IMPROVEMENT OF FORCING HOUSES. 
i5r 
in small patches, &c., where they are wished to flower, and thinning-, if too thick, 
after they come up, is sufficient for them. Most of them ripen their seeds in 
a,bundance, which should be collected carefully on a fine dry day. 
The species cardinalis^ fulgens, and splendens, require the protection of a 
frame in winter; they are deciduous, and when planted in beds in the flower- 
garden in summer, make a very splendid show with their bright scarlet blossoms, 
which surpass all the other species in the genus. If treated according to the 
directions before given, good flowering plants may be obtained with little trouble. 
The stove species are, L, Cavanillesiana, L. decurrens, L. persifolia, &c., and 
ar^3 plants of no great beauty or interest; their flowers, which ape purple or red, 
may be considered ornamental, and that is as much as can be in justice said of 
them ; they will thrive well in any light rich soil, and cuttings make roots freely, 
potted in mould or stuck in tan, but not covered with a glass. A variety of 
fulgens, viz. propinquai is figured in Vol. II., page 52, to which we refer our 
readers. 
IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF 
FORCING-HOUSES. 
In an age of invention, and when horticulture, in all its branches, is progressing 
with most rapid strides, it appears desirable that no one circumstance which can 
tend to practical improvement or economy should be withheld. The erection of 
structures for the successful culture of the exotics of warmer latitudes is attended 
with considerable expense ; but the outlay may be diminished by due attention to 
foresight and calculation ; and were persons residing in the country, and who are 
desirous of erecting a greenhouse and plant stove, well acquainted with the means 
of providing the materials for the work, they would be surprised to perceive at 
how low a rate they might be furnished with the means of indulging themselves 
in one of the most elegant and instructive sources of enjoyment that a well regu- 
lated mind can desire. 
The writer of this little article has been taught by experience. He is aware of 
the high charges made by builders and masons ; and that many a lover of nature is 
and must be deterred, by the serious cost to which he unavoidably subjects himself. 
Profits, and very high ones, are made upon every material — bricks, mortar, timber, 
glass, and paint— but all these are to be purchased without much difliculty ; and 
labour may be commanded upon reasonable terms ; with the exercise of a little 
judgment and activity, (especially if it happen that one or more members of the 
family or establishment possess a mechanical turn) ; and it will be found, (we 
speak experimentally) that twenty or twenty-five pounds will go very far towards 
efi"ecting what regular workmen would carry up to more than double that amount. 
In the hrickwork of a glass erection, an improvement has been produced which 
ought to be generally known: it combines economy to the extent of about one 
