CONSERVATORIES, GREENHOUSES, VINERIES AND FRUIT HOUSES. 



work on the ground that the radiating pipes nearest the boiler will, if connected in 

 parallel, monopolize most of the heat; but this is easily remedied by a little adjustment 

 of the screw-down valves. In any case, the mains should always be run under the 

 houses and not outside in culverts, as then any escape of heat is utilized and simply 

 supplements the action of the radiating pipes. 



The amount of piping which is required in each house will of course depend on the 

 use to which it is put, but the situation, whether exposed or sheltered, is also a con- 

 trolling factor. For general use, however, the following Table, extracted from " Fowkes 

 on Heating," will be found reliable I- 

 Per 1,000 feet of cubic contents. 



Greenhouses and conservatories . . . . . . 35 to 40 feet of 4-inch pipe. 



Vineries 45 to 50 



Plant stores . . . . . . . . . . .. 55 to 65 



Forcing houses . . . . . . . . . . .. 60 to 70 



Peach houses .. .. .. .. .. -.30 feet 



For heating anything up to 3,000 feet of four-inch piping, I have found no better Boilers. 

 boiler than the old " Chatsworth," but sectional boilers of the " Ideal " type are growing 

 in favour, as they can be ^used equally well on the smallest or largest installation, and 

 also because, in case of accident, the injured section can be so easily replaced. They 

 are self-contained and require no brickwork, but the cost of either is about the same, 

 as what is saved in brickwork is spent on the more costly boiler. There is a distinct 

 advantage in having the firebars in the form of tubes through which the water circulates, 

 as the fire can be damped down in the evening, and will smoulder with a red heart next 

 to the water bars, and the water is therefore kept hot without attention until the 

 following morning. The water-cooled bars also do not deteriorate or need constant renewal 

 like the old-fashioned firebars, which never last very long. 



Whatever boiler is adopted, however, it should be of ample size and power for the 

 work it has to do, as it is far more economical to fire a large boiler slowly than to 

 produce the same heat in the pipes by fiercely stoking a smaller apparatus. Under 

 ordinary circumstances the writer usually advises that a boiler guaranteed to heat one 

 third more piping than the maximum load it is to be subjected to should be adopted. 

 At some time or other, also, one of the houses may be put to a new use and require 

 more piping, which can be added very cheaply if no alterations to the boiler are necessary. 



In large installations, it is always an advantage to fix two smaller rather than one 

 large boiler. Not only does this prevent disaster should one boiler be under repair 

 in severe weather, but in those seasons when little heat is required, only one boiler need 

 be fired and thus a working economy is effected. The arrangement of one main flow 

 and two returns is quite good practice and is often done, but a greater number of flows 

 than returns would, on the other hand, be wrong. 



From what has been said, it will be abundantly evident that the two problems of 

 planning and heating a range of glasshouses are interdependent at every turn, and nothing 

 can be arranged with regard to the one without having a direct influence on the other, and 

 that, by the exercise of care and forethought in these two departments, great economies can 

 be effected not only in the initial expenditure but still more in the working and upkeep. 



There is yet another point bearing on the same subject and that is the design and 

 practical requirements of the various classes of houses required for different purposes. 

 Sections of glasshouses showing the various forms are given in illustrations Nos. 282 to 

 287 inclusive, but it should be explained that the constructional details, such as roof 

 trusses and spandrils, which show so conspicuously on the sections, do not attain the same 

 prominence when the house is seen from the ordinary point of view. 



Design of 



growing 



houses. 



221 



