THE FLORAL WOELD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



185 



just as you divide auy of the pei'cnnials of I joint ; but of course the rate of increase is 

 tufted growth, for it trains itself down to quickened by putting cuttings into sandy 

 the ground, and makes root at every | peat. 



TI-IE LUXmiT OV A GREEN" EOUSE, WITH HINTS 



TPIEREON^. 



No one who has a plot of garden attached 

 to his dwelling, a little spare time, and, 

 above all, a love for flowers, should be 

 without a greenhouse ; the size, of course, 

 lo vary according to circumstances. The 

 expense uow-a-day is very trifling as com- 

 pared with the costly liouses previous to 

 the repeal of the glass duty. Conservato- 

 ries can be made moveable or othorways, as 

 rsquired, and will accommodate themselves 

 to any loculity wherever the sun shines. It is 

 therefore in the power of any steady, ingeni- 

 ous mechanic to be master of such a luxury. 

 There are several good plans of greenhouses 

 given in the first volume of the Floral 

 WoRLP, which it would b.e well to con- 

 sult before you commence building one. 



And if you do not intend to build the 

 house yourself, I would advise you to have 

 it done by some competent person, and be 

 satisfied as to the cost before tjie founda- 

 tion stone is laid ; arid I will tell you 

 why. In the first place, if your trades- 

 man does not thoroughly understand his 

 business, you will be pestered in finding 

 judgment for liim ; and if you have not a 

 stock of that commodity yourself, it is ten 

 to one but your house will prove a failure, 

 cost what it may. In the secorid place, 

 sliould the expense exceed your expecta- 

 tions, as it usually does, and your house 

 badly built into the bargain, you will be 

 disgusted willi the wliole affair ; and every 

 alteration towards an amendment will in- 

 crease the expenses as well as your anti- 

 pathy. This, perhaps, you know, as I do, 

 from experience. 



Another thing of great importance to 

 be consider.'d by tlio amateur, before he 

 begins building a greenhouse, is to ascer- 

 tain what time he can devote each day to 

 the care of his plants. If he is limited in 

 his time, the size of his house must bo 

 limited likewise. Because if he had a Lu'ge 

 place he would be pretty well sure to fill it 

 with plants, some, if not all, of which 

 would come in for a share of neglect, and 

 few things cat a more sorry figure than 

 tiic occupants of an ill-managed conser- 

 vatory. A s'.n.ill house, well stocked with 

 clean and healthy plants, is more pleasing 

 to the visitor, and creditable to the owner. 



than a largehouse containing an immensity 

 of poor sickly things dying with neglect. 

 It is surprising what a quantity of plants 

 can be stowed away in a smnll place by 

 good management. 



I will now give a pen-and ink sketch of 

 my little place, with a hint or two thereon 

 for beginners. It stands against a wall 

 fcicing the east, and is eighteen feet long 

 and nine feet wide. The back part of the 

 wall on which the roof rests is rose about 

 twelve inches, thus leaving inside a good 

 wall shell for strawberries, etc. At each 

 end of tills shelf there is a trap-door to 

 open or shut, as the case may be, and which 

 I find to be a very good plan. The roof 

 is composed of bars only, and of course 

 has uo sliding sashes. A skylight, to raise 

 up and down in the ordinary way, with an 

 iron bar, stands in the centre, answers the 

 purpose of sashes very well, and is of far less 

 expense. The front, however, is supplied 

 v.'ith two sliding sashes, which, with the 

 doorway, skylight, and trap-doors at either 

 end of the back-wall, are quite suflicient 

 for ventilation the hottest day in summer. 

 The stage, which is a flat one, stands in 

 the front. It is composed of strips of 

 pine, one inch by one and a-half inch. In 

 the summer I cover it ail over with some 

 fine pieces of moss, gathered off old rocks, 

 etc., and immersed in boiling water to kill 

 the insects before nsing. This I find an 

 excellent plan for keeping the pots and 

 foliage moist and cool, for where the moss 

 is well saturated with water, it retains it 

 for a considerable time. The object of 

 having the stage in front is to give me the 

 back-wall for climbers, kept m position 

 with wire trellis. A narrow sbclf, which 

 runs round the house for small plants in 

 front, and beans at the back, together with 

 some brackets, a suspended basket or two, 

 constitute the principal fittings of the in- 

 terior. 



I have a stove heated with hot water 

 at the south end, in connection with the 

 greenhouse, and which is supplied with 

 two flues. One of these runs along the 

 front of the house under the stage, and 

 dips under the doorway. And, I believe 

 that dipping under the door is the cause 

 I 2 



