STATE HORTICULTURAX SOCIETT. 119 



four feet apart iu line for the side wall; another row ten feet six inches 

 distant for the other wall, and also posts for the end wall; the out- 

 side walls are then boarded up with common rough boards; posts 

 sawed off at an angle in line with the ridge; tarred paper is then laid 

 over the walls inside and outside; the walls are then boarded inside 

 and outside with matched boards; a cap is then nailed on top of the 

 walls on which the top or the rafters rest, the upper end of the raft- 

 ers being nailed to a 2x4 inch ridge pole, the distance apart deter- 

 mined by the width of glass used. 



The first two houses w« built we used 10x12 single-strength glass, 

 rafters ten inches apart. On the remainder we used double-strength 

 glass, at a cost of about thirty per cent more; rafters one foot apart, 

 and would not use single-strength glass on such buildiags at any 

 price. 



Now comes a coat of paint over everything, and then the glazing. 

 Lap the glass not more than one-fourth inch; if a large lap is made 

 water will get between thepaues, freeze, and burst the glass. We use 

 six-ounce tinned tacks to keep the panes from slipping down, and 

 fasten the lights down with glazier's points, driven in with a point 

 driver, a little machine that will drive points as fast as the hand can 

 move from one position to another. 



For filling the crevices between the panes and rafters we use a com- 

 position made of one equal part, by measure, of putty, raw linseed oil 

 and white lead, well mixed and strained, and applied with a rubber 

 bulb, made especially for the purpose. 



The inside construction consists of a bench four feet wide on each 

 side, with a two foot walk down the center. The benches must not 

 be built tight to the walls, but a space of at least one inch left be- 

 tween the wall and bench for the heat to pass up, this part of these 

 houses being the most vulnerable to cold. Ten foot houses heated by 

 steam for the growing of lettuce, require a coil of these one inch 

 pipes to each four toot bench. Four one inch pipes to each bench will 

 give sufficient heat for cucumbers. 



HEATING. 



The best position in which to place the pipes is not settled; years 

 ago it was thought that bottom heat was decidedly the best, bub time 

 brings new ideas, and one of these new ideas is that natural heat, 

 meaning sun heat, comes from above; also that experience in forcing 

 houses teaches us that our weakest places in these houses is in our 

 roofs just as soon as the sun goes down. For the purpose, then, of 



