i.Side rcnioved to show cross- 
 section.) First, a layer of rough material — oyster shells, broken pots, 
 or coarse screenings. Next, sphagnum moss. And, on top, finely sifted, 
 light soil. 
 
 tiire and temperature in the right degree, and an 
 abundance of hght. 
 
 With a modern greenhouse, where the abun- 
 dance of hght and the temperature are readily 
 controlled, the thing one must take most pains 
 in providing is the right moisture conditions. 
 To do that it is necessary to provide soil that is 
 light and spongy; soil that will not make a crust. 
 Ordinary garden soil is absolutely un suited for the 
 starting of fine seeds. To insure success, make up 
 (compost) a soil especially for the purpose. 
 
38 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Starting Rigid, ivith the Right Soil 
 
 In making our start, therefore, we went out 
 into the woods and got several big burlap bags 
 full of leaf mold. This we found along an old 
 stone wall where the leaves had piled up and 
 rotted year after year. We rubbed this through 
 a wire screen of one-quarter-inch mesh. An or- 
 dinary coal sieve will answer every purpose 
 for small quantities. This gave a fine, light, 
 woodsy-smelling material that it was a pleasure 
 to take up by the handful and let run through 
 one's fingers. Then from a flower bed we got 
 a quantity' of rich mellow soil, that had had lots 
 of manure dug into it in the previous spring. 
 That was sifted, to eliminate any pebbles, and 
 the two products were mixed together in propor- 
 tion of about one part of soil to two parts, by 
 bulk, of the leaf mold. 
 
 The result of all this was a nice, light, smooth- 
 feeling soil that you would know instinctively 
 was ideal for the little seeds to sprout and grow 
 in. 
 
 Now, a soil like this will let any surplus water 
 drain through it immediately, and yet it will 
 absorb enough moisture to stay moist a long time 
 before it is necessary to water it again. Further- 
 more, the surface will never form a crust, such as 
 
How to Succeed with Seeds 39 
 
 ordinary soil forms when it gets dry on top, mak- 
 ing it impossible for the little seedlings to break 
 throngh. The beauty of it is you can prepare 
 as much of this mixture as you want at one time 
 and store it away in a barrel or bin for future use. 
 A six months' or year's supply can be made in a 
 few hours. 
 
 Maybe you are not fortunate enough to be 
 where you can get out into the fragrant woods 
 to gather your own leaf mould. Of course, you 
 can easily bring home a bagful or two in the car, 
 or you can get cocoanut fibre at the nearest flor- 
 ist or seed store, to use in place of leaf mould. 
 Commercial "Prepared Humus" is also very 
 good. 
 
 Preparing the Soil for Sowing 
 
 Having provided the bedclothes, the next 
 thing, of course, is to make up the bed. The 
 soil may be put right into a frame or in a bench 
 in the greenhouse. But there are several advan- 
 tages in using "flats." The work can be done 
 more conveniently; each individual lot of seeds 
 can be watched and controlled more readily; and 
 when the little plants are big enough to put into 
 other flats, the work can be done at leisure on a 
 bench of convenient height, in a comfortable 
 place. 
 
40 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 There is nothing" mysterious about a "flat." 
 It is merely a Hght box of convenient size and 
 two to three inches deep — two inches being 
 enough for starting most seeds, while three inches 
 is better for transplanting and for cuttings. An 
 
 easy way to make 
 flats is to get a 
 supply of one-by- 
 two and one-by- 
 three-inch boards 
 for the ends, and 
 use ordinary build- 
 ing lath for the 
 sides and bottom. 
 Put on the bottom 
 strips about a 
 quarter of an inch 
 apart to allow for drainage. Or saw wooden 
 cracker boxes into strips and bore holes in the 
 bottom. You will find a few "seed pans" as 
 made by the potteries handy for starting in- 
 dividual varieties in small lots. 
 
 To prepare the flat or seed pan for sowing, 
 first put in a layer of the coarse screenings left 
 from the leaf mould when it was rubbed through 
 the sieve or use sphagnum moss. The moss you 
 can gather yourself in most swampy places; or 
 it may be purchased from any florist. 
 
 "Seed pans" are the things to start 
 small seeds in. Have an assortment of 
 sizes on hand. 
 
Holo to Succeed with Seeds 41 
 
 Cover this bottom layer with the prepared 
 soil, filling the box, and pressing well down into 
 the corners and along the sides. Give the soil a 
 thorough watering with a fine spray; or better 
 still place the flat or seed pan in a tray or basin 
 so that it may soak up the water from the bottom 
 until the moisture appears on the surface. This 
 is better than watering, because it gives the soil 
 a chance to absorb absolutely all the moisture 
 it will hold without getting the surface wet. 
 
 Sowing the Seed 
 
 Open the packages carefully, for some seed, 
 such as Begonia, is so fine that a breath will blow 
 it away. These very fine seeds should be merely 
 dusted on the surface and pressed lightly into the 
 soil with a small block of wood. Shreds of 
 sphagnum moss may be laid on the surface to 
 keep the little seeds shaded and moist, or they 
 may be placed in a rather dark place until the 
 seeds begin to sprout. Verj^ careful watch must 
 be kept, however, for they need full light from 
 the moment they begin to come through the 
 soil. 
 
 For slightly larger seeds, such as can be taken 
 between the thumb and finger and scattered in 
 the row, mark off with the point of a lead pencil 
 little lines in the surface of the soil, two or three 
 
42 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 inches apart and as shallow as you can get them 
 — just deep enough for the seed to drop into. 
 These should be barely covered by sifting a 
 little soil over them, and ge-ntly pressing down 
 the. surface. vStill larger seeds may be put in and 
 covered to a depth of two or three times their 
 own diameter. 
 
 Covering the flat or seed pan with a pane of 
 glass after planting is not always necessary, but 
 the results are so much more certain that it is 
 well worth doing. Leave a little "chink of air" 
 or an opening along one edge. The i)urpose of 
 the glass is to prevent evaporation while at the 
 same time keeping the surface of the soil around 
 the seed moist. This makes germination surer 
 and cjuicker. 
 
 The temperature in which most seeds should 
 be kept after sowing is from 60 to 65 degrees (at 
 night). The seeds of plants such as Begonia, 
 Heliotrope, and others in the "warm" list as 
 given on page 85, require 10 to 15 degrees higher 
 than this. 
 
 Seeds will germinate quicker if given what is 
 called "bottom heat"; that is, if the fiats or seed 
 pans may be placed on a bench directly over 
 heating pipes ; or they may be placed directly on 
 the pipes, provided proper care is taken not to 
 let them dry out. 
 
How to Succeed with Seeds 43 
 
 Care of the Seedlings 
 
 Immediately the little seedlings break through 
 the soil they must be given light. They should 
 also get plenty of fresh air. During this period 
 give water with the greatest care, using a fine 
 hose or spray, watering early in the morning on 
 bright days only, so that the leaves and surface 
 of the soil can dry off before night. Better still, 
 use the watering tray previously described. 
 Damping-off is a troublesome disease which 
 may appear at this stage. It causes the sudden 
 wilt and death and rotting of the young plants. 
 For treatment see Chapter IX. If the little seed- 
 lings come up so thick that they begin to crowd 
 right at the start, don't hesitate to thin them 
 out; remembering that a couple of dozen good 
 plants are far better than a hundred or more 
 
 It is important to transplant the seedlings immediately when they are 
 ready. Those at the left (above) have been left too long. Those at 
 right are barely big enough. But (see next illustration) 
 
44 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 that are good for nothing. Overcrowding is one 
 
 of the most frecjuent causes of faihu-e in plant 
 
 growing both outdoors and indoors. 
 
 In from three to six weeks the httle seedhngs 
 
 will be big enough for transplanting. They are 
 transferred from the seed 
 l)ox to other flats or to 
 small pots; or, in some 
 instances, directly to the 
 benches where they are 
 to be grown. In most 
 cases flats should be used 
 for this first transplant- 
 ing. 
 
 These are "just right" — the 
 second true leaf showing, and 
 the roots still short enough, so 
 they all come out with the 
 plant. 
 
 The Art of Tratisplanting 
 
 A flat prepared for 
 transplanting differs 
 somewhat from one for 
 seed sowing, a layer of well-rotted sifted manure 
 being put in the bottom in place of screenings or 
 sphagnum moss when sowing seeds. A little 
 manure also may be mixed with the soil, which 
 otherwise should be the same as used for starting 
 the seed, except that the proportion of soil to 
 the leaf mould may also be greater. 
 
 Several hours before transplanting give the 
 seedlings a thorough watering. This will leave 
 
How to Succeed with Seeds 
 
 45 
 
 the soil moist enough to allow the tender little 
 roots to come out readily, and dry enough to 
 handle without being sticky and mussy. When 
 ready to begin take out one or two of the little 
 plants at a time, using a fiat pointed stick or a 
 transplanting fork, and spread out on a piece of 
 
 Holding tlie top of tlic seeilliiif;' yenlly hclwcen llie thumb and fore- 
 finger, you lower the roots down into the hole, and then press the soil 
 firmly about it. 
 
 glass or a shingle so that they can be picked up 
 readily. 
 
 In transplanting, most seedlings should be set 
 considerably deeper than they were growing, 
 usually almost up to the two seed-leaves. Make 
 a hole in the loose, moist soil with your finger 
 tip, or a small wooden dibble or pointed stick if 
 you prefer — and, holding the little plant gently 
 
46 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 by the top, lower it into position and press the 
 soil firmly about it with tips of the thumbs and 
 
 the forefingers. 
 
 Practice will 
 
 enable you to do 
 
 the work quickly 
 
 Flat of Lettuce showing distance apart and UCatlv. The 
 for the plants l',,i i \ i 
 
 little plants when 
 set should stand up stiffly and be firm in the soil. 
 Don't be afraid to put them in deep and press 
 the soil firm. If after transplanting they wilt 
 like a fat man's high collar on a hot day, some- 
 thing is wrong with your method. 
 
 Immediately after transplanting, give a thor- 
 ough watering, using a very fine spray so as not 
 to knock over the little seedlings; or, better sti 
 use the method for 
 watering from the 
 bottom, already 
 described. 
 
 Keep the newly 
 set seedlings 
 
 shaded from the Left,,,, i,, a so.lllal that has been 
 
 sun for several plungt'dinapai, of walcraftertransphmt- 
 ing so it will be absorbed from the bottom 
 days, but do not without disturbing the plants or packing 
 , . , ., the soil. 
 
 water agam until 
 
 the soil really needs it. If it is hot and the plants 
 
 show a tendency to wilt, a very light sprin- 
 
 iiiie seeanngs; or, oetter sun, 
 
How to Succeed with Seeds 47 
 
 kllng, or a syringing of the leaves, will help keep 
 them fresh. 
 
 In three or four days the plants should be 
 "established." From then on give them plenty 
 of fresh air and general good care. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE MAGIC TOUCH 
 
 If I were worth many millions, and had seven- 
 teen greenhouses, I wouldn't let my gardener 
 have the fun of doing all the "propagating." 
 
 Have you ever tried it? Have you ever se- 
 lected a plant, maybe a special shade of color, 
 or a brand-new seedling dis- 
 covered in your own garden, 
 and set about making new 
 plants from that one speci- 
 men? Knowing that if you 
 failed, it would perish forever 
 from the earth? Knowing 
 that if you were successful 
 you could have dozens, scores, 
 hundreds, if you wanted, of that particular flower 
 to fill your garden, and give away to your 
 friends? Something individual, personal, your 
 own creation, that they could get nowhere else 
 in all the world? 
 
 Now, in the minds of many folks, the art of 
 propagating plants is looked upon as more or less 
 
 48 
 
 The Magic Touch 
 
The Magic Touch 49 
 
 of a mystery; a sort of a "black art" that has 
 hung over from the Middle Ages ; that only those 
 in the magic circle are entitled to acquire, as 
 the result of a lifetime of patient practice. 
 
 Don't you believe any such thing! If you 
 have been successful with your flowers and vege- 
 tables outside, so that you know in general what 
 plants need to keep them happy and contented, 
 you can be successful with under-glass propagation 
 of a great variety of flowers the first time you try. 
 
 How to do all this may be learned from the 
 following pages alone. But, better yet, if there 
 is a greenhouse near you, where you can get the 
 owner or the gardener to show you how to handle 
 cuttings and plants from seed, take advantage of 
 the opportunity. 
 
 The best way to see how to do a thing is to see 
 how it is done. There's no argument about that ! 
 
 Well, to start at the beginning, I don't know 
 of any better way than to tell about what we 
 did in getting ready to fill that empty house. 
 I had never had much experience making plants 
 from plants up till then. I never found any 
 work more fascinating; and since then, though 
 I have made many thousands, the fascination 
 remains as great as ever. Just what there is 
 about it that so fascinates I really do not know, 
 but somehow it seems as though one could pat 
 
50 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 oneself on the back for a more intimate share in 
 the partnership with Nature than is the case when 
 raising phmts from seeds. Anyway, here is how 
 to go about it. 
 
 All the cuttings made that fall — like most of 
 those the reader will have to make in growing his 
 own plants — were what are called "soft-wood" 
 cuttings. That is, they are taken from the soft, 
 immature growth of the plants instead of from 
 the old, hard parts. 
 
 How to Make the Cuttings 
 
 To test whether the condition of the "wood" 
 is right for making a soft-wood cutting, bend it 
 between the thumb and finger. If it "snaps," 
 like a butter-l^ean in prime condition for table 
 use, it is all right; if it bends and doubles without 
 breaking, it is too old and tough; or, in the case 
 of the new growth, too soft and watery. 
 
 The cutting — sometimes called a "slip" — may 
 be anywhere from an inch and a half to several 
 inches long. Usually the cutting is made just 
 at or below a joint, but this is not necessary with 
 all kinds of plants. Use a sharp knife to make 
 the cuttings so as to have a clean, smooth edge. 
 The cut usually is slighth^ slanting. Remove all 
 the lower leaves, and cut back the upper leaves 
 about a half to two thirds. 
 
The Magic Touch 
 
 51 
 
 These cuttings are inserted in pure, plain sand 
 to root; the sand being in seed pans, in flats, or in 
 a bench in the greenhouse. If the greenhouse 
 bench be selected it is usually one directly over 
 
 Each little piece, or "cutting," from the parent plant will grow into a 
 full-sized new plant. The lower leaves are removed, and the largest of 
 those remaining are cut back. 
 
 heating pipes, as the cuttings will root much 
 more rapidly with "bottom heat." The sand 
 should be at least three inches in depth, and 
 remember that good drainage is just as essential 
 as in preparing for the planting of seed. 
 
52 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Soineono told me that I liad to have pure 
 "river sand," and I went to considerable trouble 
 to get it; since then have learned, in traveling 
 around, that brown, red, vellow, or "silver" sand 
 
 After the cuttings are inserted in the sand tliey shouhl preferably be 
 put where they will get "bottom heat" — on a shelf or a bench directly over 
 heating pipes. 
 
 will do just as well. The color makes no differ- 
 ence; the necessity is that it be "sharp," not 
 water worn. All you need is clear, gritty sand, 
 free from dirt and fine enough to pack snugly 
 around the cuttings and hold them upright, but 
 
The Magic Touch 53 
 
 not so fine as to run together and exclude the air, 
 Hke sea sand. Ordinary builders' sand, such as 
 is used for concrete or stucco work, is the thing. 
 Any impurities can be quickly got out by filling 
 a bucket, a pail, or a bushel measure fairly full 
 and then pushing the end of a hose down to the 
 bottom, letting the water overflow at the top to 
 carry off soil and other impurities with it. 
 
 Rooting the Cuttings 
 
 Cuttings should be put in the sand within a 
 few hours after making; and if they have wilted, 
 soak them in water for an hour or two to freshen. 
 The cuttings may be put in with a dibble or a 
 spike — anything, indeed, to make a hole about 
 the size of the cutting. Or rows may be marked 
 oft' and cuttings set in as close as they will go 
 without crowding each other. Then give them 
 a thorough watering. Keep shaded for a few 
 days and do not water again until the surface is 
 quite dry. Prevent wilting by syringing several 
 times a day in hot, dry weather, if necessary. 
 If using a frame during the summer, it is well to 
 put a shade over it, a foot or two above it, 
 to allow a free circulation of air. 
 
 The cuttings will begin to "strike root" in 
 from fifteen days to several weeks, according to 
 conditions and the kind of plant. Some things 
 
54 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 take a very long time to root. If, upon exami- 
 nation, the bottom of the cutting seems to be cal- 
 lousing over without showing any sign of decay, 
 
 you may be 
 pretty sure 
 things are 
 going rightly, 
 even if there is 
 a long time be- 
 fore there is any 
 sign of roots. 
 
 Once the lit- 
 tle roots do 
 A common mis- 
 l before potting. 
 
 I few weeks the new roots will start. 
 Don't let them get longer than this before 
 potting. 
 
 start, they grow very rapidly, 
 take is to let them grow too \om 
 As soon as they are about a quarter of an inch 
 long, the cuttings should be taken out and potted 
 up. Their condition may be determined by tak- 
 ing up one or two of the cuttings and examining 
 the ends, replacing them promptly, of course. 
 Use soil same as described for transplanting 
 seedlings, with a little sand added. 
 
 Pot Thein up before the Roots Get Long 
 
 For the first potting, very small pots or 
 "thumb pots" are used; 2 inch for most things; 
 2J inches or 3 inches for larger cuttings, such as 
 (leraniums. 
 
The Magic Touch 
 
 55 
 
 In potting up, fill the pot about level full of 
 freshly sifted, loose, moist soil; make a hole in 
 the centre with the forefinger; place the cutting 
 in position, putting it well down to the first pair 
 of leaves and being careful not to break off the 
 little roots. Then hold the two thumbs over the 
 top of the pot to keep the cuttings in position, 
 and rap the bottom of the pot sharply against 
 the bench to pack the soil in the pot. A final 
 extra pressure with the balls of the thumbs may 
 be given if required. The little cutting should 
 be in so firmly that it will not readily pull out. 
 
 The pots are 
 
 usually placed, 
 as they are 
 finished, in a 
 flat, and given 
 a thorough 
 watering. A 
 convenient 
 way is to keep 
 them in the flat 
 for several 
 days, under a 
 bench, or in the 
 potting shed or 
 
 workroom, so And first thing you know, while they're 
 
 , 1 •111 still babies, they'll begin blooming like grown- 
 
 they will be up plants! 
 
56 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 shaded. As soon as they seem to be estabhshed 
 in the pots, transfer them to a frame or a bench 
 in the greenhouse. These pots are usually 
 "plunged" half their depth in soil or ashes, so 
 as to prevent their being knocked over, and to 
 keep them from drying out too rapidly. 
 
 Until new growth begins, water is to be given 
 rather sparingly, just enough to keep the soil 
 fairly moist and the plants from wilting. Once 
 established, these little plants will grow very 
 rapidly. Many things will begin to bloom in 
 these little 2-inch pots! 
 
 For general care after growth begins, and di- 
 rections for re-potting, see Chapter VIII. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE FASCINATING ART OF SOIL BUILDING 
 
 When you hold up a Carnation and inhale its 
 spicy fragrance; touch the satin petals of a Rose; 
 or admire the glowing colors of a Tulip — do 
 you ever stop to wonder "whence comes 
 this?" 
 
 Out of the earth, the soil, the common dirt at 
 our feet! Of the multitudinous things to be 
 marveled at, do you know of any more strikingly 
 wonderful? Out of the same inert brown soil 
 ccme the glistening whiteness of a Gardenia, the 
 flaming crimson of a Poinsettia, the pure blue 
 of a Forget-me-not, and all the shades imaginable 
 in between. Each plant (through what process, 
 the most advanced scientist can give no more 
 than a baby's guess) searching, selecting, reject- 
 ing, accepting, what it finds in the soil, building 
 up its own individual pattern of cell tissue, of 
 plant form, of bloom. 
 
 "Inert Soil ! " That is the stereotyped phrase. 
 Inert? About as inert as the Battle of the 
 Somme! — only it is on a microscopic scale. For 
 
 57 
 
58 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 the soil is a medley of chemical explosions, and 
 the terrific warfare of deadly enemies, and the 
 constant labor of sappers and engineers, tearing 
 down and bnilding up continuously! 
 
 Now the gardener is, in a sense, the ruler of 
 this invisible empire. In greenhouse work its 
 needs are almost solely in his own hands. And 
 when he understands what things he is responsi- 
 ble for, the fun of growing plants will have a new 
 and fascinating interest. When he understands 
 the routine of mixing soil, and adding manure 
 to it, and providing drainage and all the rest, he 
 cannot but count it as a great adventure. 
 
 What Soil Must Be for Plants to Thrive in It 
 
 Now we do not want to enter into a long dis- 
 course on the "technical aspects of agricultural 
 bacteriology" — but the gardener will be a better 
 gardener if he knows something about soil. 
 Here are a few essential facts to memorize: 
 
 1. That the presence of certain friendly bacteria 
 in the soil is necessary to healthy growth. 
 
 2. That these bacteria are discouraged by soil 
 that is too wet, or too dry. They like a 50 
 per cent, saturation — in other words, a nice, 
 evenly moist soil. 
 
 3. To keep the soil evenly moist, it is necessarj^ 
 to have in it a large percentage of spongy, ab- 
 
Tlie Fascinating Art of Soil Building 59 
 
 sorbent material which will soak up water and 
 hold it for a long time. 
 4. This is supplied by "humus" or decayed 
 vegetable matter. Soils without humus ab- 
 
 This gardener looks like a sure-enough scientist. But you don't have to 
 be that to have a lot of fun mixing up your own soil to get just the 
 results you want. 
 
 sorb little moisture, and yet get wet and sticky 
 when they are watered, and lumpy and hard 
 when they dry out. Hence the necessity for 
 humus. 
 5. Too much water is fatal for the bacteria and 
 
60 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 for growing plants; but unless the water can 
 cjuickly run down through the soil when there 
 is too much in it — why, of course, you can't 
 prevent there being too much. Hence the 
 fact that good drainage is essential. 
 "But," you ask, "isn't the soil like the 
 weather — must you not take it as it comes .'^" 
 By no means! You can make your soil what 
 you want it, and making soil is almost as much 
 fun as potting plants, sowing seeds, and cutting 
 flowers. It took me some time to find that out, 
 however. In my first experiences with frames, 
 I simply used the common garden soil I had. 
 But by experimenting in my own little green- 
 house, and by visiting others, I began to get an 
 idea of what should be done; and by the time I 
 had my big house, I knew pretty well what 
 should be done, and prepared in advance. 
 
 The Materials for Soil Bnilding 
 
 The first step was to collect the "materials" 
 needed to build my soil with, as follows: loam, 
 sod, humus, in the form of leaf mould; sand. 
 These I deposited in piles near the greenhouse. 
 In getting ready for a small glass garden it would 
 be a convenience to have a barrelf ul or two of each 
 put in the work house or in the "potting shed." 
 
 For loam, use by preference the best soil ob- 
 
The Fascinating Art of Soil Building 61 
 
 tainable from the vegetable garden. Or pos- 
 sibly in some pasture will be found a soil better 
 still. I hunted up a place where the wash from 
 the road had accumulated, making a deposit of 
 rich loam, with sand and manure. There was a 
 good thick sod on top of this, which I cut off 
 about three inches thick, and dug up the soil from 
 beneath. Then I dug over the manure pile to 
 find the oldest and most thoroughly rotted material 
 I could get there. Horse and cow manure mixed, 
 about half and half, is best. Horse manure 
 alone is light and likely to dry out, but will do 
 if you can't get the ideal mixture. The leaf 
 mould and the sand have already been talked 
 about. In case you can't get sand, finely sifted 
 coal ashes may be used as a substitute. 
 
 You may receive the impression from some of 
 your garden reading that it is necessary to mix 
 a special soil for about every separate thing you 
 want to grow. Just add that to your list of 
 things to forget! 
 
 One Soil for all General Purposes 
 
 A prescription for a soil that will give satis- 
 factory results with most plants is as follows: 
 One third each of rotted sod, sifted leaf mould, 
 and thoroughly decomposed manure. This is the 
 ideal, but is subject to modification. For in- 
 
62 Gardening Lhider Glass 
 
 stance, if rotted sods are hard to get take some 
 good thick turf, cut it up fine, and rub it through 
 the screen, the same as with leaf mould. Again, 
 if the sod is on heavy clay soil, add some sand — 
 10 to 25 per cent, in weight — to "cut" the mix- 
 ture so that it will be slightly gritty in your 
 fingers. 
 
 All this wonderful range of color and form and fragrance — out of the 
 same mother soil! When you come to know what really goes on in the 
 "lifeless" soil, you'll find it interesting as a story-book. 
 
 To get the sod to rot, secure a considerable 
 quantity and pack it up in a compact heap, put- 
 ting the grassy sides together. The manure can 
 be mixed with it at this time, or added later. 
 If the pile is occasionally watered it will rot 
 down more quickly. After being packed several 
 months, cut it down with a sharp spade, and 
 restock it. 
 
The Fascinating Art of Soil Building 63 
 
 Remember that the soil is the real basis of all 
 your work with growing plants — the keynote to 
 failure or success, and it is really much less work 
 to care for this soil properly, taking the trouble 
 to do it as described above, and making enough 
 to last for a year, than to bother to find the right 
 kind of soil each time a small quantity is needed. 
 
 Some plants do well in a particularly light, 
 loamy soil, and others require heavy soil. It is 
 an easy matter to make a heavier soil by adding 
 loam to the mixture described above, or to make 
 a lighter one by adding rotted manure or leaf 
 mould. 
 
 Where plants are to be grown in solid benches, 
 good drainage must be provided by first putting 
 in a layer of coal ashes, or gravel. Raised 
 benches, which are most used, are usually made 
 with provision for drainage so that any surplus 
 water can run off, but a shallow layer of some 
 coarse material — inverted sods, for instance, or 
 screened ashes of suitable size — ^being first put in 
 to keep the soil from washing through the cracks. 
 The proper method for securing good drainage 
 in pots is shown in the illustration on page 114. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 SUCH STUFF AS BLOOMS ARE MADE OF 
 
 "I sometimes think that never grows so red 
 The Rose as where some buried Caesar bled: 
 That every Hyacinth the garden wears 
 
 Dropt in her lap from some once lovely head." 
 
 The old singing tent-maker of Persia had dis- 
 covered some utilization for dead Caesars before 
 it occurred to Shakespeare that they might be 
 used in chinks to keep the wind away! 
 
 It may seem something of a sacrilege to quote 
 that beautiful conception of the Persian poet as 
 an introduction to a chat on the interesting 
 subject of plant food, fertilizers, and manures; 
 but, after all, poetry pertains to anything that 
 goes on in a greenhouse. 
 
 In the last chapter we talked about the physi- 
 cal make-up of soil — how it is necessary to get 
 it right to have plants grow right. But in addi- 
 tion to good soil conditions, plants need some- 
 thing more. They need food. What makes 
 plant food.'^ And how do plants eat? 
 
 64 
 
Such Stuff as Blooms Are Made of 65 
 
 How Plants Eat 
 
 Let's take the last question first. Plants, of 
 course, gather their mineral food from the soil, 
 which of course is common knowledge. But 
 do you always bear in mind that the only way 
 they can take up any food is in the form of a 
 solution? Absolutely no "solids" are allowed in 
 their diets, and incidentally this is another big 
 reason why it is absolutely essential to have a 
 plentiful supply of moisture present. Without 
 it, therefore, though a soil maj^ be chock full of 
 plant food, the plants will starve to death. 
 
 The httle plant roots and "root hairs" that 
 you can scarcely see are in reality hollow tubes 
 with absorbent sides. They search out the rich 
 soil juices and drink them up. Then by a 
 physical process called "osmosis" and other 
 means, the plant juices, running contrarj^ to all 
 the laws of gravity, supply the topmost twig 
 and leaf with the necessary sustenance. 
 
 The reader, of course, knows all about nitro- 
 gen, phosphoric acid, and potash, as being the 
 three important plant foods; that it is necessary 
 to have enough lime in the soil to keep it " sweet " ; 
 and other "first" principles learned in connec- 
 tion with outside gardening. 
 
 So we will take all that for granted, and in- 
 
66 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 stead we will just look into the practical needs 
 of the practical grower in a practical way. 
 Speaking from my own experience of a good 
 many years there are a certain few things I would 
 stock up with in starting a new glass garden. 
 
 A71 Assortment of Plant Foods to Start ivith 
 
 My greatest reliance I would place in manure. 
 I'd be careful to get the very best manure I 
 could find, however. If you are in a place where 
 ordinary manure cannot be obtained readily it 
 will be well to obtain commercial manure in 
 dry, powdered, standardized form, convenient 
 to handle, through your local florist or from a 
 seed house. This manure contains all the plant 
 food that regular barnyard manure contains, 
 excepting, of course, the humus. 
 
 Commercial humus, however, can be bought 
 by the bag, and, when mixed with the dried 
 rotted yard manure, makes an excellent substi- 
 tute for well-rotted yard manure, and is very 
 much more convenient to handle. Manure alone 
 is a "complete" plant food because it contains 
 the different kinds of minerals needed, and also 
 humus. 
 
 But in addition to manure it is well to have 
 other things for some special purposes. The 
 most important of these is: 
 
Such Stuff as Blooms Are Made of 67 
 
 Bone Meal. — For a small greenhouse, say 
 18 by 25 feet, a supply of 50 pounds of very fine 
 ground bone, or flour, and a like amount of 
 coarse ground bone, will do for a start. The 
 
 To maiiitiiiii hoiillhy and vigorous growth and have perfect blooms, 
 your plants, of course, need plenty of food. So you must know what 
 they eat. 
 
 "flour" is used where quick results are wanted, 
 such as mixing with soil for potting cuttings and 
 the like. A half pint to a pint to a bushel of 
 soil is plenty to use. If this can be mixed with 
 the soil a week or two in advance of using, it will 
 be better; but it may be added at the time of 
 using the soil without any danger to the plants, 
 
68 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 since it will not burn the roots as many complete 
 mixed fertilizers are likely to do. The coarse 
 ground bone is used in solid beds, in making com- 
 posts, and wherever there is no special necessity 
 for quick results. 
 
 Nitrate of Soda is the next necessity. This 
 looks and tastes like common coarse salt, is very 
 soluble, and is the quickest acting fertilizer 
 known. You can, literally, see the results from 
 an application of nitrate of soda in twenty-four 
 hours! It is so stimulating, it should be used 
 with great care. The first time I ever used it 
 was on some Lettuce under glass, and I sprinkled 
 it on generously, like any ordinary fertilizer, not 
 knowing any better. A few lumps of it were 
 left by a climbing Rose which had been in pos- 
 session of that spot for a number of years. 
 Then we gave everything a generous watering. 
 Result: In about four days the Lettuce had 
 turned up its toes. And within a week that old 
 Rose, with a stem of an inch and a half in diame- 
 ter, was dead. 
 
 I have known other people who, having similar 
 experiences with nitrate of soda, blamed the 
 nitrate of soda, and refused to use it as being 
 dangerous. They might as well refuse to use 
 kerosene because some people don't know any 
 better than to throw it on a lighted stove! 
 
Such Stuff as Blooms Are Made of 69 
 
 Rightly used, nitrate of soda is absolutely safe, 
 and gives such wonderful results that no gar- 
 dener will want to be without it. A perfectly 
 safe way to use it is to dissolve a tablespoonful in 
 hot water and stir this into a ten- or twelve-quart 
 watering can. Apply it about the roots after 
 watering. 
 
 On crops grown in solid benches nitrate of soda 
 may be applied as is to the surface, using, how- 
 ever, only the equivalent of a pinch to each 
 plant. Twenty-five pounds of nitrate of soda 
 will be in keeping with the quantity of bone 
 suggested above. 
 
 Tankage. — Another material which I have 
 found so useful that I always like to have it on 
 hand is tankage. This also is rich in nitrogen, 
 but is not quite as quick-acting as nitrate of soda 
 and is more evenly balanced in plant foods. It 
 is excellent for mixing with potting soil. Say 
 50 pounds of this. 
 
 Dried Blood is quite similar to and may be 
 used in place of tankage. 
 
 Guano is better than either, but is not always 
 easy to get, so put in a stock of 100 pounds of 
 guano — it keeps well. 
 
 Either of these materials, or both, mixed half 
 and half, may be added to the potting soil, or as 
 a fertilizer on solid beds, and will give the kind of 
 
70 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 strong, vigorous plant growth seen in commercial 
 establishments. 
 
 If you burn any wood save the Wood Ashes 
 for use, keeping them where they cannot get wet. 
 They furnish both potash and lime, and put the 
 soil in excellent condition. They help make a 
 firm- wooded, normal growth, correcting the tend- 
 ency toward too much leaf growth which some- 
 times results from the use of manure and par- 
 ticularly of nitrate of soda alone. If plants are 
 growing strong, but do not bloom, wood ashes 
 will help them. 
 
 There are a number of special commercial 
 plant-food preparations which are convenient 
 for use on a very small scale and may be used to 
 supplement the things described above. As a 
 general ready-made fertilizer for greenhouse 
 work I can recommend the Greenhouse Grower 
 mixture of the Nitrate Agencies Co. of New 
 York. 
 
CHAPTER Vin 
 
 KEEPING YOUR PLANTS HALE AND HEARTY 
 
 Why do plants go wrong? In nine cases out 
 of ten it is not just because you haven't a special 
 house you can devote to that particular thing, 
 and an imported gardener who is an expert in 
 growing it. Nor any of the other causes you 
 may think of, or your friends suggest. Mostly 
 plants go wrong because they are not given 
 common-sense care. Just the common-sense, 
 every-day things that keep plants hale and 
 happy are not attended to. Forget to feed the 
 baby, or the cat, and you are soon audibly re- 
 minded of it; if you don't keep the oven warm 
 enough the effect is realized when you look at the 
 cake! 
 
 But the occupants of your glass garden, if they 
 are neglected, have to suffer in silence. The re- 
 sult of the neglect which may be going on is in- 
 visible for days, weeks, or months; and by the 
 time it does become obvious it is in many cases 
 too late to remedy it. 
 
 No, it is not enough merely to know your 
 
 71 
 
72 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 plants, to enjoy and admire them, and to fondle 
 them as it were on a bright, sunny morning. 
 You must know them enough to love them inti- 
 mately, and realize the significance there may 
 be in a drooping leaf, the lack of new growth, 
 or an undersized flower. 
 
 Of course, certain plants will pine away and 
 die under the conditions that suit other plants. 
 We speak of "cool-house plants," "hothouse 
 plants," and the like — but there are many things 
 that can be grown in a single general-purpose 
 house, as I have already intimated. At the end 
 of this chapter you will find a list of plants for 
 different temperatures, and besides these there 
 are books and many dealers' catalogues (if you 
 happen to be buying something that is not 
 mentioned in this book) that indicate the 
 temperature required by particular plants. 
 
