106 GARDEN AND FARM TOPICS. 



rafters is laid on. Supporting posts should be placed 

 under the ridge pole, and also near the middle of the 

 rafters, where these are very long, as is the case in many 

 of the three-quarter span houses. 



GLASS AND GLAZING. 



If for winter forcing of either fruit or flowers, the glass 

 should (as we have before said) be not less than 10 x 12 in 

 size, and laid in the 12 way. It should be of what is 

 known as second quality French, and it is economy al- 

 ways to use the double thick. All panes should be re- 

 jected having flaws or lenses, else these will form a focus 

 for the sun's rays and burn the leaves of the plants ; but 

 even with the greatest care, some flaws will usually re- 

 main, and less or more burn the leaves after the sun 

 becomes strong, to counteract which a slight shading had 

 better be used on the glass from April to September. 

 We use naphtha, with just enough white lead mixed in it 

 to give it the appearance of thin milk. This we put on 

 with a syringe, which sufficiently covers up all flaws in 

 the glass to prevent burning, and at the same time tends 

 to cool the house from the violence of the sun's rays. 

 This is by far the cheapest and best shading we have 

 ever used. It can be gradated to any degree of thick- 

 ness, and costs only about 25 cents per 1,000 square feet 

 of glass, for material and labor. 



In glazing, the method now almost universally adopted 

 is to bed the glass in putty, and tack it on top with 

 glazier's points, using no putty on the top. The glazier's 

 points are triangular, one corner of which is turned down, 

 so that when it is driven in, it fits the lower edge of 

 each pane and prevents it from slipping down. A great 

 mistake is often made in giving the glass too much lap ; 



