324 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



flue for conveying the heat is below the floor. Two scantlings run the entire 

 length of the bed with props under them to hold them up on each side of the 

 flue. The floor must 

 always be built strong 

 or it will break down. 

 It holds ten inches of 

 earth and here the 

 seeds are planted. 

 Wood is used for fuel, 

 and but little fire is 

 needed. Build the fur- 

 nace on a level with 

 the ground or a little 

 lower, excavating a 

 place five feet deep in ' 

 which to stand and fix 

 the fire. The flue has 

 a rise of eighteen inches 

 in the first twenty 

 feet ; after this fifteen 

 to eighteen inches to the end of the bed is sufficient. Two boards seven 

 inches wide, and two nine inches wide, all twelve feet long will answer for 

 the chimney. To make the furnace, use three grate bars, each 5x40 inches, 

 and raise them ten inches from the ground on bricks. These are enclosed 

 with firebrick, fire-clay tiles cover the top and fire-clay should be used for 

 mortar. The flue for the first ten feet must be made of fire brick. Common 

 brick will answer the balance of the way. A board roof should be placed 

 over the furnace excavation, and sheet iron should be nailed above the fur- 

 nace door to keep it from taking fire. Four air holes on a side allow the air 

 from the space beneath the floor to rise under the glass. If it should get 

 too warm, boards could be laid over the apertures. Do not burn coal. The 

 soot will choke the flue and coal gas is sometimes generated, which is fatal 

 to the plants. A vessel made of galvanized iron and placed on the furnace 

 generates moisture, and makes it more desirable for plant growing. 



Fig. 7. — A Handy Forcing House. 



THE APPLE HARVEST. 



AFTER growing a fine crop of apples, careful gathering and assorting 

 are indispensable to success in selling. An open shed with northern 

 exposure is desirable. The apples should be picked into padded 

 baskets with swinging bales, so that the basket can be let down to the 



