FRAMES 



36o 



FRANCISIA 



back, with bars reaching from it at top to the front, 

 serving both to strengthen the frame and help to support 

 the lights ; the two lights to be each three feet six inches 

 wide, made to fit the top of the frame exactly. 



The three'light framt should be ten feet six inches long, 

 four and a half wide, and from eighteen inches to two 

 feet high in the back, and from nine to twelve or fifteen 

 inches in front observing that those designed principally 

 for the culture of melons may be rather deeper than for 

 cucumbers, because they generally require a greater 

 depth of mould or earth on the beds ; though frames, 

 eighteen or twenty inches in the back, and from nine to 

 twelve in front, are often made to serve occasionally both 

 for cucumbers and melons. Each frame should have two 

 cross-bars ranging from the top of the back to that of 

 the front, at three feet six inches distance, to strengthen 

 the frame, and support the lights ; and the three lights 

 should be each three feet six inches wide ; the whole 

 together being made to fit the top of the frame exactly, 

 every way in length and width. 



Sometimes the above sort of frames are made of larger 

 dimensions than before specified ; but in respect to this 

 it should be observed, that if larger they are very in- 

 convenient to move to different parts where they may 

 be occasionally wanted, and require more heat to warm 

 the internal air ; and in respect to depth particularly, 

 if they are but just deep enough to contain a due depth 

 of mould, and for the p lants to have moderate room to 

 grow, they will be better than if deeper, as the plants 

 will be then always near the glasses, which is an essential 

 consideration in early work, and the internal air will 

 be more effectually supported in a due temperature of 

 warmth ; for the deeper the frame, the less in proportion 

 will be the heat of the internal air, and the plants being 

 far from the glasses will be some disadvantage in their 

 early growth. Besides, a too deep frame, both in early 

 and late work, is apt to draw the plants up weakly ; for 

 they always naturally aspire towards the glasses, and the 

 more space there is, the more they will run up ; for which 

 reason the London kitchen-gardeners have many of 

 their frames not more than fourteen or fifteen inches 

 high behind, and seven in front, especially those which 

 are intended to winter the more tender young plants, 

 such as cauliflower and lettuce, and for raising early 

 small salads, herbs, radishes, &c. 



The woodwork of the back, ends, and front should be 

 of inch or inch and a quarter deal, as before observed, 

 which should be all neatly planed even and smooth on 

 both sides ; and the joints, in framing them together, 

 should be so close that no wet or air can enter. The 

 cross-bars or bearers at top, for the support of the glasses, 

 should be about three inches broad and one thick, and 

 neatly dovetailed in at back and front even with both 

 edges, that the lights may shut down close, each having 

 a groove or channel along the middle to conduct off all 

 wet falling between the lights. At the end of each 

 frame, at top, should be a thin slip of board, four inches 

 broad, up to the outside of the lights, being necessary 

 to guard against cutting winds rushing in at that part 

 immediately upon the plants, when the lights are occa- 

 sionally tilted behind for the necessary admission of 

 fresh air, &c. 



With respect to the lights, the woodwork of the frame 

 should be one inch and a half thick and two and a half 

 broad ; and the bars for the immediate support of the 

 glass-work should be about an inch broad, and not more 

 than an inch and a half thick ; for, if too broad and thick, 

 they would intercept the rays of the sun, so should be 

 only just sufficient to support the lights, and be ranged 

 from the back part to the front, nine or twelve inches 

 asunder. 



All the woodwork, both of the frames and lights, 

 should be painted, to preserve them from decay. A lead 

 colour will be the most eligible ; and if done three times 

 over, outside and in, will preserve the wood exceedingly 

 from the injuries of weather, and from the moisture of 

 the earth and dung. 



Mr. Knight has suggested an important improvement 

 in the form of frames. He observes, that the general 

 practice is to make the surface of the bed perfectly 

 horizontal, and to give an inclination to the glass. That 

 side of the frame which is to stand towards the north 

 is made nearly as deep again as its opposite ; so that if 

 the mould is placed of an equal depth (as it ought to be) 

 over the whole bed, the plants are too far from the 



glass at one end of the frame, and too near at the other. 

