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ally, both for cucumbers and melons; middle to conduct off all wet falling 

 each frame to have two cross bars, I between the lights. At the end of each 

 ranging from the top of the back to , frame, at top, should be a thin slip of 

 that of the front, at three feet six inches board, four inches broad, up to the out- 

 distance, to strengthen the frame, and side of the lights, being necessary to 

 support the lights ; and the three lights guard against cutting winds rushing in 

 to be each three feet six inches wide ; at that part immediately upon the plants, 

 the whole together being made to fit when the lights are occasionally tilted 



the top of the frame exactly, every way 

 in length and width. 

 » " Sometimes the above sort of frames 

 are made of larger dimensions than be- 

 fore specified ; but in respect to this it 

 should be observed that if larger they 



behind for the necessary admission of 

 fresh air, &c. 



" With respect to the lights, the 

 wood-work of the frame should be inch 

 and a half thick and two and a half 

 broad ; and the bars, for the immediate 



are very inconvenient to move to differ- : support of the glass-work, should be 

 ent parts where they may be occasion- about an inch broad, and not more than 

 ally wanted, and require more heat to , inch and a half thick : for if too broad 

 warm the internal air; and in respect and thick, they would intercept the 

 to depth particularly, that if they are \ rays of the sun, so should be only just 

 but just deep enough to contain a due : sufficient to support the lights and be 

 depth of mould, and for the plants to i ranged from the back part to the front. 



have moderate room to grow, they will 

 be better than if deeper, as the plants 

 will be then always near the glasses — 

 which is an essential consideration in 

 early work — and the internal air will 

 be more effectually supported in a due 



eight or nine inches asunder. 



"All the wood-work, both of the 

 frames and lights, should be painted to 

 preserve them from decay. A lead 

 colour will be the most eligible; and 

 if done three times over, outside and 



temperature of warmth. For the deeper i in, will preserve the wood exceedingly 

 the frame, the heat of the internal air from the injuries of weather, and from 

 will be less in proportion, and the plants ' the moisture of the earth and dung." 



being far from the glasses will be some 

 disadvantage in their early growth. Be- 

 sides, a too deep frame, both in early 

 and late work, is apt to draw the plants 

 up weak; for they always naturally 

 aspire towards the glasses, and the 

 more space there is, the more they 

 will run up; for which reason the Lon- 

 don kitchen-gardeners have many of 

 their frames not more than fourteen or 

 fifteen inches high behind and seven in 

 front, especially those which are in- 

 tended to winter the more tender young 

 plants, such as cauliflower and lettuce, 

 and for raising early small' salad, herbs, 

 radishes, &c. 



" The wood work of the back, ends, 

 and front should be of inch or inch 

 and a quarter deal, as before observed, 

 which should be all neatly planed even 

 and smooth on both sides; and the 

 joints, in framing them together, should 

 be so close that no wet nor air can en- 

 ter. The cross-bars or bearers at top, 

 for the support of the glasses, should 

 be about three inches broad and one 

 thick, and neatly dove-tailed in at back 

 and front even with both edges, that 

 the lights may shut down close, each 

 having a groove or channel along the 



Mr. Knight has suggested an import- 

 ant improvement in the form of frames. 

 He observes, that the general practice 

 is to make the surface of the bed per- 

 fectly horizontal, and to give an incli- 

 nation to the glass. That side of the 

 frame which is to stand towards the 

 north is made nearly as deep again as 

 its opposite; so that if the mould is 

 placed of an equal depth (as it ought 

 to be) over the whole bed, the plants 

 are too far from the glass at one end of 

 the frame and too near at the other. 

 To remove this inconvenience, he 

 points out the mode of forming the bed 

 on an inclined plane; and the frame 

 formed with sides of equal depth, and 

 so put together as to continue per- 

 pendicular when on the bed, as repre- 

 sented in the accompanying sketch, 

 Fig. 52, 



There are several minor points in the 

 construction of frames that deserve at- 

 tention. The strips of lead or wood 

 that sustain the panes of glass should 

 run across the frame, and not length- 

 wise ; they then neither obstruct so 

 much the entrance of light nor the pass- 

 ing off of rain. The inside of the frame 

 should be painted white, since planU 



