io8 INDOOR GARDENS 



all could be grown under glass, there were thousands of miles of 

 brick walls all ready to be turned into greenhouses, simply by 

 adding glass on one side. Consequently there are hundreds of 

 miles of lean-to greenhouses in England which are devoted to 

 raising fruit. In many of these no heat is needed until March, 

 and then only enough to keep out frost say a temperature of 40. 

 Truly, the English are in luck. 



The most wonderful thing, however, about greenhouses in 

 England is the great number of small ones you see everywhere and 

 the obvious comfort and pleasure they give. There are no accurate 

 ways of measuring such things, but it is certain that the green- 

 house is not considered a "rich man's game," as it is here. It is 

 almost a moral certainty that every Englishman who can afford 

 a greenhouse is bound to have one. And I judge that 

 every Englishman who can afford a piano can also afford a 

 greenhouse. 



We shall come to this, too, for I am happy to say that the 

 era of cheap greenhouses has really begun. You can now buy a 

 greenhouse for $250, the price of a fair piano. You could have a 

 good deal of pleasure with it at a cost of $50 a year. The average 

 family will spend a great deal more than that on piano lessons and 

 music. The $250 greenhouse I have in mind is about seven by 

 nine feet and includes not only the foundation but the heating 

 plant. It is portable and can be taken away by a tenant. It is of 

 good construction, attractive inside and out, and without a par- 

 ticle of foolish ornamentation. 



What can you do with a greenhouse? About a dozen good 

 things. 



I. You can force fruit or vegetables to maturity out of 

 season. 