 TJiings to Think of 
 Other things which you have to consider are: 
 Light, temperature, moisture, and fresh air. 
 In houses of modern construction the factor of 
 light is well taken care of, and needs no special 
 consideration here. There may also be a corner 
 next to the potting shed or imder a bench where 
 plants requiring partial shade may find a con- 
 genial place to grow. 
 
Keeping Plants Hale and Hearty 73 
 
 Temperature, of course, is the factor which 
 will require most constant attention, as the con- 
 ditions affecting it change not only from day to 
 day, but even from hour 
 to hour. Here, again, as 
 with most other things 
 connected with the grow- 
 ing of plants, you can ap- 
 ply common sense. You 
 know that the thing 
 above all others to be 
 avoided in taking care of 
 the baby is a sudden 
 change in temperature; 
 the same thing applies to 
 your plants. It is not 
 the low or high tempera- 
 ture itself, but the shock 
 of a sudden change which usually does the dam- 
 age. That is why it is so essential to have a 
 good, sturdy, well-constructed house which is 
 tight, and in which the heating system is not 
 only adequate in size, but made for greenhouse 
 heating. Further reference to this subject is 
 found in Chapter XV. 
 
 Temperature is controlled by the heating and 
 ventilating systems, both of which are simple 
 enough. The big difference between greenhouse 
 
 A turn or two of the little 
 wheel, and your glass garden 
 is flooded with fresh aii — as 
 much or as little as may be 
 required. 
 
74 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 heating and dwelling-house heating is that heat 
 is wanted in the former most during the night, 
 whereas it is during the day or early evening 
 that the home is kept warmer. Furthermore, 
 the glass garden gets most of its daytime heat 
 from the sun, and the greenhouse begins to 
 cool off very rapidly when the sun goes down. 
 It is then necessary to get the fire in good con- 
 dition, and the water or steam circulating i?i 
 time to prevent a sudden drop in the tempera- 
 ture. 
 
 The time for opening up the greenhouse to 
 ventilate is when the temperature inside is ris- 
 ing; therefore, as a general rule, it is best to ven- 
 tilate as the sun begins to gain strength early in 
 the morning. This helps to prevent too sudden 
 a rise in temperature, which is just as bad as a 
 sudden drop. A little experience and watching 
 the thermometers will soon enable you to judge 
 easil}" just when and how much heat or ventila- 
 tion Avill be required to keep the temperature 
 running steadily, and indeed is the only way to 
 acquire the knowledge. 
 
 By far the greater number of ornamental 
 plants and vegetables will do well with an "in- 
 termediate" temperature — i. e., night tempera- 
 ture of 45 to 55 degrees, and a day temperature 
 of 10 degrees or so higher. The "cool-house" 
 
Keeping Plants Hale and Hearty 15 
 
 plants will like about 10 degrees below these 
 figures; and the "hothouse" plants about 15 
 degrees higher. In a single-compartment house 
 aim to keep the air inside as near as practicable 
 from 50 to 55 degrees, night temperature. 
 
 Keep the Air Moist 
 
 Moisture. — The great importance of mois- 
 ture in the soil has already been spoken of; 
 almost equally important is having moisture in 
 the air. Lack of this is why most people have 
 such "hard luck" with plants in the dwelling 
 house. They feed them, they pet them, try to 
 coax them along — ^but it is all to no avail when 
 the air has had most of the moisture bin-ned out 
 of it by artificial heating. The reason you your- 
 self so enjoy to step into a modern greenhouse 
 and find yourself stopping at the door to fill 
 your lungs chock full of the air you find there 
 is that the moisture in it makes it good to get. 
 It seems almost incredible, but it is nevertheless 
 true, that thousands of people, even in the best 
 of houses, live during the winter months in rooms 
 shut up so tight and so devitalized that plants 
 cannot live in them. 
 
 Ventilation, of course, helps to keep the spent 
 air of the greenhouse replaced by air from out- 
 side that is normally moist, and in addition the 
 
76 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 gardener has the hose and the watering can as 
 moisture-control apparatus. 
 
 When I first began growing things in the green- 
 house, I found myself tempted to give them a 
 little sprinkling every day, but from my own 
 experience and the advice of older gardeners I 
 soon learned that the one thing about watering 
 is: Don't water until you have to; and then 
 water! I do not mean by this that you should 
 let your plants go until the soil is dried out and 
 hard, and the leaves are beginning to droop. 
 On the contrary, a careful watch should be kept 
 at all times, and watering done before the soil 
 begins to get really dry — usually just as it has 
 begun to get dry on the surface. Then, water to 
 the saturation point; but don't flood things so as 
 to make a muddy mess. 
 
 How Much Water to Use 
 
 The more gradually the water can be applied 
 the better. When you get experience j^ou can 
 tell the condition of the soil in a pot from the 
 "ring" of the pot when rapped sharply on the 
 side. The less moisture it holds the clearer the 
 ring. For practice in watering knock a plant 
 or two out of their pots ten or fifteen minutes 
 after watering, to see if you have given enough 
 to soak the soil thoroughly through to the 
 
Keeping Plants Hale and Hearty 77 
 
 bottom. Do the same thing to find out when 
 they need watering again. 
 
 Make a practice of watering rather early in 
 the morning and on bright days. This gives the 
 soil a chance to dry off before night, which is a 
 desirable thing. Where solid beds are in use, 
 great care must be taken not to over-water, es- 
 pecially during the winter months. A whole 
 crop may be spoiled by getting the ground wet 
 and soggy 
 when short 
 days and dull 
 weather have 
 to be contend- 
 ed with. 
 
 Fresh air is 
 as much need- 
 ed as moist air. 
 How can you 
 expect a living 
 thing to be 
 happy when it 
 does not have 
 plenty of fresh 
 air to breathe.'^ 
 Remember, the 
 
 plant cannot go out for a walk, 
 you. Don't leave your plants for 
 
 m , 
 
 .^^•^^ 
 
 1 
 
 ,,*y_y ^ ^vc ~^^l 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 ig 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 i 
 
 'l?:?M 
 
 ^^ 
 
 1 
 
 mSSm^P^W^^ 
 
 vip 
 
 1 
 
 f^Bt^Km 
 
 ^^niu 
 
 1^ 
 
 Remember that plants, as well as humans, 
 just breathe — and that they can't go out for 
 a walk to take the air! 
 
 It's up to 
 davs with- 
 
78 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 out fresh air, and then wonder why they don't 
 do better. 
 
 When to Give Fresh Air 
 
 In the modern standard construction green- 
 house the control of air is a very simple matter. 
 A twist or two of an easy -turning wheel, and the 
 trick is done — the ventilators being placed where 
 they will not cause direct drafts of air to strike 
 the plants. 
 
 "Giving the plants air" used to be quite a 
 job when you had to climb up and regulate each 
 sash with a strip of iron full of holes to fit over a 
 pin. But modern ventilating apparatus works 
 so easily, and quietly, and perfectly, that you 
 like to work it. The way you can close your 
 house up in a jiffy when a sudden storm comes 
 out of the northwest; and then having turned on 
 the heat, watch the snow begin to pile up and 
 drift outside, but melt and run off the roof of 
 the glass garden — will surely send a thrill of pleas- 
 ure to the heart of any lover of plants. 
 
 There is yet one other thing which is necessary 
 to keep the plants happy. Like everything else, 
 from a puff-ball to a bishop's soul, a plant must 
 express happiness in growth. To keep on grow- 
 ing, it will, from time to time, need more room. 
 More room for its spreading branches; more 
 
Keeping Plants Hale and Hearty 79 
 
 room for its increasing roots. And so, if you 
 leave it too long where it is, it gets "pot-bound" 
 — and narrow-minded and cross, in general. 
 
 When to Change to Larger Pots 
 
 Never let the plants crowd. Better a half- 
 dozen good plants than four dozen poor, con- 
 sumptive looking, measly specimens, such as are 
 not infrequently seen. 
 
 How can you tell when it is time to re-pot .^^ 
 By actual examination of the "ball," the mass of 
 roots and soil. To do this the plant is removed 
 from the pot by holding it inverted in the right 
 hand, with the first and middle fingers on either 
 side of the stem, and smartly rapping the rim 
 of the pot against the edge of the bench. (See 
 illustration, page 80.) If the soil is medium 
 moist the plant should come out readily. If it 
 has been growing in one pot so long that a net- 
 work of tough, yellowish, dead-looking roots 
 have formed around the inside of the pot, it is 
 time for a shift. If the roots are still white and 
 active looking, and the plant is making a good 
 growth, a shift is not yet needed. 
 
 In re-potting proceed as follows: First of all, 
 prepare the soil in advance. 
 
 Use a pot only one or two sizes larger than 
 that from which the plant is being transferred 
 
80 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 — say from a 3-inch to a 4-inch, or a 4-inch to a 
 .5-inch. Shifting into too large a pot leads to 
 many cultural difficulties. 
 Just why and how this 
 is need not be discussed 
 here. 
 
 Fill about a third of the 
 pot with soil. Now place 
 the plant in position in 
 the pot and fill in the 
 new soil around, pressing 
 firmly down with the fin- 
 gers, or by settling it as 
 described in the remarks 
 on potting cuttings on 
 page 54. 
 
 In the case of old 
 plants, especially shrubs, 
 it is sometimes necessary 
 to force the new earth be- 
 tween the ball and the old 
 pot with a flat stick, to 
 get it really firm, instead 
 of "potting-on." Plants 
 should go into the new 
 pot a little deeper than they have been growing 
 before; and the soil in the new pot should be, 
 when settled, merely above the line of the rim or 
 
 To examine the roots, hold 
 the plant between the index 
 and middle fingers, and rap 
 the pot sharply against edge 
 of a bench or box. 
 
Keeping Plants Hale and Hearty 81 
 
 collar on the outside of the pot, not filled up to 
 the top. This will give some space for holding 
 surplus water, later to soak away, when the plant 
 is being watered. 
 
 Plants being put into fairly large pots, 4-inch 
 or more, will need crocking. "Crocking" is 
 one of the words bequeathed to us by the gar- 
 deners of old England. It means the placing of 
 some rough material in the bottom of the pot, 
 over the hole, to make good drainage certain. 
 I suppose the term comes from the fact that 
 pieces of l)roken pots or crocks are used for this 
 purpose. Methods of arranging the crocking 
 are shown in the illustration on page 114. 
 
 A little sphagnum moss or leaf mould placed 
 over the drainage material, before the soil is put 
 in, prevents any of the soil from washing through 
 the hole. This is an especially desirable feature 
 where plants are to be brought into the house, 
 or used as gifts. 
 
 Growing Periods and Resting Periods 
 
 There is one more very important thing to 
 learn about your plants, if you do not happen to 
 be aware of it already: Plants, like folks, require 
 vacations. Their rest periods are well provided 
 for in nature's scheme of things, and they will go 
 on strike if you attempt to keep them working 
 
82 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 from one end of the year to the other. That is 
 one reason why some folks fail when they "bring 
 the garden indoors" in the fall. They expect 
 the plants that have been blooming all summer 
 to go right on performing through the winter. 
 
 Here is where you merely need to use common 
 sense, or your sense of observation, which is not 
 so common. When plants are grown in the 
 greenhouse the year around, the natural seasons 
 can be followed, letting them take a rest period 
 after the blooming or fruiting period. This may 
 be a few weeks only, but often is two or three 
 months. At this time, as practically no growth 
 will be made, very little water is required. In 
 the spring, when new growth starts, is the time 
 to re-pot, to give them new plant food, and give 
 them more water. 
 
 Plants that normallj^ flower in the summer or 
 fall, but which, having been brought in, are good 
 enough to flower in your glass garden in the win- 
 ter months, should be rested during the summer. 
 
 After a very little experience it is easy to tell 
 when the plants seem to be getting tired — new 
 growth ceases, flowers get smaller and fewer, 
 and with some things the leaves turn, and even 
 drop off. When these conditions develop don't 
 attempt to force or even to keep them growing 
 on. 
 
Keeping Plants Hale and Hearty 83 
 
 As a matter of fact, you will find your plants 
 very reasonable in the matter of this rest period. 
 Plants which grow out of doors, and naturally 
 have four or five months' loafing time, will do 
 well in the greenhouse if they are given that 
 many weeks. 
 
 Freezing Before Forcing 
 
 With most hardy things, such as Asparagus, 
 Rhubarb, Strawberries, and perennial flowers in 
 variety, freezing before they are brought into 
 heat to be forced will help matters. A handy 
 way to accomplish this is to take up the plants, 
 with plent}^ of roots and soil, and store them in 
 a deep frame or pit where they can be allowed 
 to freeze, but can readily be reached when wanted 
 for forcing. 
 
 Above all things, observe your plants not only 
 lovingly, but keenly. Be on the watch for every 
 change, no matter how slight. And when any 
 change is noted, no matter how slight, don't be 
 satisfied until you have discovered the reason for 
 it. Upon the quickness with which you learn to 
 determine when anything does begin to make 
 your plants uncomfortable or unhappy will de- 
 pend to a great extent the measure of success 
 you are able to achieve in the glass garden. 
 
84 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Different Teaiperature Adaptations 
 cool: 35 degrees to 40 degrees — at night 
 
 Flowers — 
 
 Agave, Calceolaria, Campanula, Chrysanthemum, Chei- 
 ranthus, Cineraria, Erica, Eupatorium, Genista, Iberis, 
 Mignonette, Myosotis, Stock, Sweet-pea, Violet. 
 
 Shrubs — - 
 
 Cestrum, Chorizema, Kalmia, Lagerstroemia, Magnolia, 
 Nerium, Punica, Rhododendron. 
 
 Ornamental Plants — 
 Aucuba, Bay-tree. 
 
 Vegetables — 
 
 Endive, Lettuce, Parsley, Radish, Spinach. 
 
 intermediate: 45 degrees to o5 degrees — at night 
 
 Flowers — ■ 
 
 Agapanthus, Allium, Alyssum, Antirrhinum, Alternan- 
 thera. Cactus, Carnation, Canna, Epiphyllum, Erythri- 
 num, Freesia, Geranium, Gladiolus, Hyacinth, Iris, 
 Kalanchoe, Ornithogalum, Oxalis, Pelargonium, Plum- 
 bago, Primula, Stevia. 
 
 Shrubs— 
 
 Acacia, Hydrangea, Lilac, and some Roses. 
 
 Climbers — 
 
 Lapageria, Passiflora, Wisteria. 
 
 Orchids — 
 
 Anguloa, Cypripedium, Odontoglossum. 
 
 Vegetables — 
 
 Asparagus, Beans, Beets, Carrots, Cauliflower, Lettuce, 
 
Keeping Plants Hale and Hearty 85 
 
 Mushrooms, Onions, Peas, Rhubarb, Seakale, Spinach, 
 Peas, Potatoes. 
 
 warm: 55 DEGREES TO 65 DEGREES AT NIGHT 
 
 Flowers— 
 
 Abutilon, Amaryhs, Astilbe, Begonia, Bouvardia, 
 Cactus, Calla Lily, Celosia, Clivia, Cyclamen, Fuchsia, 
 Heliotrope, Hymenocallis (Ismene), Lilium, Tropaeo- 
 lum, Nymphaea. 
 
 Shrubs— 
 Aralia, Azalea, Camellia, Hibiscus, Rose, Spiraea, 
 Swainsona. 
 
 Ornamental Plants — 
 
 Ananas, x\raucaria, Asparagus, Aspidistra. Aspidium 
 
 (Dryopteris), Coleus, Croton, Cyperus, Dracaena. 
 Climbers — 
 
 Bougainvillea, Cissus, Clerodendron, Jasminum, Smilax, 
 
 Stephanotis. 
 
 Orchids — 
 
 Cattelya, Coelogyne, Dendrobium, Laelia, Lycaste, 
 
 Oncidium, Vanda. 
 Vegetables — 
 
 Beans, Peppers, Tomatoes, Corn, Cucumbers, Melons. 
 Fruits — 
 
 Grape, Peach, Nectarine, Strawberry. 
 
 HOT (or stove): 65 degrees to 80 degrees — at night 
 
 Flowers — 
 Achimenes, Aristolochia, Begonia, Cephalotus, Eucha- 
 ris. Euphorbia, Gloxinia, Lily-of-the-valley, Poinsettia, 
 Nepenthes. 
 
86 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Shrubs — • 
 
 Gardenia, Ixora, Lantana, Philodendron. 
 
 Ornamental Plants — 
 Adiantum, Alsophila, Anthurium, Areca, Asplenium, 
 Banana, Bertolonia, Borassus, Caladium, Calathea, 
 Caryota, Cocos, Corypha, Croton, Cyathea, Cycas, 
 Davallia, Dicksonia, Dieffenbachia, Dracaena, Ficus, 
 Kentia, Livistona, Maranta, Pandanus, Phoenix, Pla- 
 tycerium, Rhapis. 
 
 Climbers — • 
 
 Allamanda, Clitoria, Gloriosa, Hoya, Thumbergia. 
 
 Orchids — 
 
 Calanthe, Epidendrum, Phalaenopsis. 
 
 Vegetables^ 
 
 Cucumber, Eggplant, Melons. 
 Fruits — 
 
 The Citrus family. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 OVERCOMING THE BUG BUG-A-BOO 
 
 In the beginning 
 I was awfully afraid 
 of bugs! Not that 
 I was squeamish, 
 because as a boy I 
 collected all the 
 "worms and things" 
 I could find in field or woods, and kept my nurse 
 and grandmother on the verge of nervous pros- 
 tration by placing them — the bugs, that is — all 
 over the house in glass tumblers, and shoe boxes 
 with holes punched in the covers. 
 
 When I first began gardening under glass 
 every new bug or worm got on my nerves be- 
 cause I didn't know what to do with it — or rather 
 to or for it — or what it was going to do with my 
 cherished flowers and promising vegetables. I 
 tried about every bug medicine there was on the 
 market — with results good, bad, and indifferent 
 according to the real worth of the preparation 
 and my knowledge of how to use it. 
 
88 Gardening Under Glas.<i 
 
 It was several years before I had a grij) on the 
 situation which gave nie the assurance that I 
 coukl cope with tlie ohl bugs, and made me fairly 
 confident that I could fight to a finish any new 
 ones as they came along. So I am not merely 
 playing the part of the cheerful optimist when I 
 say that you will have no reason to lie awake 
 nights worrying about bugs in your glass garden. 
 
 First of all, modern greenhouse building has 
 done much to put this bug-business-worry game 
 on the to})oggan. Conditions that are bad for 
 plants are good for bugs. The old-fashioned 
 wood house, with its shady corners and rotting 
 benches and crevices that could never be reached, 
 was a happy home for the bug hosts. But the 
 modern clean, light, sanitary, well-ventilated 
 house is anything but good for them. Further- 
 more, the fact that the modern greenhouse is 
 tight makes it possible to control these intruders 
 in a way which was never possible with houses 
 that became more or less leaky after a few years. 
 
 The "Remedy'' Must Fit the Bug 
 
 It does no good to get excited and begin spray- 
 ing all over the place with the first thing you 
 can get your hands on when the presence of 
 some insect is discovered. Instead, just take it 
 calmly and try the following plan: 
 
Overcoming the Bug Bug-a-Boo 89 
 
 Have you a magnifying glass or a microscope? 
 If not, get one. You will have constant use for 
 it in your indoor garden. It will open up an 
 entirely new world to you. When you become 
 skilled in growing plants, you will want to begin 
 hybridizing them, creating your own varieties. 
 And when you get to that point, you will discover 
 what an interesting part some insects play in 
 the lives of the plants you love. 
 
 But, to get back to the business of handling 
 bugs. If you will examine the different kinds 
 you encounter, you will discover many interest- 
 ing things about their make-up and their habits 
 as the result of closer acquaintance. You will 
 readily come to see that there are two distinct 
 classes among them. Some actually eat or chew 
 the leaves or other parts of the plant; while 
 others suck the plant juices from underneath the 
 surface of the foliage. 
 
 Chewirig Insects Can Be Poisoned 
 
 The injury done by the insects that eat is at 
 once apparent, and they are easily located. But 
 the injury done by the other class, that sucks 
 the plant juices from underneath the surface, is 
 not apparent until the whole plant is seriously 
 affected. 
 
 Common sense must tell vou that different 
 
90 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 methods must be used to control these two differ- 
 ent classes of pests. Evidently, the kind which 
 eats can be poisoned by putting poison on their 
 food. It is equally evident that poison applied 
 to the surface will have no effect upon the kind 
 that sucks the juices from beneath the surface. 
 These are the first two things to learn in the war 
 on insect pests, 
 
 Now, in any general seed catalogue you will 
 find a half-a-dozen or more things for poisoning 
 chewing insects, but a good arsenate of lead, or 
 calcium arsenate, is the one thing needed. A 
 half pound of either of these will take care of 
 your indoor garden for many months. 
 
 Sucking Insects Cause the Most Trouble 
 
 It is the sucking insect which causes by far 
 the greater amount of trouble with plants under 
 glass. As these cannot be poisoned, it is neces- 
 sary to take care of them with some insecticide 
 that will kill by contact. The most convenient 
 and effective thing I have ever found is a strong 
 nicotine extract — 40 per cent, nicotine sulphate. 
 Of course, a "contact" spray must come into di- 
 rect contact with the insect in order to be effec- 
 tive. This cannot be applied in advance and 
 left, but must be sprayed directly upon the pest. 
 
 On a bench full of plants, or where vegetables 
 
Overcoming the Bug Bug-a-Boo 
 
 91 
 
 are reaching maturity and beginning to crowd 
 together, it is often very difficult to reach such 
 sucking insects as the green plant louse or aphis. 
 Therefore, many gardeners depend on fumigation 
 to keep their houses clean. It is an instance of 
 where a stitch in time saves ninety-nine. You 
 can procure prepared strips of paper soaked in 
 nicotine that can be conveniently burned; or 
 get a fumigator. It is an easy matter to make 
 a practice of thor- 
 oughly fumigat- 
 ing the house 
 every two weeks 
 or so, and thus 
 keeping it bug 
 free. 
 
 What to Ward 
 Against 
 
 The most both- 
 ersome of all in- 
 sects are these: 
 
 Aphis or plant 
 lice, usually green 
 in color, but oc- 
 casionally brown or black, as in the variety 
 affecting Chrysanthemums. They at first con- 
 ceal themselves very cleverly in the leaf axis, 
 
 The greatest enemy of Lettuce under 
 glass is the green aphis. Fumigating or 
 spraying with tobacco preparations will 
 control it. 
 
92 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 opening leaves or flowers, or other inconspicuous 
 places. They niulti})ly with marvelous rapid- 
 ity, and it is extremely important to use control 
 methods iinmediately. 
 
 Scale. — ^Many plants under glass, and par- 
 ticularly the hard-wooded plants. Palms and 
 
 These little scales, not much bigger than a pin-liead, fastened to one 
 phice, do not look dangerous. But they quickly sap the life of the plant. 
 
 Ferns and fruits, are subject to the attack of 
 scale. While these are sucking insects, they do 
 not move about, but just stay in one place and 
 
Overcoming the Bug Bug-a-Boo 93 
 
 are inconspicuous — often not noticed at all until 
 the plant begins to die. Take one off with the 
 point of a toothpick and put it under your 
 magnifying glass; you will see that it is a real 
 animal covered with a little shell, or shield. The 
 best way to get rid of these fellows, when they are 
 
 When you keep an eye open for bugs, look under as well as on top. 
 The scores of white fly on these Fuchsia leaves would never be suspected 
 from above. 
 
 just beginning, is to wipe off the stems with a 
 swab of cotton soaked in alcohol. Or, in a more 
 extensive way, use a spray made for the purpose. 
 White Fly. — The white fly, one of the most 
 difficult pests to control, is not likely to bother 
 in houses that are kept clean and well ventilated 
 and fumigated regularly. The "flies" are very 
 small and cannot well be sprayed. The real 
 damage is done by the nymphs, or young of the 
 fly, which suck the juices from the under side of 
 
94 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 the leaves. They operate indeed Hke a scale and 
 should be fought by fumigation. A recent insec- 
 ticide, "Insectonos," which was awarded an 
 honorable medal by The Society of American 
 Florists, is recommended particularly for the 
 white fly. I have not yet tried it myself, but 
 hear favorable reports on it. 
 
 Red Spider. — This persistent little pest is 
 about the size of a grain of red pepper, and just 
 about as irritating. Working on the under sides 
 of the leaves, and behind a tiny web, he is not 
 discerned until the leaf shows a tiny yellow spot. 
 The leaf then turns yellow altogether, and even- 
 tually drops. The most effective thing to use 
 with these is clean, cold water, applied with as 
 much force as possible. Use a syringe fre- 
 quently if the water in the house is not under 
 sufficient pressure to give a forceful stream. 
 Indeed moisture in the air is this pest's great 
 enemy, and its presence is indicative of two 
 much dry heat. 
 
 After all, the most effective way of fighting oft' 
 these attacks is to be strict about greenhouse sani- 
 tation. Always clean up, and burn promptly, 
 refuse, fallen leaves, dead plants, and rubbish 
 of all kinds which might possibly make a harbor- 
 ing place for germs, spores, or eggs. An occasion- 
 al spraying under the benches with a disinfec- 
 
Overcoming the Bug Bug -a- Boo 95 
 
 tant will take little time and help the good work 
 along. 
 
 Avoiding Plant Ills 
 
 Plant ills, like insects, are much less a menace 
 than formerlj^ Sunlight, clean surfaces, and 
 concrete are discouraging to obnoxious germs and 
 spores. Occasionally, however, some of the fol- 
 lowing diseases may appear: 
 
 Mildew. — This is usually induced by a sudden 
 change or drop in temperature. The common 
 method of control is to dust the plants with flour 
 of sulphur, or to evaporate sulphur on the heat- 
 ing pipes. (Make a thin paste of sulphur and 
 water and paint it on the hot pipes; or use a 
 regular fumigator.) Roses and a few other 
 plants are particularly subject to attacks of 
 mildew, which causes the leaves to be covered 
 with a. powdery white substance, and in some 
 cases to curl up, or even drop ojff. 
 
 Blight, — In growing a miscellaneous assort- 
 ment of plants, especiall}^ if some are brought 
 in from outside, there may be an occasional 
 attack of some form of blight. Some of these 
 cannot be cured but they usually can be con- 
 trolled, so that they will not spread to other 
 plants. In such cases bordeaux mixture is the 
 standard thing to use. Dead plants and leaves 
 should be promptly gathered up and burned. 
 
96 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Damping-off is a disease which sometimes 
 attacks seedHngs and cuttings in the cutting bed. 
 Covering the top of the soil with sand which has 
 been sterihzed by heating, and care in watering 
 
 (by watering early in 
 the morning in bright 
 weather so that the 
 leaves can dry off dur- 
 ing the day) w^ill help 
 as a safeguard. Flour 
 of sulphur sprinkled 
 over the soil just as 
 the little seedlings 
 come up, and among 
 the cuttings also, acts 
 as a preventative. 
 
 Everything said in 
 this chapter in regard 
 to sanitation, good 
 care, ventilation, and 
 so forth, applies per- 
 haps even more to the 
 
 The first rule in bii^' prevention is, 
 avoid over-crowding. Hetter a mod- 
 erate number of iiealthy plants than 
 a pack of sickly ones. 
 
 prevention of diseases than to the control of in- 
 sects. Strong growing plants are not only less 
 likely to be attacked, but are mucli better able to 
 withstand successfully the attack if it does come. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 ARMSFUL OF BLOOMS AND PLANTS IN ABUNDANCE 
 
 In this little book no attempt can be made to 
 give a full catalogue of all the kinds of things 
 you may have in the glass garden, together with 
 detailed cultural directions for each. Such a 
 category would fill several volumes! A list of 
 some of the best books pertaining to growing 
 things under glass is given in Chapter XXVIII. 
 But just as you can enjoy your car without 
 having accumulated a library on the interesting 
 subject of motor engineering, and take pleasure 
 in your outdoor garden without being thoroughly 
 familiar with your "Cyclopedia of Horticul- 
 ture," so can you enjoy the pleasures of your 
 glass garden without attempting to be an au- 
 thority on every plant you grow. You will, 
 however, find that having some of the books 
 mentioned is not only helpful, but a source of 
 much enjoyment. 
 
 In this chapter are a few suggestions as to the 
 things which you can liave most readily, and 
 
 97 
 
98 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 which are most certain to behave satisfactorily 
 for you. 
 
 The Flowers You Can Count on 
 
 Violets. — First of all, perhaps, I would put 
 Violets. The very word itself is a vision of love- 
 liness and fragrance. They may be grown in 
 the coolest compartment or the coolest part of 
 the house. It is best to get good strong plants 
 at the start. Plants ready for growing may be 
 purchased from the catalogue florist houses. Or 
 root them from cuttings of young shoots, grow 
 outside during summer and plant indoors in 
 early fall. These should be put in the bench or 
 bed about eight inches apart each way, or they 
 may be grown singly in pots. They may be 
 grown in a bench near the glass. They like a 
 rather heavy loam, a soil, if possible, with plenty 
 of rotted cow manure. 
 
 Keep all runners pinched oft*, and stir soil fre- 
 quently. Remove all discolored leaves as soon 
 as noticed. Water in the morning, and keep 
 foliage as dry as possible. Give abundance of 
 fresh air. 
 
 Carnations. — Carnations in abundance for 
 personal use may be had from a few plants. 
 Even if your greenhouse is so limited in space and 
 so full of other things that you do not want to 
 
Blooms and Plants in Abundance 
 
 99 
 
 Tmi HlfU III I 
 
 
 i^M 
 
 Only one end of a very small house — but think of the dozens of per- 
 fect Carnations you can gather for your tables and rooms, and your 
 friends ! 
 
 give a part of a bench for these fragrant blooms, 
 a dozen or two plants grown in seven- or eight- 
 inch pots will supply a remarkable number of 
 flowers for cutting besides filling the whole house 
 with their spicy perfume. 
 
 If you want to start them in the spring, root 
 some cuttings from old plants or small plants, 
 and grow them out in the garden during the 
 summer, bringing them into the house in July 
 or August, for early fall bloom. 
 
 A moderate temperature — 50 degrees — will 
 answer for Carnations. Set the plants from 8 
 
100 (iardc)iin(i Tender nJasfi 
 
 to 10 inclies apart. Tlie j)lants slioiild be cut 
 hack, (liirin<>' outside growth, to uiake theui 
 stroug and husliy. As they begin to make 
 growth inside the plants must be supported, for 
 which purpose special wires are made. 
 
 Snapdragons. — These splendid flowers are 
 one of the easiest of all to grow. You can get 
 the named varieties used for commercial culture, 
 or have the fun of starting a few hundred plants 
 from seeds, and select the ones you like best for 
 growing under glass. As they are readily propa- 
 gated by cuttings, you can select shades to 
 suit your fancy and quickly work up as large a 
 supply as you want, to yield flowers for your 
 own use and for giving away. 
 
 Plants may be started readily from seed in the 
 spring, early autumn, or in the greenhouse in the 
 fall. You also can buy plants ready to bloom, 
 to put into the house in the fall. Set them about 
 twelve inches apart each way. 
 
 Roses. — While the growing of the special va- 
 rieties of Roses, particularly American Beauties, 
 is highly specialized work, nevertheless there are 
 some kinds which can be grown successfully in 
 the moderate temperature of an ordinary general- 
 purpose house. You can bring in some of your 
 garden Roses by taking them up and storing them 
 for a while as described in Chapter VIII. Or you 
 
Blooms and Plants in Abundance 101 
 
 can get good young growing plants, and either 
 keep them in pots or set them in rich deep soil 
 about 12 X 12 inches, or 12 x 16 inches each way. 
 
 Ordinarily, they are set out in spring or early 
 summer, so as to becom.e well established under 
 the glass before the blooming season begins in 
 autumn. But they may be put in in the fall. 
 A heavy soil, with plenty of well-rotted cow 
 manure, is best. 
 
 Bridesmaid, a large pink flower, and Papa 
 Gontier, a good red, Perle des Jardins, yellow, 
 and many others may be grown in as low a tem- 
 perature as 55 degrees. The little Baby Ram- 
 bler Roses in pots are most delightfully charming, 
 and flower freely month after month. By all 
 means, have some of these even if you do not 
 attempt the larger sort for cut flowers. 
 
 Perhaps the most charming way of all of using 
 Roses in the greenhouse is to have some of the 
 climbing or semi-climbing sort. Many of the 
 climbers, such as the Marechal Niel, the most 
 glorious of all everblooming yellow Roses, and 
 others of the Noisette type, too tender to be 
 planted outside in the northern states, will thrive 
 under glass. 
 
 Even with a smgle medium-temperature house 
 Roses can be had the year round — and I'd rather 
 have the clustering golden masses of the Noisette 
 
102 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 against the wall of the work-shed and greenhouse 
 than all the long-stemmed, twelve-dollar-a-dozen, 
 purple -in -the -face - with -their -own -importance 
 American Beauties ever shown on Fifth Avenue. 
 Perhaps, however, you are a real admirer of 
 American Beauty Roses, and futuristic cretonnes 
 and all such — so let's change the subject! 
 
 Chrysanthemums. — These generous sized and 
 glowing coloured flowers are the most easily 
 grown of all the flowers you will want especially 
 for cutting in your glass garden. That is, unless 
 you will be contented with nothing less than 
 giant blooms such as the commercial growers 
 have ready for the football season and the fall 
 shows. 
 
 Personally, I think there is no comparison in 
 real beauty between a symmetrical plant covered 
 with flowers of medium size, and the stiff, arti- 
 ficial looking one-to-a-stem exhibition blooms 
 usually seen. You may have the big fellows if 
 you want to, but it means more work. And, of 
 course, you can have both. The culture, up to 
 a certain point, is the same. 
 
 Starting the Plants 
 
 If you want to grow your own "mums" from 
 the start, begin by securing a few of the old 
 plants or roots after the fall blooms have been 
 
Blooms and Plants in Ahundance 103 
 
 cut off. You can get these from any florist, or 
 greenhouse-possessing friend, as they are usuallj^ 
 "thrown out" after the crop is out. 
 
 These roots, planted in deep flats, or directly 
 in the soil, may be placed under a bench or any- 
 where out of the way. Give just enough water 
 to carry them along until January or February. 
 When the new shoots, which will soon start, are 
 a few inches long, they are rooted in sand. 
 They are grown on, giving two or three shifts 
 until May. They may then be set outside in 
 the soil to be taken in later to the bed or bench 
 under glass. Or, if they are to be grown in pots, 
 or plant boxes, they are kept in these. Or small 
 plants may be bought in May or June, for grow- 
 ing on for fall blooms. 
 
