GREEXHOUSES. 



11 



seven inches, and to prevent as mucli as possible the obstruction of Ught, the 

 sash bars should be made of copper, which need not be more than half an. 

 inch square ; this will give the house at once a light and neat appeai'ance, 

 without subjecting the plants to the injurious extremes of hot and- cold 

 temperatiu-e, which would be the result of a roof entirely metahc, and 

 without increasing the cost of erection. 



" These few hints are thrown out for the guidance of parties desirous of 

 erecting the most perfect kind of forcing houses ; but it will be obvious that 

 before undertaking any structure of this kind, the various questions of 

 locality, as well as the use for which it is wanted, must be taken into con- 

 sideration, and on these subjects we recommend that the practical gardener 

 should be consulted, whose experience will be found of much more 

 utihty in laying down the various conveniences essential to a well ordered 

 house, than the architect or surveyor. I witnessed a remarkable illustra- 

 tion of this during the past summer, in the total destruction of a fine crop 

 of grapes, as well as of the foliage, in the hot house belonging to a gentle- 

 man in Kent. The house was erected of cast ii'on, about six years ago, 

 and the catastrophe occiued through the carelessness of the architect in 

 not providing proper ventilation, the gardener, who is admitted to be 

 an excellent practical one, was compelled to have holes, about a foot 

 broad and three feet long, made in the back wall of the second house, 

 for ventilatiou, these he covered by shutters hung on hinges, to prevent 

 the fruit from shaiing the same fate ; he preserved the fniit by this 

 means, but not ^vithout gi'eat injury to the foliage." 



We have availed om'selves of ^h. Thompson's opinions because he had 

 ample opportimities of drawing unprejudiced conclusions dming the period 

 he had the direction of the extensive hot houses at Sion, which have been 

 considered the perfection of metahc houses. To his testimony we might 

 add that of many others of equal credit, but we shall conclude by refering 

 the reader to the opinions of :Mr. Paxton of Chalworth, ^Mr. ^r^Miirtrie of 

 Shughborough, and ^Mr. Thompson, late of AYelbeck, pubhshed in the 

 Trans, of the Hort. Soc. and Hoit. Reg. for oiurselves. 



^ye only know of one architect who has attained any celebrity in hot 

 house architecture, and that is ^y. Atkinson, Esq., of whose improvements 

 we shall have occasion elsewhere to allude. 



