September 5, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
5 
GREENHOUSES FOR THE 
MILLION. 
Time was, and it is not so long ago either, when the 
number of Horticultural Builders, that is to say— 
tradesmen who confine themselves solely to the con¬ 
struction and erection of conservatories, greenhouses, 
plant and fruit houses, &c.—could have been told off 
Cm the fingers of one’s hands, but the revolution which 
has been brought about, first by the introduction of 
the system of heating such houses by means of hot- 
water, instead of the old-fashioned flues ; secondly, by 
the removal of the duty on glass ; thirdly, by the 
introduction of wood-working machinery ; fourthly, by 
the great improvements that have been made in the 
construction of boilers ; and lastly, and by no means 
the least important factor, the immense increase 
in the number of flower lovers among the great 
middle class have completely altered all this. 
The demand for well-constructed greenhouses at a 
reasonable price, has become something enormous, and 
scarcely a large town is now to be found in which 
there is not a Horticultural Builder, more or less 
known beyond the borders of each locality, in propor¬ 
tion to the amount of publicity which each individually 
have been able to obtain for their manufactures. 
Some of these firms, Loudon and provincial, have 
gained a world-wide repute for the workmanlike manner 
in which they turn out their structures, the admirable 
character of their designs, and the excellence of the 
materials employed by them ; and well they deserve 
the public confidence and support, which they have 
gained by their fair dealing. The amount of capital 
invested in steam machinery for doing all kinds of 
joinery, must amount to a very large sum ; but an idea 
of what that amount is likely to be, can only be gained 
by a visit to the works of some eminent greenhouse 
builder. A few days ago we had the pleasure of being 
shown over the works at Palace Plain, Norwich, of 
Mr. Charles Frazer, a name not unknown to the 
readers of this paper, and it was an agreeable surprise 
to us to find, in Mr. Frazer’s workshops, a considerable 
staff of men, and still more surprising to see the 
machines for doing everything almost but fixing 
together, glazing, and painting the various sorts of 
structures in hand. Besides having machines of his 
own invention, Mr. Frazer has a large assortment of 
machines of other makers, mostly English, but some 
of American introduction, the latter including a very 
clever sand-papering machine, which does its work in 
a very efficient and rapid manner. 
The manufacture of doors is one of Mr. Frazer’s 
specialities and some idea of the capacity for turning 
them out of hand may be gleaned from the fact that 
nine machines are called into use in preparing the 
several parts, and that a door, by such means, can be 
made in five minutes. Besides building houses of any 
size to order, Mr. Frazer has several special forms of 
houses, frames, and hand-lights which he makes in 
quantity, and amongst these may be noted a very useful 
and serviceable span-roofed house, of which we add an 
illustration, and which are made in sizes ranging from 
15 ft. to 00 ft. in length, and from 12 ft. to 20 ft. in 
width, and which can either be set on brickwork, or be 
made with pannelled sides, set on a single layer of 
bricks, and so form a tenant’s fixture. 
Another speciality is a span-roofed Rose House (see 
illustration p. 4), the sides of which are constructed of 
glass carried almost down to the ground, and the lights 
all so fixed that they can be unhooked and taken off to 
give the plants inside the full advantages of sun, air 
and moisture at the period of ripening them off. Such 
a house, besides for growing Roses, would also be useful 
for Clematises and many other plants, as well as for 
fruit trees in pots. Another special structure is a 
three-quarter span, put together with galvanized 
screws and registered corner fastenings, a stiff, sub¬ 
stantial, and useful little house, that can be put up by 
anyone and almost anywhere. 
Garden frames are made of two or three patterns, 
and turned out all complete at a very cheap rate. 
Some have the ordinary sliding lights, and others have 
a simple appliance affixed to them for holding the 
lights open at various angles, a very useful contrivance 
to amateurs who do not employ a gardener, and who 
are not always at home to attend to them. The little 
hand-lights or plant protectors made by Mr. Frazer, 
are very handy garden requisites, made of wood and 
glass, put together with screens, and in nests of six. 
The smallest are about a foot square, and the largest 
about 26 inches, so that one fits in another, and the 
whole can be sent away in a small compass. Mr. Frazer 
has adopted, with some of his frames, a good system of 
dry glazing, in which no lead, metal, or putty is used, 
the sash bars being of wood grooved on each side, and 
the glass capped with bevelled strips of wood from top 
to bottom. Top ventilation is given to most of the 
houses by means of a very simple ratchet system, which 
is strong and not liable to readily get out of order. 
