284 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



roofs and a double stage; but they have a very plain 

 appearance, especially those which are commonly erected 

 in nursery gardens. They might be made much more orna- 

 mental, with little loss of light, as in the accompanying 

 figure (Fig. 18), which is designed for the south end of 

 one of these span-roofed houses. The plants have thus an 

 east and west aspect, or enjoy the morning and afternoon 

 sun. Such houses may indeed assume any form which 

 taste can suggest, provided there be a sufficiency of light, 

 and the plants be not too far from the glass. The heath- 

 house does not essentially differ from the green-house ; but 

 for it a span-roof is decidedly preferable, and provision 

 should be made for the most thorough ventilation. 



In the Conservatory, the chief plants grow in beds of 

 earth sunk in the floor. The following figure shows the 



Fig. 19. 



principle of this species of house. The beds, marked b b, 

 are filled with a light soil, calculated for the plants which 

 are to inhabit them. This figure represents the front ele- 



Fig. 20. 



