18 THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



they should be eight by twelve inches ; the stones are best.) 

 The dimensions of this house are as follows : twentj-two feet 

 wide ; fourteen and one half feet high, on the inside, at the 

 ridge-pole ; and a little short of eighty feet in length. On 

 the posts arc placed the sills, (as above described,) which are 

 six or eight inches above the top of the ground ; to the sill is 

 nailed, covering about two inches of it and going down two 

 inches into the earth, thick plank, finished with a bevel, like a 

 water table. This, from the top of the sill to the earth, 

 makes a solid Avork of at least twelve inches, which is nec- 

 essary, as glass so near the earth would be very liable to be 

 broken, and would also be covered with the soil spattered up 

 by the rain. In winter, it will be prudent to tack or other- 

 wise secure above this, boards, one foot in Avidth, to prevent 

 the breakage of the glass from the ice and snow falling from 

 the roof. 



The sills are of timber six inches square. All the meas- 

 urements are after the work is finished. 



The timber Avhich forms the support for the rafters, and is 

 immediately over the sill, and called the plate, is five inches 

 thick by six inches wide. The studs, or upright pieces, which 

 support this plate, are of plank two inches thick by six inches 

 wide, and are mortised into the sill and plate, and secured by 

 wooden pins. The sill and plate are carried round the four 

 sides of the house on a level, and are secured together ; 

 this makes the frame, thus far, very firm, and prevents the 

 two ends from pressing in or out from any cause. Before the 

 roof was put on, the plate was strengthened and braced, and 

 kept in place by iron rods one inch thick and about fifteen 

 feet apart, which are run through it and fastened by nuts, 

 and crossing the house. 



A cleat, five eighths of an inch in thickness and one inch 

 wide, was nailed on the sill, and plate, and studs, to form a 

 rabbet for the sashes ; these are placed in, from the outer 

 side, so that the sashes, when closed, are on the same line 

 with the outside of the studs. The corner posts are six inches 



