CHAPTER XXV 



Greenhouses^ Hotbeds and Frames 



Advantages of a Greenhouse — ^What Can be Grown — Green- 

 houses for the Amateur — Span-Roofed Houses — Attached Con- 

 servatories — ^Heatmg — ^Frames and Their Uses — Management 

 of Hotbeds and Coldframes — Useful Little Forcing Structures 



IF we but appreciated a greenhouse at its true value, and knew the 

 pleasure as well as the profit that can be derived from the posses- 

 sion of even a small one, there would be many more erected. It 

 is a standing wonder that in a country so wealthy as om-s there should 

 be so few greenhouses attached to the residences of suburban and rural 

 homes. A greenhouse of moderate dimensions, 12 ft. long by 8 ft. 

 wide, can be had from a few hundred dollars up, and its upkeep will 

 be nothing like so much as for an automobile. 



So confident are we as to the pleasure derivable from the green- 

 house, especially in the cold Winter months and in the Spring time 

 before the ground is warm and dry out of doors, that we most heartily 

 urge its consideration on the readers of The Garden Guide. 



Advantages of a Greenhouse 



We merely wish to call attention in this place to the advantages 

 of such a house. A succession of flowers can be had during the Winter 

 at small cost, either by lifting the Geraniums from out-of-doors in the 

 Autunm and potting them up, as well as Salvias and some other 

 Summer flowering plants, or by Rowing Httle batches of seeds, or 

 planting bulbs and bringing these on graduaUy. We all know how 

 difficult it is to make a success of Dutch bulbs in the ordinary dwelling 

 house, owing to the dryness of the atmosphere and the fluctuation of 

 temperatures. In a greenhouse these conditions can be regulated to 

 suit the plants. 



What Can Be Grown 



Among other subjects that can be grown are Chrysanthemums, 

 Ferns, Azaleas, Forget-me-nots, Palms, Primroses, Cyclamen, Schizan- 

 thus (sometimes called Poor Man's Orchid), Pansies, Sweet Alyssum, 

 and a great variety of other stock. One can frequently obtain a slip 

 or a seedhng from a friend, and in this way enrich one's little collection. 

 There are many plants also that can be raised from seed. 



Little cultural reminders are published in the seed catalogs, or as 

 a cultural guide Oliver's "Plant Culture" is recommended. 



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