 While "mums" like a rich, strong soil and are 
 greedy eaters, they are cool temperature plants, 
 requiring little heat, even in the fall. In fact, 
 they may be grown without any heat, in a cool 
 house, or a grape-house. But the moderate- 
 temperature house will answer. 
 
 Training and Disbudding 
 
 For the biggest blooms, the plants are trained 
 to single stems, all side shoots being pinched off 
 as they appear. Only the terminal bud is left, 
 all others being pinched out. For symmetrical, 
 
104 (kirdenincj Under Glass 
 
 spreading plants, with a dozen to three dozen 
 flowers of fair size, the plants are pinched back 
 as they grow, to get the desired shape and num- 
 ber of branches. And all the buds but the ter- 
 minal bud on each branch should be removed. 
 In professional parlance this is called "dis- 
 budding." 
 
 For exhibition purposes, the plants are spread 
 and trained by tying the branches to a wire 
 frame, so as to get a perfectly formed, circular 
 mound of blooming surface. Care must be 
 taken to select the buds to be left, so they will 
 open at about the same time. There is a 
 good deal of fun in trying your hand at this 
 training. 
 
 To get fine blooms, the plants should be fed 
 with bone meal, tankage, liquid manure, or some 
 special "mum" fertilizer, until the buds begin 
 to show color. 
 
 The insect pest most likely to give trouble is 
 the aphis — in this case a black variety. It can 
 be controlled absolutely by the use of 40 per cent, 
 nicotine sulphate; or, under glass, by fumigat- 
 ing with a nicotine preparation. 
 
 Plants for Winter Flowering 
 
 With all the pleasure that cutting your own 
 flowers will hold for you, I don't think you will 
 
Blooms and Plants in Abundance 105 
 
 long be a glass gardener before discovering a 
 greater joy than even your finest cut flowers 
 can give, and that is the growing of plants to 
 take into the house, alive and laughing, to bring 
 sunshine into your winter-beleaguered rooms. 
 Cut flowers, within the limitations of "the 
 trade," any one may obtain in abundance; but 
 to have your own plants gathering up the golden 
 sunshine, to save and store it, and then scatter it 
 again through your living rooms, bedrooms, and 
 all over the house, that is something you may 
 attain to only with a glass garden of your 
 own. 
 
 The plants that may be grown for your pleas- 
 ure in this way are so numerous that I cannot 
 attempt here even to catalogue them. Some of 
 these I mentioned in an early chapter when 
 telling the things I did with my own first little 
 house. Let me urge you, however, not to be 
 afraid to try the good old homey things. 
 
 Geraniums. — Have you any idea of the won- 
 derful shades and colors there are in the dozens 
 of varieties available — or do you know them 
 merely as "red," "pink," and "white." Get 
 half a dozen Marquise de Castellaine, with its 
 enormous brick-red trusses on stems eighteen 
 inches long, and stiff as a goldenrod. Then 
 there are delicate pinks and lavenders. And do 
 
106 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 you know the new Pelagorniums, or "Pansy 
 Geraniums," such as Easter Greeting and Swa- 
 bian Maid? A new race, blooming earher and 
 very much longer than the old Lady Washington 
 that Grandmother used to grow. 
 
 Heliotrope. — Then there is the Heliotrope. 
 " So very plebeian," you say. But have you ever 
 enjoyed the fragrance of one blooming in mid- 
 winter, in your dining-room window? You will 
 even rejoice that it is old fashioned and welcome 
 it right into the family circle, just as you would 
 a certain silver-haired, little old lady who per- 
 chance is now but a hovering memory of your 
 childhood days. Incidentally, if you want to 
 grow your own Heliotrope from seeds, you will 
 get a wide range of shades and colors from 
 which to make a selection. 
 
 Some professional gardener may tell you that 
 the seedling plants aren't as fragrant as those 
 grown from cuttings. This may be so, although 
 I have always suspected that this, like many of 
 the theories of the practical grower, was slightly 
 tinged by a vivid imagination. Anyway, I have 
 grown thousands both ways, and their fragrance 
 always seems to me so near a perfect perfume 
 that I have never discovered the difference. 
 
 Ferns and Palms. — Some of the Ferns and 
 Palms are tender and require special tempera- 
 
Blooms and Plants in Abundance 107 
 
 A small part of a bench or two, devoted to Ferns and foliage plants, 
 will keep your living room and verandas constantly supplied with fresh, 
 green, living decorations. 
 
 ture and shading if you want to grow a complete 
 selection. However, many of the finest kinds 
 will get along perfectly well in a general-purpose 
 house, and can be kept in condition there for 
 bringing into the dwelling house or the conserva- 
 tory, as wanted. 
 
 Used among flowering plants, of course, the 
 Ferns and Palms add a touch, an artistic finish, 
 in the decoration of your rooms that nothing else 
 in the world can give. Then, too, the pleasure 
 there is in having your own Palms and Ferns 
 clean, green, and bright looking. 
 
108 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Have a Living-room Plant Room 
 
 Of course, the ideal way to use these plants is 
 to have a conservatory. Not the old-fashioned 
 kind with a shaded roof and a few rare plants, 
 
 which have to be 
 looked after about as 
 carefully as goldfish, 
 and kept mostly to 
 show visitors on rare 
 occasions; but a 
 general living-room 
 plant room flooded 
 with sunlight; happy 
 with flowers in 
 bloom ; and made de- 
 lightful with the ever- 
 green things which 
 have been made to 
 look and to feel at 
 home there. A real 
 plant room is really 
 a part of the house, where you will find a cozy 
 table, magazines, and comfortable chairs; a pipe 
 bowl mayhap — a place to live in with living 
 plants. Some plants may be kept in a conserva- 
 tory of this kind alone ; but if a glass garden is at 
 hand to keep up the supply of plants through the 
 
 Have a living-room plant room! 
 A sunny spot where you can enjoy 
 your plants and your reading or 
 sewing at the same time. 
 
Blooms and Plants in Abundance 109 
 
 varying seasons, and to put things back into, 
 when they have become a httle bit house worn, 
 then you can have a constant supply of plants 
 in perfect condition. 
 
 Cactus. — Other plants which should not be 
 overlooked for the collection in your glass gar- 
 den are the Cactus, citizens of the desert. While 
 not the most charming, they are in some respects 
 the most interesting of all plants, and they are 
 the easiest of all to care for. Many sorts simply 
 cannot be killed; they will exist no matter w^hat 
 you do to them; even a broken-off piece set in 
 dry sand will take root, grow, and bloom. Fur- 
 thermore, they occupy very little space and will 
 not need to be re-potted or given much other 
 attention. You will have lots of fun with them, 
 and a collection that will last for years will cost 
 but a few dollars. 
 
 Vines. — With the greenhouse vines you can 
 produce the most charming effects of all. They 
 make it possible for you to do real "landscaping" 
 within the limits of the glass garden. They may 
 be planted in the solid soil under the benches and 
 sent up the ends of the greenhouse, or along the 
 rafters, so that at any point you may frame, in 
 an inimitable way, any picture you wish to cre- 
 ate. 
 
 In addition to the Climbing Roses already 
 
110 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 mentioned, there is the Swainsona with Sweet- 
 pea hke clusters of white and pink flowers and 
 attractive ferny fohage Then there is Aspara- 
 gus phimosus, the cUmbing "lace fern," not only 
 
 delicately beautiful 
 where it grows, but 
 supplying the most 
 beautiful of all 
 "greenery" to use 
 with cut blooms. 
 
 Sweet-peas will 
 do wonderfully under 
 glass if not given too 
 warm a temperature, 
 You may have S weet - 
 ])eas not only bloom- 
 ing in your glass gar- 
 den, but for days you 
 can have their sweet 
 fragrance right in 
 your breakfast room. 
 How? Merely by sowing the seed in, or trans- 
 planting the plants into, a long, narrow wooden 
 box four or five inches wide and six inches deep, 
 which may readily be moved. Such boxes are 
 often used to start the plants in till they can be 
 moved to a place where there can be given more 
 head room when they are about ready to begin 
 
 The beauty of vines you can have 
 in your glass garden as well as out- 
 doors. Why not train them to 
 permanent positions, as has been 
 done here? 
 
Blooms and Plants in Ahnndance 111 
 
 blooming. A box of this kind can easily be 
 moved right indoors to flower there. The box 
 itself may be attractively painted, or a metal 
 case may be provided that the wooden box can be 
 slipped into. Of course you sow only the winter- 
 flowering strain for indoor use. 
 
 There is also a low-growing variety of Sweet- 
 peas well named Cupid, which may be simply 
 planted in pots or hanging baskets, and allowed 
 to flower there. They are not only unusual and 
 effective in the greenhouse, but make unique 
 plants for gifts. 
 
 The Butterfly Plant, Thunbergia, is very 
 easily grown, and covers a wide range of colors 
 — blue, purple, yellow, and combinations of 
 these. 
 
 Smilax is familiar as "greens" for florists' use, 
 but until you have seen this growing after your 
 own training, the most airily graceful and beau- 
 tiful of all decorative vines when covered with 
 its tiny white flowerets, you can have no idea of 
 its real beauty. And there are the Ivys. 
 
 The Tender or English Ivy (Hedera Helix) is 
 ideal for under-glass culture. With a little train- 
 ing you can produce with it almost any effect 
 that you please, and it will "stay put" for years. 
 There is a variegated form which may be used 
 effectively — but as with any plant of this kind, it 
 
11 ''2 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 is an easy thing to go too far — to lose all emphasis 
 by the use of too much of it ! 
 
 The most rapid-growing of all is what used to 
 be known as (ierinian Ivy. It is very valuable 
 for quick growth and temporary use. 
 
 Never miss the opportunity of visiting other 
 people's glass gardens w^ienever you can. In 
 some commercial establishments you will run 
 across things that are new to you; you will also 
 see new things which are listed in the catalogues. 
 Buy a plant or two "on suspicion" to try them 
 out. A couple of two- or three-inch plants are 
 never expensive, and if you like them, you can 
 usually get as many as you want from these. 
 Keep your glass garden, as well as the plants in 
 it, growing! 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 BULBS — TO KEEP YOU SMILING 
 
 Bulbs! What is more 
 fascinating? There are 
 the httle brown shiny 
 ones that look hke over- 
 grown Spanish Chest- 
 nuts, and feel so satiny 
 smooth to your touch. 
 Then there are the un- 
 gainly turnip-like ones 
 that look as if they must 
 have been grown to chop 
 up for feed for the cows 
 in winter. And in an- 
 other basket, crinkled 
 little ones that look as 
 dead as door nails. 
 
 And yet in these dull 
 baskets, what gorgeous 
 colors lay dormant! 
 What wonderful daubs of burning crimson, 
 gleaming yellow, and azure blue your iinpres- 
 
 Bulbs to lend color to your 
 rooms in winter! You can 
 bring them to bloom in the 
 glass garden, and then enjoy 
 them, anywhere in the house, 
 for days. 
 
114 
 
 Gardeyiing Urider Glass 
 
 sionist artist could get for his canvas here could 
 he but squeeze the colors from these wonderful 
 tubes. For when it comes to colors, the bulbs 
 are in a class by themselves. The first big thing 
 about bulbs is that you can have a succession 
 of bloom from early fall until spring and do 
 practically all the work in connection with them 
 in a single afternoon. 
 
 Here's how you do it! First of all, procure 
 
 good bulbs. Go 
 preferably to 
 some house that 
 makes a special- 
 ty of them. The 
 simplest sorts to 
 grow are Tulips, 
 Narcissus, and 
 Crocus. Due 
 ^ an Thol Tulips 
 are the earliest 
 to bloom. Other 
 good sorts may 
 be had in wide 
 variety to suit 
 your tastes. 
 The bulbs may be grown either in bulb pans, 
 which are convenient to bring into the house 
 when in blooms, or in flats. The latter are all 
 
 ^^^^V^Hlr / ^^^ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Cross-section of a pot, showing the niethotl 
 of "crocking" and filling it. Drainage ma- 
 terial placed over hole in the bottom, pre- 
 pared soil and space inside rim at top to 
 hold water. 
 
*;-^C %:^«.- ^. 
 
 Bulbs — To Keep You Smiling 115 
 
 right if 3^ou are growing quite a number and 
 want them for cutting. 
 
 Begin operations early in October. Use a very 
 hght rich soil, and put drainage material in the 
 bottom of the pans 
 or flats. Cover this / jL 
 with an inch or so 
 of soil and put the 
 bulbs in place. Set 
 
 them, top side up, p^,^ f|,^,^.prs or cutting, put tlie hulhs 
 
 near enough to'" shallow flats; then store in a cold, dark 
 
 ^ place to make root growth before forcing. 
 
 nearly touch one an- 
 other. Then cover over with soil, packing down 
 firmly, until the bulbs are an inch or so below 
 the surface. 
 
 Make Them Make Roots before They 
 Make Tops 
 
 Now the secret in bulb growing is to get them 
 to grow roots before the tops start. If, after 
 planting, you leave them in the light and heat, 
 they will immediately start leaves, and amount 
 to nothing. To prevent this, they have to be 
 stored where they will first make roots. A deep 
 frame may be used for this purpose, or a dark, 
 dry, cold cellar; in either case you must be sure 
 that the storage quarters are free from mice. 
 Or a trench may be dug, in a well-drained spot. 
 
110 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 about a foot deep and long enough to hold your 
 bulb pans and boxes. 
 
 ^lake tags for each variety, making very long 
 markers that will stick up above the soil. If a 
 trench is used, cover with six or eight inches of 
 soil. In the frame or cellar, keep absolutely dark 
 and water only enough to prevent drying out. 
 On the approach of freezing weather, protect the 
 frames with mats or cover the trench with ma- 
 nure or leaves to protect from freezing. 
 
 This treatment results in a strong growth of 
 roots without starting the tops. Then, after 
 four to six weeks, you can bring into heat the 
 Hyacinths and the Polyanthus Narcissus, and a 
 little later the Early Tulips. Other Tulips 
 should have at least eight weeks' start before 
 being brought in. 
 
 Keep them rather cool when first brought in 
 — 45 to 50 degrees is warm enough for the first 
 week or so. Water thoroughly, and keep them 
 well supplied even after the growth starts. 
 
 Hyacinths sometimes begin to flower before 
 they have made much stem. This may be cor- 
 rected by placing an inverted pot over the plant 
 to "draw it up." Keep as near the glass as pos- 
 sible, and give plenty of fresh air. By bringing 
 in only a few at a time, a continuous succession 
 of bloom may be had until early spring. 
 
Bulbs — To Keep You Smiling 117 
 
 Freesias may be grown in the same way, or 
 started without the prehminary root growth if 
 placed where it is rather shady and cool, so that 
 they will start slowly. 
 
 OxALis, of which there are several very beau- 
 tiful varieties, is ideal for a plant for hanging- 
 baskets, or to trail over the edge of the bench. 
 Be sure to try the different kinds. They multi- 
 ply freely and you will soon have all you can 
 use and some to give away. Oxalis should be 
 started before freezing weather to be in good 
 bloom by Christmas. 
 
 Calla Lilies are not "forced" like the Tulips 
 and similar bulbs, but require a rather high tem- 
 perature and an abundance of rich, heavy soil. 
 
 They can hardly have too much cow ma- 
 nure and water. They can be grown easily under 
 a bench where they will be near the heating pipes 
 and get the sunlight on the north side of the wall. 
 A better plan is to give them part of a bench 
 directly over a heating pipe, where their roots 
 will be kept extra warm. They may then be 
 grown in the same house with Carnations and 
 other medium-temperature plants. 
 
 There are a number of varieties besides the 
 large white ones which the florist uses. Try 
 some of the other sorts, such as Little Gem, God- 
 frey, and EUiotiana. 
 
118 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Gladiolus are very easily forced. It is not 
 necessary to give them any preliminary storing; 
 merely plant the bulbs in pots or solid benches 
 where they will have a rather cool temperature. 
 They are easily grown between Carnations, or 
 in the vegetable house. There are several va- 
 rieties especially adapted for forcing which may 
 be kept for that purpose, but you can grow al- 
 most any of your favorite garden sorts if you are 
 willing to wait a little longer- for the bloom. 
 
 Young bulbs, which are. thick through in pro- 
 portion to size, are better for forcing than much 
 larger, old, flat bulbs. 
 
 Spanish Iris is another most delightful little 
 flowei^ which may be very easily forced and 
 grown in the glass garden. While these are Iris, 
 they are bulbous plants. The foliage is rather 
 grass-like, and the gracefully shaped, beautifully 
 colored little bloom has somewhat the appear- 
 ance of a cross between an Iris and an Orchid. 
 
 Tuberous Begonia is another thing not to ])e 
 overlooked. This beautiful flower is not nearly 
 as well known as it should be, for the reason tliat 
 the florist can make little use of it. There are 
 wonderful colors, and the plant continues to 
 grow and l^loom for months. When they are 
 through, the tubers are dried off, j)ut away in 
 sand and sawdust for a rest, and kept moist 
 
Bulbs — To Keep You Smiling 
 
 119 
 
 —then after a few 
 Thev are one of 
 
 enough to prevent shrivehng- 
 months brought out again, 
 the few flowering plants 
 w^hich do well in part shade. 
 
 These things by no means 
 exhaust the list of beautiful 
 flowers which come wrapped 
 up in bulb packages. The 
 gorgeous blooms of the Ama- 
 ryllis ; the wonderfully colored 
 and mottled leaves of the 
 Fancy Caladium; the Regal 
 and Easter Lilies; the charm- 
 ing Cyclamen, which, by the 
 way, is one of the most bril- 
 liantly colored and wholly 
 satisfactory flowers which grow in a medium 
 temperature — with all of these and others you 
 are probably familiar. 
 
 None of them offers any particular difficulties. 
 Lily-of-the- Valley, as the fforists handle it for 
 forcing, requires a good deal of bottom heat, but 
 you can take up clumps from your own outdoor 
 plants, and grow them in a moderate temperature 
 under a bench. By bringing in a clump or two 
 occasionally, you may have an almost constant 
 supply of this fragrant and delicate queen of the 
 fairy flowers. 
 
 Some of them, like 
 Cyclamen, you can grow 
 all the way from seed; 
 or buy nearly ready to 
 bloom. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 FRESH VEGETABLES THE YEAR ROUND 
 
 ■*m^^s^ 
 
 Lettuce all winter — big solid heads 
 that are crisp and crackly, just like 
 those from your spring garden. 
 
 If you think that 
 clean, fresh vege- 
 tables from your 
 ,^ own garden out- 
 T^ class the things you 
 buy in the market — 
 then you just want 
 to try your own 
 glass -garden -grown 
 Lettuce, Radishes, 
 or Tomatoes, in 
 winter! A Radish when it is wilted is a shoe- 
 leather substitute. A Tomato that has been 
 picked green and shipped five hundred miles to 
 market and "ripened" in a heated store-room 
 is vastly unlike the crimson globe of juicy good- 
 ness that is grown on a vine in the sun in your 
 glass garden until it is ready to come off at a 
 touch. There is only one way to have real 
 vegetables in winter — and that is to grow them 
 in your greenhouse. 
 
 And when it comes to the little personal gifts 
 
 120 
 
Fresh Vegetables the Year 'Round 121 
 
 out of the ordinary — the httle things which can- 
 not be easily dupHcated, which carry their own 
 evidence of personal thought, with a note of 
 cheer and charm — nothing makes quite so crisp 
 and welcome a reminder as a basket of vegetables 
 of your own growing. A head or two of buttery- 
 looking golden-hearted Lettuce, in contrast to 
 the rich red of real ripe Tomatoes, with the 
 pinkish tips of fresh Radishes peeping out from 
 beneath, is a gift for a king to give! 
 
 Practically everything that has already been 
 said regarding soil, drainage, watering, fertilizers, 
 and protection from insects, applies to the 
 growing of vegetables as well as to flowers. 
 
 The Sure Satisfaction Ones 
 
 The things which may be grown readily are 
 Lettuce, Beans, Beets, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, 
 Carrots, Radishes, Spinach, Cauliflower, and 
 Melons. Of these. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and 
 Melons naturally require the more heat. 
 
 Where only a single house is available, they are 
 usually grown by planting them early in the 
 spring, after the other things have been grown 
 through the winter. In this way the increasing 
 temperature of March and April is taken advan- 
 tage of, to bring on a crop weeks ahead of that 
 in the outside garden. 
 
122 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Asparagus, Rhubarb, and Chicory — the last 
 one of the most dehcious of all salads — are easity 
 grown by taking up the roots and forcing the 
 plants. They can be grown out of the way, 
 under a bench, if the space is limited. 
 
 While these few things are easily grown you 
 are by no means restricted to this list. Practi- 
 call}^ anything that grows' 
 outside will grow inside 
 if given the space. Corn, 
 for instance, thrives won- 
 derfully; Peas may be 
 had in profusion; Egg- 
 plant will reach ideal de- 
 velopment; and so on to 
 the end of the list. It is 
 almost wholly a question 
 of space. ]Most of the 
 vegetables are grown in 
 benches rather than in 
 pots, the bench having 
 advantage of giving more 
 head room, more soil per 
 plant, and requiring less 
 frequent watering, 
 is used, it should be thoroughly 
 digging in several inches of well- 
 It is best, however. 
 
 Com and IVas can l)C ^i 
 in a greenhouse just as well as 
 Radishes and Lettuce, but their 
 yield does not pay so well for 
 the room they take. That's why 
 so few grow them. 
 
 If the old soi 
 enriched b;\ 
 rotted manure, in the fa 
 
Fresh Vegetables ike Year 'Round 123 
 
 to use fresh soil. The okl soil may be piled up 
 outside, left for two seasons, and then used again. 
 Sometimes the old soil is sterilized b^^ steam, or 
 with formaldehyde. The latter is the easier. 
 Merely soak the soil thoroughly with an applica- 
 tion of formaldehyde — one pint to 30 gallons of 
 water. 
 
 Start Lettuce in August 
 
 Start the plants for the first crop of Lettuce 
 outdoors, in August. Sow the seed in a sheltered 
 
 When Grand Rapids Lettuce gets this size, it's just right 
 for transplanting either to the greenhouse bench or to the 
 garden. 
 
 place or in a frame where it can be shaded. 
 Prick off the little seedlings as soon as they are 
 big enough to handle, putting them in thumb 
 pots, in flats, or in a bench, three inches or so 
 apart each way. Before they begin to crowd, 
 they should be transferred to permanent quarters. 
 This should be six or eight weeks after sowing. 
 
124 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 The secret of successful growing is to do as 
 little watering as possible. A very thorough 
 watering should be given just before or after 
 setting the plants, and not again until the soil 
 
 is quite dry. 
 Under favor- 
 able conditions 
 one or two wa- 
 terings will 
 carry the crop 
 through until 
 big enough to 
 cut. 
 
 Where only 
 a few heads for 
 a small family 
 are wanted, it 
 is very easy to 
 grow them in 
 pots. A pinch 
 of seed sown every two weeks or so will give 
 enough plants to keep about a couple of dozen 
 heads coming on continuously. During mid- 
 winter, you are likely to get surer results this 
 way than in the growing in the bench, as 
 there is less danger of over-watering and rotting, 
 and they may be more readily protected from 
 the garden aphis, which is the most serious pest 
 
 A plant of Grand Rapids Lettuce ready for 
 setting out in the bed. 
 
Fresh Vegetables the Year 'Round 125 
 
 in growing Lettuce indoors. For aphis, tobacco 
 dust sprinkled between the plants when they 
 are set out, and regular spraying or fumigat- 
 ing to prevent their getting a start, should be 
 used. 
 
 Mignonette, while not known commercially, 
 is one of the most delicious of all Lettuces if you 
 do not mind the slight brown tinge of the leaves. 
 It grows readily under glass. May King and 
 Big Boston are standard varieties. Grand Rap- 
 ids, which does not form a head, but which is 
 deliciously crisp and tender when grown under 
 glass, is much easier to grow to perfection than 
 any of the heading sorts. If attempting Lettuce 
 indoors for the first time, I would use half of this 
 and half of one of the heading varieties. 
 
 Just after planting, and while the heads are 
 maturing, it is of advantage to have the tem- 
 perature a little cooler than during growth. 
 If it can be regulated, a little below 50 degrees 
 at these times will be ideal. But for personal 
 use they will come along all right in a general- 
 purpose house where the temperature is about 
 50 to 60 degrees. 
 
 Some Root Vegetables for Under Glass 
 
 Radishes grown in your glass garden will be 
 big enough to begin eating in less than three 
 
126 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 weeks after sowing the seed. For commercial 
 use, one of the smaller earlier turnip varieties is 
 usually used. But after trying many kinds for 
 my own use and also for local market, I planted 
 only the Crimson Giant Globe. This is later 
 than many of the others, but it has been my 
 experience that the roots get as big as the 
 others at the same age. However, it is all a 
 matter of taste, and your favorite radish will 
 
 grow indoors 
 as well as out. 
 One advantage 
 of Crimson Gi- 
 ant Globe is 
 that it will re- 
 main crisp and 
 tender long- 
 after most oth- 
 ers. The com- 
 mercial grower, 
 of course , 
 wants to clean 
 all his crop out 
 in one or two 
 gatherings; but for table use one wants just the 
 opposite. 
 
 Avoid sowing the seed too thick. No matter 
 how thin vou sow it, vou will have to do con- 
 
 Cauliflower, "the cabbage with a college 
 education," grows to perfection under glass. 
 
Fresh Vegetables the Year 'Round 127 
 
 siderable thinning. Do it just as soon as the 
 little plants are up. 
 
 Beets and Carrots are merely sown in rows 
 like Radishes, and thinned out promptly when 
 they start; or you can plant the seeds in flats 
 and set them out in rows later, if you cannot 
 spare the space to sow them where they are to 
 mature. 
 
 A good plan is to sow Radishes between the 
 rows of Carrots, and transplant the Beets. You 
 will get better results from the same ground. 
 The Radishes will be gone before the others need 
 the room. 
 
 Cauliflower should be started and grown 
 to considerable size in pots before setting out in 
 the bench. 
 
 Tomatoes for Fall and Spring 
 
 Where Tomatoes are to be grown in a general- 
 purpose house, they are not usually started until 
 about midwinter; or in July or August for a fall 
 crop. 
 
 The little plants may be brought on in a warm 
 corner where they will have bottom heat; or a 
 special frame may be constructed over one end 
 of the bench where a temperature of ten or so 
 degrees higher may be maintained. A frame of 
 this sort will be useful for many purposes, such 
 
ns 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 as starting the seed of tender plants that require 
 more heat. The little plants should be grown 
 on and re-potted until they are of good size. 
 In fact, the first fruits may be set before they are 
 
 put in their per- 
 manent posi- 
 tions. 
 
 For conveni- 
 ence, where only 
 a few plants are 
 being grown, 
 they may be giv- 
 en a final shift 
 to 10-inch pots, 
 or put into boxes 
 ten inches to 
 eighteen inches 
 s cj u a r e and 
 twelve inches 
 deep. The large- 
 size box will 
 hold three or 
 four plants. 
 These are readily moved, as the plants get big, 
 to positions where the vines can be trained up 
 along the rafters or side walls. Use a variety 
 adapted to greenhouse purpose. Comet, while 
 not a large fruiting sort, is one of the best I ever 
 
 The Tomato plants may be grown in pots, 
 occupying little space, until, with the first 
 fruits already formed, they are ready to set 
 out. 
 
Fresh Vegetables the Year 'Round 129 
 
 grew under glass; perfect in form, smooth, round, 
 dark red fruit. The large-fruited varieties may 
 be grown, but after you try the two side by side, 
 I think you will use one of those suggested above. 
 
 Unless the crop is maturing so late in the 
 spring that the bees come in, it will be necessary 
 to hand pollinate the crop. Jarring the vines 
 will do this, but not perfectly. It is much better 
 to get a camel's-hair brush, or rabbit's foot, and 
 go over the vines every day or so, transferring 
 the pollen from flower to flower. 
 
 The plants are usually trained to a single 
 stem, which is pinched off when the end of the 
 support is reached. The vines, of course, will 
 have to be kept tied up. Use raffia which does 
 not cut the stems like twine. 
 
 The Vine Crops Under Glass 
 
 Cucumbers, like Tomatoes, need extra heat, 
 especially at the start, but may be grown in the 
 general-purpose house. Start the plants in July 
 or August for early winter crop, and in March or 
 April for early summer crop, in a general-purpose 
 house. In a special house, of course, they can 
 be grown continuously. Put four or five seeds in 
 a four-inch pot, using very light soil such as is 
 recommended for sowing flower seeds. A couple 
 of inches of manure in the bottom will both fur- 
 
130 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 nish drainage and help to form a network of 
 roots that will hold together when the plants are 
 set out. If planted in a general-purpose house 
 in a solid bed, they can be set over a trench filled 
 
 with fresh ma- 
 nure, which 
 will give them 
 bottom heat 
 and will help 
 get a strong 
 start. The 
 vines may be 
 trained in any 
 way you like. 
 Allow about 
 four square feet 
 of bench space 
 per plant. A 
 convenient 
 method is to 
 train them to 
 
 "Cukes," as they are trained up under the 
 sash bars, occupy very httle bench space. 
 
 wires, supported six inches or so below the sash 
 bars. Pinch the main stem when it reaches the 
 end of its support. Cross wires hold the laterals 
 that are sent out from the main stem. This 
 forms a network, allowing the growing fruit 
 to hang down, and also makes it easier carefully 
 to watcit the vine and fumigate when neces- 
 
Fresh Vegetables the Year 'Round 131 
 
 sary. The green aphis is hkely to be the worst 
 pest. 
 
 As to varieties, I know of no American sort 
 better than Davis Perfect; but you should try 
 some of the English "forcing" Cucumbers, such 
 as Improved 
 Telegraph. 
 The English 
 sorts do not re- 
 quire pollinat- 
 ing. 
 
 Melons. — 
 M e lo n s are 
 handled in 
 much the same 
 way as Cucum- 
 bers, except 
 that the grow- 
 ing fruits are 
 so heavy — 
 weighing six 
 pounds or more 
 each — t h a t 
 they have to 
 be supported 
 in hammock- 
 like nets to prevent their dragging the vines 
 from their support. These inside Melons will 
 
 Think of having Melons hke these for your 
 own picking. Twenty-four of them (count 
 tlieni) from this Httle 2x4 corner! 
 
132 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 have a flavor that you cannot imagine until 
 3^ou have tried one of them. 
 
 As to variety, the best way is to try several at 
 first until you find the one best suited to your 
 own tastes. Blenheim Orange, British Queen, 
 and Royal Jubilee are excellent sorts in my ex- 
 
 ' ^^^•r^T"^ 
 
 
 '.' '^Ik. . 7$ > ^t4'W"-W&^l^, 
 
 ''Jw^^.ri^^M!^^^^ 
 
 
 ■'JfmM 
 
 
 ^l^jKp^' 
 
 'J^' M^^^^%JtMS 
 
 ^md 
 
 You can get even more perfect results, 
 stance, grow only in a glass garden. 
 
 Such Melons as these, for in- 
 
 perience. Or your favorite garden variety may 
 be grown. Even if you haven't a special fruit 
 house, you will enjoy planting a few Melons in 
 your glass garden. And don't be afraid about 
 
Fresh Vegetables the Year 'Round 133 
 
 having them grown with Cucumbers. There is 
 nothing to the thought that the one influences 
 the other. 
 
 Rhubarb and Asparagus. — To have succes- 
 sion, Rhubarb and Asparagus should be taken up 
 in sufficient quantity to bring them in at three 
 or four difl^erent times during the winter, as after 
 a period of forcing the roots become exhausted. 
 Plant them in very rich soil, and if you have a 
 small house, plant them under a bench where 
 they will have the sun on the north side of a walk. 
 Use nitrate of soda generously as the growth 
 starts. 
 
 Mushrooms. — The culture of Mushrooms is 
 quite distinct from that of any other vegetable 
 crop. 
 
 The first essential is a place where the tem- 
 perature can be kept between 55 and 60 degrees. 
 Under a bench in the greenhouse answers ad- 
 mirably. It may be kept shaded, but need not 
 be absolutely dark. 
 
 The second essential is a place where the at- 
 mosphere may be kept evenly moist. Space 
 under the benches, shut off by a curtain or bag- 
 ging, may be kept in this condition. 
 
 The third essential is the manure which forms 
 the basis of the Mushroom bed. Unless this is 
 properly prepared, success cannot be expected. 
 
134 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Secure fresh horse manure. It may be saved 
 from day . to day, but is better if a sufficient 
 quantity may be had at one time. Either the 
 straight manure, or manure with short wet straw 
 in it, may be used. Save it in a pile, turning and 
 wetting occasionaUy until enough has accumu- 
 lated to make a bed. Stack in a compact heap, 
 under cover if possible. Water until moist if 
 it is dry. Tramp down. 
 
 In about three days, heating will begin, as in- 
 dicated by "steam" beginning to rise from the 
 pile. Then restack, putting the outside inside, 
 and wetting down again if at all dry. It is most 
 important to keep the fermenting vianure everily 
 7noist, without being wet. After the second turn- 
 ing, leave until the pile again steams and then 
 restack once more. At this time add about one 
 fifth, in bulk, of garden or pasture loam to the 
 manure. After the third or fourth turning, when 
 the heap is evenly heated through, is moist and 
 springy, and not disagreeable in odor, it is ready 
 for the bed. The temperature, as indicated by a 
 thermometer, should be between 100 and 125 de- 
 grees. 
 
 The bed is made about ten inches deep. It is 
 held in place by a 10-inch board on edge, when 
 made under the bench. The first five inches 
 may be of fresh hot manure covered with five 
 
Fresh Vegetables the Year 'Round 135 
 
 inches of the prepared manure. It should he 
 tramped or beaten down firmly as it is put in. 
 Then cover hghtly with salt hay, bog hay, or 
 straw, to hold the moisture. The bed is left for 
 a few days, until the temperature recedes to 
 85 to 90 degrees. Then put in the spawn. 
 Use pieces of brick about the size of an egg. 
 Place 12 X 9 inches, and 2 to 3 inches deep, 
 pressing the manure down firmly over it. The 
 bed is again left, for eight to ten days. The hay 
 covering may be lightly sprinkled or "dewed 
 over" with warm water two or three times, to 
 maintain the moisture. 
 
 Putting on the Loam Blanket 
 
 In eight to ten days, if the spawn is "running" 
 properly, a white threadlike or frothy substance 
 will appear. Then remove the hay, and cover 
 the bed evenly with one to two inches of sifted 
 soil, pressed down firm. Light loam, from gar- 
 den or pasture, is best for this purpose. 
 
