58 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



side bench, and allow of good head room in the side path. As 

 wooden gutters should, in all cases where possible, be avoided, 

 they being the first part of a house to rot out and cause all parts 

 with which they come in contact to decay with them, — and these 

 parts of the house are very vital as a usual thing, — we will 

 consider a house without gutters. Iron gutters may be used, but 

 they will come under the heading which I have named "Permanent 

 Economy," and will be considered later. If, however, the rain- 

 water is of such value that the wooden gutters must be used, I 

 would suggest their being made from the solid stick, usually four 

 by seven or eight inches, the gutter parts being dug out, and the 

 gutter attached as an independent part, which may easily be 

 removed from the house at any time without detriment to the 

 structure. The tops of the posts should be cut on a line to corres- 

 pond with the pitch of the roof, usually seven and one-half inches 

 to the foot, rising at an angle of thirty-two degrees, or, in the 

 case of the north side of a three-quarter span house, about thirty- 

 seven degrees. 



The oi'der in which the several parts of a greenhouse are 

 assembled or set together varies with each builder, each adopting 

 that method which he finds gives him the best results. These 

 methods vary with the class of mechanics available, and also with 

 the customs in vogue in the various sections of the country. No 

 set order that I could describe would meet with approval in all 

 sections ; so I will proceed only to describe the several details 

 which enter into the construction of the houses, and for conven- 

 ience will start at the ground line and work up. 



We have already described the posts, and will now consider the 

 siding. The first or inner siding should be of that shape known 

 as " beveled ship," its section being such as to make a tight joint, 

 which does not show the effects of expansion and contraction, 

 and principally one which affords no lodgment for water. This 

 siding should be nailed directly to the outer side of the posts, care 

 being taken not to make the joints of two lines of boai-ds one 

 directly above the other on the same posts. The usual practice is 

 to start the upper line with a full-length board, the next with a half 

 length, the next a full length, and so on, downwai'ds. Many use 

 a narrow, tongued, grooved, and beaded vertical ceiling for the 

 inner boards, but I do not approve of this practice, as it creates 

 so many more joints and recesses for the reception of moisture. 



