36 GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. 



in the fall. They will bloom freely for several months 

 and the slight expense will be well repaid. 



BEDS AND BENCHES. 



The plants can be grown either in raised benches or 

 in solid beds, which in either case will be about the 

 same as described for the rose. If the latter are used, 

 care should be taken to secure thorough drainage, but 

 even then, unless great care is taken in watering, the 

 crop will not be as early as on raised benches, although 

 the flowers will be larger and have better stems, and the 

 plants will give more blooms during the spring and 

 summer. The bed can have its sides formed of plank, 

 but it will be neater and cheaper in the end if cement or 

 brick is used. Being near the level of the walks, it 

 will be easier to get the soil upon them than on the 

 benches, as the wheelbarrow can be run upon them. 

 The bed also has the advantage of permitting the hold- 

 ing of the flowers for several days ; the shallow bench, 

 on the other hand, renders possible the forcing of the 

 flowers for a certain occasion. 



Unless there is some reason for wishing early flow- 

 ers, the solid bed will be generally preferable, although 

 it is a good plan to have a solid bed in the center of the 

 house, with raised side benches. For the solid beds, 

 about eight inches of soil will be required, while four or 

 five inches will answer for the raised benches. The soil 

 may vary, according to circumstances, but a good mix- 

 ture is prepared from six parts of good garden loam and 

 one part of decomposed manure. To this, if the soil is 

 inclined to be heavy, may be added one part of sharp 

 sand. For the shallow benches a larger proportion of 

 manure is desirable. Another method of preparing the 

 soil for the benches is to top-dress a piece of land early 

 in the summer and turn It under, sowing upon it, in 

 July, crimson clover at the rate of ten quarts to the acre. 



