GLASS STRUCTURES AND APPLIANCES. 



217 



has passed away. A protector of this kind has heen 

 in use for a great number of years at Eastnor, and 

 we have neither missed a crop of Peaches nor seen 

 a cm-led leaf. Neatness and cheapness are two of 

 its chief recommendations. 



RendWs '•'•Acme " Stjstem, of which Fig. 41 is an 

 illustration, is perhaps better adapted to the covering 

 of large buildings, where strength, light, and perfect 

 freedom from diip are of paramount importance, 

 than for horticultural purposes ; but as gardeners 

 are now looked upon as ready reckoners or walking 

 cyclopaedias, fully stored with information upon 

 every subject pertaining to a nobleman's estate, 

 this paper will hardly be complete if Messrs. 

 Rendle's latest invention is left out. The diagram, 

 with the particulars underneath, is sufficiently ex- 

 planatory of the construction. 



Ridge-and-farrow Glazing. — Although this 

 system of glazing is not very often applied to small 

 buildings, certain conditions sometimes render its 



Fig. 42.— Iron Gutters. 



adoption necessary. Take, for instance, an archi- 

 tectural conservatory or Orangery, with a Norman 

 front of stone, pierced with large windows, near 

 an old mansion, where an ordinary glass roof would 

 be considered unsightly. Parapet 

 walls hide the eaves and gutters, 

 but they cannot be carried high 

 enough to hide an ordinary glass 

 roof, erected at a pitch that would 

 carry dry. In such a situation the 

 ridge-and-furrow mode of glazing 

 overcomes the difficulty, as the 

 highest part of the ridges need not 

 exceed two feet. Iron gutters 

 (Fig. 42), as now made, light and 

 strong, run transversely across the 

 house, with a slight fall from the 

 mansion to the parapet gutter, 

 which is large enough to receive and carry off all 

 the water collected on the roof. 



The sash-bars (Fig. 43) raaj^ be made of wood or 

 metal, but being so extremely short, good red deal 

 is perhaps the best material that can be used, as it 

 generally contracts under great heat, when the 

 metallic portion of the roof expands, and fracture of 

 the glass in this way is avoided. The figure is a 



full-sized section of a bar that has been in use for 

 many years, and it is questionable if any other form 

 has been invented to supersede or equal it. From 

 the way in which the lower part is bevelled or 

 chamfered it will at once be seen how little light it 

 intercepts, while its depth gives the greatest degree 

 of strength. The grooves in which the glass is 

 fixed prevent the wet from getting into the house. 

 Putty of the best quality is required for bedding 

 the glass in and firmly stopping the upper side of 

 the groove after the squares are set, but this is so 

 trifling in quantity that its external use is all but 

 dispensed with. The gutters are cast with dove- 

 tailed mortices, into which the bars or astragals 

 are fixed with white lead. 



Practical Glazing for Amateurs. — As many 

 of the readers of CasseWs Popular Gardening may 

 wish to try their hands at glazing, a few hints may 

 be of service to some; the more so as lights manu- 

 factured by steam power can be obtained at prices 

 truly surprising, and the best British sheet glass is 

 kept in stock sizes, or can be cut to any size by all 

 wholesale dealers. 



Sashes in the skeleton form are made of wood 

 and metal combined, the first being used for the 

 styles and rails, and the metal for sash-bars or 

 astragals ; but while such experienced men as Gray, 

 Ormison, and others recommend the best red dea', 

 the amateur will not go far wrong in selecting 

 sashes formed entirely of wood. Moulded sash-bars 

 were at one time extensively used, but they have 

 given way to the plain bevelled or chamfered bar, 

 which is cheaper, stronger, and less difficult to cleanse 

 or paint, when these operations become necessary. 



Freparing. — "When sashes are received from the 

 joiner they must be kept dry, as a great deal of the 

 durability of glazing depends upon the state of the 

 wood at the time it is primed. If rough they may 

 be rubbed over with sand-paper, and all knots likely 

 to exude turpentine must be carefully dressed with 

 the usual styptic known as painter's knotting, pre- 

 paratory to the application of the fi.rst or priming' 

 coat of paint ; this, composed of the best white and 

 red lead and linseed oil, cannot be too well brushed 

 into all the joints and angles of the rebates, as it is 

 to form the foundation of all that is to follow. When, 

 dry, the lights are ready for glazing, but as no facing 

 putty is to be used, they must be placed flat during 

 the operation, and for some time afterwards, la 

 allow the bedding to harden before they are moved. 



Glass and Fatty. — Unless the lights are very small. 

 21 oz. glass should be used in preference to 15 oz. ; 

 the difference in price is very trifling, it stands more 

 rough usage, and it keeps plants warmer in winter; 

 moreover, much larger squares can be used. Large 



