1882.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



185 



AND GREENHOUSE. 



CONSTRUCTION OF SMALL GREENHOUSES. 



A small greenhouse, in a plain, substantial 

 manner, can easily be built by any handy 

 carpenter and painter used to setting glass. 

 A span, or equal-sided roof, should be either 

 ten or seventeen feet wide. The one of ten 

 feet should have a table three feet six inches 

 wide on each side, leaving three feet for a 

 pathway. One of seventeen feet wide should 

 have tables two feet six inches wide on each 

 side, and a center-table six feet wide, leav- 

 ing a. pathway of two feet six inches on each 

 side.- These dimensions will be found con- 

 venient for the handling and caring of plants 

 by amateurs. 



The sides should be four feet high 

 for a ten-foot house, and may be six 

 inches lower in one seventeen feet 

 wide. Dressed cedar, or other hard- 

 wood posts that will not decay 

 quickly, should be set in the ground 

 two feet, or deeper, and four feet 

 apart, the parts standing out to be 

 dressed four inches square on two 

 sides. Common boards are then 

 nailed lengthwise to the outside of 

 the posts, and covered entirely with 

 thick roofing-paper ; against this the 

 outside siding of dressed matched 

 boards is nailed. This makes a very 

 substantial and durable wall. The 

 plate should be one and a half to 

 two inches thick and seven inches 

 wide, nailed to the posts, the same 

 pitch as the roof. 



The sash-bars should be of good, 

 clear lumber— yellow pine is best 

 — two inches deep, one and a quarter 

 inches wide, and, for an eleven-foot 

 house, six feet long ; the lower edges 

 should be beveled to three-quarter 

 inch. The rebate for glass should 

 be half an inch deep and a quarter- 

 inch wide. The glass should be 

 twelve by ten or fourteen, double 

 thick, and of good quality. For a 

 seventeen-foot house the sash-bars 

 should be nine feet six inches long, 

 with purlin three by one and a half 

 inches running across the center, 

 supported by light rods from center 

 stage, six feet apart. 



Ventilation is effected partly through the 

 door at one end, a movable sash opposite, i 

 and also with small sashes on the roof, every j 

 six feet, hung so as to open from the inside. j 



The tables are made by nailing two by four ' 

 string-pieces to the posts of the wall, one foot j 

 below the plate, and other stronger ones on ' 

 posts parallel with the walk. One-inch 

 boards are then nailed on crosswise, a strip 

 five inches wide on the back, far enough 

 inside the house that the drip^from the edge 

 of the plate does not fall into the bench, and 

 another nine inches wide against the front of 

 the bench, giving a finish to the walk-side. 

 Then, with an inch and a half auger, bore j 

 holes through the table at intervals sufficient 

 to prevent accumulation of water. Close up ' 

 these holes with temporary wooden plugs, j 

 and give the whole inside bench a coat of 

 good cement, such as is used for cisterns, 

 three-quarters of an inch thick. Before this 



has become thoroughly hard, pull out the 

 plugs, and the bench will last from ten to 

 < fifteen years. 



The means for heating vary considerably 

 according to the size and position of green- 

 houses, and will be treated in another article. 



John Tiiokpe. 



PLANT-STANDS FOR ROOMS. 



Wherever plants are used for room decora- 

 tions, stands of some kind must be employed, 

 and when well designed they do much toward 

 showing off the plants effectively. 



Wire stands show the pots very plainly 

 through their sides, and, unless a pan is set 

 inside them, the water runs through on to 

 the carpet. 



The accompanying illustration of a stand, 

 reproduced from Gardening Illustrated, which 

 seems to answer its requirements exceed- 



and always look well ; or a few succulents 

 may be added for the sake of variety. It 

 must be remembered that nearly as much 

 , depends on the shape of the stands as on the 

 | plants used, and it is easier to sacisfy one's 

 J self when the stand is a pretty one, and 

 | shows off the plants well, than when we have 

 to hide its unsightliness as much as possible 

 ! by means of the graceful forms of plants. 

 In filling stands like this one, all crowding 

 must be avoided, and as much variety ob- 

 j tained as possible, always remembering to 

 vary form as well as color. During the early 

 | months of the year they may be filled with 

 spring flowers and bulbs ,in pots, and, by 

 the use of these, as they bloom in succes- 

 sion, a pleasing variety may be maintained 

 for several weeks, and, with the addition of a 

 few distinct Palms or graceful Ferns, will 

 make very effective arrangements. During 

 summer such a stand might be used for an 

 effective display of cut flowers, and 

 thus be an ornament the vear round. 



PLANT - STA 



ingly well, is described as being made of 

 varnished Pine, harmonizing well with the 

 furniture of the sitting-rooni and setting off 

 the plants to advantage. The sides are neatly 



SOOT. 



The value of soot as a fertilizer for 

 house plants, and outdoor plants of 

 nearly all kinds as well, is seldom 

 sufficiently appreciated. It induces 

 vigorous growth, and imparts fresh- 

 ness and healthy color to both flow- 

 ers and foliage. On plants grown in 

 pots it has a marvelous and almost 

 immediate effect, driving, at the 

 same time, all worms from them. 



At present it may be difficult to 

 obtain soot in large quantities, but 

 if there were any considerable de- 

 mand for it the professional chimney 

 sweeps would soon gather and offer 

 it for sale as an article of mer- 

 chandise. Large quantities are not 

 required, however, and the annual 

 'l sweepings of the house chimneys 



and stove-pipes furnish enough for a 

 good-sized window full of plants. 



For outdoor use its effect is 

 heightened by mixing it with salt in 

 * proportion of one part of soot in 



bulk to ten parts of salt. Or it may 

 be mixed with any fine compost. 

 The plants should be copiously 

 watered after each application, to 

 wash the soot into the ground and 

 prevent its being blown away by 

 winds. 



For pot plants it is best used with water, 

 a handful of soot, stirred well with three 

 gallons of water, in a common watering-can. 

 In watering plants with soot water it is 



>ldcd. 



d made high enough to hide the j advisable to use small quantities at tin 



pots in which the plants are grown; and 

 these sides, as well as the bottoms, instead 

 of being painted, are well coated with Japan 

 varnish, which protects the wood and carpet 

 quite as well as if a tray of lead or zinc were 

 set inside. When plants are nicely arranged 

 on stands such as this, the latter are far 

 more ornamental than those made of wire. 



In the arrangement, select a bold and effect- 

 ive plant for the center, as, for instance, a 

 Draea'na, or an India-rubber plant, which 

 always look well, surrounded by Ferns, small 

 Palms, Begonias, and trailing or gracefully 

 drooping plants, as Tradescantias, Panicum 

 variegatum, Lysimachia, or Selaginellas. 

 For edging these stands, either Festuca 

 glauca or Isolepis gracilis may be employed, 



time, and more frequently, rather than to 

 charge the soil with more carbon than the 

 plants can readily assimilate. 



As this material may generally be procured 

 without expense it is certainly worth while to 

 utilize it in so beneficial u niannei. 



A POT OF IVY. 



If you have room for but one flower-pot, 

 take an Ivy and trail it around the window. 

 No other plant can stand as much hard 

 usage and gives so cheerful an appearance 

 to a room. All it insists on is cleanliness. 

 Its leaves must, therefore, be washed ;it 

 least once a week. 



