GREENHOUSES. 



393 



arranged upon this principle, but, of course, 

 with only one-half of the advantage. 



The annexed, fig. 537, represents a very- 

 neat cast-iron stage, suited for a curvi- 

 linear, circu- 

 Fig. 537. lar, or span- 



roofed house. 

 The shelves 

 for the plants 

 are solid, with 

 flange edges, 

 intended to 

 retain the wa- 

 ter that may 

 drain through 

 the pots, and 

 prevent it from falling on the floor. It is 

 calculated that this water will be partly 

 taken up again by the plants, by capillary 

 attraction, and partly dissipated by eva- 

 poration during hot sunshine : the latter 

 we think extremely beneficial, particularly 

 in metallic houses. Were it necessary, as 

 we think it is not, it would not be difficult 

 to cast the supports hollow, and so con- 

 vey the water to a cistern or drain under 

 the house. 



An anonymous contributor in "The 

 Gardeners' Chronicle" offers the following 

 very judicious remarks on the subject of 

 stages. "The first object," he says, "in 

 the construction of stages, should be to 

 have them so constructed and situated as 

 to afford facilities for grouping the plants ; 

 the second should be, to give the plants 

 more the appearance of growing in bor- 

 ders than upon artificial structures ; and 

 the third, to keep the pots out of sight. 

 This is requisite for two reasons: first, 

 because they are no ornament ; and, 

 secondly, that it is always desirable to 

 protect the plant from being scorched by 

 exposure to the sun. It is also desirable 

 to adopt another mode of construction, for 

 the purpose of giving plants that aspect 

 most suited to their habits; and, there- 

 fore, instead of placing the stages from 

 the front to the back of the house, as is 

 generally the case, I would place them in 

 groups of stages, thus producing an effect 

 similar to the borders of a well- arranged 

 flower garden." The annexed diagram, 

 fig. 538, exhibits the arrangement. " The 

 ground-plan represents part of the floor 

 of a house, 19 feet by 13, on which are 

 placed 12 stages," (9 only, however, are 

 shown,) " and 3 vases, c c c> basins, or any 



VOL. I. 



other suitable ornamental article, with a 

 footpath between them 3 feet wide," — that 



Fig. 538. 



o 



is, of course, at the narrowest parts. " The 

 plan also shows sections of three different 

 modes of constructing the stages, and the 

 position of the pots in each : all the stages 

 stand upon stone tables, resting upon 

 brick piers, the top of each table being 

 2 feet 2 inches above the level of the 

 floor. In the stage a there are no shelves, 

 the pots being plunged into cylinders 

 (made of the same material as flower-pots) 

 standing upon the tables — the space all 

 round them being filled with compost 

 level to the rims of each series of pots. 

 The object of this plan is to afford oppor- 

 tunities of planting various creepers and 

 small bulbs betwixt each of the potted 

 plants, for which there will be plenty of 

 room when they stand 12 inches apart 

 stem from stem. The pots are supposed 

 to rest by their rims upon the edge of the 

 cylinder, and may, of course, be removed 

 with the greatest facility. 



" In the centre stage b, the supporters 

 stand directly upon the table, and are 

 cemented to it, the space between each 

 being made water-tight, and filled up 

 solid to within half an inch of the bottom 

 of the pot. If an inch deep of water is 

 poured into this space, the pot will be 

 immersed half an inch ; a small hole in 

 the side will regulate the height of the 



3 D 



