The Canadian Horticulturist. 



439 



Asked for further particulars, Mr. Townsend says : 



In answer to your questions I will say that, first of all, my object was to 

 see how cheap a house (adapted to the use of an amateur) could be built and 

 fitted ready for use. There are so many people who keep plants in their houses 

 without satisfaction, owing to the high temperature and dust of the living rooms, 

 who say to themselves, " Oh ! if I only had a conservatory or a greenhouse.' 

 Then they sit down to figure out the cost of such a structure, and sighing within 

 themselves at their inability to build, relegate it all to the sweet by-and-bye. 

 'J'hus, I fitted up this house at the least possible expense, and grew all kinds 

 of plants in it to perfection. 



The roof of my house is all glass, laid in i ^ inch strips fastened to cross 

 rails (fence rails), supported by joists. A row of glass is also laid in strips under 

 the eaves, lo inches deep, end touching end ; then comes a wide board, and 

 below that comes the cold frame. The back is solid boards, also the west end, 

 while the east end is ^ inch boards. 



The stove is set in the middle of the greenhouse proper, in a hole dug in 

 the ground, boarded up, and lined with old pieces of tin. Over the stove is a 

 thin piece of sheet iron which acts as a radiator. I use no pipes. 



An amateur can never fail with my method, as, simple as it is, the health 

 of the plants prove it as successful and advantageous as the larger house heated 

 with hot water. 



The potting shed is separate from the greenhouse, and acts a double pur- 

 pose, being useful for storing potting soil and general work, also, breaking the 

 force of the cold entrance. The house is built perfectly tight with a tin roof. 

 A light gutter, made V shaped out of batten strips, and painted water tight, 

 carries the drip to the end whence it runs down a small pipe to the water barrel 

 set in the ground under the bench ; thus you always have water for wetting and 

 syringing when necessary, and it is always at the temperature of the house. I. 

 would also state that the bench over the stove is protected with a tin shield or 

 screen, the first shelf being 2)4 feet above the stove ; when the heat reaches the 

 tin, it expands out into the house. In fumigating, all that is necessary is to put 

 some tobacco on the stove and it soon does the work. 



Fig. 718.— a Cheap Greenhouse and Cold Frame. 



