258 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



November, 1910 



should be well rooted. 



Examine them all and pick out those 

 that are most forward, say those which 

 have an inch of top growth. Place them 

 in a window in a subdued light for a few 

 days, and after that in all the light avail- 

 able, in a temperature anywhere between 

 fifty and sixty degrees. The remainder 

 should be watered if necessary and 

 covered irp as before. These, of course, 

 should be looked over occasionally, and 

 the forward ones taken out. By doing 

 this you will be able to have bulbs in 

 flower for a much longer period than 

 you otherwi.se would. 



Prepare for Sweet Peas 



J. Edwards, Winnipfg, Man. 



To obtain the best results with sweet 

 peas the ground should be prepared in 

 the fall. A good plan is, to dig a trench 

 a foot deep, and place in the bottom three 

 inches of well-decayed manure. On the 

 top of this put four inches of soil and 

 thoroughly mix. The remainder of the 

 soil should then be placed on top and 

 levelled. 



On new ground and in places where 

 the soil is very rich, it is advisable to 

 eliminate the manure for a year or two. 

 If the soil is too strong, the buds will 

 have a tendency to drop off. 



The Cultivation of Tulips 



When preparing the beds for tulips 

 first the soil should be well dug and 

 worked, then taken out to a depth of 

 three or four inches and the surface made 

 quite level with a fine rake ; then the 

 bulbs are planted and afterwards the re- 

 moved soil is carefully brought over them 

 again. 



To have a brilliant effect, the bulbs 

 must be planted rather thick so as to 

 be four or five inches apart, according 

 to their size ; they only require a thin 



covering of fir boughs ; on sandy, light 

 soils this protecting material will pre- 

 vent the soil from being blown away in 

 winter or in spring when dry winds are 

 prevalent ; as a matter of course this 

 management will be less necessary on 

 heavy, stifT soils. On no account should 



tulips be planted two years in succes- 

 sion en the same spot ; they yearly want 

 fresh .soil and it is absolutely necessary to 

 dig out the soil and refill the beds with 

 fresh soil from a different part of the 

 garden if the same beds or borders are 

 again planted with them. 



An Easily Constructed Private Greenhouse 



Chester Forstcr, Gait, Ont. 



Many a person has a back veranda lo 

 his house, which, with but little effort, 

 can be converted into a private green- 

 house. Often it is used as a wood-shed 

 or storeroom. A very good greenhouse 

 can be constructed from such a veranda 

 and without much expense, when one 

 may grow flowers of all kinds and enjoy 

 the pleasures of a sunbath at any time 

 of the year. 



The accompanying illustration indi- 

 cates what can be done in this line. Three 

 years ago this spring there was nothing 

 but a veranda with a rackety old floor, 

 and heaps of rubbish. Now, I have a 

 nice little greenhouse, twenty feet by 

 eight feet in which I can grow almost 

 anything. 



HOW IT IS BUILT 



The foundation is of concrete, mixed 

 in the proportion of seven parts of coarse 

 gravel to one of cement. The wall is 

 of hollow concrete blocks, eight inches 

 by ten inches by twenty inches. It is 

 two feet high above the foundation. On 

 top of this wall is a concrete sill pro- 

 jecting an inch and a half on the outside. 

 We made a mould to make the sill in, 

 and held it in place against the wall by 

 means of stakes driven into the ground. 

 The proportion of three parts of sharp 

 sand to one of cement is right for the sill. 



A narrow board was placed on the sill, 

 and the uprights, which are four feet 

 apart and two and a half feet high, were 

 nailed to the board. 



The plate, which is four inches wide, 

 was nailed on top of these uprights, and 

 was bevelled on the inside to carry off 

 any water than might run down the in- 

 side of the glass. 



The rafters, four feet long— the roof 

 of the verandah covers the rest — are 

 about an inch and a half by two inches, 

 with grooves for the glass. They should 

 be so placed that, when the glass is put 

 in, it may project over the edge of the 

 plate without leaving a big crack. 



When putting in the glass, we used 

 plenty of glazier's points and drove one 

 inch staples obliquely into the rafters 

 near the plate to prevent the glass from 

 slipping out. The roof-glass projects no 

 more than three-sixteenths of an inch ; 

 any more and the glass would be broken 

 by the first icicles. We used putty for 

 appearance sake, but mastica is more 

 serviceable. 



The roof has a rise of eight inches to 

 the foot. This is plenty for a short 

 rafter. A longer rafter would require 

 more pitch. 



The sides consist of sash, which are 

 hinged at the top and swing outwards. 

 A small hinge is fastened to the centre of 

 the bottom rail of each sash, and to a 

 hardwood strip about three feet long. 

 By pushing out on these strips, the win- 

 dows are opened. These swinging win- 

 dows together with the doors opening in- 

 to the house and the back shed, provide 

 sufficient ventilation. 



Creaceat Road, _Ro<edale, Tortnto, .whcrt tk« Lawoa ud Gardcaa Form one_«f.lh« Sifhta of tbe City. 



