MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 83 
to the cold and unfavorable state of the weather, but many of 
their plants were most skillfully grown. 
', The show of. vegetables was large and fine, and on the 
whole the Horticultural Department of the Fair was a grand 
success. 
The show of fruit tells to the world that the fruit-growers 
have nailed their flag to the mast, and will not surrender until 
the last apple tree is dead and no seed can be procured from 
which to raise more. The flowers speak of our Minnesota as 
the home of those who love and cherish the good and the 
beautiful. 
Joun S. Harris, 
Superintendent of Division H. 
\ 
CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF GREEN- - 
HOUSES FOR AMATEURS. 
BY WILLIAM CANNON, MINNEAPOLIS. 
To those who wish to extend the cultivation of flowers, be- 
yond the use of annuals, it is necessary to have a green-house, 
if only a modest affair; and the house most suitable for 
amateur florists is the span-roofed. It should be sheltered 
from the north and run north and south, so as to receive the 
greatest amount of sun in the winter. It is best to grow good 
shaped plants, and the easiest to attend their daily wants. 
A good house can be built by having a wall of brick twelve 
inches thick and four feet high for the sides; brick up the 
ends, having one door in the north end, and having a wood 
shed and work-room for your furnace at the entrance. Have 
the rafters of sufficient depth to admit the use of double sash 
in winter, also to cover with canvas or light board shutters 
on very cold nights, as itis much better to retain heat than to 
continually keep up the supply by extra fuel. 
An excess of artificial heat is injurious to plant life, and 
our usual mode of heating (by furnace) too dry, unless care 
is taken to avoid it by sprinkling or by water placed upon 
the flue. 
The cheapest mode of heating is by a brick furnace, about 
_ fifteen inches wide and high, and long enough to admit four 
foot wood. The fire will burn better if you have a grate, but 
it is not absolutely necessary. The furnace should be two 
thicknesses of brick (for the inner one fire-brick are the most 
