THE FLORIST. 
72 
considerable variety both in colour and form, and they may be had at a 
very reasonable rate either singly or by the dozen, from either 1 urner, 
Henderson, or Salter. 
March is a busy time for operations. Greenhouse .—Ihings will 
now be growing rapidly. Geraniums, early in the month repot ; 
thumbs, &c., go into pits or frames to make room; and though my 
plants would excite the ridicule, perhaps bile, of a grower, yet they are 
all I can manage, and please me well enough. 
Pansies will require watering well and keeping clean. 
Carnations and Picolees may be repotted, though I prefer leaving 
them till the first week in April. 
Roses. —Repot, and keep close to push for growth. 
Auriculas. —Water, and give plenty of air, except on cold north-east 
days, and allow no rain to get at them. 
Deal. -D* 
CONSTRUCTION OF FRUIT HOUSES. 
(Continued from page 47.) 
It takes a long, a very long time to remove impressions, when they have 
once fairly established themselves in the minds of a true-born Briton, 
who, priding himself on being the avowed enemy of change and fickle¬ 
ness, prefers holding fast by the good old system of former days to 
giving his sanction to schemes which would interfere with his precon¬ 
ceived notions. True to the principles of their race, gardeners, it would 
appear, are equally averse to innovation, or it is otherwise difficult to 
account for the pertinacity with which we stick to various old forms 
and systems, one of which we take to be our present subject. Loudon, 
Paxton, and MTntosh have each explained the principles, and shown 
by facts based on scientific laws, that the ridge and furrow form of 
forcing houses has many advantages over those whose roof is in a single 
plane. True, Fleming, Hill, Breadley, and a few others, to their credit 
be it stated, have broken through the old system ; and we gather from 
a communication from the former, that he is about introducing it for 
fruit culture as well as for plants, being convinced of its superiority in 
this respect. In this we need hardly say we think him right. If 
we take into consideration the question of light, in relation to the con¬ 
struction of houses on the ridge and furrow principle, in comparison with 
those built on the lean-to system, we shall find that a larger average 
quantity of light will pass through the ridge and furrow roof per day 
than through the roof of a lean-to. In the ridge roof, the angle of 
incidence facing the east and west will admit more light in the morning 
and afternoon than a house whose angle faces the south only; true, at 
mid-day the lean-to house will gain on the former, but at that time 
this may be regarded as a point in favour of the ridge roof, as we find 
in practice that we frequently have to guard against the excessive heat 
of the midday sun by shading—a trouble which is superseded by the 
form of the ridge roof, where the axes of the ridges are placed due 