 Maintain the moist condition by occasionally 
 wetting down the walks, side walls, etc. If the 
 bed shows signs of drying out, water thoroughly 
 with ivarm water — 80 to 90 degrees. A little 
 nitrate of soda — about a spoonful to every ten 
 gallons — added to the water will increase the 
 yield. 
 
136 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 The bed should begin to bear in six to eight 
 weeks, and continue for about three months. 
 Remove all stems when gathering. And keep 
 a little sifted soil on hand to fill up holes made 
 by removing big clusters. 
 
 Finally, remember that failure with INIush- 
 rooms is most often caused by having the manure 
 too dry, or allowing the bed to dry out. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 FRUITS FOR YOUR OWN PICKING 
 
 What is it 
 that is so fas- 
 cinating about 
 fruits? You 
 may grow the 
 most glorious 
 Roses, or have 
 the sol ides t 
 heads of Let- 
 tuce, but un- 
 til you have 
 picked your 
 own fruit in 
 your glass gar- 
 den you will 
 not have 
 learned its ulti- 
 mate delights. 
 Grapes. — Of course, for bunches of Grapes 
 that will be almost too heavy to lift and which 
 will carry off blue ribbons in the fall exhibitions 
 
 137 
 
 Here's one member of tlie family who will 
 vote for the all-year- 'round garden! 
 
138 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 you will need a special grape house and an ex- 
 perienced grower. But here again, because some 
 people grow Grapes this waj', it seems to have 
 spread that without such equipment you can't 
 attempt to grow Grapes at all. Now, I know 
 that is not so. Because I have done it! 
 
 In that house which I rented, that I told about 
 earlier, there were some dozen Grapevines of 
 the hothouse varieties, such as Black Hamburg, 
 Muscat of Alexandria, etc. They were planted 
 in a solid bed against the south side of the house 
 so that their roots went down under the founda- 
 tion, out into the soil on the outside of the house. 
 Thus the roots would remain inactive until quite 
 late in the spring, although we were growing a 
 general collection of things in this greenhouse. 
 The part that was occupied by the Grapes was 
 not given over to them until after we were 
 through with it for other purposes, along in 
 May. 
 
 It was my first experience with hothouse 
 Grapes, and I was able to give them only indiffer- 
 ent care, yet they bore abundantly and produced 
 such grapes as, until then, I had never tasted. 
 
 Under glass. Grapes are trained to a single 
 stem or cane; after fruiting each year all the 
 laterals are cut back to a single eye. The vines 
 can then be "laid down" out of the way, along 
 
Fruits for Your Oivn Picking 139 
 
 the wall. They are usuall}^ planted three to four 
 feet apart. One thing I found out was that to 
 get good-sized berries it is necessary to thin out 
 the individual Grapes on each bunch as they be- 
 gin to crowd, when they are almost the size of 
 green Currants. This requires steady nerves and 
 a keen eye. Grapes are the rankest kind of 
 feeders, and you will find it almost impossible to 
 give them too much plant food. 
 
 Limit the number of bunches. Even with a 
 strong feeding, only two bunches are allowed to 
 set on each lateral, and the vines then pinched 
 off two leaves beyond the second bunch. 
 
 Grapes are often grown in what is called a 
 cool grapery; that is, the house is not heated 
 and the vines are allowed to freeze and remain 
 frozen during the winter. The object of having 
 such a house is to start them early and give 
 them plenty of time to develop under perfect 
 conditions in the fall. If you can possibly have 
 one, you will find that a small fruit house in 
 addition to the regular greenhouse, will afford 
 all kinds of fun. 
 
 However, you can have some fruits without a 
 special fruit house. They can be grown in pots 
 or wooden tubs, and be brought into the house 
 when it is time to start them in the spring. 
 They are stored in dormant condition during the 
 
140 Gardenirijg Under Glass 
 
 early winter months. If you have never seen 
 Grapes growing in this way you can't reahze the 
 small amount of space required 
 in proportion to the outdoor 
 crop. Protected, sheltered, and 
 given ideal conditions in every 
 way, the quality of the fruit is 
 remarkable. The gods on 
 Olympus must have had all 
 their Grapes grown under glass 
 — otherwise, their nectar could 
 never have won the reputation 
 it did! 
 
 Other Fruits to Grow in a 
 Single House 
 
 But Grapes are not the only 
 thing possible without the ex- 
 pense of a special house. Fruit 
 
 You needn't be a ^j-ggg orrOWn iu potS Or boXCS, 
 millionaire to enjoy ' '^ ^ _ ' 
 
 real fruit from your may be brouglit iuto the gen- 
 own glass garden. A p i • 
 half-dozen Grapevines, Cral-pUrpOSC hoUSC aitcr bcmg 
 grown like this, will , j • j . !•.• <? 
 
 give you pounds of the storcd m dormant condition tor 
 most delicious Grapes ^j^eir rcst pcHod, and will grow 
 
 you ever tasted. . 
 
 fruit most generously. Just 
 take a look at the little potted Peach trees. Do 
 you think it would be worth while to bring a few 
 into your glass garden, about the middle of win- 
 
Fruits for Your Own Picking 
 
 141 
 
 ter, so that you could have perfect fruit ripen- 
 ing at the time yowY neighbors are thinking 
 about sprajdng their outdoor trees? 
 
 Peaches. — Did you ever taste a Peach grown 
 
 under glass? It 
 is so full of juicy 
 tenderness that 
 it is almost 
 ready to burst 
 open at a touch. 
 If you have ever 
 picked a real 
 ripe Peach from 
 a tree, even out- 
 side, you know 
 how incompar- 
 ably better it is 
 than the com- 
 mercial fruit 
 which has to be 
 picked "firm" 
 and shipped to 
 market. But 
 never until you have tried the glass-grown prod- 
 uct will you know the perfection of lusciousness 
 and flavor which a Peach or a Nectarine may at- 
 tain. And you can have them just a few months 
 after you buy the little trees, ready to fruit. 
 
 Think of Peaches and Nectarines, sugar sweet 
 and juicy, ripened on the tree till they are 
 ready to come off at a touch ! 
 
142 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 It does not take a very large house to have an 
 under-glass orchard, even where the trees are 
 planted in the soil and grow there undisturbed 
 year after year. These trees are trained to grow 
 
 on trellises. 
 They are 
 spread out fan- 
 shaped, so that 
 every fruit is 
 kissed by the 
 sun, on both 
 cheeks, every 
 day. If you 
 have neve r 
 done it, you 
 cannot imagine 
 what fun there 
 is in training 
 the growing 
 trees — pinch- 
 ing the plant 
 back here and 
 there until you 
 have it where 
 you want it, making it grow out sideways, or up, 
 or down, until you have a framework after your 
 own design or pattern, on which the tempting 
 fruits will hang. 
 
 J \ 
 
 ^■' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J -''" 
 
 t: 
 
 A.Tf"*^'" 
 
 ^;-^- 
 
 This shows cross-section of a special fruit 
 house. Note that the concrete bottom forms 
 a basin to hold the rich plant soil. The trans- 
 verse wire screens ar>e used to train the fruit 
 trees on. 
 
Fruits for Your Own Picking 143 
 
 The best way is to have the fruit house about 
 18 feet wide; then you can plant the trees down 
 the centre, so that you can have the trelhses built 
 across the house. These may be fastened in 
 either direction and you can tend them from the 
 walks along the sides of the house or the walk 
 may be down the centre of the house. 
 
 Pears may be grown to perfection under glass 
 very readily. The trees are naturally broad and 
 short-jointed in habit of growth. The fruit 
 seems to have an especial liking for under-glass 
 conditions. 
 
 Plums are neither quite so desirable nor so 
 readily managed, but if one has a special fruit 
 house, they may well be included. It is well 
 to grow them, however, in tubs or boxes, as the 
 best results are obtained by allowing the fruit to 
 ripen outside when it has about matured in 
 growth. 
 
 Cherries. — I have never attempted to grow 
 Cherries under glass, but they are grown to 
 some extent. Being less certain than the other 
 things, however, they would seem the last to 
 try. The small trees when they are in bloom 
 are so beautiful that the decorative value of the 
 plants alone is ample reward for their care. 
 Most of the varieties may be grown under glass. 
 They not only give fruit of delicious quality out 
 
144 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 of season, but are most charming in appearance 
 when fruiting. 
 
 Ripe Red Strawberries When the Snow Flies 
 
 Strawberries. — The modest little Strawberry 
 is a perfect picture with its crimsoning fruit 
 
 and the white 
 flowers in late 
 winter, when 
 one is getting 
 impatient 
 about the way 
 the snow hangs 
 o n a n d t h e 
 freezing nights 
 seem to show 
 no indication 
 of letting up. 
 
 Good, strong- 
 new crowns 
 from the outside garden may be potted up and, 
 after resting and freezing, brought into heat and 
 fruited. But the most satisfactory method is to 
 grow plants especially for forcing. Start early 
 in July and root the runners in three-inch pots, 
 with prepared soil plunged up to the rim. A 
 clothes-pin or a small stone will hold the runner 
 in place until rooted. 
 
 A single pot of Strawberries, after a few 
 weeks' growth inside, will yield like this! 
 Better than paying seventy-five cents a 
 quart for half-ripened fruit! 
 
Fruits for Your Own Picking 145 
 
 As the little plants grow, re-pot into four-inch 
 and then into six-inch pots, using a considerable 
 amount of cow manure and bone flour in the last 
 potting. This will give strong, vigorous crowns 
 by late fall, which may be put in a frame and 
 left there until along in January'. Then give 
 them the coolest place in the house, or the coolest 
 house. 
 
 After growth starts, give a little warmer tem- 
 perature — 45 to 50 degrees at night, and keep 
 the plants as near the glass as possible. A very 
 good way is to use suspended shelves, with a 
 couple of wires tacked along the sides, to prevent 
 an}^ danger of the pots falling. If a warmer 
 temperature is available, the pots may be moved, 
 when the berries begin to reach full size, as they 
 will color more highly and have a finer flavor 
 if they can be given 55 or 60 degrees during the 
 period they are maturing; but they do not ab- 
 solutely need it. The main points are to have 
 a good rich soil, perfect drainage, and keep the 
 plants where they will receive all the sunlight 
 possible. 
 
 In special houses, of course, they can be forced 
 much earlier, but this requires extra work, and 
 the flavor, until "Old Sol" really begins to get 
 his courage back along in late February or 
 March, is not up to par. Before that his smile is 
 
14G Gardening Under Glass 
 
 a little too weak to put real sweetness into the 
 ripening fruit. A narrow strip of wire netting, 
 fastened around the rim of each pot, will hold 
 the fruit up and keep it clean if the pots are 
 placed on soil. 
 
 Almost any variety may be grown, but it 
 is better to select one that makes fairly strong 
 crowns, and with good stiff stems that will hold 
 the berries up. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE KIND OF GREENHOUSE TO BUILD 
 
 The builders of modern greenhouses can tell 
 you perhaps everything you want to know about 
 how to build and when to 
 build, except one thing, 
 and that you must know 
 first. It is: What do 
 you want with a green- 
 house? 
 
 There is available any- 
 thing from the little 
 built-in lean-to, which is really a living room in 
 which you can have plants, to a real "range" 
 with special houses for different kinds of flowers 
 and fruits. But do not for a moment make the 
 fatal mistake of thinking that because you may 
 not have the room, or time, or bank account for 
 the latter, the former will not be worth while. 
 The real joy that you will get from your glass 
 garden will depend upon you and your love for 
 plants. I know places where there are thousands 
 of feet of glass, kept by handsomely paid gar- 
 
 147 
 
148 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 deners, which the owners seldom enter except to 
 show them off to visitors. On the other hand, 
 I know of a range where the owner is a collector 
 and enthusiast, and is literally jealous of the 
 time his "Orchid man" has to put in there. 
 
 As the first step toward greenhouse getting, decide just what you want 
 to do with your glass garden. Secondly, get in touch with real green- 
 house builders to help you work out the details of planning it. 
 
 time he cannot afford to take himself. I have 
 also seen dozens of conservatories and small 
 houses where the owner did practically all of 
 the work himself or herself; where you could see, 
 the moment you poked your head inside the pot- 
 ting shed, that every nook and corner was filled 
 with the joy of gardening and of growing things. 
 
The Kind of Greenhouse to Build 149 
 
 It all depends on what you want to do with a 
 greenhouse. And when you have decided what 
 will best fit your purpose and your purse, you 
 will have some of the following points to consider: 
 
 The Greeiihouse to Fit the Place 
 
 First of all, a greenhouse must fit into your 
 place, and link up with the other buildings in 
 fairly harmonious fashion. You do not want 
 anything, whether large or small, that will be 
 an excrescence! Of course you must put the 
 house where it will get an abundance of light; 
 that is absolutely essential. It may fit into a 
 nook or jog in the house; be built into the ve- 
 randa; or made part of one of the boundary walls; 
 or even be almost concealed in a pergola ! 
 
 Modern builders of greenhouses, knowing from 
 wide and varied experience what can be done 
 with curved iron frames and glass, can make a 
 greenhouse grow where one would have thought 
 it was impossible. And where they are put, they 
 stay put — they will remain there during the life 
 of the dwelling house itself. That is, of course, 
 assuming that the best in construction is used. 
 In most things you buy, as you have probably 
 discovered, the best is the cheapest. That is 
 more so with a greenhouse than with anything 
 else you can buy. 
 
150 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 On the other hand, there is some danger of 
 going too far in trying to make the greenhouse 
 fit in architecturally with the rest of the place. 
 If you leave the designing of it to the architect 
 alone, he is very likely to sacrifice economy or 
 
 No pliiec IS luo small for u glass garden. It will fit into some nook or 
 corner, or may even be made part of the boundary line. 
 
 growing quality, or both, to the "lines" he wants 
 to get. The best way is to have the best green- 
 house people collaborate with your architect to 
 secure something that is right both ways. 
 
 And there is another thing worth considering 
 and will be a saving of hundreds of dollars. If 
 you are going to have a greenhouse, get a 
 "standard built" one, that is, according to a 
 standard specification. You would never in the 
 
The Kind of Greenhouse to Build 151 
 
 world think of ordering an automobile with the 
 wheel base made three or five inches longer than 
 the ones the manufacturers of that car turned 
 out. Just so with greenhouses. Manufacturers 
 who have turned out thousands of houses are 
 pretty well able to judge what is the most useful 
 and economical width for a certain kind of type 
 of house; how wide the walks should be; just 
 what heating is required, and so forth. They 
 will sell you such a house complete in every de- 
 tail, erected and ready to fill with growing things 
 the day it is completed, at a price hundreds of 
 dollars less than it would cost to have one made 
 a few inches wider, or higher at the eaves, or 
 differing in some slight detail. 
 
 As for heating equipment, get that with your 
 house equipment, designed for greenhouse work. 
 Don't make the mistake of letting the local 
 plumber put in something that will not turn out 
 satisfactorily. House heating, with which he is 
 familiar, is all up and down; but greenhouse 
 heating, on the contrary, is back and forth — 
 entirely different conditions. 
 
 Let the people who build your house specify 
 the heating at least. Then you can't go wrong 
 even if you have a local man put it in. It is 
 best, however, to let the builders complete the 
 whole job. 
 
152 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Maybe, however, you want the fun of erecting 
 your own house, if it is a small one and you are 
 handy with tools. This can be done. It comes 
 to you with all parts cut and marked for you to 
 
 The potting shed (or "workroom" if you prefer) 
 is as great a joy as the greenhouse itself — in fact, 
 the glass garden without one is only half a garden. 
 
 put together. Then, too, you can save some- 
 thing on the cost that way — provided, of course, 
 that you charge your own time up to exercise. 
 I have built three houses myself, and it is a lot 
 of fun, but if I was buying another house to-day 
 I think I would let the manufacturers put it up. 
 I am sure I would if it was one of any size, be- 
 cause I know they can do it better, and it is 
 almost as important to have a greenhouse ab- 
 
The Kind of Greenhouse to Build 153 
 
 solutely tight as to have a boat tight. The 
 moment the house begins to "leak," the heating 
 cost goes up and can never be brought down 
 again. 
 
 Why a Workroom Is Necessary 
 
 One of the biggest of all the joys of the glass 
 garden I have barely mentioned at all so far. 
 
 Ml 1^ "^^^Ww 
 
 liii III 1 
 
 
 Glimpse in a greenhouse workroom where the 
 planting of the seed flats, transplanting, re-potting, 
 and so on is done. Many a happy, carefree hour is 
 spent here in such fascinating work. 
 
 That is the "potting shed." The "workroom," 
 some call it. 
 
 I remember how I used to stop on the way 
 home from school for a breathing spell, out of 
 the snow or rain, at the greenhouse on the way. 
 
15-1 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 How good was the odor of the moist soil when 
 everything was frozen up outside! How pleas- 
 ant was the suiell of the soft coal smoke down 
 the road, that meant they were beginning to 
 "fire up" in the early fall days! Until you 
 have had a potting shed, to greet you when the 
 
 And finally — have plenty of frames! Costing but a trifle, they will 
 increase greatly what you can grow in your greenhouse. 
 
 fall days begin to get dreary and chill, you can- 
 not imagine just what it is to have a little place 
 of this kind to retreat to, where everything is 
 snug and warm, where the smell of the freshly 
 kindled fire among the things you have trans- 
 ferred to your winter garden brings assurance 
 that the}' will keep on growing, no matter how 
 hard a frost the night may bring. 
 
The Kind of Greenhouse to Build 155 
 
 It won't be long before the potting shed will 
 be one of your favorite haunts. 
 
 Have Frames in Plenty 
 
 In addition to the greenhouse itself, have 
 plenty of frames ! Not just two or three, but a 
 string of them as long as the house itself. Often 
 
 If you want your storage pit to last, make the walls of masonry with 
 cast-iron sills on top and cypress frame and sash. Such pits are invalu- 
 able for storing semi-hardy things like Azaleas. 
 
 it is a good plan to have one such a deep frame 
 that can be heated from the greenhouse heating 
 system enough to keep out frost. And in addi- 
 tion to this, a similar size coldframe. It is re- 
 markable how the capacity and uses of the house 
 will be increased by this slight supplement. 
 
 You will find the frames indispensable for 
 plants such as Lettuce, Beets, and Bulbs that 
 are to be brought into the greenhouse later; for 
 
156 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 storing vegetables, roots, such as Asparagus, 
 Rhubarb, and for Strawberry plants in pots, or 
 the like; for keeping half-hardy things in the 
 winter, and again in the spring for setting out 
 plants which have been 
 started early in the green- 
 house, thus beating the out- 
 door garden by several 
 weeks — for all these and 
 many other purposes. It 
 is unnecessary to enlarge 
 here on the work in the 
 frames — that is done in 
 other books and pamphlets 
 of various greenhouse concerns who make frames 
 of all sizes from the small ones called melon 
 frames to the standard sizes using sash 3 feet 
 wide and 6 long. 
 
 This shows how part of a 
 pit can be easily converted 
 into a coldfrarae or hotbed 
 by using a bench for the 
 soil. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 HANDY AND HELPFUL ACCESSORIES 
 
 Ever try to lace up a shoe without a shoe lace? 
 A shoe lace is a little thing, but when you try 
 to do the job you are supposed to do with a shoe 
 lace with something else, you begin to realize 
 what a handy thing a shoe lace is. The same 
 way with the little things you need around the 
 greenhouse. It has always surprised me to find 
 people trying to putter along, content to do with- 
 out a fairly complete equipment of these little 
 things. Some of these have been mentioned 
 already. But to round them all up together 
 and see at a glance the things that the potting 
 shed should contain, I have put them here with 
 a few very brief remarks on each. 
 
 Before you have gone very far with your green- 
 house you will find yourself thoroughly interested 
 in having your potting shed complete; and even 
 add a little zest to it by playing that old game, 
 "a place for everything, and everything in its 
 place." Incidentally, it is a good plan to work 
 out a color scheme of your own, and paint 
 
158 GardeNifiy Under Glab-s 
 
 everything that is hkely to be begged, borrowed, 
 or stolen. You will find that this will be a great 
 help to your friends' memories. It is a con- 
 venience sometimes to be able to identify your 
 own things when you find them, without having 
 to question anybody's good intentions or bad 
 memory. Now as to what you want. 
 
 Soil Ingredients and Fertilizers 
 
 Prepared Soil. — For directions for mixing 
 see page 40. Keep a good supply ahead in 
 barrels, or in a bin under the work bench. 
 
 Rotted Sod. — Some of this kept separately 
 will be handy for many uses. Have plenty of 
 it on hand each fall, to see you through the 
 winter and early spring. 
 
 Leaf Mould. — Gather a supply of this from 
 the woods in autumn. Get it where it is best — ■ 
 way down under the top leaves. A barrel will 
 hold a surprisingly large amount of it when you 
 get it packed tight. 
 
 Humus. — This is finely pulverized, resembling 
 an extremely light, fine soil. It comes by the 
 bag, or ton, and is a fine thing to have on hand, 
 especially when you can't get leaf mould. 
 
 Peat. — This is used for many purposes, par- 
 ticularly for growing Orchids and the like. It 
 can be bought from a florist or seed house. 
 
Handy and Helpful Accessories 159 
 
 Sand. — Good, clean builders' sand. Medium- 
 size grains, and grit, used for rooting cuttings, 
 and also to make soil friable. 
 
 Bone Meal. — You have more use for this 
 than for any one fertilizer. Get some of the 
 coarse, raw bone, called "rose-grower's" bone, 
 and some of the bone flour. Use the latter 
 where quick results are wanted. For soil in 
 benches and in potting up, use in proportions of 
 about half and half. 
 
 Sheep Manure. — It is very good when you 
 can get the genuine article. Commercial ma- 
 nure should be used with care. Cow manure, 
 while not as strong, is staple for many purposes. 
 Tankage and dried blood contain more nitrogen 
 than bone, and are used for many purposes, es- 
 pecially for top-dressing flowering plants. 
 
 Nitrate of Soda. — The quickest of all fer- 
 tilizers. Good for stimulating leaf and vine 
 growth, and bringing along backward plants. 
 This should be used as a liquid, one tablespoonful 
 to three to ten gallons of water. 
 
 Fertilizer Complete. — A special "Green- 
 house Mixture," containing 5 per cent, of nitro- 
 gen, 8 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and 3 per 
 cent, of potash, made up from the best materials, 
 is put up by the Nitrate Agencies Company of 
 New York. 
 
160 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Tools and Plant Helps 
 
 Trowel.^ — ^This perhaps occurs to you as the 
 first tool the gardener will get; but it is in only 
 
 one greenhouse out of 
 twenty that you will 
 find a really good 
 
 Of course you need a trowel. Get a trnAVP'l TVk^it- n r«^ 
 
 good one that can stand a little pry- ^rOWei. 1 UCy aiC 
 
 ing without crumpling up or the made, but vou mav 
 
 handle loosenuig. 
 
 have to try several 
 places before you succeed in getting one. The 
 kind that are ordinarily offered are not worth 
 carrying home. Get a good one, cut your initials 
 in it, and enjoy it for years. 
 
 Transplanting Fork. — The little, short-han- 
 dled fellow with broad, flat prongs. You never 
 know how handy this is 
 until you try to get along 
 without it, after you have 
 had one. 
 
 Dibbers. — You can por transphmting small 
 
 buy one, or make one ?/?"*« use a sharp-ended 
 
 •^ , . stick or dibble. Here is 
 
 yourself out of a nice piece one with a curved handle 
 
 n 1 Ti • 1 1 ■ ^°*1 metal-shod end which 
 
 Ot wood. It is handy to costs but little and lasts 
 
 have a couple on hand, y^"'" lif^^time. 
 One with a point not much bigger than a lead 
 pencil for transplanting small things; and a big- 
 ger one for cuttings and the like. 
 
Handy and Helpful Accessories 161 
 
 Float. — This is nothing but a flat piece of 
 wood convenient in size, with a handle on one 
 side. It is used for pressing the soil down in 
 flats, or making the ground level before planting, 
 or after seed sowing. Just one of the little things 
 that help speed up work, and which is also fun 
 to use. 
 
 Spade. — Get a good one, the best you can buy. 
 Metal strip on the 
 
 handle — front and E > ^"^ ^^ 
 
 back. Keep it clean. ,, . . x n 
 
 Wipe on with an old needofaspade— a spade, not a shovel 
 
 , — suffice that you can't "keep house" 
 
 rag when you are without it. Get a good one and you'll 
 
 through using it. You ''"^"^ """^ '° ^"^ ^°°*^^''- 
 will find as much difference between using a clean 
 spade and an old rusty one as between a sharp 
 and dull razor blade. 
 
 Spading Fork. — The kind with four or five 
 flat teeth. This is handier than a spade for 
 digging up solid beds and breaking up lumps, etc. 
 Some remarks as to quality apply here. 
 
 Sieves. — You will need at least two, a fine and 
 a coarse. They are made up of extra-heavy 
 wire for florists' use. Obtainable from any seed 
 house. 
 
 Weeders. — Cultivation is as necessary under 
 glass as out in the open. In addition to a 
 "finger" weeder to use in the hand, it is well to 
 
162 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 have one on a handle for getting into the middle 
 of a solid bed if necessary. A light, small hoe is 
 also suitable for this work. 
 
 Plant Supports. — For Carnations, Roses, 
 and other things. Get a supply of the galva- 
 nized wire ones. Sticks are inconvenient and 
 always breaking when you don't want them to. 
 There are several different good ones. De- 
 scribed in any seed catalogue that lists green- 
 house supplies. 
 
 Kaffia. — This is a dried, tough fibre used in 
 place of string for tying up plants, etc. Doesn't 
 cut the plants as string does. It is soft, conven- 
 ient to tie, and does not quickly rot. 
 
 Long Screw Eyes.— These are used for sup- 
 porting wires and trellises at a distance of six 
 inches or more from the side walls or roof bars, 
 where Tomatoes, Melons, or Grapes are to be 
 trained. Keep a supply on hand. 
 
 Shelf Brackets. — These are designed to 
 fasten to the roof bars, to support board shelves 
 for holding pots when the houses are temporarily 
 crowded, or to hold seedlings. Strawberries, or 
 other things which it is desirable to get as close 
 to the glass as possible. 
 
 Other brackets are designed to go on the side 
 walls, or to fasten to the supporting upright posts 
 to carry temporary shelves. It is a good thing 
 
Handy and Helpful Accessories 163 
 
 to have these on hand, as they often save over- 
 crowding on the benches, with the result that 
 plants which would otherwise have to suffer 
 or be discarded can be kept in perfect condition 
 until there is more room available. They are 
 especially useful in the spring, just before it is 
 warm enough to put things out into the frames. 
 Labels. — Don't forget these. You will prob- 
 ably have most use for 4 -inch labels. A few of 
 the long, narrow ones will come in handy in all 
 sorts of wa^^s. A few wired labels which you 
 can tie on the tops of bamboo sticks for use in 
 
 To reach all the plants on the greenhouse 
 bench you need a long-necked sprinkling can. 
 Get a good one, galvanized. Use it the first 
 season, then paint it and you can hand it down 
 for your children to use. 
 
 Watering hose '. 
 way of wearing out 
 and springing leaks 
 at the kinky places. 
 If you have these jiffy 
 hose menders on hand 
 all you need do is cut 
 out the poor spot, 
 push the ends over the 
 metal necks and ham- 
 mer down the prongs. 
 
 bulb pans, to separate the varieties when they 
 are covered with soil, will also be handy. 
 
 Indelible Pencil. — Along with the labels get 
 
164 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 a pencil that will write readily and won't wash 
 out. Ink, of course, is no good, nor an ordinary 
 lead pencil. 
 
 Glass Cutter.^ — There will be occasions for 
 cutting glass. You often need a piece of glass, 
 and a moderate-size cutter will save a deal of 
 exasperation. To cut glass, lay it on a perfectly 
 smooth surface, and then hold a straight edge 
 where you want to cut. Draw the cutter wheel 
 once with a steady, firm pressure. Never try to 
 cut over again on the same place. After you 
 have marked the surface, turn the glass over and 
 tap very lightly along the line with something 
 light and hard. The glass will then part readily. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE CRYSTAL GARDEN 
 
 It is not only during the siege- time of winter, 
 but every month, every week, that there are 
 things of absorbing interest to do in the garden 
 under glass. As many of the most joyous 
 achievements with flowers and vegetables have 
 to be planned for a long time before, this little 
 "round-up" of greenhouse activities is presented 
 for the benefit of the beginner — a sort of guide, 
 philosopher, and friend in reminder form. Just 
 some of the most important things which 
 should be given attention from time to time, to 
 keep everything running smoothly, so that you 
 will not occasionally find yourself saying, "Why 
 didn't I think of that when it was time to sow 
 the seed! Now I'll have to wait another year!" 
 
 The following is by no means a complete list 
 of everything that can be done; but it is enough 
 to help in the right direction. Make a practice 
 of dropping in to see your friends, and your 
 friends' gardeners; and keep tabs on what they 
 are doing, so that you can pick up all the new 
 
166 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 "wrinkles" tliat develop. And if you make 
 these little pilgrimages with an open mind and 
 a not too intrusive disposition, you will find your- 
 self gathering bits of valuable information here 
 and there that will enable you not only to do 
 new things but to do old ones better. 
 
 Keep a little diary of your greenhouse activ- 
 ities. You will find it a lot of fun to do this 
 once you get the habit. And the record will be 
 invaluable to you when you have completed the 
 circle of the year's work, and start in again next 
 year. 
 
 January 
 
 First: Send for the dealers' new catalogues! 
 I don't know where you can get so much fun 
 and information for your money as from the 
 average seedsman's, florist's, or nurseryman's 
 catalogue. It is a good thing to have books 
 and magazines; but for the latest news in the 
 plant world you must go to the catalogues. 
 
 And then there are the various helpful book- 
 lets which are published by the greenhouse con- 
 cerns, and by the manufacturers of tools and 
 insecticides, etc. A good collection of these will 
 form one of the most valuable parts of your 
 library. 
 
 Prepare soil for starting seeds. See page 39. 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 167 
 
 Make up flats and boxes and buy seed pans so 
 as to have everything in readiness for sowing. 
 There will be more seeds to sow during the next 
 few weeks than at any other time in the year. 
 
 Testing old seeds. This may be done readily 
 by counting out a score or a hundred seeds, and 
 planting in the ordinary way. Then keep track 
 of the percentage which grow. This test may 
 save you many disappointments with flowers 
 and vegetables to be sown outdoors later. Fore- 
 warned is forearmed! 
 
 Vegetables for forcing. If you have only a 
 one-temperature house, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, 
 and Melons to be grown inside later should be 
 planted this month or next. If you have both 
 a high and a low temperature house, successive 
 planting of the various vegetables can be made 
 now, to keep up the supply. 
 
 Bring in fruits in pots or tubs for extra early 
 use. Also Strawberries. Unless you have a 
 regular fruit house, however, most of these 
 should not be started until a little later. 
 
 Start seeds for plants for next Thanksgiving 
 and Christmas. Ardisia, Solanum, Abutilons, 
 Fuchsias, Grevilla robusta, and similar things 
 requiring the greater part of a year to mature, 
 should be started now for growing through the 
 summer. 
 
168 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Start annuals for cutting under glass. Very 
 often there is a bad lapse between the last of 
 the good indoor flowers and the first of the gar- 
 den outside. To bridge this gap start now a 
 good supply of Asters, Clarkia, etc. 
 
 Bring in hard-wooded plants. Lilacs, Hardy 
 Azaleas, Clematis, Laurels, and other plants set 
 in pots, or which have been stored for forcing, 
 may be brought in now — a few at a time to give 
 a continuous supply. 
 
 Start a new crop of Sweet-peas for late spring 
 flowering to keep up the supply until the first 
 blooms are ready out of doors. Use a green- 
 house variety. 
 
 Start into active growth stock plants and 
 greenhouse plants to make material for cutting. 
 Old plants of Geraniums, Begonias, Heliotropes, 
 etc., cut back quite severely now, re-potted and 
 given a little more water, will "break" to new 
 growth, making ideal material for cutting a few 
 weeks hence. 
 
 Keep fall-rooted cutting coming on without a 
 check. Young plants started last fall, if they are 
 allowed to get pot-bound now, will be severely 
 injured. It is not desirable to force the growth 
 during the winter months but they must be given 
 enough water and shifted frequently enough so 
 that they will keep growing. Dry off and rest 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 169 
 
 plants that have been working hard through the 
 winter. This apphes especially to plants grown 
 for the holidays such as Poinsettias, Azaleas, etc. 
 Gradually reduce the amount of water and if 
 possible move to cooler quarters. When dor- 
 mant they may be stored under a bench. Place 
 on their sides if there is danger of water leaking 
 through from on top — until time to start into 
 growth again. 
 
 Keep flowering plants well fed. Carnations, 
 Roses, Snapdragons, and other plants from which 
 you have been cutting heavily will need frequent 
 top dressings to maintain the size and quality of 
 flowers. See Chapter VII on /Fertilizers. 
 
 Divide old plants and re-pot. Plants such as 
 Begonias, Daisies, Geraniums, and Ferns may be 
 divided now into several smaller plants, re-potted, 
 and started on the way to make fine new plants 
 by spring. 
 
 February 
 
 Go over the list of January activities and take 
 up any which have not been attended to. 
 
 Dry off and rest holiday and mid-winter plants 
 such as Azaleas and the like, which have come 
 to the end of their flowering time. 
 
 Start stock plants into active growth to fur- 
 nish the materials for cuttings later. 
 
 Overhaul Ferns and other ornamental foliage 
 
170 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 plants. Within a few weeks they will begin 
 their new growth, and on that they will have 
 to depend for their beauty next winter. 
 
 Toward the end of the month a few cuttings 
 may be made from such plants as were started 
 into active growth last month. Geraniums, 
 Paris Daisies, Salleroi Geraniums, Heliotrope, 
 started now will make fine big plants for setting 
 out as early as possible in the spring. If you are 
 carrying any Coleus through the winter, give 
 them the warmest spot available. 
 
 Sow seeds of Pansies, Daisies, Annual Phlox, 
 and the like. 
 
 Sweet-peas started now, two or three seeds in 
 a pot, can be re-potted two or three times and 
 will be strong, husky plants to set out late in 
 March or early in April, as soon as the ground 
 can be dug. They will give flowers weeks ahead 
 of the seeds sown outside. 
 
 Start this month Cabbage, Beets, Lettuce, 
 Kohl-rabi, Onions, Cauliflower, and Celery for 
 extra-early crops. 
 
 Fruits and Strawberries taken in last month 
 should be making good growth now. Syringe 
 frequently and keep well supplied with plant 
 food and water. 
 
 Make another planting of Gladiolus bulbs in- 
 side for early spring bloom. 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 171 
 
 Take in cut sprays of early-flowering shrubs 
 and put in water in a warm place to flower. 
 Just as they are breaking into bloom they may 
 be removed to the living room. 
 
