in the Garden of the Horticultural Society. 375 



central stages. The front and sides were furnished with open 

 wooden shelves for plants in pots. The roof rests immediately 

 upon the back wall, and in no case is more than five feet from 

 the stages upon which the plants are arranged. In the sum- 

 mer, plants thrive well in this house, especially those of a 

 bulbous nature, and from temperate latitudes ; but not being 

 capable of receiving sufficient heat from the sun's rays, it is 

 not adapted for the protection of tender or delicate plants. 

 In the winter, plants are not so healthy in it as could have 

 been wished, a circumstance which it is supposed may be 

 attributed to the dampness of the brick work, and stone 

 shelves of the interior, the ill effects of which are not suffici- 

 ently counteracted by the operation of light and heat. So 

 much timber has been used in the construction of the roof, 

 that it has been calculated that about one-third of its whole 

 breadth is opaque. The building was originally constructed 

 at Kensington on very cheap terms, as a temporary protection 

 for Chinese plants, and it would perhaps have been the best 

 policy not to have removed it, but to have constructed a house 

 on a more improved plan instead. 



Protecting Pits. Both these last mentioned houses have a 

 brick flue passing along and close to the front wall, from 

 which a sufficient heat is imparted to small pits built in front, 

 to maintain their temperature at a degree which is high 

 enough for the preservation of bulbous and half hardy plants 

 during the winter, and with the aid of a mat in very severe 

 weather, to exclude frost during our coldest winters. The 

 hinges of the sashes on these pits have been contrived by Mr. 

 William Atkinson, to whose advice and assistance in the 

 construction of the buildings in the Garden, the Society is much 



