CONSERVATORIES, GREENHOUSES, VINERIES AND FRUIT HOUSES. 



a market and so the fruiterer and florist cannot be visited without considerable trouble ; 

 but even when this incentive is absent, there is the delight of rearing one's own fruit 

 and flowers, which are not only fresher than those which have been bought, but, in 

 the case of fruits, retain the beautiful bloom which is inevitably destroyed if it is 

 necessary for them to be packed and to travel. 



As a rule, the planning and 

 arrangement of a series of glasshouses 

 are left more or less to chance and 

 expediency, the various houses being 

 placed anywhere conveniently ac- 

 cessible where the necessary open 

 aspect can be obtained, or a wall 

 exists to place the lean-to houses 

 against. How much is lost by this 

 lack of forethought, even in quite 

 small and simple ranges, will be at 

 once evident on referring to the 

 photographs of such ranges in 

 illustrations Nos. 280 and 281. Even 

 where there is only one simple lean- 

 to house, it may be given significance 

 as part of a well-thought-out scheme 

 by placing it centrally across the 

 end of the main walk, across the 

 middle of the kitchen garden, and 

 having a door under a small gable 

 to come opposite the walk. In 

 larger schemes, the main span-roofed 

 house would usually come end-on in 

 the same position with the less im- 

 portant houses arranged symmetrically 

 on either side, as in illustration No. 

 275, though in many instances, such 

 as that shown in illustration No. 

 280, an absolutely symmetrical 

 arrangement cannot be obtained on 

 account of local conditions, which 

 demand individual treatment ; such 

 enforced variations, if intelligently 

 dealt with, always result in added 

 charm and a pleasing individuality. 



One of the most important considerations in the planning of a range of glasshouses 

 is the placing of the potting shed and heating chamber. As the latter must be sunk deep 

 enough below the floor level of the glasshouses to allow the top of the boiler to be lower 

 than any part of the radiating pipes, it is usually a good and economical arrangement 

 to allow it to form a basement story to the former.* This arrangement is shown in a 

 majority of the designs illustrated in this work, and where the range is symmetrically 

 planned, the potting shed and heating chamber should come immediately behind the main 

 centre house with a door between it and the former giving direct communication. 



* The floor of the heating chamber should also be low enough to allow of a large bucket being placed under the 

 draw-off cock, which is fixed at the lowest part of the boiler. This is a point which is often neglected. 



1. PORCH. 



2. LIVING ROOM. 



3. PARLOUR. 



4. SCULLERY. 



5. STAIRS. 



6. YARD. 



7. COKE STORE. 



8. COMPOST BINS. 

 Q. STOVE HOUSE. 



FIG. 279. 



10. GREENHOUSE. 



11. GARDEN FRAMES. 



12. KOOT AND SEED 



STORE. 



13. FRUIT STORE. 



14. OPEN SHED. 



i;. POTTING SHED 

 WITH HEATING 

 CHAMBER UNDER. 



1 6. LATE VINERY. 



17. EARLY VINERY. 



1 8. CONSERVATORY. 



19. EARLY PEACH 



HOUSE. 



20. LATE PEACH 



HOUSE. 



21. DIPPING WELL. 



22. VEGETABLE BEDS 



The plan- 

 ning of a 

 range of 

 glasshouses. 



219 