 March 
 
 Start Eggplants, Tomatoes, and Cauliflower 
 for outdoors early in the month. 
 
 Melons, Cucumbers, Squash, Lima Beans may 
 be started in seed pans or flats for transplanting 
 later for a summer crop in the greenhouse. 
 
 Make adequate sowings of such annuals and 
 perennials as Begonias, Pansies, Petunia, and 
 any other which are wanted and have not yet 
 been sown. 
 
 Start bulbs now to pot up later for summer 
 bedding such as Cannas, Begonias, Tuberoses, 
 Caladiums, and the like. 
 
 Pot up cuttings put in the propagating bench 
 last month as soon as roots begin to form. 
 
 Unless ample supplies of Carnations, Chry- 
 santhemums, and Snapdragons are already 
 started, make another batch of cuttings now. 
 
 Be sure to keep Chrysanthemums shifted as 
 often as necessary to larger pots to obtain 
 strong, rapid growth. 
 
 Re-pot Carnations so as to get stocky plants 
 tor setting outside next month. 
 
172 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Be sure to get supports ready well in advance 
 for Grapes, as the new growth will be exceedingly 
 rapid when it begins. Same for Cucumber and 
 Melons that may be making a. start now. 
 
 Be sure to label every plant carefully. 
 
 April 
 
 Transfer from the greenhouse to frames, for 
 hardening off, all the "hardy" vegetable plants 
 and bedding plants. Follow these, as soon as 
 the weather is warm enough, with the tender 
 plants. Ordinary sash will keep them safe from 
 several degrees of frost. 
 
 Set out, inside. Cucumber, Tomatoes, Egg- 
 plants, Melons, etc., for extra-early crop under 
 glass. 
 
 Sow seed, inside, of Peas, Sweet Corn, and such 
 other tender vegetables as there may be room 
 for. 
 
 Pot up the bulbs started last month into 
 three- or four-inch pots, using good rich compost 
 so as to have strong growing plants to put out- 
 side next month. 
 
 Re-pot plants in small pots, and give plenty 
 of room to pots on the benches as growth is very 
 rapid now and over-crowding quickly does serious 
 injury. 
 
 Pot up last cuttings of Carnations, Chrysan- 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 173 
 
 themums, and the like, and re-pot plants already 
 established. 
 
 Increase rare varieties of Dahlias by cuttings. 
 Be sure to make the cut just below a joint, as 
 otherwise the plant will not form bulbs during 
 the summer, 
 
 Roses may be set out inside as soon as there is 
 room. They are grown on inside during summer 
 for fall and winter bloom. 
 
 Water only around the plants at first, instead 
 of soaking entire bed. 
 
 Keep sulphur paste painted on pipes, espe- 
 cially during damp, muggy weather. 
 
 Make up window boxes, hanging baskets, 
 vases, etc., so as to have the plants well estab- 
 lished and growing before these are put outside 
 next month. This saves the three or four weeks 
 while the plants are getting a start if they are 
 set in the boxes outside. 
 
 May 
 
 Move things outdoors or to the frames as 
 rapidly as possible. 
 
 Keep plants which are left in the house picked 
 up and placed close together so that they will not 
 be neglected or dry out too rapidly. 
 
 Attend to watering with the greatest regular- 
 ity. Do not let up on fumigating, watch for 
 
174 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 insects closely, as much damage may be done 
 in a few days if they get a start. 
 
 Plant Melons and English Cucumbers to help 
 keep the house full during the summer months. 
 
 If already started in pots or planting boxes, 
 move these into their permanent positions. 
 
 Re-pot plants for flowering for next fall and 
 winter. Keep pinched back so as to make good, 
 stocky, shapely plants. Transfer these plants 
 to the open as soon as possible, plunging pots in 
 gravel or sifted ashes to hold them in position 
 and conserve moisture. Re-set occasionally to 
 keep roots from going through the pot. 
 
 Start sod pile, to make sure of plenty of good 
 soil for next fall. 
 
 Dry off Callas, Oxalis, and other bulbs that 
 have been blooming through the spring. 
 
 Grapes will be growing rapidly now; keep 
 pinched back every day or two. Remove 
 growth of laterals beyond bunches. 
 
 Secure a quantity of j^oung Ferns to grow on 
 for winter and fall. If you have a surplus they 
 make most excellent gifts. 
 
 Set outdoors: Carnations, Snapdragons, and 
 other things to be grown on for planting inside 
 in fall. Set out stock plants, and in fact any- 
 thing which will do as well in the open ground 
 during the summer, 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 175 
 
 Make as much room as possible Inside, and 
 then utihze it. Anything that can go out will re- 
 quire less care outside than in. 
 
 June 
 
 Clean out the house, or sections of it, and re- 
 paint or sterilize preparatory to putting in new 
 soil or new crops. This is the best time to do 
 any repairing there may be needed. 
 
 Sow for next fall and winter J5egonias, Snap- 
 dragons, iTeliotropes, etc. 
 
 Put in Roses if not already planted. 
 
 Procure shading material and shade part of 
 the house for such things as do not like full sun- 
 light — Ferns, Palms, and other decorative foliage 
 plants. 
 
 Make sure of plenty of "greens " for using with 
 cut flowers next winter. Small pot plants of 
 Asparagus and Smilax started now will make fine 
 sprays by next autumn. 
 
 Give extra feeding to Tomatoes, Melons, Cu- 
 cumbers, and other things which may have been 
 producing for some time. 
 
 Tree fruits will also require special care in the 
 way of feeding at this time. 
 
 Thin Grapes as soon as the little berries are 
 well formed. Don't be afraid of overdoing it. 
 
176 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 July 
 
 Get in fresh soil and make everything ready 
 for putting in the Carnations. This may be 
 done any time during the month but preferably 
 when several rainy or cloudy days seem likely. 
 Spray thoroughly if they have to be brought in 
 during bright, hot weather. 
 
 Chrysanthemums will be making excellent 
 growth now and should be fed two or three times 
 a week. The oldest plants should be in eight- 
 inch pots. Give plenty of air and spray very 
 regularly to keep down the insects. Keep up 
 feeding till buds show color. 
 
 Start Callas and other winter-flowering Ijulbs. 
 
 Sow seeds of Pansy, Clarkia, and other things 
 for fall and mid-winter. 
 
 Give regular attention to plants outside. 
 Pinch back and get into shapely form Oleanders 
 and all the other things to be brought in for 
 winter flowering. Be sure they are kept clean 
 from all insects and pests. 
 
 Make a sowing of Lettuce and Tomatoes for 
 first indoor crops in fall. 
 
 August 
 
 None too early to begin to get everything in 
 shape for fall. There are likely to be a few days 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 177 
 
 and nights when a fire will be needed — in fact, 
 whenever much cold, damp weather comes, an 
 occasional fire to keep the greenhouse warm and 
 dried out will be a benefit, especially in warding 
 off mildew. 
 
 Look over heating apparatus carefully and 
 overhaul if necessary. 
 
 Be sure that the soil pile is ample — in connec- 
 tion with even a small house one uses a lot in a 
 year ! 
 
 Start regular vegetables and flowers for winter 
 in quantities required. 
 
 Re-pot Strawberries so as to get fine, big, strong 
 crowns to store during early winter, and force 
 later. 
 
 Plant Sweet-peas the latter part of the month 
 for growth inside. 
 
 September 
 
 Start in frame or in cool-house, so as to keep 
 up supply of Beans and Radish from seed, and 
 transplant Lettuce, Tomatoes, and Cauliflowers 
 started last month. Some 60 degrees tempera- 
 ture must be maintained during November and 
 December to grow Tomatoes. 
 
 Take in stock plants from outside before dan- 
 ger of frost. Snapdragons, Geraniums, Helio- 
 trope, and many other things, cut back rather 
 
178 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 severely, and put in, will make good growth and 
 flower again profusely later on. 
 
 Start seeds of vSnapdragons, Clarkia, Stocks, 
 and any other things wanted which are not 
 already available. 
 
 Procure and plant for growing under glass 
 Gladiolus, Oxalis, Caladium, Callas, Begonias, etc. 
 
 Plant in flats or bulb pans, for forcing later on, 
 Tulips, Hyacinths, Narcissus, Crocus, etc. These 
 may go in during the latter part of this month 
 or in October. Lilies should be started the first 
 part of this month. 
 
 October 
 
 Continue to give best attention to Chrysan- 
 themums. Fumigate or spray thoroughly, and 
 give plenty of fresh air. Maintain even tem- 
 perature. 
 
 Make another planting of any of your favor- 
 ite annual or perennial flowers not already well 
 provided for. 
 
 Pot up cuttings put in sand last month, as 
 soon as roots have formed. Give final shift to 
 plants grown through summer for winter bloom. 
 Use plenty of bone and ashes in soil, but not too 
 much nitrogen. Make successive plantings of 
 vegetables. 
 
 Any shading still remaining on the general- 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 179 
 
 purpose house should be removed, as from now 
 on all the sunlight possible will be wanted. 
 
 Sudden cold nights may be expected now, and 
 of course keeping the fire in first-class condition 
 should not be overlooked. 
 
 Never let the ashes pile up to the grate. Clean 
 out regularly. Keep flues clean. Do not wait 
 till the sun goes down at night, but start fires 
 early enough to get the pipes hot just before the 
 sun leaves the glass, so that there will be no 
 sudden drop in temperature. 
 
 November 
 
 Before ground freezes take up roots of As- 
 paragus, Rhubarb, Chicory, etc., wanted for 
 forcing. 
 
 Keep an eye on bulbs stored outside, or in 
 frames or pits, and protect before danger of 
 freezing. Be sure not to put where mice can 
 get at the bulbs. 
 
 The houses will have to be kept closed more 
 now, and the appearance of all insects should be 
 watched for most diligently. Fumigate regu- 
 larly, so as to keep them out. Take advantage 
 of every bright sunny day to give all the air 
 possible, while maintaining the required tempera- 
 ture. The more air the plants can get without 
 danger of a chill the better. 
 
180 Gardening Lhider Glass 
 
 Days are short and growth is at its minimum 
 (hu'ing this month and the first part of next. 
 Water carefully, as over-watering now may mean 
 that soil will be soggy for several weeks, with 
 resulting injury to plants. Top-dress vegetables 
 and flowering plants with nitrate of soda or other 
 nitrogenous fertilizer, as the nitrogen in the soil 
 does not become available so rapidly for' the 
 plants' use during this period of short days. 
 
 December 
 
 Bring in from frames or cellar early bulbs in 
 flats or bulb pans to be forced. The early varie- 
 ties, like Golden Spur Daffodil, do not need to be 
 frozen before forcing. They can be brought into 
 moderate temperatures, say 50 degrees, after 
 they have made a mass of roots. Water spar- 
 ingly at first, and more generously as vigorous 
 growth begins. They can be started under a 
 bench or in a shady place, but should receive full 
 light as soon as the flower buds begin to show. 
 
 Fumigate, or paint the heating pipes with sul- 
 phur as a preventative against mildew which 
 does serious damage and is fostered by mid- 
 winter conditions. 
 
 Astilbe japonica makes one of the most at- 
 tractive plants for forcing. Clumps should be 
 potted up now and given enough heat to start 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 181 
 
 growth gradually so they will make good strong 
 plants for flowering later on. 
 
 It is not too late to put in a last planting of 
 Lilies for Easter bloom. Good strong bulbs of 
 formosum potted now will flower in time. 
 
 Attend to winter protection of coldframes and 
 hotbeds. Frames that ought to be kept warm 
 should have boards placed upright and held in 
 place by stout stakes about six inches outside of 
 the frame. The intervening space is packed 
 with dry manure. Shutters, or reed or burlap 
 mats placed over the glass will afford a good deal 
 of extra protection. 
 
 Watering should be done sparingly during 
 the short mid-winter days so as to avoid getting 
 the soil in a wet, soggy condition. A thorough 
 spraying of the foliage in place of watering can 
 be used to advantage under these conditions, as 
 it will keep the plants fresh and vigorous without 
 the danger of over- wetting the soil. 
 
 Pot up as soon as ready cuttings of Carnations, 
 or other flowers which have been made during 
 the past few weeks. One of the commonest mis- 
 takes with cutting is to let the roots get too long 
 in the cutting bed before they are potted off. 
 Be on the watch to avoid this. 
 
 Start into growth stock plants of Chrysanthe- 
 mums held over after the fall crop. Keep 
 
182 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 sprayed with Black Leaf 40 to prevent the 
 black aphis from getting a start. 
 
 Start now clumps of Rhubarb or Asparagus for 
 forcing. These may be grown under a bench or 
 in some other shady place as well as in the light. 
 The clumps that have had several weeks freezing 
 preparatory to being brought into heat give the 
 best results. 
 
 It is not too early to start a batch of cuttings 
 for spring bedding plants, i)articularly of new 
 or scarce things of which it is desired to work 
 up a stock for spring planting. They will root 
 readily during this month if not given too much 
 water. 
 
 Start into active growth for the production of 
 material for cuttings next month stock plants 
 of Geraniums, Heliotrope, Fuclisias, Ivies, Dai- 
 sies, and other things which will be wanted in 
 quantities for spring. 
 
 Sow seeds of Annual Larkspur for early spring 
 blooming under glass. This is one of the pret- 
 tiest of all flowers for cutting inside during the 
 spring months. 
 
 Make another planting of Gladiolus bulbs for 
 bloom inside. Include some of the Primulinus 
 Hybrids which are particularly desirable for 
 cuttings for table decorations. 
 
 Make a first sowing of Pansies, Daisies, Forget- 
 
The Year in the Crystal Garden 183 
 
 me-nots, and other spring bedding plants for 
 extra -early use. 
 
 Select carefully the best Chrysanthemums to 
 keep for stock. The plants can be kept under 
 a bench or out of the way to start into growth 
 the latter part of the month, or the first of next 
 month, to get material for cuttings for next year's 
 plants. 
 
 Keep soil in all beds well loosened up. Oc- 
 casionally loosen the soil in pots, plant boxes, or 
 large pots. The forming of mould or moss closes 
 up the surface so that air cannot readily pene- 
 trate to the plant roots. 
 
 Start Tomatoes and Cucumbers in a frame or 
 over bottom heat, to furnish plants for setting 
 out next month. Set where a sufficiently high 
 temperature can be maintained during January 
 and February to grow them. 
 
 Watch Carnations and other plants for any 
 kind of disease. Immediately remove any rusty 
 or spotted leaves and burn. 
 
 Do not be in too much of a hurry to force 
 semi -dormant plants like some of the flowering 
 shrubs into active growth. Give them a chance 
 to finish a comfortable rest period. 
 
PART II 
 CULTIVATION OF SPECIAL CROPS 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 ALL ABOUT VIOLETS 
 
 Procure northern-grown plants as early as 
 possible in spring. They may be had out of 
 two-inch or two and a quarter-inch pots. Pot 
 up in slightly larger pots than those in which 
 they were grown, place in a cool greenhouse or 
 frost-proof frame on sifted ashes. Keep all pots 
 level so that they will hold water when needed. 
 Keep them in a night temperature of 40 degrees. 
 
 Violets grow best in a sandy loam. 
 
 Ventilate early in the day, and a little at a 
 time, increasing as the temperature increases. 
 Maintain a temperature of 55 degrees by day, 
 and if in a frame, the sash should be removed 
 and replaced in the afternoon as soon as condi- 
 tions make it necessary. When danger of frost 
 is past, the sash had better be kept off altogether. 
 
 They should be planted in the field about the 
 end of April in the latitude of New York. Set 
 the plants about twelve inches in the row and 
 for hand cultivation two feet between the rows. 
 Cultivate at least every two weeks and at the 
 
 187 
 
188 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 same time go over the rows and cut off all runners 
 within two inches of the plants — the object be- 
 ing to secure single-crown plants. 
 
 At this season — spring — get the soil ready for 
 the plants for frames or greenhouses. Toj) sod 
 four to six inches thick is best for this purpose 
 with one third cow manure added in alternate 
 layers on a heap. 
 
 Break up this sod pile in August and add one 
 and a half pounds of pure ground bone to each 
 bushel of soil. Do not break up the soil too fine 
 as the rough pieces may be placed in the bed 
 where the plants are to grow, at the bottom. 
 This should be six inches in depth. Level off 
 the bed and mark it off in lines eight by ten 
 inches. 
 
 If the plants are to be grown in frames give the 
 matter of drainage proper attention. If the sub- 
 soil is of a sandy nature, nothing need be done 
 but place the soil on it, as alreadj^ mentioned, 
 otherwise use cinders which have been exposed 
 to the elements for some time, as fresh cinders 
 contain too much sulphur. If to be grown in 
 frames select, if possible, a southeasterly aspect, 
 where also they may have some protection from 
 northerly winds. 
 
 In lifting the plants, try and have it done in 
 the morning if the weather should be clear and 
 
All About Violets 189 
 
 warm, and plant as soon as possible. Protect 
 
 plants from sun and winds, as they may wilt. 
 
 It is well, before placing the plants in the beds, 
 
 to shade the glass with whiting or clay. If in 
 
 Among the hundred and one things you can grow in coldframes, Violets 
 are not the least. Blooms you can have for months and months from fall 
 till spring. 
 
 frames, use lath shades, as they may be removed 
 every afternoon as soon as the sun is off the 
 plants. This will start them quicker. They 
 should be left on for about ten days or until such 
 time as the plants are in good growth. Begin 
 by leaving the shades off a little longer each 
 day after the first two weeks. For example, 
 
190 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 place shades on the sash at 9 a. m. and remove 
 at 4 p. M. Next day, one half hour later in the 
 morning and remove one half hour earlier in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 After planting, leave two inches of air on sash 
 for a day or two and gradually increase each day 
 as the plants show signs of active growth. 
 Syringe them mornings and earl}^ afternoons for 
 about two weeks, after which once each clear 
 day early in the morning. 
 
 As soon as plants are planted, water thor- 
 oughl}^ They may not require more water for 
 about five days, depending on whether the soil 
 is of a sandy nature or of a clay nature. In 
 making lath shades for this purpose, nail ordi- 
 nary builders' lath on two two-inch strips one 
 inch apart. It is best to do this on the edge of 
 the strips for two reasons: first, they hold to- 
 gether better, and second, they allow more air 
 space between them and the sash, thereby keep- 
 ing the plants just so much cooler. These shades 
 may be four feet wide and six feet long. 
 
 Planting in eastern New York and New Jersey 
 may be done about the end of August. 
 
 Cultivate the beds about every two weeks 
 and not over a quarter of an inch in depth, as 
 most of the feeding roots are near the surface. 
 Keep all runners off, also all flower buds, the 
 
All About Violets 191 
 
 latter till the first week in October or a little 
 later, depending on circumstances. The object 
 of this is to encourage root action, so that the 
 plants will go into winter in good growth. 
 
 As winter approaches, syringing may be done 
 two or three times a week according to weather 
 conditions. 
 
 Maintain a night temperature of 42 to 45 de- 
 grees and 55 degrees in clear weather by day. 
 Should the foliage be wet in the evening after 
 syringing, leave some air on the frame or green- 
 house and turn on a little heat. This should be 
 done irrespective of weather conditions at the 
 time, as otherwise they may get what is com- 
 monly called leaf spots, or blisters. 
 
 In watering the plants, always do it in the 
 morning and be sure the soil is wet through to 
 the bottom of the roots. Before watering the 
 plants, examine the soil under the surface. If 
 it should hold together when squeezed in the 
 hand, there is sufficient moisture. On the other 
 hand, there may be spots where the bed will 
 dry out more quickly, in which case water where 
 necessary. To water them properly, go over the 
 beds twice, as otherwise the best elements of the 
 soil will be washed out, so that a little patience is 
 time well spent. 
 
 Toward the end of January the plants may 
 
192 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 require a stimulant. A light application of pul- 
 verized sheep manure between the plants will be 
 of much benefit. Avoid chemical fertilizers at 
 this season of the year, as they are too quick in 
 their action, and since full ventilation cannot be 
 given the plants may be destroyed. 
 
 A word on fertilizers may be in order, in that 
 it is always good policy to get the bulletins issued 
 by the State Experiment Stations, showing the 
 analysis of the different brands. One can feel 
 safe in accepting these reports. Of course those 
 with experience know which are the most relia- 
 ble, but it is good practice to have the bulletins 
 in any case, as they are issued to any one who 
 applies for copies. 
 
 Should the soil at any time show a tendency 
 to become green, a slight dressing of slacked lime 
 may be given, thus correcting the acidity of the 
 soil, also making the bacteria more active. Lime 
 must never be considered as a fertilizer. Its 
 use on soil is for the purpose above described. 
 
 The best guide in determining when to stimu- 
 late the plants is one's own olxservation that the 
 flowers show signs of not being up to standard. 
 Be cautious about appl3'ing stimulants to Violets 
 as they are not gross feeders like Roses. 
 
 Enemies are: red spider and green fly. The 
 presence of the former may be known by the 
 
All About Violets 193 
 
 appearance of the leaves, in that they become 
 white, as a result of the tissues being destroyed. 
 They are in appearance and size similar to unripe 
 red peppers. Remedy : they may easily be kept in 
 control by syringing properly with cold water 
 applied to the under side of the leaves, using a 
 fine nozzle with a pressure of at least thirty 
 pounds. Green fly may be kept in control by 
 fumigating with either nico-fume paper or vapor- 
 izing in the liquid form. All open flowers should 
 be picked off before fumigating. This operation 
 should always be done at night, whereas the 
 syringing should be done in the morning of a 
 bright day as far as possible. The best remedy 
 for green fly is cyanide of potassium used in 
 conjunction with sulphuric acid, but this is an 
 extremely dangerous vapor in inexperienced 
 hands. 
 
 Violets may be grown successfully in southern 
 New England, eastern New York, and New 
 Jersey, without artificial heat, by using a double 
 frame and also double-glazed sash, with mats of 
 straw or other material with board shutters to 
 keep the latter dry. 
 
 Build a frame in the usual way in a unit of one, 
 two, or more sash as needed. Have the back of 
 the frame about twenty inches high and the 
 front twelve inches in height. Next, get two-by- 
 
194 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 four-inch material and nail on edge from top to 
 bottom on the inside, spaced about four feet 
 apart, after which line the inside with roofing 
 or other matched boards. Thus, a space four 
 inches will be formed all around the frame which 
 should be filled with dry leaves. By this method 
 flowers may be had all winter. 
 
 Heating 
 
 In placing heating pipes in a violet frame, the 
 return pipes should be placed at the front of the 
 bed with a board stood on edge between the 
 pipes and plants to act as a shield, as the heat 
 coming in direct contact with the plants would 
 cause red spider. As far as possible, hot water 
 should be used for heating. 
 
 Short stems are the result of either keeping the 
 plants too warm or too dry at the roots. 
 
 At all times, after the plants are planted and 
 in good growth, keep the atmosphere buoyant, as 
 Violets are cool-loving plants, and a humid at- 
 mosphere invites disease and consequent dis- 
 appointment. This is one of the most important 
 parts of success in violet growing. 
 
 Varieties: Single — California and Prince of 
 Wales; Double — Lady Hume Campbell and 
 Marie Louise. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 ALL ABOUT PINEAPPLES 
 
 Pineapples probably are more improved by 
 growing under glass than any other fruit. But 
 unfortunately they take a longer season to ma- 
 ture their fruit — therefore are more of a luxury. 
 Still, for a private establishment, they are to be 
 highly recommended. 
 
 The first thing to be considered is a house 
 adapted for the successful culture of this crop, 
 as a great deal depends on success or failure in 
 this respect. 
 
 The house best suited for growing Pineapples 
 is a comparatively small, low structure, as they 
 at all times require a fairly high temperature and 
 also bottom heat. There should be enough pipes 
 under the bed, laid in a hollow channel, to keep 
 the temperature of the bed a trifle higher than 
 the general atmosphere of the house. This in 
 particular refers to the dark days of winter. 
 If the roots were subjected to a lower tempera- 
 ture than the top, the chances are the roots would 
 decay and poor results would follow. 
 
 Pineapples are of easy propagation. There 
 
 195 
 
196 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 are different methods of increasing stock — 
 especially if certain varieties are scarce — such 
 as cuttings of the stem (for instance) after the 
 fruit is gathered. Pull up the plant and strip 
 all the foliage oft' the stem or stems. Lay into 
 a flat half covered with leaf mould or any open 
 material and place in the propagating house where 
 there is a liberal amount of bottom heat. The 
 dormant eyes will soon start up and nice plants 
 can be had in this manner. Good plants may 
 also be propagated from crowns taken from the 
 ripe fruit. (Allow the crowns to dry out for a 
 few days before rooting them.) These two 
 methods refer to cases of scarce varieties onlj' 
 and when you want to make the most of stock, 
 for strong, vigorous stock suckers that come away 
 from the base of the plants afford the best means 
 of propagation — they make a more vigorous and 
 quick-growing plant. It is well, however, to 
 leave the suckers until they are good and strong 
 before they are pulled from the parent plant. 
 They may then be potted into pots according 
 to size — which for good strong plants should be 
 anywhere from four-inch to five- or six-inch pots 
 for extra-strong plants. 
 
 Soil for Pineapples must be of an open nature 
 as anything stagnant around the roots must be 
 avoided. Take a sod land with a fair amount 
 
All About Pineapples 197 
 
 of sand so that the roots can run readily through 
 it, and if the soil is on the heavy side add more 
 sand, or still better, sand and charcoal. Soil 
 for Pineapples should be prepared a few months 
 in advance, and for every four loads of soil add 
 one load of farmyard manure. When ready for 
 use a sprinkling of blood and bone, say at the 
 rate of 100 of soil to one of blood and bone — 
 such a compost Pineapples should thrive in. 
 
 There are different ways of growing this m- 
 teresting fruit. They may be grown in pots: 
 keep re-potting until they are in eleven- or twelve- 
 inch pots, which is large enough to fruit them in. 
 Years ago most of the Pineapples grown under 
 glass were wholly under the pot system. How- 
 ever, even if grown in pots, if bottom heat can 
 be had, the plants will make a more rapid 
 growth, especially if the pots are plunged into 
 some open material — tan bark, for instance, 
 would be ideal. 
 
 Another mode of growing them is to set the 
 plants in solid beds, which is to be highly 
 recommended. The plants make rapid growth 
 under this culture — say about one foot of 
 drainage over the hot-water pipes, then fifteen 
 inches of soil, setting the plants about twenty 
 inches apart. Then the plants may be replaced 
 with young ones after every crop, or the strong 
 
198 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 suckers may be allowed to come on again, which 
 will mature a crop much quicker than replanting, 
 although I do not think it advisable to leave 
 them in longer than two or three crops, as the 
 soil they are planted in will by that time need 
 renewing. 
 
 In planting young plants, or what I shall term 
 rooted suckers, if everything goes well ripe fruit 
 may be looked for in, say, twelve or fourteen 
 months; whereas in the following crop, providing 
 the plants are in a healthy condition and not 
 disturbed more than cutting the old plants away, 
 allowing the suckers to grow, ripe fruit from 
 these established suckers may be had in nine or 
 ten months, say with a temperature at night of 
 70 degrees, 80 day or 85 degrees with sun heat. 
 
 Pineapples require a fairly light house, al- 
 though from the middle of April to the end of 
 September a light shade on the glass, just 
 enough to break the hot sun rays, is all that is 
 necessary, and for this purpose there is nothing 
 better than naphtha and white lead. 
 
 The varieties of Pineapples are numerous, 
 but many of those formerly included for forcing- 
 purposes are now seldom grown, the well-as- 
 certained good qualities of a few leading kinds 
 having gradually led to the discarding of in- 
 ferior sorts. While the few approved varieties 
 
All About Pineapples 199 
 
 will be found sufficient for all practical purposes, 
 there can be nothing gained by growing an ex- 
 tended list. Smooth-leaf Cayenne is excellent 
 for greenhouse work, always makes a nice 
 clean growth, and has stood the test many years; 
 when well-grown the fruits will average anywhere 
 from 7 to 10 lbs. Enville, Lady Beatrix, 
 Lambton, Charlotte Rothschild, and Queen will 
 make a select list for forcing purposes. 
 
 Water and moisture need consideration. While 
 Pineapples donot require nearly so much water 
 at the roots as some other fruits, it is a mistake 
 to allow them to suffer for want of water. If 
 during the short days of winter they were kept 
 continually wet at the roots, the roots would 
 certainly decay. Years ago moisture was very 
 sparingly given for fear of their damping-off. 
 However, by keeping up the required tempera- 
 ture in the house, also bottom heat, it is not 
 necessary to dry them off during the winter 
 months, but rather a disadvantage, but it has a 
 tendency to weaken the plants and is also a loss 
 of time, as with proper treatment the pines will 
 grow considerably. Of course they will not 
 make as rapid growth in winter as they will 
 during the summer. 
 
 In speaking of moisture and watering, also 
 feeding, it is a difficult problem to explain — as so 
 
200 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 much depends on the condition of stock. If in a 
 healthy growing state they will take more 
 moisture at the roots. But one thing should be 
 borne in mind: whenever the bed is watered, 
 whether in summer or winter, give it a thor- 
 ough watering, then no more until absolutely 
 necessary. This, in my opinion, is one of the 
 secrets of success for all plant culture. It 
 would be an advantage through the winter to 
 water and spray with warm water, having the 
 water of the same temperature as that of the 
 house. Keep the atmosphere fairly well charged 
 with moisture at all times and syringe the plants 
 on bright days — but avoid syringing when the 
 fruit is in bloom. After the Pineapples are 
 thoroughly established feeding will be in order, 
 particularly after the fruit is set and swelling 
 away. I have found Clay's Fertilizer excellent 
 for them, say a handful to a three-gallon canful 
 of water, mixed with the water, using enough 
 water to give the bed a fair soaking. Manure 
 water is also good^cow manure preferred. Still 
 this all applies to healthy, vigorous stock. The 
 aim should be to produce good strong plants. 
 Then naturally one may expect fine fruit, which 
 cannot be obtained from weak, puny plants. 
 
 Good judgment as regards airing should be 
 used. When the thermometer falls below 80 
 
All About Pineapples 201 
 
 degrees, for instance, a crack of air may be 
 admitted providing the temperature is in such a 
 condition outside as to raise the temperature 
 inside to, say, 85 degrees. Do not admit air at 
 all if it is going to lower the atmosphere as soon 
 as put on. 
 
 Insects 
 
 Pineapples are sensitive to insects, although, 
 fortunately, there are not many insects to 
 bother them. Scale and mealy bug are two of 
 the worst enemies. Both are very injurious 
 if they are allowed headway, and are difficult to 
 eradicate. The best method is to keep close 
 watch and upon the appearance of any traces of 
 insects of any kind, to apply methods to eradicate 
 before they gain headway. Where mealy bug 
 has already made headway, use a force pump and 
 fairly hot water. Pineapples will stand water at 
 100 degrees, but it is uncomfortable for the bug. 
 It is out of the question to clean out bugs by spong- 
 ing. As already stated, by applying the remedy 
 when first noticed it is easy to keep them down. 
 
 Pineapples can be grown successfully by 
 following along these lines, and there is no 
 comparison between the pines grown in the 
 greenhouse and the Southern production. The 
 greenhouse pines can be eaten readily with a 
 spoon, and have a much richer flavor. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 PALMS 
 
 LiNNEUs, the great botanist, aptly described 
 Palms as the "Princes of the Vegetable King- 
 dom." Their stately habit, the splendid prop- 
 erties of the stems, the grace and beauty of the 
 leaves, and their great variety mark them as one 
 of the most valuable and distinguished groups of 
 plants. 
 
 They are chiefly natives of tropical countries, 
 extending to 30 degrees N. latitude in America, 
 34 degrees N. latitude in Asia, and in Europe, 
 the one indigenous variety, Chamaerops humilis, 
 extends to 44 degrees N^. latitude. No species 
 are found beyond 38 degrees S. latitude. 
 
 In the United States, while a number of species 
 are to be found growing outdoors in Elorida, 
 California, and other more or less frost-free 
 states, their culture is usually under glass, and 
 Palm culture is now a very important branch of 
 commercial horticulture, the number sold of the 
 more popular decorative varieties totalling many 
 thousands per annum. 
 
 202 
 
Palms 203 
 
 On private estates also the Palm house has 
 grown to be almost a necessity. It is generally 
 the most impressive glass structure in the range 
 and is full of interest the year through. 
 
 Palms are nearly all of comparatively easy 
 culture; arranged tastefully in a special house 
 they always receive the attention of visitors, and 
 are unequalled for house decorative effects at all 
 seasons, many also being valuable on piazzas 
 and lawns for tropical summer effects. 
 
 While it is possible to grow Palms in an ordi- 
 nary greenhouse with a miscellaneous lot of 
 plants, to do them justice they should be allotted 
 a special house, the size and character of which 
 must depend on circumstances. 
 
 For many, a simple span-roofed division, 
 preferably with curved glass, will answer ad- 
 mirably. If something more imposing is de- 
 sired, a house of any desired length, width, and 
 height can be arranged for, and a central dome 
 will add to its appearance. 
 
 It is surprising that more Palm houses are not 
 built near the dwelling house so that they can 
 be reached by a glass corridor, and utilized for 
 pleasant promenades or similar purposes when 
 occasion requires. It is a simple matter to 
 wire the house or houses for electric light. The 
 floors can be constructed of fancy tiling if de- 
 
204 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 sired in preference to concrete, and seats of a 
 more or less rustic nature can be located in 
 pleasant nooks. With the connecting corridor 
 arranged on each side with seasonable flowering 
 plants, and the roof covered with attractive 
 climbers, the approach can be made a very de- 
 lightful one. 
 
 It is always possible to hire or purchase 
 Palms from the local florist. Generally those 
 handled commercially^ are limited to a very 
 small number of varieties, and in even a small 
 private palm house there can be grown to splen- 
 did perfection a varied, interesting, and at- 
 tractive collection. From such a house it is 
 possible to select plants for decorative use in 
 the house on special occasions, which will excite 
 the curiosity and admiration of visitors, the same 
 being a pleasant relief from the commonplace 
 sort usually seen. 
 
 Palms are invaluable for house decoration, 
 for the plants will stand so long in good condi- 
 tion, even under the most drying and trying 
 conditions, individually in vases, in groups on 
 stairway landings, in hallways, or in small 
 sizes for table centrepieces. In window boxes 
 they are all but indispensable. 
 
 While some species do not succeed outdoors 
 in our Northern states, there are others, such as 
 
Palms 205 
 
 Phoenix, Lantana, Kentia, Rhapis, and Corypha, 
 which can be used in groups on piazzas, for the 
 centre of vases, and even for tropical effects on 
 the lawn, or in beds of foliage plants. 
 
