54 ON THE MERITS OF IRON AND WOOD FOR ROOFS. 



to the eye appears perfection, without its even answering any of 

 the desired ends, convenience of paths or walks, bark or tan 

 beds, stages, flues, cisterns for water, ventilation and innumer- 

 able other little requisites and necessaries for a stove, greenhouse, 

 or conservatory may be overlooked, and as every gentlemen who 

 goes to the expence of erections of this description, expect in 

 due time to have the benefit of his outlay in fruits, or the satis- 

 faction of an extraordinary fine specimen, or general display of 

 flowers, should he eventually be disappointed in not enjoying 

 those anticipated gratifications through the bad construction of 

 his house or houses. I regret to say it frequently occurs that the 

 industrious, persevering, able, and anxious gardener is blamed 

 for neglect of duty, or want of skill, not only by his employer, 

 but by others equally unacquainted with the cause. But upon 

 examination of the house by a competent and practical man, it 

 turns out that the blame and ill success are attributable to the 

 formation and aspect of the house, that various genera and spe- 

 cies of plants requiring peculiar situations, had the gardener been 

 consulted as to the height of the stages, depth and width of tan 

 beds, and proper situation of the flues, or other modes of heat- 

 ing; all this disappointment to the employer and employed 

 through not considting a practical person would have been pre- 

 vented. Moreover, it too frequently happens with these "pretty" 

 plans prepared by non practical men, that there is an insufficiency 

 of means provided for the proper ventilation of houses, and want 

 of ventilation in iron curvilinear roofs, is frequently attended with 

 the most disastrous consequences, and as a confirmation of the 

 correctness of my observations, and of the importance of pro- 

 per ventilation, plants are always liable to be scorched under 

 an iron-roofed house. 



I remember witnessing this last summer the destruc tion of 

 the whole of a fine crop of grapes as well as the foliage, when 

 early full swelled, in a Gentleman's hothouse in Kent, which was 

 erected of cast iron about six years ago, the destruction occur- 

 red through the architect failing to allow proper ventilation, and 

 to prevent the second house of grapes which had then suffered 

 severely from sharing the same melancholy fate, the gardener 

 who is admitted to be as good a practical man as any in the 

 kingdom, caused some holes to be made in the back wall of the 

 house, about one foot wide, and hree long, where he intro- 

 duced shutters hung on hinges, by which means he fortunately 



