CHEAP VINERIES AND GREEN-HOUSES. 



1, vre give a sketch of a section of one of these cheap structures, from which any 

 of our readers may construct a similar house. 



The frame of this building is wholly of wood. Posts are set into the ground about six 

 feet apart. These posts rise seven feet above the surface at the rear, (A.) and two feet 

 three inches at the front, (B.) They are sheathed or weather-boarded in the common 

 wa}', on the outside of the posts,* along the back and front — the tMo ends being also 

 boarded uj] — with a door in each or in 

 both ends — opj o.site the sunken walk, 

 (C) This walk is sunken, partly to eco- 

 nomise cost, and is needed to raise the back 

 and front high enough to walk under the 

 roof, and partly to bring the plants as near 

 the glass as possible — a great desideratum 

 in all plant culture. 



So far, it Mill be seen that this structure 

 costs little more than a board fence. Noav '^' 



let us examine the glass roof, for it is here that the cost usually lies. And as this cost is 

 not so much in the glass, as in the sliding sashes, all nicely jointed and framed, and the 

 grooved rafters in which they are to slide, Mr. Rivers has cut loose from the whole sys- 

 tem of sashes, and made the entire roof one fixture. Ventilation, which is not to be dis- 

 pensed with, he provides for in a much more eflectual manner tlian the common one, by 

 having boards, d, e, both at the front and rear — (either at intervals, or along the whole 

 line, as may be needful,) hung upon hinges, so as to open outwards, and permit a stream 

 of air to pass over through the breadth of the whole house. 



To construct the roof, a strip of timber — Avhat is usually called a wale strip — is laid 

 along the top of the front and back parts to form a " plate." To this plate are nailed the 

 rafter pieces, about five or six feet apart. Across these rafter pieces, light strips, i. e. s, s, s, 

 about two inches, by one inch, are let in on a level with the top of the rafter. Then, 

 along the whole length of the roof, in the direction of the rafters, light strips are nailed 

 to the bearers, s, s, s. These strips are rebated on the top like a common sash-bar, and 

 are of course laid upon the roof just far enough apart to receive the glass — say 7 inches, 

 (if 7 by 9 glass is to be used.) 'i^o framing of sashes is necessary, and when the whole 

 is glazed, it is light, strong and durable, and is put together so easily, that a house 30 or 

 40 feet long, can be built very quickly. The strips that make the sash bars are both sawn 

 and rebated at the saw-niilljt and as many of Mr. R.'s houses are built of rough stuff, 

 left unplaned, and coated over with ship-varnish instead of paint, the construction is re- 

 duced to the minimum of simplicity and expense. The house we show a section of in fig. 

 1, is used as an early forcing house for grapes and other fruits, and the grapes are grown 

 upright in an inside border on one side of the walk, while the other side is occupied with 

 fruit trees— peaches, nectarines and figs, in pots laden with fruit. 



For this climate, a variation of this cheap structure would be very useful as a vinery 

 without fire heat. In this case the border should be made outside of the front wall, (B.) 

 the vines brought under the boarding and trained up under the glass, about 8 inches below 

 the glass, from front to rear. The sunken walk could then be dispensed with, as there 



* If for a viiieo- or a house to be used in summer, tliis would be sufficient ; if for a green-house, then the posts 

 hould be boarded up on both sides and the space between filled-in witli tan, pounded clay, or anything usually 

 ■•"■' for this purpose. 



have machines m this comitrj- that saw, rebate, and plane these strips at once. 



