VENTILATION. 



VERBENA. 



that they may hang as close together as 

 possible without forming a cluster, until the 

 string is about a yard long ; when they are 

 hung up they occupy very little room, and 

 have a good opportunity of ripening. 



Ventilation. 



Wherever, for gardening purposes, arti- 

 ficial heat is employed, artificial ventilation, 

 as a matter of course, must be provided. 

 To frames upon hotbeds, and to garden 

 pits, this ventilation may easily be given 

 by lowering or lifting the lights. There 

 is no necessity for entering here at length 

 on the construction and working of racks 

 and other simple contrivances for keeping 

 l>pen hinged greenhouse lights, but in large 

 glasshouses some machinery is requisite 



on account of the height and the 

 greater heaviness of the glass cover- 

 ing. The plan introduced by Mr. 

 Messenger is that generally ap- 

 proved. 



Upright or side-lights, 2 feet 

 high, which run the entire length 

 of the house, are made to open and shut 

 by means of a rod of iron, which runs 

 the whole length also. To this rod are 

 attached shorter rods at intervals of 4 

 or 5 feet, with joints; the other end of 

 the shorter rods being attached to the 

 lights, both ends of the short rod work- 

 ing on a joint. To one end of the long 

 rod is fixed a long screw, working in 

 slings made to receive it. To this screw 

 is attached a grooved wheel, which is made 

 to revolve by means of an endless chain, 

 acted upon by another grooved wheel, turned 

 by a handle placed in some convenient part 

 of the house. By the action of the screw, 

 the long rod is drawn backwards or for- 

 wards, which acts upon the short rods, and 



opens or shuts the light to any required 

 point. The same system of raising the 

 lights may be applied to one or more of 

 the lights, or to the whole, as may be 

 necessary. 



The system of ventilation adopted by 

 Mr. Messenger will be better understood 

 by reference to the diagram, in which I?, \\ 

 are short rods, connected with the sling A 

 at one end, and the lights at the other. 

 The dotted lines, D, represent the upright 

 divisions which support the roof; E, the 

 screw-slings, in which the screw F works ; 

 G is a grooved wheel in which the endless 

 chain works and turns the screw ; in fact, 

 this is its axis. The handle II is fixed to 

 some convenient place on the front wall, 

 being the mover of the whole apparatus. 

 As the rod is moved from right to 

 left, the short rods push the lights 

 up and admit fresh air as they are 

 acted upon : by reversing the action 

 of the screw, the opposite result is 

 I obtained. The ridge-ventilation is 

 I obtained in precisely the same man- 

 i 1 ner ; the lights under the coping 

 being pushed out or drawn down by 

 turning a handle attached to a long 

 endless chain on the end wall. 



The results of this system, to use 

 Mr. Messenger's words, are, I. per- 

 fect ventilation ; 2. non-interference with 

 the plants ; 3. no risk of broken glass by 

 the lights falling down ; 4. keeping out 

 rain when the lights are open. 



Verbe'na (*tot. ont. Verbeaa'cea). 



One of the most useful of bedding plants, a 

 native of South America. The named varie- 

 ties are infinite ; every year adds many novel- 

 ties to the list, so for these it is best to refer 

 the reader to the price lists of the growers. 

 The plants seed freely, and are of easy 

 cultivation by cuttings ; they also root 

 rapidly by being pegged down. The fol- 