 The Phoenix are well adapted for very sunny 
 locations, while the Kentias and Lantanas keep 
 a darker green in partial shade. 
 
 Cultural requirements of Palms, in order to 
 keep them in good condition, do not call for any 
 unusual skill. All varieties want an abundant 
 supply of water in the warm growing season, 
 and the soil should not at any time approach 
 dryness or the leaves will show the effects of it, 
 becoming brown at the ends. 
 
 Good drainage is also a prime necessity; for 
 this purpose pieces of broken pots, coarse coal 
 ashes, and charcoal are all useful. Whatever 
 drainage is used, it should be covered with a 
 layer of sphagnum or wood moss before any of 
 the coarse compost is placed in the pots or tubs. 
 
 Good fibrous loam cut from an upland pasture, 
 and stacked for a year, is suitable for the culture 
 of all Palms if to it is added a good proportion 
 of sharp sand and broken charcoal. A little leaf 
 mould may be used advantageously for young 
 Palms, but the older Palms prefer a stronger 
 and heavier soil. 
 
 When the plants are in large boxes, tubs, or 
 
206 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 pots, in which they must remain for some years, 
 it is a good plan to add a five-inch pot of quarter- 
 inch bone to each wheelbarrow load of soil. 
 Manure water each week in summer will assist 
 all plants which have their pots full of roots and 
 need some feeding. Soot water is also an ex- 
 cellent food and is especially good for keeping 
 the leaves a dark green color. 
 
 Sometimes worms are troublesome in the soil. 
 To get rid of them, take a piece of stone lime, 
 slack in a pail or tub of water, and give the 
 plants the clear liquid. This will cause the 
 worms to make a hasty exit. Some scattered 
 on the surface soil and washed in will effect the 
 same result, but gives the surface a very limy 
 appearance. 
 
 To keep Palms clear of insect pests, the hose 
 should be freely used: in winter once a day, and 
 in summer, twice a day. It should be directed 
 with strong force on the leaves, to keep such 
 pests as scale, mealy l)ug, and red spider in 
 check. A spray nozzle, screwed on the end of 
 the hose to produce a fine misty spray, if used 
 once a week will be found an excellent help 
 toward keeping the Palms clean. If spraying is 
 properly done, there should be little need of 
 fumigation. 
 
 A convenient and cleanly fumigant is nico- 
 
Palms 207 
 
 fume, which comes in the form of papers; this 
 does not leave a disagreeable, smoky odor in 
 the house for several days, as when tobacco 
 stems are used. 
 
 Ground glass should always be used in Palm 
 houses, and will prove sufficient shade for the 
 plants in the dark winter months; the glass out- 
 side will require a coat of shading the middle or 
 end of March. This can be made from kerosene 
 and white lead. This will wash off in the fall. 
 On no account use linseed oil unless you want 
 to spend a lot of time cleaning the glass in 
 October or November when more light is wanted. 
 By adding a little green color, a pretty green 
 shading (which is preferred by some) may be had. 
 In potting Palms, care must be taken not to 
 break or in any way damage the roots. The 
 soil requires to be well firmed, and a good space 
 for water should be left on the surface. 
 
 It is always better to avoid using decayed 
 animal manure or chemical fertilizer in the soil. 
 Each is, however, useful applied in liquid form 
 or as top dressings. 
 
 To keep foliage clean, spraying at intervals 
 is necessary; this is more especially needed 
 when the plants are used for house decorations 
 and catch quantities of floating dust. 
 
 In cases where Palms get very large, too big in 
 
:^08 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 fact for tub culture, it is often possible to plant 
 them out in a prepared border in the central 
 part of the house. The plants make luxurious 
 growth treated thus. 
 
 A few conditions which are conducive to suc- 
 cessful Palm culture are: ample drainage, firm 
 potting, abundant watering, persistent spraying, 
 especially in summer, and shade from the direct 
 sun's rays. A night temperature of from 55 to 
 60 degrees in winter will grow nearly all Palms 
 well. A few tropical sorts prefer it five degrees 
 warmer, and should have the warm end of the 
 house. If 60 degrees at night in zero weather 
 can be maintained, nearly all Palms will do well 
 under such conditions. When much fire heat 
 is used, it is very necessary to sprinkle plenty 
 of moisture on the floors to counteract the 
 aridity which would speedily cause pests like 
 red spider to spread. 
 
 Out of the 1,500 or more named varieties of 
 Palms, a comparatively limited number are 
 grown under glass, except in Botanic Gardens, 
 where immense houses can be devoted to them. 
 
 Some of the most useful for private collections 
 are the following: 
 
 Kentia Belmoreana, useful in all sizes, probably 
 the most popular Palm in America and one 
 of the very best house plants. 
 
Palms 209 
 
 Kentia Forsteriana, similar to the foregoing, 
 also very useful. 
 
 Kentia Sanderiana, a graceful Palm of elegant 
 habit, leaves arching, narrow. 
 
 Kentia MacArthuri, an excellent tall, graceful 
 variety. Succeeds well in a cool house. 
 
 Kentia Wendlandiana, of robust habit, ends 
 like the Fish Tail Palm. 
 
 Areca lutescens, a beautiful, graceful variety, 
 stems, golden in color, much used for deco- 
 rations, more tender than the Kentias. 
 
 Areca Verschaffeltii, very handsome. 
 
 Pinanga Kahlii, a quick grower, bold, light 
 green foliage. 
 
 Lantania horhonica (Fan Palm), one of the best 
 known varieties, requires a lot of room 
 when grown to specimen size. Excellent 
 for large vases and for lawn ornamenta- 
 tion. 
 
 Rhapis flabelliformis, stands more rough treat- 
 ment than any other Palm. Excellent for 
 use in halls and corridors. 
 
 Phoenix Roehelenii, one of the most graceful 
 Palms in culture in small sizes, very fine for 
 table decoration. The airiness of this plant 
 is one of its greatest charms. 
 
 Cocos Weddelliana, the Palm par excellence for 
 centrepieces. Very light and graceful. In 
 
210 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 greater demand than any other variety. 
 A rather slow grower. Very handsome. 
 Cycas revoluta, the well-known Sago Palm, of 
 very easy culture. Can be started from 
 dry stems. Very good for large vases in 
 dwelling house. 
 Phoemcophorium sechellarum, makes a very 
 beautiful specimen for the centre of a house. 
 Requires warm treatment. 
 Seaforthia elegans, a very easily grown decora- 
 tive variety. 
 Thrinax elegant issima, distinctive and hand- 
 some. 
 Varieties previously named are all moderate 
 and well adapted for culture under glass. The 
 list might be extended at great length. 
 
 For any one desiring to add a few more easily 
 grown kinds, the following can be recommended : 
 Chamaerops h u m His Cocos flexuosa 
 
 Geonema imperialis Ureca sapida 
 
 Caryota majestica 
 Tropical climbers can, of course, be ad- 
 vantageously utilized on the roofs of Palm 
 houses. They should not be, however, allowed 
 to grow so thickly as to shut out light from the 
 Palms; these can be grown in pots or tubs, or 
 prepared borders below the side benches. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 RIPE GRAPES FROM MAY TO NEW YEAR's 
 
 Probably the Grape is one of the oldest fruits 
 on record. We read of Grapevines reaching the 
 
 Say what you will, there are no Grapes 
 comparable to the greenhouse grown ones. 
 Meaty, succulent, and huge are the bunches. 
 
 age of 500 years. The celebrated vine at 
 Hampton Court, England, planted somewhere 
 about 150 years ago, covers a space of over 200 
 square yards, and is to-day in a good state of 
 preservation, carrying heavy crops annually. 
 The Grapevine is of easy propagation. Various 
 methods may be adopted, such as layers, cuttings, 
 
 211 
 
212 Gardejiing Under Glass 
 
 inarching, grafting, and by eyes — the last named 
 being the best. Insert single eyes, selected 
 from well-ripened wood, into three-inch pots. 
 Leave two inches of the wood with the eye; a 
 few pieces of sod in the bottom of pots, sharp 
 sand on top. When the eyes start rooting they 
 will strike into the sod. They will root readily 
 plunged into bottom heat, say of a temperature of 
 70 to 75 degrees. In the bed a slightly less 
 temperature in the house is an advantage. Keep 
 the pots moist, but avoid over-watering. From 
 the middle to the end of January is a good time 
 for the work. This will allow a good long 
 season for growing the canes. 
 
 One-year canes are to be recommended for 
 planting in the border for fruiting. One of the 
 fundamentals in grape growing as regards suc- 
 cess or failure is the borders. Grapevines are 
 moisture-loving but there must be perfect 
 drainage or everything will go wrong, in spite of 
 all the good care they may receive. In a water- 
 logged border there will be trouble from begin- 
 ning to end : vines making a poor growth ; badly 
 finished fruits; unripened wood in the fall. 
 
 The question has often been asked. Which is 
 to be preferred, inside borders only or both in- 
 side and out? Good Grapes are grown under 
 either system, but the tendency is in favor of 
 
Grapes from May to Neio Years 213 
 
 confining the roots wholly inside. Certainly 
 for early forcing inside borders should be resorted 
 to, but for mid-season and late crops it is im- 
 material, unless the graperies are on low ground 
 — then by all means keep the roots inside. 
 
 The house best adapted for fruit growing is a 
 span roof running north and south, about 
 twenty -five feet in width, with ventilators at 
 both top and bottom. If the natural drainage 
 is good, there is no necessity for going to the 
 expense of putting in artificial drains for the 
 borders. Still it may not be amiss to give an 
 outline of a grape border with bottom drainage. 
 
 Dig out about four feet deep. Lay a tile 
 drain down the centre of house — a three-inch 
 drain preferred. Make sure in laying this drain 
 to have a proper fall through the whole length 
 in order to carry off the water. Make an open- 
 ing into this main drain every fifteen or twenty 
 feet. When this is completed the bottom 
 should be concreted, grading first so that the 
 concrete in centre of border will be six inches 
 lower than the sides: this allows all the water 
 to run into the drains. On the rough concrete 
 add one foot of drainage in the centre, tapering 
 off to six inches at the sides. It is immaterial 
 what kind of drainage one uses — broken bricks 
 will answer the purpose with a thin layer of 
 
"214 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 oyster shells if they can be secured. From this 
 drainage to the surface there should be from two 
 and one half to three feet of soil. If possible 
 cut a tough sod and lay over the drainage, grass 
 side down. Then make up the border. 
 
 Vines are not particular as to soil, although 
 the best medium loam obtainable is recom- 
 mended. A sod ploughed up from an old pas- 
 ture can be hauled direct to the border. Farm- 
 yard manure often used to enrich the soil is of 
 short duration and has a tendency to sour the 
 border; however, proper supplies of food most 
 be introduced. Good bone is one of the main- 
 stays in a grape border, and for the bottom of 
 the border coarse bone from an inch to four 
 inches; using a finer grade toward the surface. 
 The borders should not be made too rich. Many 
 vines have been destroyed by the use of too much 
 food in the soil. It is an easy matter to surface- 
 feed when the vines are in condition to take up 
 the food. A border made up of good sod land 
 with perfect drainage will keep in good condition 
 for years. A sprinkling of hard wood ashes as 
 the border is made is a benefit. See that the 
 bone and wood ashes are properly distributed in 
 the border, which is an easy matter by starting 
 to make the borders a thin layer of sod, then 
 bones and ashes sprinkled in as the work goes 
 
Grapes from May to New Year's 215 
 
 on, using bone at the rate of one part to seventy- 
 five parts soil with a hght apphcation of wood 
 ashes. Toward the surface use a finer grade of 
 bone; in fact, for the top, blood and bone can be 
 used to good advantage. 
 
 The vines may be planted in either the spring 
 or fall — good, strong, one-year-old canes. Be- 
 fore planting disentangle all the roots so they 
 can be spread out and covered with about three 
 inches of soil. Vines planted as they have been 
 growing in the pots, not breaking the ball, will 
 never start satisfactorily. Plant the canes three 
 and one half or four feet apart — train the vines to 
 trellises eighteen or twenty inches from the glass. 
 For the first year early forcing should be avoided. 
 
 To have a long season of Grapes for table use 
 three houses are necessary: early, midsummer, 
 and late. Suppose we start our early grapery 
 the middle of December: Grapes may be cut the 
 first week in May — such varieties as Black 
 Hamburg and Muscats require a longer season. 
 In starting a grapery in December have a tem- 
 perature of 45 degrees at night, 50 degrees to 55 
 day, and gradually rising five degrees every twelve 
 or fourteen days until the temperature reaches 65 
 degrees night and 75 degrees day, or 80 with sun 
 heat. This should carry them until the Grapes 
 are set, when a temperature of 70 degrees at 
 
216 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 night would be in order with a rise of 10 degrees 
 in the day. 
 
 Watering when the vines are growing freely 
 plays an important part in producing good fruit. 
 Never allow the border to get dry. The amount 
 of water vines will take when the drainage is 
 good is surprising, especially when the fruit and 
 foliage are growing fast. Water at least a cou- 
 ple of times with manure water, that from the 
 cow barn preferred. Although it is not advisable 
 to give a border a heavy watering just as the 
 fruit commences to color, vines that are confined 
 to an inside border, especially as the border gets 
 full of roots, will take quantities of feeding, and 
 for a complete fertilizer Thompson's Vine Manure 
 can be relied upon. 
 
 Airing is another important item, as with 
 careless airing everything will go wrong. The 
 main object should be to avoid sudden changes 
 either at night or by day. 
 
 Fohage plays an important part in producing 
 high-grade fruit. There should be enough foli- 
 age to cover the glass nicely without crowding — 
 one perfectly developed leaf is worth two poor 
 ones. The mode generally adopted is to pinch, 
 say, two or three leaves beyond the bunch, ac- 
 cording to space. Pick the lateral growth at the 
 first leaf. 
 
Grapes from May to New Years 217 
 
 Thinning the branches is a tedious operation. 
 This work requires some judgment and a certain 
 amount of practice to make headway. The 
 bunches must not be touched with the fingers : a 
 small stick in one hand and scissors in the other 
 is the correct method. Usually the beginner 
 will fail to cut out enough berries at one thin- 
 ning. The aim is to allow enough room for the 
 berries to develop to their full size but when ripe 
 to have a solid bunch, and this can be achieved 
 only by practice. 
 
 There are quite a variety of hot-house Grapes 
 to select from, but it is a mistake to plant too 
 many varieties in one house. Black Hamburg, 
 Foster's Seedling, and Buckland Sweetwater are 
 satisfactory for early forcing. Muscat of Alex- 
 andria can be grown in a mixed house, but to 
 give this finest of all Grapes justice, it should 
 have a house to itself, as it requires a longer sea- 
 son and a little more heat to bring it up to per- 
 fection. All Grapes when in bloom require a 
 fairl}^ dry, bracing atmosphere. Gentty tapping 
 the vines or flower clusters at mid-day when in 
 bloom is all that is necessary to ensure a set of 
 fruit. Such varieties as Gros Colmar, Gros 
 Maroc, Lady Hutt, and Barbarossa are recom- 
 mended for the late house, as their late keeping 
 qualities are well known. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 FRUIT TREES IN POTS THE YEAR ROUND 
 
 Trained this way, even a 
 fruit tree occupies little space 
 in the garden. 
 
 Can any one imagine a 
 more interesting sight 
 than a greenhouse filled 
 with Apples, Pears, 
 Pliuns, Peaches, Nectar- 
 ines, Cherries, etc., all 
 growing in pots, the brilli- 
 ant coloring of the vari- 
 ous varieties of the fruits 
 rivalling in beauty a 
 house filled with flower- 
 ing plants, with the added 
 satisfaction of having de- 
 licious fruits for use on 
 the table, home-grown in 
 size just as large as, 
 and the flavor often 
 far superior to, those 
 
 grown in the orchards in their proper season? 
 
 Failure to grow hardy fruit trees in pots is 
 usually caused by overheating the house at the 
 
Fruit Trees in Pots the Year 'Round 219 
 
 beginning. If you will pause to consider for a 
 moment how nature works the charm, the right 
 idea will immediately present itself. 
 
 First, we get in nature's treatment, after a 
 period of rest in winter, a gradual loosening from 
 the icy grip of winter, then an almost impercepti- 
 ble increase in the temperature, with warm sun- 
 shine during the day, but still very cool nights. 
 So nature's forcing is done during the day, while 
 a halt is called in the hours of darkness, giving 
 rest and recuperation to the renewed activity 
 and strain consequent to the resurrection of life, 
 by absolute rest and inactivity. 
 
 Fruit trees in pots do not require an elaborate 
 house for their successful culture. Any house 
 having a width of from sixteen to twenty-five 
 feet, with a height of five or six feet at the eaves, 
 and about twelve feet at the ridge or apex, will 
 answer admirably. It is, however, necessary 
 to have top and side ventilation, and it is also 
 preferable to have one or two partitions in the 
 house, so that different temperatures may be 
 maintained, as not all the trees are brought into 
 the house at the same time. 
 
 Buy the trees from a reliable nurseryman. 
 Trees in pots, which will produce a crop the first 
 year, can be bought at about $5.00 each, and 
 with ordinary care these trees will continue to 
 
220 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 produce crops for many years. Some of the best 
 authorities claim that a fruit tree in a pot can be 
 kept in fruiting condition for twenty years. 
 Here is the routine of management: 
 The earhest varieties of Peaches, Nectarines, 
 
 Nectarines and Peaches are 
 among the most satisfactory of 
 greenhouse grown fruit. Their yield 
 is abundant, and when ripe are 
 thin skinned, beautifully colored, 
 and of a flavor indescribably fine. 
 
 Apples, and Pears are placed in the house about 
 the middle of January. On bright days the 
 temperature may be as high as 80 degrees sun 
 
Fruit Trees in Pots the Year 'Round 221 
 
 heat, while if the day is dull and there is no sun, 
 the temperature may be as low as 45 degrees. 
 The sun-heat temperature, of course, means with 
 the ventilators slightly open. The house is 
 closed as soon as the sun's rays begin to decline, 
 so as to conserve the solar heat as long as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 Maintain a night temperature of 42 degrees 
 until the buds show signs of swelling. The ob- 
 ject of keeping such a low night temperature is 
 to allow the sun to do all the forcing, and so 
 imitate nature as closely as possible. At this 
 time, with swelling buds, raise the night tempera- 
 ture to 50 or 55 degrees, with same temperature 
 on cloudy days. In sunny days the temperature 
 is kept the same as before. 
 
 From the start, the trees are syringed twice 
 every bright day until the blooms are opening; 
 then cease syringing, only dampening the floors 
 once or twice about the middle of the day, and 
 keeping a light, buoyant atmosphere in the house. 
 
 The trees are gently shaken to distribute the 
 pollen. If the weather is cloudy during the 
 flowering period, go over the blossoms with a 
 camel's hair brush. This assists the distribution 
 of pollen and gives a more even set of fruit. 
 
 As soon as the fruit is set syringe on every 
 favorable occasion, ventilating as freely as the 
 
i^22 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 weather will permit. When the nights are warm 
 enough leave a circulation of air night and day, 
 until the crop is ripe. 
 
 The other trees are brought into the house 
 about jNIarch 1st, and the Cherries and Plums 
 from the middle of March to the first of April. 
 These latter do not set their fruit unless a free 
 circulation of air (top and bottom) can be given 
 while in flower, hence the idea of bringing them 
 in late, as bj^ the time they open their blossoms, 
 the ventilators may be opened slightly day and 
 night. 
 
 When the fruits are swelling, the trees require 
 liberal feeding until coloring commences, when 
 nothing but clear water must be given or the 
 flavor of the fruit will be seriously impaired. 
 
 When the fruit is ripening, the trees must be 
 kept drier at the roots — of course, not dry 
 enough to cause wilting or shrivelling, but only 
 watered when they are quite dry, and then not 
 watered again until they are really dry. This is 
 the only way to secure good flavor. 
 
 After all the fruits have been gathered, the 
 trees can be plunged outside in a sunny position 
 and given a good treatment by feeding once a 
 week. This will help them to finish their growth 
 and ripen their fruit buds for next year's crop. 
 
 About the middle of September the roots of all 
 
Fruit Trees in Pots the Year 'Round 223 
 
 pot fruits should be examined, and where a trifle 
 larger pot is required, it should be given. The 
 larger sizes will probably only need the balls 
 reduced slightly and can then be replaced in the 
 same pot. Reducing the ball must be done 
 with great care, so as not to injure the roots 
 more than is absolutely necessary. Do this as 
 follows : 
 
 First, turn out the ball, then with a pointed 
 stick work out some of the soil from among the 
 roots, round the outside of the ball. Then, after 
 cleaning the inside of the pot, fill in the spaces 
 with a mixture of good fibrous loam, well-rotted 
 manure, a sprinkling of ground bone and lime 
 rubble, working the compost round the sides 
 with a flat piece of wood and making the whole 
 firm with a round stick or tamper. Then water 
 and plunge the pots in the ground as before 
 directed. 
 
 After this operation spray the trees three or 
 four times a day to prevent wilting, and carefully 
 water to encourage new root action. Continue 
 this treatment until the wood is thoroughly ri- 
 pened and the first light frost causes the leaves to 
 fall, when the trees must be stood in rows close 
 together, and the pots covered liberally with 
 leaves to prevent breakage by freezing; of course 
 leaving the tops of the trees exposed. 
 
^24 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 The trees can remain in this position until 
 the early varieties are required inside for forcing 
 again. 
 
 Any late varieties of fruit and those that it is 
 desired to retard may be placed at this time in 
 an unused carriage room, without any heat, and 
 the pots covered thoroughly with hay. Here 
 they may be maintained in an equably cold 
 temperature, where the now increasing strength 
 of the sun's rays are not felt. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 VEGETABLE GROWING IN FRAMES 
 
 Where only a small quantity of forced vege- 
 tables are needed for an occasional "treat," 
 "coldframes" may he used. These are oh- 
 tainahle ready to put together (which can be 
 done by anybody with ordinary intelligence) 
 and in them, with no heat except that supplied 
 by the sun, can be grown such plants as Lettuce, 
 
 Coldframe or hotbed banked around with manure to keep Jack Frost 
 from working his way in. 
 
226 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Spinach, Parsley, Mint, and Watercress suffi- 
 cient to give a limited supply from November 
 to May. In addition to the crops that may be 
 grown during the entire winter, there are others 
 that may be had until December 1st or later, 
 and again during the month of May, when they 
 cannot be grown in the open ground. 
 
 Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts may be had 
 even as late as the holidays. Tomatoes and 
 Eggplant may be planted late in the summer in 
 deep frames, and fruit had for the table long 
 after frost has destroyed the outdoor plants. 
 
 The season of productiveness of nearly all 
 summer vegetables may be advanced from two 
 to three weeks in the early spring and summer, 
 by sowing the seeds in coldframes. That cold- 
 frames are of great value to the gardener is 
 proved by the fact that they are important ac- 
 cessories to nearly all large private and commer- 
 cial greenhouse establishments. 
 
 These same frames may be supplied with some 
 form of artificial heat which will transform them 
 into *' hotbeds." The most common method of 
 making hotbeds is to excavate a pit to a depth 
 of eighteen to twenty inches and in area about 
 six inches less the length and width of the frames. 
 This pit is then filled with manure fresh from the 
 horse stable, or, if convenient, have about one 
 
Vegetable Growing in Frames 227 
 
 fourth of the bulk of forest leaves mixed with the 
 manure. This material should be made mod- 
 erately moist and the pit filled, taking care to 
 tramp the material as firmly as possible. Over 
 this is placed about four inches of good loam — 
 this also should have some well-decomposed 
 manure mixed with it — and made firm. The 
 frame should then have leaves, manure, or litter 
 placed about it as high as possible. The heat 
 given off by the fermenting manure should ad- 
 vance the plants materially. 
 
 Hotbeds heated by steam or hot-water pipes 
 from greenhouses or dwellings are also frequently 
 made. 
 
 In addition to the banking about the sides 
 with some material, both hotbeds and cold- 
 frames should be covered during cold weather 
 with wooden shutters made for the purpose, and 
 with mats, straw, or leaves. 
 
 In locating the frames, place them facing 
 south, and a site should be chosen that is pro- 
 tected from north and west winds by buildings, a 
 tight board fence, or anything that will act as a 
 windbreak. 
 
 If the soil where the frames are to be placed 
 is either stiff clay or light sand, a few inches 
 should be removed from the surface and replaced 
 with some good friable loam over which should 
 
228 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 be spread two or three inches of well-decomposed 
 farmyard manure. This should be forked in, 
 the surface then made level, firm, and fine, by 
 raking, when it will be ready for sowing seed or 
 setting plants. 
 
 Parsley seed should be sown not later than the 
 first week in July. Sow in drills about a half 
 inch deep and eight to ten inches apart and keep 
 well watered. 
 
 Lettuce, Radishes, and Spinach may be sown 
 at intervals of two weeks, beginning August 15th. 
 All may be sown in drills five to six inches apart. 
 Lettuce should be transplanted when about two 
 inches high, setting the plants about eight inches 
 apart. 
 
 Roots of Watercress and Spearmint may be 
 procured during September or the early part of 
 October, and planted. If kept thoroughly wa- 
 tered. Watercress will grow as well as though 
 planted in water. 
 
 Aphides or plant lice are apt to trouble Parsley, 
 Lettuce, and Cress, and are very annoying. A 
 dusting with tobacco dust and some tobacco 
 stems placed among the young plants will drive 
 them away. 
 
 If a crop of Cauliflower is desired to mature 
 during December, the seed should be sown about 
 July 8th. Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts that 
 
Vegetable Grooving in Frames 229 
 
 have not formed heads in the open ground may 
 be dug up and planted in the coldframes, where 
 they will mature. 
 
 Young Beets and Carrots may be had during 
 the fall and early winter by sowing the seeds in 
 the frames about September 1st, and an early 
 crop may be had again in the spring by sowing 
 about March 1st. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE HANDLING OF STOVE PLANTS 
 
 The term "stove plants" indicates that they 
 require a high temperature. The term has to 
 a certain degree fallen into disuse, and "tropical" 
 is perhaps a better one. 
 
 The numerous fine foliage and flowering plants 
 belonging to this class are among the most re- 
 markable and strikingly beautiful in the world. 
 With few exceptions, stove plants require a rather 
 strong and moist heat, under which conditions 
 they naturally revel. 
 
 Any one who has inspected a well arranged 
 house or tastefully displayed group of these plants 
 must admit they are wondrously interesting 
 and beautiful, and when their comparatively 
 easy culture is considered it is indeed surprising 
 that so many growers have altogether ignored 
 them. 
 
 Any greenhouse which contains sufficient pip- 
 ing can be made to produce good stove plants. 
 Many are grown with other plants, but to see 
 them to advantage, a special structure is re- 
 
The Handling of Stove Plants 231 
 
 quired. With a minimum night temperature of 
 from 60 to 65 degrees, any of these tropical gems 
 can be grown to perfection if the necessary con- 
 ditions, such as careful potting, watering, ven- 
 tilation, and cleanliness are attended to. 
 
 One great advantage with many stove plants 
 is that so manj^ of them are splendid house- 
 decorative subjects. If there is perchance a 
 scarcity of flowering plants, this is quickly and 
 satisfactorily remedied by the use of fancy 
 Caladiums, Crotons, Dracaenas, Marantas, or 
 other of the beautifully colored-leaved varieties 
 grown. It is doubtful if in the whole list of deco- 
 rative plants for use in the dwelling there is 
 any better all-round sort than Pandanus Veitchii, 
 which will thrive as well as a Boston Fern, an 
 Aspidistra, or a Rubber Plant in the living room. 
 
 The best tj^pe of house for tropical plants is an 
 even span, eighteen or twenty -five feet in width, 
 with a central bed and side benches. The heat- 
 ing pipes should be on the sides of the house. 
 
 If the house is to be a wide one, the central 
 bed may be quite low, just a little above the 
 level of the path. This will allow of better head- 
 room for the larger specimens and they can be 
 viewed to better advantage than when on a 
 raised bench. 
 
 Paths are often constructed of cement, a ma- 
 
232 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 terial which dries up very quickly. Iron grat- 
 ings laid over a bed of cinders or bricks are 
 preferable, as they hold the moisture so much 
 better and make it unnecessary to use the hose 
 so often. A constantly moist atmosphere is con- 
 ducive to the well being of practically all fine 
 foliage plants. The flowering varieties in a 
 number of cases prefer a period of comparative 
 dryness and rest in a cooler house. 
 
 The best potting medium for tropical plants is 
 something that will require a small volume of 
 peat. As a rule a good loam, sharp sand, and 
 well-decayed leaf mould answer well for the ma- 
 jority. Some of the more robust may need some 
 dried cow manure or bone added. 
 
 Marantas, Alocasias, x\ralias, and some other 
 varieties enjoy some lumpy peat or chopped fern 
 fibre added. Nepenthes do best in fern fibre and 
 sphagnum moss. As a rule a rather porous soil 
 is the best. Broken charcoal is an excellent 
 material to add to the soil as it helps to keep it 
 sweet. 
 
 There are few days in the year when the plants 
 in a stove house are not benefited by a hosing. 
 The house had better be closed early in the after- 
 noon in winter. To create a brisk growing at- 
 mosphere, shutting up in sinnmer must be done 
 later in the afternoon. During very warm 
 
The Handling of Stove Plants 233 
 
 weather some ventilation had better be left 
 all the time. Both top and bottom ventilators 
 should be provided — the lower ones being used 
 only during hot weather. 
 
 If ground glass is used in the roof, no shading 
 will be required except in summer. This should 
 be entirely removed early in October — ^a strong 
 light helps to bring out the bright coloring on 
 the foliage of stove plants. A mixture of kero- 
 sene oil and white lead makes a suitable shading. 
 
 The roof of a stove house need never be un- 
 attractive, but it is unwise to train up too many 
 climbers as they will darken the house for the 
 other inmates, but space can probably be found 
 to run up such plants as Allamanda Hendersonii 
 or Schotii, Bougainvillea Sanderiana and ama- 
 bilis, Aristolochia, Stephanotis floribunda, Cle- 
 rodendron Balfourii, and others beautiful and 
 showy. 
 
 Should there, perchance, be an end or side wall 
 of brick or stone, these can be covered with Ficus 
 repens, a quick and close-clinging climber, or, 
 better still, the same may be covered with wire 
 netting fastened to strips of wood an inch thick, 
 which can be spiked to the walls. The inside of 
 the netting can be closely packed with moss and 
 fern fibre, and planted with a miscellaneous as- 
 sortment of green- and colored-leaved plants. 
 
234 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Adiantum cuneatiim, Fittonias, Panicum varie- 
 gatiim, Peperomias, and other quick-growing 
 plants will soon cover all bare spaces and make 
 a charming show. 
 
 To break the flatness of such a wall, rustic 
 
 ^' 
 
 
 
 ■:\ 
 
 N 
 
 ^ 
 
 fe#; 
 
 
 ' \ ~^^ 
 
 2i;'4:/ iki-^ 
 
 1 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 m. 
 
 And with the use of very little greenhouse space you can keep over 
 winter some of the tender decorative Cycads which are so effective outside 
 in summer. 
 
 pockets of virgin cork can be used at intervals 
 and in them nice specimens of ferns or fine foliage 
 plants may be placed. Begonia Rex in a multi- 
 plicity of colors is one of the best foliage plants 
 for this class of work. 
 
 The use of rockeries covered with anv of the 
 
The Handling of Stove Plants 235 
 
 plants previously mentioned will make any un- 
 sightly corner very attractive. 
 
 Many of the stove house plants do well bedded 
 out in summer — mixed beds of colored leaves 
 certainly are very effective. Crotons, Cala- 
 diums, Marantas, Phryniums, Dieffenbachias, 
 Ficus, Pandanus Veitchii, Acalyphas, and Pepe- 
 romias if used with some of the hardier Palms 
 which stand sunlight and green Dracaenas will 
 make a splendid tropical bed. 
 
 For window and piazza boxes and vases the 
 same plants answer well, but must be kept well 
 supplied with water at the roots. 
 
 Outdoor beds are benefited by a hosing each 
 evening in hot weather. All thin and forlorn- 
 looking plants should be planted out. In fall 
 strong cuttings will be procurable and should be 
 inserted in moist, warm sand to root; this is better 
 than potting the old plants. 
 
 There are some very beautiful flowering stove 
 plants aside from the climbers already named. 
 Foremost among them are the various forms of 
 Anthurium Andraeanum; Eucharis amazonica 
 (which will flower twice a year if given as many 
 rests); and Clerodendron, which produces bril- 
 liant scarlet hydrangea-like heads of bloom. 
 Plants of this sort may be started from seed sown 
 in brisk heat in January or February. Medi- 
 
236 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 nilla magnifica is a beautiful plant, carrying big 
 pendulous racemes of wax-pink flowers. It likes 
 a peaty compost, and enjoys a high temperature. 
 The Ixias make splendid bush plants; I. Colesii, 
 Williamsii, coccininea superba, and Fraserii are 
 all fine sorts. Allamanda Williamsii, a dwarf 
 flowering variety, makes a plant of great value 
 for decorative purposes in the house. Gardenia 
 florida, Pancratium fragrans, and Gloriosa su- 
 perba are another good trio. 
 
 For suspending in })asket from roof netting, 
 nothing adds so much to the picturesqueness of 
 a stove house as Nepenthes, or Pitcher Plants, as 
 they are more commonly termed. Osmunda 
 fern fibre, charcoal, and plenty of sphagnum 
 moss grows these plants to perfection. They 
 require frequent syringing overhead, and revel 
 in a close, moist atmosphere. Good varieties 
 are Amesiana, Hookeri, Chelsoni. 
 
 Colored-leaved plants are so numerous that 
 but a few of the more striking can be named. 
 Fancy Caladiums should not be overlooked. 
 They are summer plants and are to be dried off 
 in the fall. They are ideal plants for window 
 boxes in the summer. Crotons contain a won- 
 derful assortment of forms and colorings. A 
 few of the specially good ones are Queen Victoria, 
 Eclipse, Duke of Connaught, Golden Ring, Lord 
 
The Handling of Stove Plants 237 
 
 Derby, Magnificent, Sunshine, Reidii, Nobilis, 
 and Her Majesty. 
 
 There are many fine colored Draceanas — a 
 few meritorious ones are Goldiana, Imperiahs, 
 Mayii, Norwoodiense, and Lindenii. 
 
 In Marantas, Lindenii, Makoyana, and Veitchii 
 are all attractive and easily grown. 
 
 A few other choice stove plants are Sphoero- 
 gyne, Phyllotoenium, Alocasia. In colored 
 x\nthuriums, Veitchii is the most majestic. Other 
 fine forms are Crystallennium and Warocquea- 
 num. 
 
