86 CALIFORNIA GARDEN FLOWERS. 



greenhouse will be through this addition and the potting appliances and 

 materials will be moved to this lath house leaving the bench now used 

 for potting for mechanical recreations. More smilax, asparagus-fern, 

 etc., will be grown for house decorations on the fence-backing up the 

 lath house and room will also be afforded for the growth of chrysan- 

 themums, carnations, ferns, etc., with semi-protection and at a little 

 lower temperature than that of the greenhouse in the summer and 

 autumn. Such plants grown in pots are available for house use when 

 in their best estates. 



In the warmer interior valleys of the state the lath house is more 

 valuable than on the coast because of its half-shade and the moderation 

 of summer heat, while it also is a safeguard against ordinary winter 

 frost-injuries in such places. In the hot valleys the lath house is 

 probably of more practical value to the amateur than a glass-covered 

 greenhouse, although the two work well together everywhere. The 

 fiercer the heat and the brighter the sunshine the closer the lath can 

 be brought together and a three-quarter shade will often give quite 

 enough light for ferns and many other plants. In this way the partial 

 covering of the lath house with beautiful annual flowering vines or 

 with deciduous perennial vines is rational, for the vine-shade, which 

 might be too dense in winter, disappears. By such use the lath house 

 may become ornamental as well as useful. 



