146 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



Temperatures. Those to whom a glass-house is a glass-house, 

 and nothing else, are sometimes bewildered when they hear 

 different names applied to glass structures. To many every kind 

 of glass-house is a greenhouse ; but to horticulturists a glass-house 

 is only a greenhouse when a certain degree of temperature is 

 maintained in it. With further degrees of heat it becomes an 

 "intermediate" house, or a "stove." The latter term is particu- 

 larly confusing. Most people think of a heating apparatus when 

 the word "stove" is used, but not so the gardener; his "stove" 

 is a hothouse. 



What degree of heat constitutes a "greenhouse," what an 

 "intermediate" house, and what a "stove"? A glass-house (other 

 than a conservatory) would be called a greenhouse if unheated, or 

 if not heated beyond an average of 45 degrees in winter ; it would 

 be considered an intermediate house if the temperature averaged 

 55 degrees in winter, and a stove if it averaged 65 degrees. It is 

 to be hoped that the use of the word " average " will not mislead 

 the reader. A temperature of 45 degrees at one period of the 

 day, and of 85 degrees at another, would give an average of 65 

 degrees, but it would subject the plants to alternatives of temperature 

 which would be likely to prove detrimental to them ; and it may 

 therefore be well to state that the minimum winter temperature 

 for the three types of house may be 40 degrees, 50 degrees, and 

 60 degrees respectively. It is only the winter temperatures that 

 can be used to afford a comparison, because in summer the 

 temperature of every glass-house goes up to a high figure; in 

 fact, the difficulty is to keep it down, and shading, as well as 

 ventilating, has to be resorted to, even in a house that has no 

 artificial heat whatever. 



The conservatory does not change its name, as ordinary glass- 

 houses do, with the degree of heat maintained in it ; it is always 

 a conservatory, and nothing but a conservatory. It is obvious, 

 however, that if it is to do full service in winter it must be 



