THE FIRST ESSENTIALS 419 



His chief aim, where the culture of tender plants is concerned, 

 must be the maintenance of a fairly even temperature in his glass 

 structure. There should, if the plants are to be kept in a healthy 

 condition, be no excessive alternations of heat and cold, and, of 

 course, it need hardly be said that frost must be kept out at all 

 costs. Therefore it is that if the heating be conducted on sound 

 principles, the apparatus be kept in perfect condition, and stoking 

 be carefully attended to, more than half the battle of greenhouse 

 management is won. 



But these things, important as they are, do not constitute the 

 whole of the equipment that is necessary if the gardener is to 

 achieve the ideal of the greenhouse always gay. Next to the glass- 

 house itself its most useful nay, indispensable adjunct is a cold 

 frame. The owner of a greenhouse cannot hope to extract the 

 maximum of enjoyment from his house unless he is able to raise 

 most of his own plants himself, and he cannot expect to do this 

 successfully without the aid of at least one frame. He can find 

 uses for two or even more if he have room for them, but at any rate 

 he must have one, or nearly all his efforts will be brought to naught. 



To the town-dwelling owner of a greenhouse perhaps the greatest 

 problem that confronts him is the securing of an adequate supply 

 of the various kinds of soil, such as loam, leaf mould, sand, and 

 so on, that are employed in the making up of the composts, as 

 they are called, used for the cultivation of plants in pots. He is 

 under the stern necessity of purchasing these ingredients from 

 the florist, and as a rule they cost him from a shilling to eighteen- 

 pence a bushel. But it is necessary that he should have them 

 if his greenhouse is to be a success, and for the sake of economy it 

 is, therefore, essential that he shall have a place in which to store 

 them so that none may be wasted. For this purpose a potting- 

 shed, fitted with bins or boxes for the reception of the various 

 kinds of soil and sand, will be found a great convenience, but failing 

 this a corner near the greenhouse may be fitted up with a rough 

 covering which shall provide a protection against rain, and also a 

 storage place for pots, boxes and tools. 



The gardener who lives in the country is more happily placed 



