4r,G 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ June 0, 1872. 



the shelf that runs along the front, and I am not sure that I tan or leaves; if the latter, the space required wiU have to be 

 eight would not have been still better, as the house contains larger— in other words, deeper than where tan alone is used, 

 a greater volume of 



which must be 

 kept warm than most 

 structures of the kind. 

 More fuel is required 

 to keep up the re- 

 quisite heat by the 

 four pipes than would 

 suffice had there been 

 six or eight ; but at 

 the time the house 

 was erected these 

 matters were not so 

 well understood as 

 now, and, as it has 

 hitherto worked well, 

 we ; have not made 

 any change. : I ought, 

 however, to say that 

 it was at first ar- 

 ranged to grow Pines 

 ou the turning-out 

 principle, and there 

 ai'e two pipes beneath 

 the bed covered over 

 with rubble, &o., in 

 the usual way. Li 

 some years Pmes were 

 grown on this sy.stem, 

 but accidental cu'cum- 

 stances suggested a 

 change, and the last 

 three years we have 

 grown them in pots 

 on a tan bed. This 



Fig. 1. — Piiio House, with accommodation for Cucumbers, Pot Vines, and Dwarf Kidney Beans. 



The lengtli of tliis Iioukb is 86 feet, its widtli 14 feet 6 inclies. The width of the pathway is 

 the same as tliat of the doors at each end — 2 feet 10 inches. The front shelf is 2 feet wide, 

 and the width of the tan-bed 7 feet 3 inches in the clear. The front lights, about 2 feet 

 high, are hung on hinges at the top, and open to admit air. 



plan having given more fruit during the winter months is | water may be placed upon the top pipe^' 

 that which I would 

 most recommend, as 

 the tan bed also has 

 the important advan- 

 tage of assisting in 

 the heating by sup- 

 pljing bottom' heat in 

 abundance ; in fact, 

 so much at times that 

 there is danger of in- 

 jury it it is not care- | ■^S^-'=«sinW^" ' Hffl ^ ^ 

 fully attended to, but ' ~ ' 

 with judicious ma- 

 nagement it may be 

 kei)t within proper 

 limits. It is a very 

 convenient material 

 to work amongst, and 

 retains its heat a long 

 time ; as its manage- 

 ment is a very im- 

 portant feature I will 

 describe it hereafter. 



Fig. 2 represents a 

 useful pit for Pines, 

 and many growers 

 prefer such a one to 

 the more elaborate 

 house ; where Pines 

 only are grown the 

 pit is certainly more 

 economical, as the 

 volume of air to be 

 heated by artificial 

 means is much less in 

 a pit than in a house. 

 Pines thrive as well 

 in the one structure 

 as in the other if the 

 heating apparatus and 

 other conditions to 

 success are duly at- 

 tended to. The hot- 

 bed may either be of rig. S.-Pine House. 



There are many 

 modifications of pits 

 more or less resem- 

 bling that described, 

 some of them having 

 only two hot-water 

 pipes in front, which 

 in many cases wUl be 

 sufficient, especially if 

 coverings to the glass 

 are used in severe 

 weather ; or three 

 pipes may be placed 

 vertically, so as to 

 give more space for 

 the hotbed — a matter 

 not to be lost sight 

 of. With this view I 

 have advised the jiar- 

 tition dividing the 

 hotbed from the pipes 

 to be of boards only, as 

 occupj-ing less space 

 than brickwork, and 

 although they wQl not 

 last vci-y long in such 

 a position they are 

 easily replaced, and 

 are easily taken out to 

 clear away the tan and 

 other dirt amongst the 

 pipes. I have found 

 them more convenient 

 in every way. When 

 required, troughs for 

 I prefer moveable 

 troughs with a saddle- 

 shaped bottom to fit 

 the pipes, not those 

 forming part of the 

 pipe itself, for such 

 are always trouble- 

 some to clean out ; 

 these troughs we have 

 always in use in the 

 Pine house whenever 

 fires are employed, 

 and the same are ne- 

 cessary in pits. 



The principal draw- 

 back to the pit is the 

 inconvenience at shift- 

 ing time, the plants 

 being necessarily ex- 

 posed to the open air 

 more or less while the 

 work is going on. If it 

 •were not for this, pits 

 would be more con- 

 venient than houses ; 

 but one or two shift- 

 inga are required dur- 

 ing the winter, and 

 however judiciously 

 done as regards the 

 choice of weather, 

 they are an inconve- 

 nience if not a positive 

 injury to the plants. 

 Good management 

 win obviate much of 

 this, and excellent 

 Pines are often grown 

 where there is no 

 house; in fact, I be- 

 lieve the very best are 

 often found in such 

 places. The whole of 

 the hgbts are move- 

 able in such pits, the 