 To remove this inconvenience, he points out the mode 

 of forming the bed on an inclined plane ; and the frame 

 formed with sides of equal depth, and so put together 

 as to continue perpendicular when on the bed, and face 

 the sun. 



There are several minor points in the construction of 

 frames that deserve attention. The strips of lead or 

 wood that sustain the panes of glass should run across 

 the frame, and not lengthwise ; they then neither 

 obstruct so much the entrance of light, nor the passing 

 off of rain. The inside of the frame should be painted 

 white, since plants generally suffer in them for want of 

 light : if the accumulation of heat was required, the 

 colour should be black. 



Raising the Frames. It is a well-known difficulty that 

 the gardener has in raising the frames so as to keep the 

 foliage of the plants within them at a determined and 

 constant distance from the glass. To remedy this, Mr. 

 Nairn, gardener to J . Cresswell, Esq., of Battersea Priory, 

 introduced an ingenious contrivance, consisting of a 

 movable frame, and a brick-built pit, having a separate 

 inner lining, and a nine-inch outer wall. Between these 

 the sides of the frame pass, and are lowered or elevated 

 by racks and spindles. 



A more simple plan might perhaps be adopted, by 

 having frames of the same length and breadth as the 

 original, but only from an inch to three inches, or up- 

 wards, deep. These, as necessary, might be put on the 

 top, and would be kept close by the pressure of the lights ; 

 bolts and nuts might also be easily applied, and the 

 interstices rendered still more impervious to air by being 

 faced with list. 



Glass and Glazing. See STOVE. 



Shelter for the Glass. In proportion to the number of 

 lights, matting for shading and sheltering must be at 

 hand. The usual mode of covering at night is by laving 

 on mats, and over these litter, in thickness according 

 to the severity of the season. Some gardeners lay hay 

 immediately in contact with the glass, and over this the 

 mats. Every person conversant with these modes of 

 shelter is aware of their inconvenience. In rainy weather 

 they soon become wet, and rapidly chill the beds ; added 

 to which, the trouble caused in placing and removing 

 them, and the danger to the glass from the stones laid 

 on as a resistance to the wind, are by no means incon- 

 siderable. 



Mr. Seton, to obviate these inconveniences, employs 

 a particular covering, which he constructs of four laths, 

 two of such a length as to exceed a little that of the 

 frame, and the others hi a similar manner that of its 

 breadth. These are bound together at right angles, so 

 as to form a parallelogram of the form and size of the 

 frame ; and pieces are bound across this at a foot apart 

 from each other. Over this a mat is spread, and over 

 the mat a layer of straw is fastened, laid on level like 

 thatch, from three to six inches thick, as may appear 

 necessary. If the breadth of the frame is, or exceeds, 

 four feet, it is best to have the covering in two parts, 

 otherwise it becomes weak and unwieldy. These panels, 

 as they may be called, Mr. Seton also employs in pre- 

 serving tender plants through the winter. A pit of 

 frames, earthed up all round, and covered with one of 

 them, or two or three if needful, is completely impervious 

 to frost. 



Substitutes for Glass. Oiled paper was formerly em- 

 ployed ; but this has been superseded by linen dressed 

 with Whitney's or Tanner's compositions ; or the 

 gardener may employ the following preparation : Old 

 pale linseed-oil, three pints; sugar of lead (acetate of 

 lead), one ounce ; white resin, four ounces. Grind the 

 acetate with a little of the oil, then add the rest and the 

 resin. Incorporate thoroughly in a large iron pot over 

 a gentle fire ; and, with a large brush, apply hot to a 

 fine calico stretched loosely previously, by means of 

 tacks, upon the frame. On the following day it is fit 

 for use, and may be either done over a second time, or 

 tacked on tightly to remain. Gardener's Chronicle. 



The quantity made according to this redpe will be 

 sufficient for about 100 square feet of calico. 



FRANCI'SCEA. We have referred the species to 

 Brunfelsia. 



FRANCI'SIA. SeeDARwiNiA. 



