THE BOOK OF THE GREENHOUSE 



CHAPTER I 



STRUCTURAL 



No garden can be considered complete or satisfying to 

 its possessor, unless it contain a greenhouse in which 

 may be cultivated beautiful flowers and plants that are 

 impossible in this country without the aid of glass and 

 protection. To the plant lover, one or more of such 

 structures will, if well placed, well fitted, and, especially, 

 well filled, be an endless source of pleasure, and peculiarly 

 so during the dreary period of the year when plant life 

 is more or less dormant in the outside garden. Probably 

 most of my readers already possess a greenhouse, but it 

 is to those who contemplate adding such a building to 

 their possessions that this opening chapter is directed, 

 with a hope that the hints which it contains, though 

 necessarily in few words, will be helpful. 



The site for a greenhouse should be selected with 

 care, bearing in mind that it must be well exposed to 

 day-light and, if possible, well sheltered from easterly 

 and northerly winds. As a sunk furnace is easier in 

 working and less wasteful of fuel than one set on the 

 level, the house should stand on fairly high and well 

 drained ground, so that there may be no trouble from 

 surface water. No trees should overhang or even be 

 allowed near enough to the house to shade it at any time 

 of day. 



Span-roofed houses, i.e. those with two equal sides to 

 the roof, should always be built with the ends facing 



