FROM THE OLD BOOK

When I first contemplated buying a Greenhouse I didn't just do some research on the types, the sites, the direction in which it should face, but I also went back into history to get some idea of how they first started by having a browse through "THE OLD BOOKS", and here's a short extract on the history of Greenhouses. So put your scythe down, go into the shade of the kitchen, sit on the old bench, have a pint of ale, and read on:

"The term "Greenhouse" appears to have originated from the occasional use in the seventeenth century of buildings with large windows in front for sheltering Myrtles, orange trees, bay trees, and other more or less tender evergreen trees and shrubs during the winter months. Such trees were grown in tubs, and were placed outdoors during the Summer months. The Greenhouse of those early days consisted of a lofty building with a tiled roof, a brick wall at the back, similar ones at the end, and glazed windows extending from the floor to the eaves of the roof. Sometimes the sashes or windows were separated by slender or substantial pillars. The first house of this kind was said to have been erected at Heidelberg, in Germany, in 1619.
So far as we can gather, the first Greenhouse built in this country was in the early part of the seventeenth century , in the Apothecaries Garden, in Chelsea. Philip Miller, in his "Gardeners Dictionary" published in 1731, makes the following quaint remarks on the subject: "As of Late Years there have been great Quantities of Exotick Plants introduced into the English Gardens, so the Number of Greenhouses or Conservatories has increased, and not only a greater Skill in the Management of Ordering of these Plants has increased therewith: but also a greater knowledge of the Structure and Contrivance of these Places, so as to render them Useful and Ornamental, hath been acquired.

He then goes on to describe the design and method of construction. He says the depth of the buildings should not be less than 16'ft, the length of the windows equal to the depth, their width 4' to 6' ft and the piers between constructed of stone or oak. The floors are recommended to be of marble , stone, or tiles, and raised 3'ft above the ordinary ground level. The ceiling and the walls should, he says, be whitewashed or painted white, so as to reflect the rays of light upon the plants. Shutters were also to be fixed inside, so that in severe weather they could be closed over the glass to keep out the frost.

About the same period various means of artificially heating such structures were tried. Some used charcoal fires for the purpose, but the poisonous gases evolved suffocated the gardeners who had to attend to them, and so this method was soon discarded. Then a plan of heating by flues was tried, and this proved a greater success. Flues, 10 ins wide, and 2'ft deep, were carried around the front and the back of the structure under the floor. The fireplace was usually outside in a shed, and the smoke and fumes carried up a flue built into the wall. In other cases, flues were built into the walls with fireplaces outside so as to heat the walls, the warmth from which would radiate and increase the temperature of the inside air.
In the eighteenth century very little improvement was effected in the construction of Greenhouse. Towards the close they were made of wood and glass, the panes of the latter being very small. During that period there was a very heavy duty on glass, and this impost naturally retarded its use on a large scale. It was not until the fourth decade of the last century that the duty on glass was abolished. As a matter of fact, the glass duty was repealed from April 4, 1845, by Sir Robert Peel, and income tax introduced by him to make up for the loss of revenue.
From that time the construction of Greenhouses went ahead rapidly. At first the structure were mostly lean to, then three quarter span roof, and finally span roof, the latter now being the most popular, as well as the most serviceable form for plant culture.
Concurrently, with the advances made in Greenhouse construction during the latter half of the last century, so were great improvements made in the methods of heating them. Heating by steam supplanted the Flue methods for a time. This, however, did not prove a safe or satisfactory plan. Then followed the low pressure system of heating by hot water in pipes, a method now brought to perfection, and in universal use. Then, as the demand for small Greenhouses increased, so did a similar need for small apparatus arise, and the introduction of hot air and hot air and hot water apparatus heated by oil or gas became an established fact.

Thus in the words of Cowper:

"Who loves a garden,
Loves a Greenhouse, too."



It's amazing how the Modern Greenhouse has been derived from the trials, tribulations, failures and successes of the Old Estate Gardeners, the old Commercial Growers, and the Specialist Plant Collectors of the old days. Right, now you can pick up your Scythe and get back to what you were doing before the Foreman turns up!

 

Another very interesting article. :yess: . Thanks.

Those early greenhouses became known as Orangeries to distinguish them from the free standing ones.

Your quote at the end always surprises me that William Cowper could write something so different from his normal writings. We had to study his writings at school as he was our school's founder.

 

I always liked the Bull eyes, Ziggy, they added character to places. I would love to see glass being made commercially.