 The graceful Aralias such as Veitchii, gracillima, 
 and elegantissima should not be omitted. 
 
 Propagation of Aralias, Dracaenas, Crotons, 
 and Dieffenbachias can be carried out by either 
 mossing and rooting the tops, or putting them 
 in sand. The Aralias are the most difficult to 
 root, and the mossing process is best for them. 
 
 Marantas, Alocasias, Anthuriums, and many 
 others are increased by division of the plants. 
 Nepenthes will root in moss and sand in a close, 
 moist case. 
 
 Allamandas and other climbers root when soft, 
 in half-ripened wood cuttings. 
 
 If there is a small propagating house it is well 
 to provide a bench over hot-water pipes for this 
 purpose. 
 
238 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Some of the Palms which love warm treatment 
 may be grown in the stove house. These include 
 such varieties as Phoenicophorium, Livistona, 
 Thrinax, and Licula. A few of these dotted in 
 at intervals assist in breaking any stiffness, and 
 overcome the masses of colored foliage nicely. 
 
 During the summer months young plants for 
 the stove house can be very satisfactorily grown 
 in frames. The pots may be plunged, and with 
 the tops close to the light and plenty of syr- 
 inging when closing up in the afternoon, remark- 
 able growth will be made. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 GREENHOUSE AND BEDDING PLANTS 
 
 There is no sharply defined dividing line, as 
 regards general culture, between either "conser- 
 vatory" and "greenhouse" plants, or between 
 these and the better class of outdoor "bedding" 
 plants. By the aid of glass structures many of 
 our common garden favorites, Mignonette, Pe- 
 tunias, hardy Roses, Canterbury Bells, Carna- 
 tions, Snapdragons, and others can be had in 
 bloom in and out of season, either as potted speci- 
 mens or planted out in masses into stagings or 
 benches — indeed can only so be grown to perfec- 
 tion. The same course in culture leads to as- 
 tounding results with Tulips, Hyacinths, Narcis- 
 sus, Lily -of -the- valley, and all other kinds of 
 hardy bulbous plants now so largely grown for 
 cutting and winter display. 
 
 On the other hand, many of our greenhouse 
 plants proper are benefited by a temporary so- 
 journ in the open during summer and when 
 planted out or plunged in beds or borders with 
 taste and judgment in attractive arrangement, 
 
240 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 produce grand effects impossible to obtain with 
 ordinary bedding plants. Palms, Dracaenas, 
 Crotons, x\gaves, etc., may thus be utilized to 
 advantage. Their removal from the crowded 
 
 
 And for the spring planting outdoors, plan well in advance. Then 
 you'll have a whole garden in bloom, ready to go as soon as the weather 
 is warm enough! 
 
 conservatory for a time when vegetation is most 
 active permits of greater space to be allotted for 
 perfect development to those remaining indoors, 
 an important point, if highly finished specimen 
 plants are aimed at. P^or an attractive interior 
 arrangement during the months of summer any 
 amount of material for the purpose is at the 
 
Greenhouse and Bedding Plants 241 
 
 plantsman's disposal. Besides those plants al- 
 ready alluded to as suitable for indoor and pot 
 culture, recourse may be had to Gloxinias, Tuber- 
 ous Begonias, bulbs, and summer-flowering plants 
 without number. Interspersed between the ver- 
 dure of Palms, Ferns, and the nobler species of 
 decorative plants, or suspended in baskets from 
 the roof, clambering over trellises or covering 
 with a mantle of bright blossoms nooks and 
 walls, they lend life and color to the scene. 
 Here, then, good culture and effective array go 
 hand in hand to render the glass house as much 
 of an enticingly charming retreat during the 
 warm days of summer as it never fails to be in 
 the days of bleak winter. 
 
 Bedding Plants 
 
 Although all the many kinds of truly meritor- 
 ious bedding plants are easily raised from seeds 
 or by rooting cuttings, it is onlj^ when a start 
 is made quite early so as to have strong, robust 
 plants by the time outdoor operations begin, 
 that satisfactory results, faultless outline of beds 
 or borders, uniformly good growth, or an appre- 
 ciably long season of bloom may be expected. 
 While some of the varieties extensively used for 
 bedding, for the filling of vases, veranda boxes, 
 and urns are started in the fall from seeds or 
 
242 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 cuttings and grown into size during winter under 
 glass, such as Daisies, Forget-me-nots, Geran- 
 iums, Coleus, Pansies, Vincas, and all greenhouse 
 plants adaptable for outdoor effects, the greater 
 number of species, valuable for the purpose, are 
 propagated in the spring, and if they are started 
 early — most of them from seeds — they will grow 
 into excellent material in good season for being 
 planted out. 
 
 Such kinds are Stocks, Petunias, Asters, Ager- 
 atums, Lobelias, Snapdragons, Marguerite Car- 
 nations, Chinese Pinks, Verbenas, Scarlet Sage, 
 Zinnias, Phlox, Marigolds, Cobaeas, and Cosmos. 
 The seeds of any of these may be sown in Febru- 
 ary and March in shallow boxes or seed pans, 
 and if sown thinly, covered but slightly, the soil 
 well firmed and kept moderately moist, and the 
 boxes are placed on some bench in the greenhouse 
 that receives heat from below, germination will 
 take place in from five to ten days, after which 
 more light and air are afforded to prevent spin- 
 dling, lanky growth. 
 
 Phlox, Pinks, Asters, Petunias, Stocks, Snap- 
 dragons, Carnations, and Verbenas can be 
 planted out in previously prepared beds and 
 borders very early, as soon as the ground has 
 been dried off and is somewhat warmed in April 
 or early May, while the more tender of the varie- 
 
Greenhouse and Bedding Plants 243 
 
 ties should not be set out until all danger of freez- 
 ing is past. Summer-flowering bulbs are started 
 in much the same manner, pots being used in 
 preference to boxes, especially in forwarding 
 Dahlias, Cannas, and Tuberous Begonias. Hardy 
 bulbs of the Holland-grown kinds, Snowdrops, 
 Tulips, Crocus, etc., as well as Lily-of-the-valley 
 and the bulbs of all true Lilies, are planted in the 
 fall. 
 
 Potted Plants 
 
 With the exception of Palms, Primulas, Ferns, 
 Cinerarias, Gloxinias, Cyclamen, Calceolarias, 
 and a few others raised from seeds, and those of a 
 bulbous character, most of our popular indoor 
 decorative plants are multiplied by cuttings; 
 Fuchsias, Lantanas, Crotons, and Geraniums of 
 all kinds being examples. Short-jointed, sturdy 
 growths, the firm, partly matured young wood, 
 cut below a joint, trimmed of its lower leaves, 
 inserted in the sand of a pretty warm propagat- 
 ing bed or, should this not be available, dibbled 
 into boxes filled with sand or sandy soil and these 
 stood on a warm place, and all kept nicely moist 
 and lightly shaded, describes the process most 
 favorable to the rapid formation of roots on 
 cuttings. As soon as rooted and before the 
 newly formed roots have grown to too great a 
 
244 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 length, transplant from the sand into small 
 pots, to be followed by subsequent shifts into 
 larger pots. 
 
 Transplanting 
 
 Rapid and perfect development of growth is 
 brought about by timely and frequent trans- 
 planting, and this especially in the case of young 
 plants. At every shift a pot only a size or two 
 larger than the one the plant comes out of should 
 be used, and fresh soil for filling in and firming 
 down around the root-ball. Seedlings, when 
 standing too crowded in their first seed trays, 
 are helped along wonderfully by a transplanting 
 into other boxes and new, fresh soil, allowing at 
 the same time a sufficiently great space between 
 seedlings for spread and thrifty growth. Large 
 greenhouse plants. Palms, Rubber-trees, Azaleas, 
 Oleanders, Orange trees, and specimen plants in 
 large pots or tubs are transplanted when appear- 
 ance indicates absolute need of it, often but once 
 in two or three years. Occasional doses of 
 liquid manure will uphold vigor and health and 
 render needless frequent disturbance of roots 
 and unwieldy bulk of pot or tub. It is the 
 young, rapidly advancing plant that is most 
 benefited by a transplanting from pot to pot be- 
 fore ever its roots, form a solid ball. 
 
Greenhouse and Bedding Plants 245 
 
 Soil 
 
 Sod, dug from fertile meadow, roadside, 
 pasture, or about fence corners, piled up and al- 
 lowed to weather down to an easily crumbling, 
 turf-like substance, is the best of soil for nearly 
 all gardening purposes. For the starting of 
 seeds and for the first transplanting of seedlings, 
 Ferns and rooted cuttings, it should be run 
 through sieves, while for larger plants it should 
 be merely broken up and in preparation be en- 
 riched additionally by a liberal intermixture of 
 well-decaj^ed barnyard manure, to which for very 
 large plants some bone meal might be added. 
 For succulents, Cactus, Agaves, etc., a goodly 
 sprinkling of sharp sand or gravel should be in- 
 corporated; for Begonias, Cyclamen, and all slow- 
 growing, finely fibered plants a portion of leaf 
 mould or peat together with sand should be thor- 
 oughly intermixed. Old soil, full of acidity and 
 fungoid spores, should never be used in potting, 
 though good, fresh garden loam, in lieu of sod, 
 does fairly well. 
 
 General Routine 
 
 Temperature. Plants of varying species 
 growing under one glass roof. in the summer or 
 
246 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 out in the open, of course, fare all alike as to 
 temperature, those in the house enjoying the 
 advantage over the others of being more thor- 
 oughly safeguarded against fierce heat, squalls, 
 heavy rains, and sudden changes of temperature. 
 During winter, early fall, and spring, when arti- 
 ficial means must be resorted to for adequate 
 supply of heat, conditions are well under control, 
 and a medium degree in temperature, between 
 50 and 60, neither too low for hothouse plants 
 nor too high for the less tender species, may be 
 maintained with gratifying results all around. 
 It should be borne in mind that during that pe- 
 riod growth is sluggish, and the less it is encour- 
 aged by needlessly high temperatiu'es at a time 
 when light and sunshine have lost much of their 
 power as the most active factors in the promo- 
 tion of plant growth, the finer, the cleaner, and 
 the healthier will the plants be when the season 
 of renewed action approaches. 
 
 Ventilation. P'resh air is another important 
 agency that the cultivator may make free use 
 of at almost all seasons of the year. In a prop- 
 erly constructed greenhouse it is easy to provide 
 buoyancy and j)urity of air, to guard against 
 too much or too little, against sweeping cold 
 drafts as well as against atmospheric stagnancy, 
 both being bad for the plants, while with rightly 
 
Greenhouse and Bedding Plants 247 
 
 adjusted ventilation fresh air proves its virtue as 
 the most potent of hfe-giving elements. 
 
 Watering. To hold to the golden midway 
 between too much and too little in watering and 
 sprinkling is yet the greatest trick in gardening. 
 Over-watering and under-watering are sins many 
 growers are guilty of. An observant person, 
 however, will with but little experience soon ac- 
 quire the art of watering plants so that it will do 
 them good instead of harm, and will soon know 
 when to water and how much to apply. It all 
 depends on the character of the soil, on the con- 
 dition of the plants grown therein, and on the 
 time of year. Thus it is obvious that during 
 the long, hot days of summer, plants must be 
 copiously and more often watered than in winter; 
 that then they are benefited by a daily syringing, 
 while during the cold season all plants under 
 glass should be but sparingly sprayed and should 
 never be dripping wet at nightfall. And again, 
 a plant newl}' transplanted into fresh soil needs 
 less water for a time than one firmly established 
 with its pot filled with roots, while a dormant 
 bulb or a plant at rest needs least. 
 
 Insects and Diseases. Over-watering, sour- 
 ing of the soil, an atmosphere either too dry or 
 overcharged with stagnant humidity, sudden 
 changes in temperature, lack of fresh air or ic}^ 
 
248 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 currents sweeping through nicely progressing 
 new growth, are the principal causes of disease 
 and of damage by insects. Too high a tempera- 
 ture coupled with excessive atmospheric mois- 
 ture during winter causes soft, sappy growth, 
 and this is least able to resist the onset of fungoid 
 and insect foes likely to molest plant life under 
 faulty treatment. Sulphur, blown through the 
 foliage, is a remedy for mildew and leaf -spot; 
 nicotine or tobacco, in the form of liquid sprays 
 or by fumigation, keeps thrips and green fly 
 away; scale insects yield to soap-suds and red 
 spider is held in check by hard syringing. Little, 
 however, need be feared from disorders of any 
 description if in the treatment of plants alertness, 
 care, and caution are exercised. Proper atten- 
 tion to cultural details wins out against all diffi- 
 culties in the end. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 GROWING VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS 
 
 With one or more greenhouses, even though 
 small, some or all of the varieties of vegetables 
 specified for growing in coldframes may be had 
 throughout the fall, winter, and spring; and in 
 addition, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, String Beans, 
 Asparagus, and Rhubarb. 
 
 One essential for a greenhouse intended for 
 growing vegetables (or almost anything else for 
 that matter) is, that means shall be provided for 
 abundant ventilation. Plants, like humans, 
 thrive very much better if allowed to breathe 
 pure air, and unless all the air possible, consistent 
 with the temperature desired, is given, the plants 
 will not attain their best development. Bright 
 sunshine, pure air, and water in reasonable 
 amount are prime factors in making plants 
 happy. 
 
 Good soil is an important consmeration, and 
 is not so difficult to obtain as is often supposed. 
 "Fresh sod from the surface of an old pasture 
 field" is generally advised by horticultural 
 
 249 
 
250 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 writers, and the advice is excellent, but the man 
 who may have a greenhouse twenty -five or fifty 
 feet by twenty feet in his lot that is but twenty- 
 five feet by sixty feet will have difficulty in 
 getting that kind of soil and he can get along 
 without it. 
 
 The three essentials of a good soil are sub- 
 stance, friability, and fertility'. Soil is rarely 
 found that cannot be made reasonably good by 
 the addition of some other material. Sand is 
 very friable but lacks substance and fertility, 
 but may be made to grow plants by the addition 
 of manure or sifted coal ashes and soil of heavy 
 character. Very heav^^ clay soils may be made 
 good by the addition of sand, light manure, leaf 
 mould, or other material that contains consider- 
 able humus. 
 
 Soil for sowing seeds should generall}^ be lighter 
 and more friable than for other purposes. A 
 compost of one half good loam, one fourth sand, 
 and one fourth leaf mould or thoroughly well-de- 
 caved manure, will make an excellent medium for 
 
 sowing most seeds. 
 
 Tomatoes 
 
 To obtain a supply of Tomatoes through the 
 winter make the first sowing of seeds between 
 July 1st and 10th. The seeds should be kept 
 
Groiving Vegetables Under Glass 251 
 
 reasonably moist until the seedlings are through 
 the soil, after which time take care that the 
 soil does not become too wet, otherwise the 
 young seedlings will be attacked with what is 
 called "damping-off." The stem of the little 
 plant will appear as though scalded just above 
 the surface of the soil and all plants so affected 
 will perish. 
 
 As soon as the seedlings have become about 
 one and one half inches high take them care- 
 fully from the soil and pot singly into either 
 two- or three-inch pots, or they may be trans- 
 planted into a shallow box filled with soil, placing 
 the plants three to four inches apart each way. 
 They should be watered carefully with a sprin- 
 kling can and shaded from the direct rays of the 
 sun for three or four days. When the plants 
 have attained a height of from three to four 
 inches and have filled the soil in the pots quite 
 full of roots, they are ready to be transferred to 
 the soil in which they are to produce fruit. 
 
 There are three methods of growing plants 
 for fruiting. All are good, and the method 
 adopted must be decided by the grower's fancy 
 or convenience. 
 
 They may be grown in solid beds or raised 
 benches, in ten-, twelve-, or fourteen-inch pots, 
 or in boxes. Boxes ten by twelve by twenty- 
 
^52 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 four inches inside will accommodate two plants 
 and are convenient and inexpensive. When 
 grown in pots or boxes, leave at least one and 
 one half inches for top dressing and watering. 
 
 In your glass garden a few plants of Tomatoes will keep the salad dish 
 supplied, as they grow and yield most astonishingly. And they ripen 
 on the vines. 
 
 The method of planting decided upon will de- 
 cide the manner in which the plants shall be 
 trained. When planted in pots or boxes, it will 
 
Groiving Vegetables Under Glass 253 
 
 be found best to train them to a single stem 
 which can be supported either by a stake set in 
 the soil close to the plant, and fastened at the 
 top to a horizontal wire, or if the plants can be 
 placed in one or more rows, several wires may be 
 stretched horizontally and the plants tied to 
 them as they grow. 
 
 When the plants are grown in beds or benches, 
 two methods of training may be adopted. If the 
 space from surface of the soil to the glass is from 
 four to six feet, the plants may be planted about 
 eighteen inches apart in rows and trained to 
 single stem, supporting as advised for pots and 
 boxes. When the space above the soil is less 
 than that specified, it will be better to train the 
 plants to two or more stems. The plants should 
 be supported by horizontal wires, the lowest 
 wire placed about one foot from the surface of 
 the soil, and the others above and about ten 
 inches apart. If desired, they may be sus- 
 pended under the roof also, keeping them at 
 least one foot from the glass. 
 
 When plants are grown to single stems, simply 
 removing all side shoots and keeping the plants 
 tied to the support is all that is required in the 
 way of training. When grown to two or more 
 stems, the points of the plants should be removed 
 just above where the first flower buds are formed, 
 
254 Garde fling Under Glass 
 
 and as many of the resulting side shoots trained 
 to the supports as may be desired. All side 
 growths must be kept removed as they are 
 formed, and when the growths hav^e reached the 
 limit of the space available for them, which 
 should generally not exceed six feet, the points 
 should be removed, thus effectually stopping 
 their further development. 
 
 The flowers that develop during the fall and 
 spring will set fruit freely, but during the months 
 of Deceml)er, January, and February great care 
 must be exercised in order to get fruit set. 
 Hand-pollination must be practised at all times, 
 the atmosphere of the house being kept as dry 
 as possible, and all the air possible being ad- 
 mitted by the ventilators, consistent with the 
 temperature desired. 
 
 Hand-pollination consists in going over the 
 open flowers each day, preferably about one to 
 two o'clock p. M., with a small brush, either 
 camel's hair or one made from the tail of a 
 squirrel or rabbit. 
 
 Another method is to have some pollen 
 gathered from plants grown outdoors during the 
 summer, stored in a dry vial or box, and applied 
 to the flowers by means of a small wooden spoon. 
 
 When the plants are first planted in their 
 fruiting quarters, see that the soil in the pots or 
 
Growing Vegetables Under Glass '^55 
 
 beds does not become over-watered. This would 
 result in the soil becoming sour and the roots 
 would be likely to perish. After the roots have 
 spread themselves through the soil freely, liberal 
 waterings may be given, and generally when the 
 first fruits have grown to the size of hens' eggs, 
 some kind of feeding may be practised, particu- 
 larly for plants that are grown in pots or boxes. 
 For this purpose nothing is quite so safe and 
 effective as good cow manure or sheep manure. 
 About one bushel of either of these, placed in a 
 coarse sack in a fifty-gallon barrel, the barrel 
 then being filled with water and let stand for two 
 or three days. The resulting solution may be 
 applied to the soil after being diluted with 
 three times an equal bulk of water. This should 
 be given about once each week until the fruit is 
 practically developed. Surface dressing of good 
 cow, sheep, or horse manure may be given occa- 
 sionally. Chemical fertilizers are useful, but 
 should be used only by experienced growers. 
 
 For successful crops, seeds should be sown 
 about every six weeks until about April 1st, 
 growing only just enough plants from each 
 sowing to maintain the desired quantity of fruit. 
 If properly managed this will give a supplj^ of 
 fruit from about November 1st until July 1st. 
 
 The varieties generally grown are Comet, 
 
256 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Stirling Castle, The Rochford, Lorillard, and 
 Marvel. All are good and the choice made will 
 be a matter of personal taste. 
 
 The temperature in which Tomatoes attain 
 their best development is about as follows: Dur- 
 ing the months of August, September, and May 
 and June when the outside air is mild and the ven- 
 tilators may be kept well open, 60 to 70 degrees 
 at night will be best; 75 to 90 degrees with bright 
 sunshine. Cloudy days, 65 to 75 degrees. 
 
 During November, December, January, Feb- 
 ruary, March, and April, 58 to 65 degrees at 
 night, 70 to 80 degrees with bright sunshine, and 
 65 to 70 degrees during cloudy weather. 
 
 Tomatoes have a few insect and fungous 
 enemies to contend with when grown under glass, 
 the most common and destructive being mildew 
 and white fly. For mildew, dusting the plants 
 with flour of sulphur or some of the prepared 
 fungicides, and painting the heating pipes with 
 a mixture of lime and sulphur are generally ett'ec- 
 tive. 
 
 For the white fly, hydrocyanic gas is the only 
 eft'ective remedy. This is so deadly in its nature 
 that it must be used with the greatest caution 
 and only by responsible and careful people. 
 The method of use is as follows : For each 3,000 
 cubic feet of space weigh out one ounce of 
 
Groiving Vegetables Under Glass 257 
 
 potassium cyanide, which should be wrapped in a 
 piece of paper. Then measure out with a glass 
 graduate two ounces (liquid measure) of com- 
 mercial sulphuric acid, pouring it into a glass or 
 earthen jar of one or more quarts' capacity. 
 Then measure out six ounces of water and add to 
 the sulphuric acid in the jar. See that all venti- 
 lators are closed and have the door open, ready 
 to make an exit. Drop the paper containing 
 the cyanide into the jar of liquid and leave the 
 house immediately without inhaling any air. 
 Potassium cyanide is one of the most deadly 
 poisons known, and sulphuric acid is very 
 corrosive. 
 
 Cucumbers 
 
 For a supply of Cucumbers during the winter 
 sow seeds from July 20th to August 1st, placing 
 one seed in a three- or four-inch pot filled with 
 light soil and placed in a temperature ranging 
 from 70 to 90 degrees. As soon as the plants 
 have made two or three true leaves, or as soon as 
 they have filled the soil in the pots fairly full of 
 roots, they should be planted in the place where 
 they are to remain permanently. While fruit 
 may sometimes be obtained from plants grown 
 in pots or boxes, it is advisable to plant them in 
 a fair-sized bed, say 3x4 feet, and at least eight 
 
258 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 inches deep. Here is where the sod from an old 
 pasture field will be especially desirable, for that 
 is the kind of soil that Cucumbers generally 
 succeed best in, although inability to provide 
 that specific kind of soil need deter no one from 
 attempting to grow them. Good Cucumbers 
 have been produced from the soil found in a rub- 
 bish heap. Fairly well-decayed manure from 
 the horse stable is very good for mixing with any 
 soil in the proportion of one fifth manure to 
 four fifths soil. 
 
 The best supports for cucumbers are horizon- 
 tal wires placed about ten inches apart either 
 under the roof or at the end of a house or section. 
 If under the roof, the wires should be at least one 
 foot from the glass. 
 
 Cucumbers are generally grown with many 
 branches, the point of the young plant being re- 
 moved when about twelve inches high and the 
 resultant branches being again "stopped," as 
 the operation is termed, when they have devel- 
 oped three or four leaves. This operation is 
 continued so long as the plant continues to grow. 
 
 Plants should not be allowed to bear fruit 
 until they have at least ten to twelve developed 
 branches, and at no time should a plant be al- 
 lowed to carry more than from six to ten fruits, 
 and if the plant is not making vigorous growth. 
 
Growing Vegetables Under Glass 259 
 
 three to six fruits are enough, all others being 
 removed when formed. 
 
 There are two distinct types of Cucumbers 
 grown under glass : one kind known as English or 
 Telegraph Pole Cucumbers produce fruit from 
 twelve to thirty inches long, and they are very 
 tender and of good quality. 
 
 The other type, known as the White Spine 
 type, is very similar to the kind grown generally 
 in the open ground for pickles, etc. 
 
 The English type is generally preferred by 
 those who grow for their own use, while the White 
 Spine type is grown for commercial purposes. 
 
 Cucumbers thrive best in temperatures of Q5 
 degrees at night, 75 to 85 with bright sunshine, 
 and 65 to 75 during cloudy weather. 
 
 The atmosphere should be kept fairly moist 
 at all times and the plants carefully syringed or 
 sprayed with clean water every bright day. 
 
 Feeding with liquid manure as advised for 
 Tomatoes should be practised after the plants 
 have begun to bear fruit, and surface dressings of 
 horse or cow manure may be given occasionally. 
 
 Beans 
 
 Beans may be grown to supply the table from 
 November to June, by making sowings at inter- 
 vals of ten days to two weeks from September 1st 
 
260 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 to May 1st. They may be grown either in pots, 
 boxes, or beds, the last-named method generally 
 giving the best results. 
 
 If grown in beds, the seeds may be sown di- 
 rectly where the plants are to be grown, although 
 where space is limited, if five or six seeds are 
 placed in a three-and-one-half- or four-inch pot, 
 sowing as many pots as will be required, they 
 may be grown in the pots for two or three weeks, 
 thus economizing space and advancing the plants 
 sufficiently to produce continuous supply. 
 
 x\ny ordinarily good soil, with the addition of 
 about one fifth of the equal bulk of well-decayed 
 ^manure, will produce good crops of Beans,— 
 
 The plants will be the better for having some 
 kind of support, although this is not absolutely 
 necessary. Branches of birch or other trees of 
 like character, cut like small pea bush, and placed 
 about the plants, make good support. Early 
 Mohawk is one of the very best varieties for 
 growing under glass, although there are many 
 other good ones. 
 
 Cauliflower 
 
 When this crop is to be grown in the green- 
 house sow seeds once each month at least, to 
 insure continuous supply. 
 
 The variety sold under the name of Snowball 
 
Growing Vegetables Under Glass 261 
 
 by the various seed houses is the best for growing 
 under glass. To get fine heads of CauHflower, 
 the soil should be made rich, at least one fourth 
 of the bulk should be good, well-decayed manure. 
 Liberal applications of the liquid manure as 
 advised for Tomatoes, and a light sprinkling of 
 some commercial fertilizer, having a high per- 
 centage of potash, over the soil after the plants 
 have started into growth, will prove beneficial. 
 
 With the exception of Lettuce, Cauliflower will 
 generally prove the most satisfactory of any that 
 can be grown under glass. Requiring no support 
 and being comparatively free from insect pests, 
 the amount of labor necessary to its production 
 is less than for most other crops, and the snowy 
 whiteness and superb flavor of the heads can 
 not be had in heads grown out of doors. 
 
 Sow seeds about July 1st, and for succession 
 once each month until April. 
 
 When the young plants have made one or two 
 true leaves, take from the soil and pot singly into 
 two-and-one-half- or three-inch pots, using soil 
 but little richer than that in which the seeds 
 were sown. Water thoroughly and shade from 
 bright sunshine for three or four days. 
 
 When the soil in the pots has become nicely 
 filled with roots, the plants are ready for setting 
 in the place where they are to grow. Care must 
 
262 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 be taken, however, that the plants are not al- 
 lowed to become what is termed "pot-bound," 
 that is, to remain in the pots so long that the 
 roots are crowded and the plants starved and 
 stunted. 
 
 The beds or benches should be sufficiently 
 deep to allow a depth of six to eight inches of 
 soil and one inch of watering. 
 
 They must also be provided with good drain- 
 age, that is, ample means for the water to escape 
 from the bottom. 
 
 Set the plants about eighteen inches apart 
 each way, leaving a slight depression about each 
 plant for water, as they should receive only a 
 small amount of water directly about the plants 
 until the roots have spread through the soil freely, 
 after which time no reasonable amount of water 
 will do harm if good drainage has been provided. 
 
 When the plants have grown to a height of 
 about ten inches, liquid manure should be given 
 at least once a week. Cow or sheep manure pre- 
 pared as advised for Tomatoes will prove bene- 
 ficial, also drainage from horse or cow stables 
 diluted with eight parts of equal bulk of water. 
 A good chemical fertilizer sprinkled over the 
 surface of the soil at the rate of a small table- 
 spoonful to one square foot of surface may be 
 used before the heads form. 
 
Growing Vegetables Under Glass 263 
 
 When the heads begin forming, the leaves 
 should be broken inward over them to prevent 
 the sun from discoloring them. 
 
 The green cabbage worm will generally attack 
 the early crop. Hand picking seems to be the 
 most effective means of destroying them. Aphi- 
 des or plant lice will frequently infest the plants; 
 these may be destroyed by fumigating with to- 
 bacco stems or any of the tobacco preparations 
 that can be purchased from seedsmen. 
 
 The varieties that are likely to give best re- 
 sults are those sold under the names of Early 
 Dwarf Erfurt and Early Snowball. Purchase 
 seed from reliable seedsmen only, and do not try 
 to economize by buying low-priced seed. The 
 very best is the cheapest. 
 
 The temperatures under which Cauliflower 
 thrive best are as follows: For nights, 45 to 55 
 degrees; for days with bright sunshine, 60 to 
 70 degrees; for cloudy days, 55 to 60 degrees. 
 Ventilate as much as possible consistent with the 
 required temperature. 
 
 Asparagus 
 
 For a winter cutting good strong roots at least 
 three years old must be procured in the fall before 
 the ground freezes. These may be stored in any 
 cellar or outbuilding that is frost-proof, care 
 
264 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 being taken that the roots are not allowed to be- 
 come dry at any time. 
 
 For forcing the roots into growth, a box-like 
 frame may be made up, over any of the heating 
 pipes, placing about an inch of soil on the bottom, 
 after which the roots should be placed as closely 
 together as possible and covered with soil. A 
 thorough watering should be given and the soil 
 never be allowed to become dry. With a mod- 
 erate amount of heat in the pipes, the young 
 shoots will be ready to cut in about three weeks. 
 
 Rhubarb 
 
 By treating in a similar manner to Asparagus 
 this may also be forced into winter growth, 
 although this vegetable may be grown in total 
 darkness, as in a cellar that is reasonably warm. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 ROSES ALL WINTER 
 
 Climatic conditions have a wonderful influ- 
 ence over the different varieties of Roses. The 
 man who has always been fortunate in producing 
 Roses inland does not realize the obstacles ex- 
 perienced along the seacoast. Mildew is preva- 
 lent more or less in proximity to salt air. There- 
 fore the gorgeous Hybrid Teas cannot be brought 
 out to such a high state of excellence as when 
 produced on a higher and drier location. The 
 grower must experiment to a certain extent. 
 Killarney and its sports, when grown away from 
 the sea atmosphere, is a rose to be admired by 
 every one, but it cannot be grown to the same 
 high standard along the coast. 
 
 In selecting Roses for the seacoast, Tea Roses 
 are more reliable than anything else. Ameri- 
 can Beauty is really in a class by itself, for two or 
 three reasons. First: supposing it is planted in 
 a mixed house with Teas and Hybrid Teas, it 
 would naturally, or in most cases, have to be 
 planted where head room was at command on 
 
266 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 account of its tall growing habit which would 
 damage the bench at the back of it. Second: 
 American Beauty requires a night temperature of 
 60 degrees, whereas, the majority of other Roses 
 are decidedly better with 56 to 58 degrees at 
 night. Third: assuming the house to be of 
 moderate size, only a limited number of plants 
 could be accommodated. Figuring the damage 
 done through shading the lower growing varie- 
 ties, I think the argument is decidedly in favor 
 of dispensing with Beauties where a mixed house 
 is the aim. A fair success may be accomplished 
 in growing American Beauties in a mixed house, 
 but in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred where 
 a mixed house of Roses are grown, minus the 
 Beauties, results will be more satisfactory all 
 around. 
 
 Results Through Systematic Feeding 
 
 It is a difficult problem to lay down any set 
 rule to follow as to how much nourishment shall 
 be given for best results. One thing is certain — 
 it is far better to under-feed than to overstep the 
 mark. By giving light feeds, the roots will go 
 after it and enjoy the exercise, whereas too heavy 
 an application is apt to burn the roots and in 
 reality do harm instead of being beneficial. 
 
 Someone may say, why not state plainly how 
 
Roses all Winter 267 
 
 much food shall be given to the Rose, then every- 
 thing will be plain sailing. In the first place, 
 conditions are an important factor. In one 
 case let us assume we have a very healthy, vigor- 
 ous house of Roses, roots unusually active, ready 
 to assimilate anything reasonable to their liking. 
 Then take another house only moderate, or, say, 
 decidedly below grade. The latter cannot take 
 feeding like the former. Then the question of 
 soil. Some soils are much richer in plant food 
 than others; or suppose a house of Roses received 
 a check through some unforeseen cause: under 
 such conditions mighty little feeding would be 
 required for a time. 
 
 It is an understood fact that good Roses cannot 
 be produced in poor soil. The method of pre- 
 paring the compost is sufficient to surmise that 
 manure in that shape mixed through the soil will 
 benefit the plants for a long time, as it will take 
 the roots a considerable while to penetrate their 
 way through. Consequently, if the Roses have 
 been planted in soil as recommended, no feeding 
 of any kind will be needed for at least three or 
 four months. 
 
 Potash and phosphoric acid are important fer- 
 tilizers for the rose crop. This can be supplied 
 in the shape of hard wood ashes for potash ap- 
 plied on the surface and watered in, as a guide 
 
268 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 say at the rate of twelve pounds to an ordinary 
 rose bench three and one half or four feet wide 
 and fifty feet long — say a couple of applications 
 during the season, or more if needed. Bone will 
 supply principally phosphoric acid. This can 
 be used in the same way, in a trifle lighter pro- 
 portion. In all cases, water in when applied. 
 
 For Roses' main sustenance there is nothing 
 better than the old stand-by, farmyard manure. 
 It is good for two purposes, either applied as a 
 mulch or to use in liquid form, and decidedly 
 safer in inexperienced hands. Pulverized sheep 
 manure can also be highly recommended — just 
 a light coat, or say enough to cover the soil, and 
 when watered in it will not be noticed much. 
 Sheep manure must be used with more care than 
 cow manure. 
 
 Through December and the early part of 
 January it is safer to dispense with feeding. 
 During the short days it is poor policy to excite 
 growth; but from the end of January on, if the 
 Roses are in a healthy condition, regular, syste- 
 matic feeding can be done to good advantage — 
 even a mulch of cow manure could be placed on 
 the benches, providing root action is lively, and 
 a watering with liquid manure two or three times 
 should be sufficient to carry them through the 
 season. 
 
