10 STOVE PLANTS. 



moderate fire. Great waste of fuel, and much injury to the 

 plants, result from being compelled to drive the boiler to 

 its utmost, through want of piping and not having a suffi- 

 cient surface; while, on the other hand, by having a good 

 command of heat, there is a vast saving in fuel, and a far 

 more genial atmosphere can be maintained. As a result of 

 these conditions, the plants- will thrive far better, and the 

 house be more enjoyable. On these grounds, therefore, it 

 will be best to have four rows of piping — instead of three 

 — round such a house as that here described; and this 

 quantity will entirely obviate hard driving at any time. 

 The boiler should be fixed outside the house, and entirely 

 independent of it, for no matter how carefully the brick- 

 work is built, it will become defective by constant wear, 

 and then, through the escape of smoke and sulphureous 

 gases, the ruin of many fine specimens may be brought 

 about in a very short time. For jointing the pipes we 

 have for many years used india-rubber rings, which are 

 made r specially for the sizes in which the pipes are cast, 

 and we find that they answer well, as a joint can be made 

 quickly and very cheaply ; we have had some of these rings in 

 nse for upwards of twenty-six years, and prefer them to any 

 other system. If anything should go wrong with either the 

 pipes or joints they can be separated easily, and without loss 

 or expense through having to sacrifice one or more lengths 

 of piping. Ked lead and Portland cement joints are 

 frequently used for hot-water pipes, also iron filings are 

 sometimes substituted for this purpose. 



Many plant growers make a practice of steaming their 

 houses regularly. This may sometimes be beneficial, but 

 still the practice is open to objection, and if four rows of 

 pipes are used, as before recommended, it need not be 

 resorted to in order to increase the heat, while for any 



