Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-15
THE NATIONS HOT HOUSES
GROWING OF PLANTS AND VEGETA-
BLES UNDER GLASS.
Importance of the Industry in the
United States Immense Yields
Shown-Capital Invested.


The special branch of horticulture which
has for its object the production of plants
under more or less artificial conditions Of
light, heat and moisture, and which has
come to be generally known as the grow
ing Of plants under glass, has been made
the subject of exhaustive study by B. T.
Galloway, chief of the division of physiol-
ogy and pathology in the Agricultural De-
partment.
Mr.. Galloway has found that in this coun-
try the business includes all plants grown
In specially constructed glass houses and
in hot beds and cold frames. The growing
of plants under bell jars, as practiced in
Europe, is not followed here. Probably no.
where in the world. says Mr.. Galloway, has
the growing of plants in green houses at
tanned such Importance as in the United
States. Other countries may have more
imposing structures and larger individual
areas of glass, but. taking the business rs
a whole, it may be fairly claimed that in
up-to-date methods in almost everything
pertaining to this special field of horucul-
ture this country leads
1t was not until about 1925 that real pro-
gress in growing plants under glass began.
The reason for this may be assigned to a
number of causes. The country mad peen
through several wars and had now settled
down to CROWN ana PROSPERITY ihe Sd'ol-
ern states were rapidly increasing In popu-
lation and wealth, this being the case espe-
cially in the vicinity of the cities OF BOSTON,
New York and Philadelphia 1t was nat
ural, therefore, that with the accumulation
of wealth in such places and the relaxing
of the strain necessary in the struggle Tor
existence money should be turned into
other channels than those OF necessity.
Checked by War.
Rv 1860 commercial Horticulture and the
forcing of vegetables had assumed I'M
portant proportions. the latter being as yet
confined almost entirely to hot beds Inc
breaking out of the civil war checked the
work, however, and but little progress was
made for the next six or eight years.
When business had assumed something
of its normal condition after the close of
the civil war there was marked interest
in plants both for bedding and decorative
purposes Many establishments We're there
fore started for the purpose of growing
such plants, and there was revival OF in
terest all along the line. 1t was at about
this time QS65-1S6S), Furthermore, that
vegetable growing under glass began to at
tract more widespread attention. Boston
had long been the center of this important
industry, but, as already pointed out, 1t was
confined almost entirely to hotbeds and
frames Recognizing the inadequacy of
their methods, however, q few of the more
progressive growers in the vicinity Of Bos-
ton took the sashes used for hot beds and
made houses OF them
1t had long been the belief among garden
ers that to properly grow lettuce 1t must be
near the glass; hence, the first houses built
for this crop were low, fiat affairs, with
barely sufficient head room to permit
man to walk erect Another crop which had
long been grown in frames was vtolets. the
belief being that they had to be near the
glass. The rgor of the climate made this
method impracticable in many sections, and
pits low-roofed houses made of sash
came into use about the year 1864 or 1866.
For Decorative Purposes.
By 1870 there We're several thousand COM
mercial establishments in the United States
devoting their attention to the growth of
plants for decorative purposes, for bed
ding and for flowers, and to the growth of
vegetables for winter use. The growing of
vegetables was as yet a comparatively
small industry, embracing probably less
than one-tenth of the amount of glass de-
voted to plants and flowers. The increased
demand for flowers was marked at this
time. Camellias, tuberoses and such flow
erS had seen their day, and roses. carna-
lions, violets and chrysanthemums were
SuperSeding them. The rose, however, was
the principal flower, and much attention
was given to improved forms and the
methods of growing them.
Between 1915 and 1889 southern-grown
vegetables began to have a marked effect
upon the northern markets. In order to
compete with the southern growers better
1acllltleS were erected In the vicinity of
Boston and were at first of the lean-to type
They were from twenty to twenty-five feet
wide and ten to twelve feet high at the
back, with the slope to the south side
where there was tive-foot wall the upper
half Of which was of ventilating sash.
Many houses of this type were erected
around Boston and Providence and some
were put up near New York.
What proved to a marked impetus to
horticultural work was the organZa ton at
this time in Washington of the Society of
American Florists. which held its first
meeting in 1885. At the first meeting of
this society the president, Mr.. John Thorpe
gave some authentic facts of statistical
nature relating to the work of growing
plants under glass. He stated that the ac-
tual number Of flowers produced at this
time was almost incredible. To his per-
sonal knowledge nine growers of roses sent
to New York 100000 flowers produced at
this time QSs5), and yet this was not so
per cent of the roses sent to- that market
alone.
An Immense Yield.
He estimates that the aggregate number
Of roses grown around Boston, Philadel-
phia, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington and
in all other places could not have been less
than 100000. The number of carnations
grown could not have been less than five
times as many, or about 10000, 900. He es-
timated, Furthermore, that at least one
fourth many roses and carnations were
grown by private establishments and repre-
sented as much value If they were
thrown upon the market. The amount of
space occupied by Towering plants and
bulbs in the open air was estimated to ag-
gregate at least H. 600 acres, in addition to
several thousand acres used for seeds.
The growth of the industry for the past
few years has been remarkable. As a rule
the improvements in methods of producing
and handling the crops have kept pace with
he fror nfc nff fhAvv