pro- 



U KEEN HOUSE 



to the light adapted to the plauts for which it is 

 Tided. 



It will readily l)e seen that to locate and plan a range 

 of pUiss to the be^t ailvantage requires skill and expe- 

 rience. In a communication recently received by the 



OKEENllOUyE 



687 





ysy. A lattice-covered Plant-house. 



writer from a superintendent of one of tiie must im- 

 portant botanic gardens in the country, it was reniarketl 

 that'"wheu the architect prevails, tLe gardener falls.'' 

 It is also true to a greater degree than in almost any 

 other class of buildings that the beginner or amateur 

 who undertakes to plan and construct his own (.ireen- 

 house is likely to pay well for his experience, and will 

 at least sympathize with the "lawyer who pleaded his 

 own cause and found he had a fool for a client." This 

 is perfectly true, as many know to their cost. To pUiu a 

 Greenhouse satisfactorily the designer must have :t 

 practical knowleilge of the requirements. To meet this 

 increasii]g demand, specialists can be found, known as 

 "horticultural areliitects," -who devote their entire 

 time to this braneli of work. 



Gr(idiu(/. — 'Vhe fioor of the Greenhouse should be a 

 few inches aljove tlie outside grade. As most (.ireen- 

 houses are necessarily built low to aceonnnoihite the 

 plants, a small terrace around them adds to the eleva- 

 tion and the good appearance of the 

 usually be best to keep the floor of a 

 one level. When the variation in the gr 

 is not too great, the floor line should 

 point of the grade. In the case of a 

 house, the floor line is sometimes madi 

 same as the natural grade, but such 

 rangement is to be avoided when pos- 

 For locations on a hillside, the diff 

 apartments may have different floor k 

 with necessary steps between 

 them. 



All the sod and loam should be 

 removed from the space to he 

 covered by a Greenhouse, and all 

 the filling necessary made with 

 subsoil. The latter should be laid 

 in thin layers and each wet down 

 and thorouchly tamped. Loam 

 used for filling under a Green- 

 house is apt to become sour, and 

 will continue to settle for a long 

 time, causing much trouble and 

 annoyance. 



Foundations. — Too much care 

 cannot be given to the preparation 



of good foundations. Th^-se are 



usually of brick, but may be made 



of .stone or concrete. The brick 



walls take up less room in the 



house than stone, and are usually 



less expensive. The foundation walls should be extended 



down to a point below the frost line, generally 3 or 4 feet 



deep, and are usually raised about 2 feet above the grade. 



An inexpensive wall of rubble stone work or of concrete 

 is all that is needed in the ground. The part of the wall 

 showing above grade may he of plain brick or faced with 

 .stone, to correspond with the construction of other 

 surrounding buildings. A good substitute for these 

 masonry walls is found in the use of cast-iron 

 posts in connection with double boarding. A 

 removable base at the ground line, which can 

 readily be renewed, adds very much to the 

 value of this construction, making it durable 

 and satisfactory. It has been quite exten- 

 sively adoi'ted by florists in houses for 

 commercial jmrposes and for small and inex- 

 pensive G reenhouses. It is recommended for 

 such houses. 



Frame work. — The construction best 

 adapted for conservatories, park houses and 

 Greenhouses, and for private places where 

 th e in] proveni en ts are desired to be permanent 

 in character and attractive in appearance, \» 

 the combiuation of iron and wood. In this 

 system, the main frame which supports the 

 weight and strain is of iron or steel, wood 

 being used in the frames for the setting of 

 the glass, and to form a non-conductor, of 

 great advantage in the heating of the house. 

 The iron work in this style of construction 

 usually consi?its of cast-iron sills capping 

 the foundation walls, wrought-iron ratters 

 setting on the sills, about 8 feet apart and 

 running from sill to ridge, furming the side post and 

 rafter in one piece, cast-iron gutters, and angle-iron 

 purlins between the rafters, all securely bracketed and 

 bolted together, forming a complete framework of 

 metal, light, strong and durable. The wood used con- 

 sists of light sash bars for the setting of the glass, 

 sashes for ventilation, and doors. Tliis woodwork being 

 entirely supported by the metal frame, and not being 

 used where it will be continually wet, will be found as 

 durable as any other material, and for many reasons 

 belter adapted for the requirements of a Greenhouse 

 roof. This combination system of metal and wood con- 

 strnction has been extensively adopted by florists and 

 large growers of cutdlowers, though generally with the 

 cast-iron post style of foundation. The first cost is 

 somewhat increased over an all-wood construction, hut 

 in view of its greater durability and saving in repairs. 

 it will be found in the end 

 the better investment. In 



'0. Even-span curviHnear Greenhouse. 

 With cast-irou piping. 



angle-iron plate is substituted for the gutter, so framed 

 as to allow the snow and ice to slide over it, keeping 

 the roof entirely clear from such accumulations, which 



44 