Roses all Winter 269 
 
 Planting and General Treatment 
 
 Roses, like all other plants, delight in a clean 
 house. Before filling the benches with soil it 
 pays to make a thorough clean up. A coat of 
 lime wash inside the benches would be in order. 
 The make-up of soil has been explained. All 
 that remains to be said is: be cautious in han- 
 dling rose soil when over-charged with moisture. 
 One could aim to fill the benches if possible when 
 the soil is of a happy medium, not over dry nor 
 too wet; just in a free working condition. 
 Should the soil be a bit on the wet side when 
 placed on the benches it may be allowed to dry 
 out somewhat before leveling off. Still, this is 
 not nearly so satisfactory as when brought in a 
 perfect working condition. Soil four and one 
 half or five inches deep is about right for raised 
 benches. In solid beds, six inches can be used 
 providing there is perfect drainage below; in fact, 
 it is the perfect drainage that brings success. 
 Clinkers from the greenhouse boilers are excellent 
 for that purpose. Then, before placing in the 
 soil, a light coat of long manure should be placed 
 over the drainage to prevent the soil from sifting 
 through. 
 
 Assuming that the soil has been thoroughly 
 mixed with the manure and a little bone added 
 
270 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 all there is to do is to level off the beds, breaking 
 up any coarse material that may have been over- 
 looked. We are now in condition for planting. 
 
 The most appropriate time to plant young 
 stock for winter forcing is around the first of 
 June. This gives ample time to have good 
 strong plants by fall. The rows will be placed 
 according to width of bench. For instance, a 
 bench, say anywhere from three and one half to 
 four feet in width, would accommodate four rows. 
 Then some varieties may be planted a bit closer 
 in the rows than others; the Killarne^^s, for in- 
 stance. However, to take the happy medium, 
 fifteen inches apart in the rows for own root 
 plants, sixteen inches for grafted stock, would be 
 about the correct distance to plant. For Ameri- 
 can Beauty allow eighteen inches. 
 
 Have the young stock in a moist condition be- 
 fore planting; plant ungrafted root stock a trifle 
 lower than they were in the pots or cover the top 
 of bed with one fourth inch of soil. Grafted 
 plants should be planted deep enough to cover 
 the union: thus will be seen the advantage of 
 grafting them as low as possible, and in planting 
 the soil firmly, leaving a depression around the 
 plants for watering, as it is much better to just 
 water around the plants for a time than to satu- 
 rate the whole bench. 
 
Roses all Winter 271 
 
 In the course of a few weeks, when the roots 
 are more active, they may then be watered 
 evenly all over. Grafted plants must be staked 
 and tied as soon as planted, otherwise with spray- 
 ing the grafts are liable to get damaged. A very 
 good method to support the Roses is to have a 
 wire run lengthwise of the row three feet above 
 the soil, and stiff wire rose stakes, one to each 
 plant and tied to the overhead wire for steady 
 support, which gives the house a neat effect. 
 Then as the plants grow, tie loosely to the stake. 
 Some may prefer to have wires running parallel 
 to the rows about one foot apart and supporting 
 the growth to those wires, doing away with the 
 upright stakes. 
 
 General treatment through the summer 
 months is watering, spraying, and keeping the 
 benches free from weeds, with the understanding 
 that the soil has been firmed down thoroughly; 
 good substantial growths cannot be obtained in a 
 loose, open soil. This operation as to the general 
 treatment looks simple in the extreme — watering 
 and spraying, any one can carry out those simple 
 instructions. We know that Roses delight in 
 abundance of moisture at their roots, but is there 
 any plant that will resent an over-supply of 
 stagnated, sour soil more than the Rose? The 
 safest and soundest advice that can be given is. 
 
!272 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 after the plants are properly established, when 
 watering give a thorough watering sufficient to 
 wet the soil from top to bottom; then no more 
 until absolutely necessary. 
 
 True, plants cannot talk, but the grower that 
 takes a deep interest in the culture of his pets 
 will soon learn by the appearan-ce of their foliage 
 when they are in need of moisture. Continual 
 watering with no chance to dry out will sour or 
 ruin the best of soil. The same may be said 
 about spraying. By directing the force in their 
 proper channels a house of Roses can be sprayed 
 effectively without saturating the bench. To- 
 ward fall will test the rose-grower's skill as 
 much as any time throughout the year. At that 
 time, or say just before starting the fire, good 
 judgment mlist be used as to syringing. In all 
 probability, too much moisture would be incen- 
 tive to black spots and fungous growths. In the 
 fall they should be sprayed only when the 
 weather is clea*r — in the morning so that the foli- 
 age will be dry before night. Firing and careful 
 curing will demand close attention in the fall, 
 especially when the atmosphere is damp and 
 foggy, or say when the night temperature drops 
 much below 60 degrees. It is then policy to use 
 a little fire heat — just enough fire heat to drive 
 the damp air out. Never close a rose house 
 
Roses all Winter 273 
 
 down for any length of time unless artificial heat 
 is used. Indeed, for some time after the fires 
 are started in the fall, a crack of air should be 
 left on all night, until the nights are so cold that 
 the pipes are kept fairly warm. The object is 
 to prevent heavy condensation. It is much 
 better to have Rose foliage dry during the night. 
 A word of warning against careless airing. No 
 matter how careful all other details have been 
 carried out, careless airing — uneven tempera- 
 tures — will destroy or cause the whole thing to 
 be a complete failure. And particularly so 
 through the short days. However, the methods 
 of airing are so simple that any one with judg- 
 ment can do the work successfully. When we 
 once get down to regular rose house temperature 
 maintain 56 to 58 degrees at night with a raise of 
 10 degrees during the day or, with sun heat, 15 
 degrees. The main point in airing is when the 
 thermometer goes 4 or 5 degrees above night 
 temperature, put on a crack of air, but not to 
 the extent to lower the temperature. Allow 
 the thermometer to climb up gradually: also 
 gradually increase the ventilation until the 
 maximum is reached, then hold steady by adding 
 more air or reducing as the case may be. The 
 same method should be followed in the afternoon, 
 bringing the vents down by degrees. 
 
i^74 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 We all know the Rose to be an outdoor plant, so 
 while we are gi'owmg the Rose artificially let us 
 imitate nature's temperatures as nearly as pos- 
 sible, in regard to gradual raising in the morning 
 and gradual dropping toward night. Then we 
 are on the joad to success. 
 
 Keep all flower buds off the plants until they are 
 strong enough to^vithstand cutting, which should 
 be around the end of September, assuming they 
 were planted on the benches during the first week 
 in June. 
 
 Cuttinc) a Floicer 
 
 A Rose bud should always be cut before the 
 petals loosen up much. K fairly good criterion 
 to follow up is to give the bud a light pressure 
 with the finger and thumb. If the bud feels hard 
 and solid, allow it to develop a little more; a bud 
 that is in condition to cut will give slightly by a 
 light pressure. Usually buds soften up during 
 the night. Consequently the house must be 
 gone over every morning, and whatever is ready 
 cut before the sun plays on them. It is also poor 
 policy to cut and use directly for decorating, or 
 for shipping. Far better keep in water in a cool 
 place for a day, which allows the stems to absorb 
 water. The flower will be found to keep in a fresh 
 condition longer. Keep, of course, in a cool 
 place — about 40 degrees would be ideal. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 ALL KINDS OF GREENHOUSES AND WHAT MAY BE 
 GROWN THEREIN 
 
 Wherever it is (and whoever its owner may 
 be) a greenhouse is bound to be one of three 
 things: it is a structure wherein certain plants 
 are grown for the purpose of securing their 
 flowers or fruit — in other words, a flower or fruit 
 
 More and more the "standard ready-built" glass garden is proving 
 its practicability. It gives complete satisfaction in the end, and saves a 
 lot of money in the beginning. 
 
 275 
 
276 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 factory; or it is a general laboratory attached to 
 the garden, where plants are propagated, nursed 
 to health when sick, and wintered if tender, and 
 grown for use in the dwelling; or it is an indoor 
 garden with all that the term implies of a place 
 in which to loiter as well as to potter about — a 
 place of real charm and beauty as well as a suit- 
 able home for the plants which grow therein. 
 In this last character it may be more a conserva- 
 tory than a greenhouse, although a conservatory 
 is not, strictly speaking, to be regarded in the 
 same way as a greenhouse, since it affords a home 
 only for plants grown elsewhere and brought 
 into it for show. 
 
 Some of the elaborate winter gardens are of 
 this type as well, being planned to be continually 
 filled from growing houses built for the purpose. 
 But the garden under glass is not of necessity 
 carried on in this double fashion since plants 
 will grow in it even as they grow out of doors in 
 the outdoor summer garden if it is planned to 
 that end. For the fullest enjoyment of a garden 
 enthusiast there is no doubt that this is the better 
 choice, since the varied operations of both gar- 
 dens may then be carried on supplementally and 
 a variety of effects be enjoyed — not identical 
 with each other, by any means, but along parallel 
 lines. 
 
All Kinds of Greenhouses 277 
 
 Actually there is a greenhouse for every kind 
 of place — and person. And there is sound 
 reason for every kind of place and person having 
 one; for a greenhouse is not in any sense of the 
 word an extravagance, save as it is made one in 
 the manner of handling. To the large place it 
 is an essential adjunct of both the ornamental 
 and practical gardens; to the medium-sized 
 establishment it is a valuable addition to these; 
 and to the tiny plot of ground around a suburban 
 home it is practically a multiplication of oppor- 
 tunity by two at any rate, if not by four or five. 
 And going one step further it is a garden where 
 there is no ground at all since the roof of a city 
 residence will furnish an ideal site. Similarly, it 
 may require the time of several men, or only one; 
 or it may be its enviable owner's own particular 
 hobby, sharing the heat of his house and not 
 dependent, therefore, upon separate stoking; 
 and occupying him in his off hours. If it is to 
 be cared for in this way, however, it is well to 
 say at once that it should be small; for, like a 
 garden, a greenhouse may easily be large enough 
 to get out of hand and never be gotten in again! 
 
 The kind of greenhouse which is decided upon 
 will of course govern its location very largely. 
 The purely working glass house should be placed 
 where its relation to the garden that it serves 
 
278 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 makes for the highest degree of efficiency in 
 handhng the plants as they go in or come out; 
 and apart from this consideration there is actu- 
 ally no other, as far as the building itself is con- 
 
 THINGS TO REMEMBER IN BUILDING 
 
 Standard Dimensions 
 
 Side benches 3 feet wide Centre benches 5^ feet wide 
 
 Walks 2^ feet wide 
 House 11 feet wide allows two side benches, one walk. 
 House 18 feet wide allows two side benches, two walks, and one 
 
 centre bench. 
 House 25 feet wide allows two side benches, two centre benches, 
 
 three walks. 
 Length is usually figured in units of 25 feet. 
 
 Things to Be Sure of Things to Beware of 
 
 Foundation to below frostline Meagre and improper founda- 
 Cypress only, for all wooil used tion 
 
 Clear white glass, double thick Insecure framework 
 Heating plant 25% above re- Wrong wood for framework 
 
 quireraents Framework too heavy or too 
 
 Uninterrupted sun exposure light 
 
 always Insufficient capacity in heating 
 
 Well-considered inside plan plant 
 
 Benches on level with sill Color in the glass 
 
 Location too near a boundary 
 screen so it will be shaded 
 
 cerned, aside from the vitalness of its freedom 
 from shade of trees or near-by buildings. It 
 must have unhindered light and sunshine. 
 
 With regard to the garden's appearance and 
 design, however, the location of a building of such 
 
All Kinds of Greenhouses 279 
 
 aggressive character is of tremendous conse- 
 quence, and demands the most thoughtful care. 
 For improperly placed it may irreparably mar 
 the entire garden picture; and yet, given proper 
 thought, can be a most attractive acquisition. 
 
 Fitting It to the Place 
 
 Much study is now being given to greenhouse 
 design from an architectural as well as from a 
 practical standpoint, and structures that are 
 pleasing in appearance have been developed fit 
 to assume a place in the garden scheme. So it 
 is no longer necessary to hide even the strictly 
 utilitarian building. But unless the greenhouse 
 can be made an acceptable unit of the general 
 scheme and not obviously an afterthought it is 
 better not to let it appear at all, but have it 
 obscured by proper planting. 
 
 On small suburban grounds it must of course 
 take a relatively prominent place and may be- 
 come in effect an addition to the home. In this 
 connection a transition from dwelling to green- 
 house by means of a glass corridor will usually 
 solve the problem of their relation to each other 
 by separating them enough to allow each its in- 
 dividuality ; which is far better than any attempt 
 to weld them into a single unit. As a matter 
 of fact, they cannot be so welded, and the effort 
 
280 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 actually to bring them together may be to the 
 detriment of both. 
 
 Sunshine to the fullest degree is of course req- 
 uisite. Choose a site, therefore, where this is 
 insured and permanently so. The angle of sun- 
 light incidence at noon on the shortest day of 
 the year is 22 degrees; therefore the greenhouse 
 must be kept beyond this angle's distance from 
 anything on its south side. Be careful also to 
 choose a well-drained spot and a comparatively 
 high one, for poor drainage and damp conditions 
 generally are breeders of mildew; and with this 
 handicap in surroundings it is practically impos- 
 sible to maintain the proper atmospheric condi- 
 tions under the glass. 
 
 These conditions being observed the points 
 of the compass may be disregarded generally, 
 though if fruits on trellises are to be grown the 
 trellis should run north and south. This will 
 mean that where it is lengthwise the house itself 
 must run north and south, but where it is cross- 
 wise the house will run east and west, bringing 
 the trellis north and south. 
 
 Its Shape and the Frame 
 
 The type of frame most generally in use to-day 
 is the modified curved eave, whether the struc- 
 ture is an even span or a lean-to. It has very 
 
All Kinds of Greenhouses ^81 
 
 attractive roof lines, gives a maximum of light 
 to the plants, and allows ample side ventilation 
 above the benches. As to the form of the house 
 there is no question about the superiority of the 
 even span; and there is seldom any good reason 
 
 The curved eave type is the one most favored to-day. A house Hke 
 this will last — well, nobody yet knows how many sunny, joy-611ed years! 
 
 for building anything else. The lean-to may of 
 course be the only thing that will fit in certain 
 restricted places, but if it can possibly be avoided 
 it should be. Even when the greenhouse is to 
 be attached to the garage or wing of some existing 
 building, it may perfectly well be even span and 
 stand end on instead of being only half a house 
 with excessive roof height standing side on. 
 
282 
 
 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 Plants growing in a lean-to are bound to "draw" 
 or lean strongly in one direction because of the 
 uneven distribution of light, and the difficulty of 
 proper ventilation. .;. 
 
 POSSIBILITIES OF THE UNHEATED GREENHOUSE - 
 
 Prickly Spinach sown in August will germinate and carry through the winter. 
 
 Half-grown Lettuce from the garden will mature if brought in. 
 
 Cauliflowers not yet headed will mature inside. 
 
 Dandelions may be grown for winter greens from strong roots that have first been frosted 
 
 outside. 
 By January 15 sow Peas, Radishes, Lettuce, and Round Spinach. 
 In February sow Lettuce, Beets and Spinach. 
 
 Plant Asparagus roots under benches, cover with 3" of earth, and cut in March. 
 Mushrooms may be grown also, as the natural warmth of late winter's sun suffices. 
 By January 25 sow Sweet-peas, Bachelor Buttons, Mignonette, and Marigolds. 
 February 25 start any deciduous shrubs desired, also Tulips, Hyacinths, etc. 
 Bring indoors any sprmg-fiowering herbaceous plants for early bloom. 
 
 PLANT COMBINATIONS BY TEMPERATURE ^ • 
 
 Cool: 35°-^0° at Night 
 
 Flowers- 
 Agave Calceolaria, Campanula, Chrysan- 
 themum, Cheiranthus, Cineraria, Eri- 
 ca, Eupatorium, Genista, Iberis, 
 Mignonette, Myosotis, Stock, Sweet- 
 pea. 
 
 Shrubs — 
 
 Cestrum, Chorizema, Lagerstroemia, Mag- 
 noha, Nerium, Punica, Rhododendron. 
 
 Ornamental Plants — 
 Aucuba, Bay-tree. 
 
 Vegetables — 
 
 Endive, Lettuce, Parsley, Radish. 
 
 Hot (or Stove); 65°— 80° at Night 
 
 Flowers^ 
 
 Achimenes, Aristolochia, Begonia, Ceph- 
 alotus, Eucharis, Euphorbia, Gloxi- 
 nia, Lily-of-the-valley, Poinsettia, 
 Nepenthes. 
 
 Shrubs — 
 
 Gardenia, Ixora, Lantana, Philodendron. 
 
 Ornamental Plants — 
 
 Adiantum, Alsophila, .\ntliurium, Areca, 
 
 Gloriosa, Hoya, 
 
 Asplenium, Banana, Bertolonia, 
 rassus, Caladium, Calathea, Caryota, 
 Cocos, Corypha, Croton, Cyathea 
 Cycas, DavalHa, Dicksonia, Dieffen 
 bachia, Dracaena, Ficus, Kentia, 
 Li\'istona, Maranta, Pandanus, Phoe 
 nix, Platycerium, Rhapis. 
 
 Climbers — 
 
 Allamandi, Clitoria, 
 Thunbergia. 
 
 Orchids — 
 
 Calanthe, Epidendrum, Phalaenopsis. 
 
 Vegetables — 
 Cucumber, Eggplant. 
 
 Fruits — 
 
 Citrus fruits, Muskmelon. 
 
 Intermediate; 45° — 55° at Night 
 
 Floicers — 
 
 Agapanthus, .\llium, Alyssum, Antirrhi- 
 num, Cactus, Canna, Epiphyllum, 
 Erythrinum, Freesia, Geranium, Gladi- 
 olus, Hyacinth, Iris, Kalanchoe, Orni- 
 thogalum, Oxalis, Pelargonium, Plum- 
 bago, Primula, Stevia. 
 
 Shrubs— 
 
 Acacia, Hydrangea, Lila 
 
 Ornamental Plants- 
 Alternanthera. 
 
All Kinds of Greenhouses 
 
 283 
 
 Climbers — 
 
 Lapageria, Passiflora, Wisteria. 
 
 Orchids — 
 
 Anguloa, Cypnpedium, Odontoglossum. 
 
 Vegetables — 
 
 Asparagus, Beans, Beets, Carrots, Cauli- 
 flower, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Onions, 
 Peas, Rhubarb, Seakale, Spinach. 
 
 Warm; 55°— 65° at Night 
 
 Flowers — 
 
 Abutilon, Amaryllis, Astilbe, Begonia, 
 Bouvardia, Cactus, Calla-lily, Celosia, 
 Clivia, Cyclamen, Fuchsia, Helio- 
 trope, HymenocaUis (Ismene), Lilium, 
 Tropaeolum, Nymphaea. 
 
 Shrubs — ■ 
 
 Aralia, Azalea, Camellia, Hibiscus, Rose, 
 Spiraea, Sv 
 
 Ornamental Plants — 
 
 Ananas, Araucaria, Asparagus, Aspidistra, 
 
 Aspidium (Dryopteris), Coleus, Cro- 
 
 ton, Cyperus, Dracaena. 
 
 Climbers — 
 
 Bougainvillea, Cissus, Clerodendron, Jas- 
 minum, Smilax, Stephanotis. 
 
 Orch ids — 
 
 Cattleya, Coelogyne, Dendrobium, Laelia, 
 Lycaste, Oncidium, Vanda. 
 
 Vegetables — 
 
 Beans, Peppers, Potatoes, Tomatoes. 
 
 Grape, Peach, Strawberry, Nectarine. 
 
 The all-iron-frame house is naturally the most 
 expensive to build, but as maintenance costs 
 practically nothing and repairs are nil, its first 
 cost is soon more than compensated; and there- 
 after it is daily a gain over the part-iron or the 
 wood — the latter now seldom used. Greenhouse 
 glass must be the pure white variety, and here 
 again, as with the material of the frame, quality 
 is economy and the "double thick" glass which 
 weighs twentj^-two ounces to the square foot 
 should be used if possible. Glass that is still 
 heavier is often used in the modern houses where 
 the framework calls for large-size sheets. Ground 
 glass has been used for exotics, but in general it is 
 better to use the clear glass and depend for shade 
 when it is desired upon light fabric drawn across 
 the span. Summer shade for the roof must be 
 provided for, and there has been nothing better 
 
284 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 devised than a rolling slat screen. Whitewash- 
 ing or some such brush-applied shading material 
 is of course freely practised, by commercial houses 
 especially, but it is unsightly and does not, more- 
 over, allow for the entrance of the sun when you 
 wish it to enter. In practice the wash is put on 
 the outside in early summer and the weather re- 
 moves it by late fall. 
 
 Keeping Things JJ^arni 
 
 The very heart and soul of the greenhouse is 
 its heating system. It will make no difference 
 how perfect its appointments and its construc- 
 tion, nor how skillful its attendant, nor how 
 beautifully it is planned, if its heating system 
 falls short. It is then a dead thing — as dead as a 
 tomb ! In greenhouse heating, as in all other, it 
 is desirable to provide for greater capacity than 
 the figures show will be actually needed, since 
 it is always more economical to run a fire in check 
 than under draft. Then, too, there may come, 
 once in a decade or so, a season of untoward 
 severity, during which only the excess heat that 
 has been figured on will save the night, if not the 
 day. 
 
 Unquestionably it is a wonderful idea, this 
 greenhouse one of turning summer into winter 
 and temperate regions into tropical and convert- 
 
All Kinds of Greenhouses 285 
 
 ing sunshine into flowers or luscious fruits, gen- 
 erally right against the calendar. Yet it is timely 
 to remember right here and now that this is not 
 exactly what happens in a greenhouse. As a 
 matter of fact, gardening under glass is not 
 simply protected-from-the-weather gardening, 
 wherein the work is carried on with the same 
 materials as are used out of doors; but rather it 
 is gardening with very special materials in most 
 cases, as well as under highly artificial conditions. 
 In the greenhouse three of the four factors of 
 garden work are controlled, but the fourth is 
 quite beyond control. Temperature, soil, and 
 moisture are adjusted as delicately as necessity 
 demands; but light still remains outside the reach 
 of all our cunning — and what is more, light is 
 diminished always, however cleverly we may 
 build, quite apart from the fact that normally 
 light diminishes greatly in winter, just when we 
 expect the greenhouse to be most active! So 
 that while we control the three and increase these 
 however we will, we diminish the fourth in spite 
 of everything; and create, therefore, something 
 quite different from any outdoor conditions. 
 
 A New World Opens up 
 
 Realize, therefore, that you do not need to con- 
 fine yourself to the plants of our outdoor gardens 
 
286 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 that we may bring in and establish in gardens 
 under glass — but also a whole world of plants of 
 another character (many the result of careful and 
 long breeding or selection) which must be as 
 carefully studied as new worlds always are, in 
 order that their requirements shall be understood 
 and met. Moreover, these plants come from 
 widely different places, and require a great deal 
 more than simply protection from cold to enable 
 them to grow so far from their native clime and 
 condition; and they are not all of the same taste 
 and temperament, either — not by any means. 
 Some like much moisture and heat, others need 
 little of either, and still others come between and 
 will be satisfied with no extremes. This can be 
 easily met by a careful selection according to the 
 proposed temperature of your greenhouse ; or else 
 by having a series of "compartments" run at the 
 different temperatures to meet these varying 
 needs. Of course your own common sense tells 
 you not to expect to grow everything that may 
 be fancied in your greenhouse, simply because it 
 affords j^rotection to things that are not hardy in 
 your latitude. You will attempt growing only 
 what you make definite provision for when you 
 are building. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 BOOKS TO HELP YOU FURTHER 
 
 "Greenhouses: Their Construction and Equip- 
 ment," by W. J. Wright, director N. Y. State 
 School of Agriculture, at Alfred University. A 
 well-illustrated book, neatly and clearly printed 
 and thoroughly up-to-date. There are sixteen 
 chapters devoted to structional material methods 
 of erecting the framework, glazing and painting, 
 ventilation machinery, heating, boilers, fuels, 
 concrete construction, water supply, plans and 
 estimates. 
 
 "Greenhouse Heating." A pamphlet con- 
 taining a reprint of four prize essays on the 
 subject, with comments by an expert heating 
 engineer. A collection of answers to pertinent 
 questions on greenhouse heating is included. 
 
 "Furnace Efficiency, How to Build Up," by 
 Joseph W. Hays. Written in simple, readable, 
 chatty style. The chapter headings indicate the 
 practical way in which the subject has been 
 treated. They are: "Why Your Fuel Is 
 Wasted," "How Your Fuel Is Wasted," "How 
 
 287 
 
288 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 to Spot Your Fuel Wastes," "How to Keep the 
 Wastes Stopped," also an appendix, "Oils, Gas, 
 Wood, Refuse, and Other Fuels." 
 
 "Principles of Floriculture," by E. A. White. 
 A manual of cut-flower production and general 
 treatise on under-glass cultivation of florists' 
 plants designed especially as a class book for 
 students. 
 
 "Practical Floriculture," by Peter Henderson. 
 A guide to the successful propagation and culti- 
 vation of florists' plants. The work is not for 
 florists and gardeners only; for the amateur's 
 wants are constantly kept in mind. It also com- 
 prises a very complete treatise on the cultivation 
 of flowers under glass, or in the open air, suited 
 to those who grow flowers for pleasure as well as 
 those who make them a matter of trade. Illus- 
 trated, 325 pages. 
 
 "Plant Culture," by George W. Oliver, Propa- 
 gator for the Bureau of Plant Industry, De- 
 partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
 A working handbook of every-day practice for 
 the gardener, and those who intend to grow 
 plants and flowers in the greenhouse or garden 
 as a means of obtaining a livelihood. Third 
 edition revised. Illustrated. 
 
 "Plant Propagation, Greenhouse and Nursery 
 Practice," by M. G. Kains. Deals with the 
 
Boohs to Help You Further 289 
 
 technique of seed germination, seed testing, 
 potting, layerage, bottom heat, cuttings, classes 
 of cuttings, graftage, and theories and laws. 
 Illustrated. 
 
 "Practical Plant Propagation," by Alfred C. 
 Hottes. Describes clearly the various modes of 
 propagating indoor and outdoor plants, trees, 
 shrubs, and herbaceous perennials; sowing seeds, 
 making soft and evergreen cuttings, method of 
 layering and grafting, etc. 
 
 "Commercial Carnation Culture," by J. Har- 
 rison Dick. A practical guide to modern meth- 
 ods of growing the American Carnation for 
 market purposes. All sections of the country 
 treated by experts. Freely illustrated. 
 
 "The American Carnation — How to Grow It," 
 by Charles Willis Ward. A treatise by one of the 
 foremost carnationists in America. It is a thor- 
 oughly practical work treating on all phases of 
 the Carnation's propagation and cultivation; 
 based on years of the author's actual experience. 
 
 "The Chrysanthemum," by A. Herrington. 
 The author, than whom there is no more ex- 
 perienced expert, takes the public in his confi- 
 dence, and has endeavored to assist and direct 
 the efforts of those who would grow and excel in 
 the production of perfect Chrysanthemum flow- 
 ers. 
 
290 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 "Commercial Rose Culture," by Eber Holmes. 
 This book embraces the growing of Roses under 
 glass and outdoors for cut-flower production. Il- 
 lustrated. 
 
 "Sweet Peas for Profit," by J. Harrison Dick. 
 A practical guide to the most up-to-date methods 
 of growing Sweet-peas under glass in winter and 
 in the open air for a summer crop. Freely il- 
 lustrated. 
 
 "Commercial Violet Culture," by Prof. B. T. 
 Galloway. A treatise on the growing and mar- 
 keting of Violets for profit, giving every detail 
 necessary to success. The only comprehensive 
 American work on the subject. Third edition. 
 Instructively illustrated. 
 
 "How to Make Money Growing Violets," by 
 George Saltford. The main object of this book- 
 let is to show how \ iolets may be produced as a 
 side line. The successive chapters describe the 
 best soil for Violets and how to prepare it; plant- 
 ing, watering, cultivation, varieties, temperature, 
 heating, fertilizers, insects and diseases, houses, 
 coldframes, picking, bunching, marketing, ship- 
 ping boxes, profit, etc. Illustrated. 
 
 "Vegetable Forcing," by Ralph L. Watts. 
 The growing of all the important vegetables cul- 
 tivated under glass is covered in practical detail. 
 While written from the market grower's point of 
 
Books to Help You Further 291 
 
 view, the up-to-date information on soil prepara- 
 tion, insects, diseases, cropping systems, va- 
 rieties, etc., is as helpful to the amateur as to the 
 professional. 
 
 "Fruits and Vegetables Under Glass," bj^ 
 William Turner. The author has enjoyed a wide 
 experience in fruit growing both in England and 
 this country, and the success of his methods has 
 been amply demonstrated at the leading exhibi- 
 tions. 
 
 "The New Rhubarb Culture," compiled by 
 G. B. Fiske. A complete guide to dark forcing 
 and field culture. Part I — by J. E. Morse, the 
 well-known Michigan trucker and originator of 
 the new methods of dark forcing and field culture. 
 Part II — Other methods practised by the most 
 experienced market gardeners, greenhouse men, 
 and experimenters in all parts of America. 
 Illustrated, 130 pages. 
 
 "The Forcing Book," by Liberty H. Bailey. 
 A manual on cultivation of vegetables under 
 glass. A decidedly instructive book founded on 
 the results of Professor Bailey's exhaustive ex- 
 periments at Cornell University greenhouses. 
 It is thoroughly practical. 
 
 "Diseases of Greenhouse Crops and Their 
 Control," by J. J. Taubenhaus. Intended as a 
 guide to practical greenhouse men, to research 
 
 iPnOSfOTV wwm.^ 
 
292 Gardening Under Glass 
 
 workers, and to students of plant pathology. It 
 is the result of many years of practical experience 
 by the author. 
 
 "Vines and Vine Culture," by A. F. Barron. 
 The most complete treatise on the cultivation of 
 the Vinifera Grape under glass. 
 
 "Mushroom Growing," by B. M. Duggar. 
 The beginner will find this book a trustworthy 
 guide, and the experienced grower will receive 
 many valuable hints and ideas. 
 
 THE END 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 Accessories, 157 
 Air, When to give, 78 
 Aphis, 91 
 Aphis, Black, 104 
 Asparagus, 133, 263 
 
 Beans, 259 
 
 Bedding Plants, 239 
 
 Begonias, 118 
 
 Blight, 95 
 
 Blood, Dried, 69 
 
 Bone-meal, 67 
 
 Books that Help, 287 
 
 Bottom heat, 42, 51 
 
 Building Hints, 278 
 
 Bulb Forcing, Technique of, 115 
 
 Bulbs, Forcing, 113 
 
 Bulbs, Planting in Flats, 115 
 
 Bulbs, Potting, 114 
 
 Cactus, 109 
 
 Calendar, A Year's, 165 
 
 Calla Lily, 117 
 
 Carnations, 98 
 
 Cauliflower, 127, 260 
 
 Cherries, 143 
 
 Chrysanthemums, 102 
 
 Compost, Materials for, 158 
 
 Cool-house Plants, 84 
 
 Crocking, 81, 114 
 
 Crowding, Injurious effects of, 
 
 . 12, 79 
 
 Cucumbers, 130, 257 
 Cuttings, Making, 50 
 Cuttings, Potting up, 54 
 
 Damping-off, 96 
 Diseases, 95 
 
 Experiences with a Small 
 House, 18 
 
 Feeding Process of Plants, 65 
 Ferns, 106 
 Fertilizers, 66 
 Flats, Management of, 40 
 Flat Prepared for Use, 37 
 Flowers to Count On, 98 
 Frames, Building for use, 155 
 Freesia, 117 
 
 Freezing before Forcing, 83 
 Fruits in Pots, 218 
 ■Fruits Under Glass, 137 
 
 Geraniums, 105 
 
 Gladiolus, 118 
 
 Grapes, 137 
 
 Grapes, From May to New 
 
 Year's, 211 
 Greenhouses and Architecture, 
 
 15 
 Greenhouses, Styles of, 147 
 Greenhouses, Types of, 275 
 
 295 
 
296 
 
 Index 
 
 Greenhouses, Unhealed, Possi- 
 bilities of, 282 
 
 Growing and Resting Periods, 
 81 
 
 Guano, 69 
 
 Heliotrope, 106 
 Hyacinthus, 116 
 Hydrocyanic Acid, Fumigation 
 
 with, 256 
 Humus, Commercial, 66 
 
 Pots, Shifting to larger, 79 
 
 Potting-on, 79 
 
 Propagation by Cuttings, 48 
 
 Red Spider, 94 
 Rest period, 11 
 Rhubarb, 133, 264 
 Root Crops, 125 
 Rooting Cuttings, 53 
 Roses, 100 
 Roses all Winter, 265 
 
 Insects, The Fight Against, 87 
 Intermediate-house Plants, 84 
 Iris, Spanish, 118 
 Ivy, English, 111 
 
 Light and Air, 12 
 
 Manure, 66 
 Melons, 131 
 Mildew, 95 
 Moisture, 76 
 Mushrooms, 133 
 
 Oxalis, 117 
 
 Palms, 106 
 
 Palms, All about, 202 
 
 Peaches, 141 
 
 Pineapples, All about, 195 
 
 Pits for Storage, 156 
 
 Plant Combinations by Tem- 
 peratures, 282 
 
 Plant Foods and Fertilizers, 66 
 
 Plants and Required Tempera- 
 tures, 84 
 
 Plunging Pots, 56 
 
 Pots for Cuttings, 54 
 
 Sand for Cuttings, 52 
 Scale, 92 
 
 Seedlings, Bringing up, 43 
 Seeds and Cuttings, Beginning 
 
 with, 32 
 Seed Sowing, 37, 41 
 Shade for Seedlings, 46 
 Smilax, 111 
 Snapdragons, 100 
 Soda Nitrate, 68 
 Soil, an All-purpose, 61 
 Soil Building, 57 
 Soil for Starting Seeds, 38 
 Soil, Qualities of, 5 
 Sowing Seeds in Flats, 41 
 Stocking up, 30 
 Stove Plants, 85 
 Stove Plants, Handling, 230 
 Strawberries, 144 
 Sweet-peas, 110 
 
 Tankage, 69 
 Temperature, 73 
 Temperatures, Comparative, 6 
 Temperature requirements, 84, 
 
 282 
 Thunbergia, 111 
 
Index 
 
 297 
 
 Tomatoes, 127, 250 
 Tools, 158 
 Transplanting, 44 
 Troubles, Causes of, 71 
 
 Vegetable Production Under 
 
 Glass, 249 
 Vegetables, All the year, 120 
 Vegetables in Frames, 225 
 Vines, Decorative, 109 
 
 Violets, 98 
 
 Violets, All about, 187 
 
 Water, How much to use, 76 
 Water, When to give, 10 
 Watering, Control of, 9 
 Warm-house Plants, 85 
 White Fly, 93, 256 
 Wood Ashes, 70 
 
 Year's Calendar, A, 165 
 
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