THE GREENHOUSE. — RESULTS OF EXPERIENCE. 



THE GREENHOUSE.— RESULTS OF EXPERIENCE. 



BY H. B. 



S many amateurs have a greenhouse which they conduct 

 themselves, a few words of advice may not be thrown 

 away. The writer often sees a greenhouse sadly neglect- 

 ed from the want of correct information on the part of 

 the owner; the plants are overgrown and covered with 

 mildew, untidiness reigns around, and the structure, 

 which, properly managed, would be an ornament to the 

 garden, is almost a blemish to it. At this season evety 

 preparation should be made for the months which miLst 

 intervene before the house can be emptied. What has 

 to be done in the way of cleaning and general aiTangement should be done at once, 

 and the following observations, if attended to, will help to secure for the amateur all 

 the benefit the greenhouse is calculated to give. 



If not done before, the house should receive a thorough cleaning, and for this 

 purpose the plants must be turned out, or if the weather will not permit this, they 

 may be crowded together at one end, while the other receives the requisite purifica- 

 tion. The glass, paint, and floor should be scrupulously submitted to a woman 

 competent to do the thing in a business-like way. Every corner should be scraped 

 out, that all insects and their eggs may be destroyed. As pots acquire growths of 

 fungous productions, an application of soap and water will be of sei-vice to them. 

 This cleanliness will be found of great value, and will promote the well-being of the 

 plants in a high degree during the winter months, when the dampness of the atmos- 

 phere is more to be dreaded than frost. Mildew, mouldiness, et hoc genus ovine, 

 delight in dirty places, to say nothing of the thousands of insects which the smallest 

 greenhouse can harbor in its corners and crevices. 



The next process is the arrangement of plants for the winter, a matter requiring 

 a measure of judicious thoughtfvdness. The plants of an amateur may be classed 

 into two kinds, those which are required to grow, and those for which a state of rest 

 is more desirable. The former must have the best of the light and warmth, while 

 the latter may be placed in the situations having the least of these advantages. It 

 is presumed that artificial heat is not to be applied, except for the purpose of exclu- 

 ding frost ; for if the house is kept too warm, no plants can be put into shady places 

 with impunity. The stock for bedding out next spring should be kept as dormant 

 as possible, and in a house without a fire this may be done by putting the pots on 

 the floor, and giving no more water than sufficient to keep the foliage from withering. 

 jMants to bloom during the winter, or early in spring — in fact, all which are required 

 to grow now — should be arranged as near the light as possible. In the arrangement 

 of plants in a house, care must be taken not to allow the foliage to become crowded; 

 to prevent this productions of low stature should be placed between those 

 taller. By this kind of sorting, the space will be economised, and a far 



