NEW Y( 



BOTANIC 



GARDI 



GREENHOUSE AND STOVE PLANTS. 



GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 



General Remarks. 



The vast numbers of species and varieties 

 of greenhouse plants, hard and soft wooded, 

 now in cultivation, afford an all but limit- 

 less field for the cultivator to select from. 

 Australia, with its wide expanse of terri- 

 tory, China, the Cape of Good Hope, the 

 temperate parts of America, Southern 

 Europe, and the cool mountain ranges of 

 the A-aiious hot countries of the world, 

 have all been put under contribution to 

 furnish our greenhouses with plants that 

 keep up through the circle of the year an 

 unbroken succession of flowers in their 

 varied forms and colours. The advantage 

 which greenhouse plants present to the 

 general cultivator is their requiring little 

 artificial heat beyond that requisite to keep 

 them during the winter somewhat above 

 the reach of frost, with the consequently 

 more enjoyable temperature of the struc- 

 tures in which they are located in the 

 growing season than is possible with the 

 stove. Amongst the hard wooded occupants 

 of the greenhouse are many of the most 

 beautiful, distinct, and profuse flowering 

 plants in existence; these properties collec- 

 tively commend them to the general culti- 

 vator. The better known, and more easily 

 managed, softwooded section, contribute 

 so much by the beauty and abundance 

 of their flowers to the embellishment of 

 greenhouses and conservatories, and play 

 so important a part in the all but limitless 

 arrangements in which flowers and plants 

 are now used, that nothing further need 

 be said in their favour bevond instancing 

 the ease with which they may be grown, — 

 which ease alone is worth taking into con- 

 sideration. 



Position, Form, and Construction of 

 House. — It is a matter of the first import- 

 ance that greenhouses should be situated far 

 enough away from anything that can in the 

 least obstruct or absorb the light which, to 



the fullest extent possible, is essential to the 

 well-being of greenhouse plants. Trees, or 

 any dark object, even when situated on 

 the north side of a planthouse (unless at 

 some distance from it) absorb the light to 

 an extent that seriously reduces the amount 

 which reaches the plants ; consequently 

 care should be taken to build far enough 

 away from such. For a like reason, to 

 secure the inmates all the light possible, 

 on all sides, the span shape is much the 

 best ; a house of this description, 18 to 20 

 feet wide by from 40 to 50 feet in length, 

 is proportionate and convenient, as well as 

 generally suited to the lequirenients of the 

 plants. It should consist of 3 feet of brick- 

 work all round ; the upright side-lights 

 should be 2 ft. 6 in. in depth, all hinged 

 and provided with opening gear, like the 

 roof ventilators. These should consist of 

 short lights running the whole length of 

 the house, hinged to the ridge, so as to 

 open with lever rods ; and this is so much 

 an improvement on the old system of slid- 

 ing lights that air can be given when re- 

 quired in wet weather. It is also in- 

 finitely superior to any of the contrivances 

 of shutter-ventilation at the ridge, as these 

 always tend to darken the house too much. 

 The internal arrangement may, with ad- 

 vantage, consist of 3 feet side stages over 

 the pipes, and on a level with the bottom 

 of the side-lights. A path running on 

 each side of the house, about 3h feet in 

 width, should divide the side stages from 

 the centre, which should consist of a flat 

 stage about the same height as those at the 

 sides, or a few inches higher. Both side 

 and centre stages should be made of solid 

 slabs of slate, thin flags, or iron plates, on 

 which can be placed an inch or so of fine 

 sandy gravel that can be kept damp when 

 required, and will so maintain a nice 

 moisture amongst the plants standing 

 thereon. For small stock especially, and 

 during the growing season, this is a great 

 advantage, preserving a more genial atmos- 

 f»here, and acting as a preventive against 



