92 GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION AND HEATING. 
of more than 14ft. or 15ft. in width, should be laid out 
with two pathways and three beds, or stages—a narrow 
one on each side, and a wider one in the centre—as 
shown in Figs. 14 and 68. Working among the numerous 
plants and attending to their various wants is thus 
rendered much easier than where the beds are very 
wide. Even a tall or long-armed man cannot con- 
veniently reach more than about 4ft., and though, 
with a long-spouted can, one can water plants a little 
farther off still, yet it is impossible to see distinctly 
whether plants at the back of a very wide bed are dry 
or not, while the pots cannot be got at to be tapped 
either. Indeed, it may be taken as a rule that no bed 
or stage for pot plants ought to exceed 4ft. or 43ft. at 
the most in width, unless of course there is a pathway on 
both sides of it, when it may be extended to 6ft. or even 8ft. 
Even in the case of wide structures, planted with 
tomatoes, roses, or the like, it is much better to have 
two or three narrow paths running along them than to 
allow the plants to stand in wide blocks, where they will 
be liable to run up and become weak from lack of light 
and air, to say nothing of the difficulty of working among 
them, or gathering the fruit, properly. 
Pathways may vary from 2ft. to 4ft. in width ; 2ft. 
may be taken as the minimum, where space is an object, 
but 23ft. is usually a much more convenient width, 
even in structures intended for growing purposes only, 
and a width of 3ft. is usually sufficient for conservatories 
and show houses. 
A convenient height for raised beds and stages for 
plants in pots, etc., is from 2ft. to 24ft.; the former 
