252 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



tell of what these two eminent growers showed me. Suffice it to* 

 say they showed me all they had to show, and the mere sight of 

 it — let alone the good advice and useful hints they gave me — has 

 been of the greatest possible service, and it is no exaggeration to 

 say that to those two visits I attribute very much of the success 

 with which I have been rewarded. 



Eeturned from those visits with ample notes and laden 

 memory, I at once began to design myself a house, which the 

 village carpenter and bricklayer between them built under my 

 own supervision. And as I attribute something to the house, I 

 will venture to describe it, without for a moment saying that it is 

 the best possible, much less the only possible, sort of structure in 

 which to achieve success. The house is 48 feet long by 20 feet 

 wide. The height is 12 feet in the centre to the ridge, and 6 feet 

 at the sides. It runs east and west— this is from the necessities 

 of the situation ; but although most people prefer the length of 

 a house to run north and south, yet I cannot help thinking 

 that east and west secures a greater total amount of light, and 

 it certainly presents the smallest possible surface to the east, 

 which is the wind and aspect most injurious to the bloom. 

 At either end are two large doors folding into the centre, so as 

 to give ample height and width for the easy transport of the 

 trees. There is a large swing light in the angle above each door. 

 The 6-foot sides are composed of 2 feet of 9-inch brick and 4 feet 

 of glass, and all the glass all round the house opens wide in the 

 panels of the woodwork, thus securing an ample supply of fresh 

 air and plenty of ventilation whatever wind may blow. The 

 rafters are 15 \ inches apart and continuous from ridge to eave, 

 and glazed with large sheets of glass, and thus the two great 

 requirements of light and air (or ventilation) are abundantly 

 secured. 



The question of heating or not heating was discussed, and 

 arguments both for and against carefully considered, with the 

 result that a 4 -inch flow and return runs on both sides and 

 across the east end of the house. Two considerations chiefly 

 led to this, viz. the protection of the blossoms of the trees from 

 frosts in March and the utilisation of the house in winter for 

 Chrysanthemums and other suchlike purposes. The floor is 

 simply made up all over of ashes beaten and rolled very hard. 



So much for the house. Now for the outline of a year's 



