134 PRACTICAL FLOBICULTUBB. 



First cost of stock, if it had to be bought, 5,000 roses at 10 eta. . $500 



Interest on $6,000, at 12 per cent 730 



Labor of one man for the year 500 



80 tons coal, at $6 480 



$2,200 

 Receipts for the year 3,600 



Profit $1,400 



The second year, of course, the expense of buying 

 stock would not come in, as the plants would be in better 

 order the second and even the third year than the first ; 

 besides, if young plants are wanted for sale, they might 

 be propagated in any quantity from the flowering 

 plants. 



We built in spring of 1872 two houses, each 20 feet 

 wide by 100 in length, for the winter flowering of Roses, 

 that have answered the purpose so well, and besides the 

 construction is such that it may be adapted to almost any 

 kind of a plant house or for a grapery, that we give the 

 plan here, believing it will be found well suited for many 

 purposes. Figure 46 shows the elevation of a portion of 

 one of these houses, and figure 45 the ground plan. As 

 we use it, the centre bed is prepared exactly as if for a 

 grapery border, the bottom of the bed is level with 

 the walk, plastered over with an inch or two of cement 

 (to keep the roots from going down to the cold sub- 

 soil), sloping to each side so as to give rapid drain- 

 age through openings that are left in the bottom of the 

 8-inch wall which forms the bed. The height of this 

 wall is 20 inches, making the bed or border of that depth. 

 The materials that we formed the border of were 3 parts 

 decomposed sod, 2 parts scraping from a paved street and 

 1 part well rotted cow manure. The street scrapings are 

 not specially necessary, and may be dispensed with when 

 not procurable, using all sod instead. The Roses, which 

 are the usual winter flowering sorts, have done excellently. 

 The side benches of the house under which run the pipes 