Shiney, Cowper certainly had an eventful life, even if he was a bit mad at times.:D

 

I've just had a look at the history of glass making, very interesting to say the least. It appears, Ziggy, surprise, surprise, that the art of making crown glass is still being done at Redhouse Glass Works, Stourbridge. I'm glad crafts like that are being kept alive.:D

 

What do mean, 'at times' . He was a full time nutter . I use that as my excuse, saying that it was infectious at school!

 

I was trying to be "poetically" polite, Shiney:D Certainly he was a definite fruitcake, but did somethings that live on without any mistake.

 

Yes, what lives on in my mind is that we used to get a half day holiday on his birthday

 

Obviously your Head Master was a fruit cake too, Shiney. :D

 

Bulls Eye glass is sold by this company and is made in the U.S.:-

Contact Information - Glass Studio Supplies

 

Mrs Shiney uses it sometimes for her glass making.

 

Well, it's been a nice day here in West Cheshire, sunny enough and warm enough to do a lot out in the garden. So I deserve a mug of tea and a browse through the Old Books, so why don't you take a break too and go back a hundred years or so when things were slightly different in the gardening world.

"CHARCOAL:

This finds great use in the Gardener's hands , but is not of any great importance. It is an ingredient of potting soils for many plants, and a couple of pots full of charcoal dust per bushel of soil, or even more of the lump charcoal, can after crushing be used. Lump charcoal can be put instead of potsherds at the bottom of pots for drainage purposes, and it ensures the soil being kept sweet. It also can be put into vases for keeping the water of cut flowers fresh and sweet. One small lump in the bottom of each vase is usually quite sufficient for the purpose, and is said to be even better than permanganate of potash.

Out of doors, charcoal dust can be used in the preparation of seed bed. It may be used alone or mixed with wood ashes. It can be forked in freely round extra choice plants. There is a form known as Animal Charcoal, but the gardener has no use of this."

"COCOANUT FIBRE

This is an exceedingly useful material to the gardener, as it is clean to handle and in every way free from objectionable properties. Bulbs may be grown in bowls of it with great success. Pot plants may be plunged in it either outside or in frames, and it can be used as a mulch for certain objects where the use of rich material would be objectionable. Gardeners should always have a good supply of it handy, for use when required."

"COPPER AND CUPRUM COMPOUNDS:

Metallic Copper is of very little use to the Gardener save for making lightning conductors for his Greenhouses, or in the form of wire for renewing the fuses in his electric lighting or heating installations. It's compounds, however, form an important class , chiefly as fungicides, though the Sulphate has been used as a fertiliser for lawns when added in extremely small quantities to lawn sands. In the copper compounds we have poisonous materials the use of which still requires much experiment, but it is believed that in this element there exists a cure for the fell disease Clubroot if a suitably mild material could be produced at a cheap rate. If applied to the soil, copper must be used in the remotest of small quantities, as up to now it has serve to injure rooting rather than to encourage it.

As regards the compounds. Copper Carbonate. Copper Chloride, Copper Oxide, and Copper Phosphate have never yet come to the fore horticulturally, hence it is needless to give details concerning them here.

COPPER ACETATE: This is not of much use to the gardener, though it's basic salt popularly known as VERDIGRIS is sometimes used as an ingredient for indelible ink.

COPPER ACETO-ARSENITE: This is usually a bright green solid, and is used to a certain extent as a fungicide. It is the chief ingredient in PARIS GREEN

COPPPER ARSENATE; This is has been suggested as a cure for Wart Disease of Potatoes, and also as a general fungicide. Unfortunately, it's use has not so far been satisfactory, and no striking results have been obtained. It has undoubted possibilities, however, and experiments with it should be carefully watched.

COPPER NITRATE: This is a chemical with a future before it in horticulture, of that there can be little doubt. It is suggested that it could be prepared cheaply by adding a solution of Calcium Nitrate to a strong solution of Copper Sulphate. This last is very cheap, as most gardeners know. Experiments with the present compound as a cure for clubroot and other diseases are, we understand, in progress, but it is too soon to say with any certainty that it fulfils what is hoped/

COPPER SULPHATE: This, popularly known as BLUE STONE, is the most important copper compound, and is largely used for the making of Bordeaux and Burgundy Mixtures, and as an ingredient in indelible ink."/B]

Well, I finished my mug of tea, so it's back to work in the garden while the sun is still nice and warm.