Notes and Gleanings. 



51 



substances employed are most durable, presenting an unbroken surface of im- 

 perishable iron and glass to both the external and internal atmosphere. Paint 

 is superseded by a hard, smooth, durable enamel. Instead of putty, carefully- 

 prepared slips of asphalted felt, which can be placed or removed in the twin- 

 khng of an eye, are used. All the other parts are either iron or glass ; and the 

 tooth of time must become sharper than it is before it can make any sensible 

 impression on either of these, protected as the former is by its coat of enamel. 



These houses each rest upon an iron wall-plate, that may either be elevated on a 

 wall, or placed on a smooth, solid basis of concrete. The water-troughing constitutes 

 the roof-plate. The roof dips into as well as rests on this plate, and consequently re- 

 moves the condensed water from the internal surface of the glass, as well as the rain 

 from the outside. The upright supporting pillars are all hollow tubes, which can be 

 stopped up at pleasure, or used for the conduction of the rain-water into tanks either 

 outside or inside the house. Each house is also provided with a complete ventilating 

 apparatus before it leaves the works. This forms the subject of a second patent, and is 



rapid, easily worked, and efficient. Its chief merit consists in a skilful adaptation of the 

 endless screw to bear the weight of the ventilators, and lighten the labor of lifting them. 

 The air is also admitted at the base of the house, and discharged at the highest point, 

 as shown in the accompanying figure. In this house, the top ventilators open on both 

 sides. In cold weather, one series of the arms that connect the ventilator with the mo- 

 tive bar could readily be detached, and only the warmest side used ; or one side could 

 be permanently fi.xed in houses erected for stove-plants or early forcing. The ventilator 

 is pitched at a different angle to that of the house itself, to enable it to be opened if 

 necessary in wet weather, without admitting the rain. A similar arrangement of a trav- 

 elling horizontal bar, with its connecting arms, is used to open the front ventilators; and 

 the system can readily be applied to any description of building. 



The accompanying woodcut represents a full-sized section of the rib or bar which 

 forms the basis of the invention. The first point about this bar is that it is T- shaped, 

 thus affording a maximum of strength with a minimum of shade. The next is the small- 

 ness of the scantling, so as not to obscure the light. It is made of three-quarter iron, 

 an inch wide, and an inch and a half deep. With skilful bracing, this is found to be 



