OR, HOW I BECAME A FLORIST. 97 



each glass. For the west house, where the roses and 

 heliotrope were growing, the card read : 



"Sunshine, 75 cloudy, 65 night, 60." 



This was intended to indicate the proper temperature un- 

 der these three conditions. When the day was clear, with 

 abundant sunshine, the thermometer must not rise above 

 75. If the heat of the sun sent it above that, enough 

 ventilators must be opened to allow the surplus heat to 

 escape, and so keep the inside temperature within one or two 

 degrees of 75. If the day was cloudy, the ventilators must 

 be kept shut to preserve the temperature at 65. If this 

 was not enough, a fire must be started under the boiler, and 

 the temperature forced up to that point and held there. At 

 night sufficient fire must be provided to secure a temperature 

 of at least 60 till morning. 



In the east house the card ran : 



"Sunshine, 70 cloudy, 60 night, 55V* 



The violet house required to be kept on still another 

 scale. This was its card : 



" Sunshine, 60 cloudy, 50 night, 45." 



By the aid of these cards the whole subject of ventilation 

 was reduced to a very simple affair. You will observe that 

 in the night I was obliged to maintain three different tem- 

 peratures with one fire. This was easily accomplished by 

 means of the " cut-offs." I used the cards for about three 

 months, when I found I could tell by the feeling of the air 



