May 19. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
128 
while the additional 85 square feet of glass would 
furnish no serious item either in the way of purse, or 
as a radiating-of-heat medium in winter. 
'imlly. Position of Platform and Shelves. —These are 
mainly right. With a shelf on the east and west sides 
you will have a platform 5ft. Cin. in width, very 
convenient for attending to the plants. But, at the 
risk ol reducing the length of the platform, I would 
bring the shelf round to the door-way in the middle of 
the south end, and were there no partition I would do 
the same on the north end. In fact, were the house 
mine, and the only one T had, I would, if I divided it 
at all, divide it in the middle, and have both ends 
similar, but discard all attempts at heating from the 
inside. 
One word more as to the eighteen-inch shelf—do not 
have it level with the top of the brick wall, but from 
three to six inches below it. The reasons are these— 
1 lie roots in the pots do not require direct light, more 
upright space is given to branches arid flowers, and 
these, consequently, have more light; and the pots are 
not so unduly cooled in winter, and heated in summer, 
as when standing freely exposed above the level of the 
glass line. The sinking of the side shelf will enable 
you proportionately to elevate the central platform—that 
is, the height between them may vary from three to 
six inches. 
■’rdly. Border for Climbers in the Centre of the House. 
—There is no necessity for curtailing the length of the 
platform on this account; make the border all the same, 
but let the platform go over it. If it is a sparred plat¬ 
form, you -can easily bring the climbers through the 
spars. It solid, as of slate or stone, leave holes or 
openings through which the climbers may pass. Tt will 
be well to have them four feet in height, at least, before 
planting them. It you intend having vines on both 
sides, there will be little room for climbers, unless at the 
apex of the roof; and what are otherwise grown, should 
be trained longitudinally, as then they will meet the 
vines at right angles, but you cannot do much with 
both. Even with Vines on the rafters, a couple of 
Pdssion Flowers, a blue and purple, dangling from the 
apex of the roof, would have a graceful effect. 
ithly. Partition, and its object. —With one of these 
objects 1 entirely sympathise. Not only may thus more 
tender plants be grown, but plants of equal hardiness 
treated according to their circumstances. For instance, 
a greenhouse plant, shortly after being pruned, requires 
a close, moist atmosphere to encourage fresh growth ; a 
similar plant, when in bloom, requires an airy, cool 
atmosphere to prolong it. I have repeatedly stated 
how this may be done in a house without divisions, 
merely by keeping one end closer than the other, and 
this is still easier done when the heating is by the flue, 
as that will always be hottest at the fire end. A com¬ 
plete glass division gives, however, very decided advan¬ 
tages ; and thus, in a small house, enables you to have a 
place suitable for growing, and another suitable for 
blooming. But I have little sympathy with the idea of 
making this division into a fire-place and stock-hole 
likewise. The mason was quite right when he spoke of 
the danger of back smoko. If that should take place, j 
you will sacrifice, according to your own plan, a fourth 
part ol your house, for what will be of no more use in 
winter than a potting shed. 
I have had to manage such houses when the smoke 
was very troublesome, especially when the fire had been 
unlighted for some time. I once had the management 
of such another house that was never known to smoke, 1 
but the stock-hole was deep —the rise from the bars of 
the furnace to the bottom of the flue was from two to 
three feet, and a strong draught was further promoted 
by a tall chimney. Without such advantages, I should | 
decidedly prefer sinking a stock-hole outside the house. 
It may he at the end all the same, and the furnace be 
wholly inside the house. By arching the hole over, 
■ nothing more than a square yard of a flap door need be 
seen, and thus all danger from smoke and dust be 
avoided. If even this door was an eyesore, and green¬ 
house plants were the chief object, you would scarcely 
want fire from the middle of April to the middle of 
October, and during that time you might sink a box 
with roots of ivy, and the tops trained to a flat trellis, 
so as to cover all over. Nay, even in winter, this trellis 
might be so hinged, and the plants so managed, that it 
would stand upright or lie flat, accordingly as you wanted 
to open the door or keep it shut. 
If, however, there be some insuperable objection to 
having the stock-hole outside, then the next best thing 
to do will be to sink a place deep enough for the fur¬ 
nace, that the fire bars may be at least eighteen inches 
below the bottom of the flue; have the entrance fitted 
with a door that will shut very close from being wadded 
on its edges; keep this door shut at all times, even when 
putting fire on, or lighting one, never opening it unless 
when going down or coming up ; and let the air in the 
stock-hole, for enabling the fire to burn, be obtained, 
not from the house, but by means of a drain, or large 
pipe, communicating freely with the external atmo¬ 
sphere ; but avoid all inside fire-places if possible. 
othly. Position of the Flue. —“ I intend the flue to run 
and return along the east side.” There is, so far, wis¬ 
dom in this, as you will have the greatest amount of 
heat on the coldest side of the house. This, however, 
so far as the east side is considered, definitively settles 
another question. “Whether should I plant the vines, 
inside or outside ?” as supposingthatyour flue, as respects 
its going and returning branch, were a few inches sepa¬ 
rate, there would not be beneath your shelf a sufficient 
width to allow of vines being planted between the flue 
and the wall. I have no doubt but that the mode will 
answer, but this would be better promoted by having 
two or three dry drains across the house, one of these 
being open on the west side, and the other between the 
flue and the wall on the east side. 
In something of a similar manner, Mr. Lane heats, 
very successfully, a very large house for Roses, and 
obtains, Polmaise fashion, a good circulation of air. 
Without something of this sort, some of us old gar¬ 
deners have a prejudice to the having the heat equally 
diffused at once, such as taking the line round such a 
span-roofed house. But here would be the bother of 
sinking under the doorways. This might be avoided by 
taking the flue round the centre of the house under the 
platform. You would see how I heated a small house 
by taking a flue underneath the floor, or pathway, and 
one a little wider, taken under your pathway, covered 
with paving tiles, would answer completely in your case 
for greenhouse plants ; but, if you contemplated anything 
like forcing Grapes at any time, you must not bury the 
flues. The advantages of sinking them in a small 
greenhouse are, that they present no eyesore, come in 
the way of nothing, arc just as easily cleaned, and burn 
as well, if care is taken to keep water from sinking in 
them. For a large house, or when a strong heat is 
necessary, it is advisable to have them above ground. 
(ithly. Taking out the soil of the house three feet deep, 
filling with stones, rubble, dc , and then paving. —I can, 
in no case, see either the utility or the economy of this 
contemplated labour. If kiln-burnt paving-tiles are 
used for flooring, they can never be laid better than on 
the solid ground, with a layer of thin mortar, or an inch 
or two of dry sand beneath them. Tf slabs of stone, or 
slate, are meant, they may either he laid in a similar 
manner, or, to keep them hollow and dry, fixed on dwarf 
brick walls two or three courses in thickness. If it was 
ever intended to plant vines inside they could get 
no benefit from such stones and rubble. Besides, after | 