Another novelty which we saw here, has not, it is 
true, any very close connection with horticulture—but 
may be mentioned nevertheless for its utility—this is a 
Collapsible Election Ballot Box, which, in view of the 
coming general election is likely to be required in large 
numbers. The boxes, or screens as we ought perhaps to 
call them, are all made of the same size and pattern, 
and hinged together in such a way that the whole can 
be folded up for storing away when done with, in a 
space of 5 feet 6 inches by 6 inches. The space at 
our command does not permit us to give any details of 
a number of little contrivances of general utility which 
Mr. Frazer showed us, but which are of much interest 
to any one of a mechanical turn. These we must defer 
notice of until we pay Mr. Frazer a visit again. 
--- 
Durability of Woods. —In some tests made with 
small squares of various woods buried an inch in the 
ground, the following results, says the Garden, were 
noted :—Birch and Aspen decayed in three years ; 
Willow and Horse-Chestnut in four years ; Maple and 
Red Beech in five years ; Elm, Ash, Hornbeam, and 
Lombardy Poplar in seven yea,rs ; Oak, Scotch Fir, 
Weymouth Pine, and Silver Fir decayed to a depth of 
half an inch in seven years. 
DECORATIVE FUCHSIAS. 
When recently looking through the collection of 
Fuchsias grown this season at Chiswick—a very nume¬ 
rous and varied one—1 made a note of the following as 
highly valuable for decorative purposes, because of 
good habits of growth, very free, distinct, and in some 
cases possessing great novelty of character. They are 
Rose of Denmark, delicate pink tube and sepals, heavily 
margined on the edges with a deeper tint of pink ; the 
corolla pink, heavily edged with deep rosy pink; very 
free and a charming variety. Marginata, white tube 
and sepals, pink corolla edged with scarlet, very pretty ; 
this makes a charming exhibition variety. Mrs. Bright, 
Letty Lye, and Beauty of Trowbridge are three of Mr. 
J. Lye’s raising, distinct, novel, and charming light 
varieties, quite distinct, good growers, and very free. 
Harmony, pale pinkish rose tube and sepals, scarlet 
corolla, very distinct and pretty. La Cygne, a very 
fine double white corolla’d variety, with deep rosy 
scarlet tube and sepals, very free and fine, and an ex¬ 
cellent decorative variety. Royal Osborn, white tube 
and sepals, and rich violet-rose corolla edged with deep 
purplish rose, a charming variety. Albo coccinea, a 
fine old but most valuable variety, the tube cherry- 
crimson, the sepals white, the corolla violet mottled 
with rose, one of the most useful Fuchsias ever raised, 
very free indeed, and an excellent exhibition variety. 
Starlight, an old but very pretty and useful variety, 
with white tube and sepals, and deep rosy carmine 
corolla, good habit and very free. Monarch, bright red 
tube and sepals, rosy violet corolla, very fine and 
striking. Abd-el-Kader, bright red tube and sepals, 
rosy violet corolla distinctly edged with purple, a very 
fine variety. Duke of Albany, also a very fine dark 
Fuchsia, and remarkably free ; and Try-Me-O, very 
rich deep purple corolla, red tube and sepals, one of the 
darkest and best varieties. 
Now is a good time of the year for putting in 
cuttings of Fuchsias, with a view of making some good 
plants for another season’s blooming ; but they should 
be grown on all the autumn and winter in a generous, 
moist heat, and if well looked after, excellent plants 
can be made by the end of June. Frequent shifts and 
a rich soil are indispensable. Old plants that have 
gone out of flower may be dried off, pruned back, and 
when they have started into growth repotted, and then 
rested during the winter, watered only sparingly, and 
grown on freely in spring.— R. D. 
■ --• 
NOTES ON STRAWBERRIES. 
Our earliest are Keens’ Seedling, La Grosse Sucree, 
and Vicomtesse Herieart de Thury, and they show 
signs of ripening in the order named, but the difference 
is so little that some can be gathered from each at the 
first picking. The latter is by far the heaviest cropper 
of the three, and stood the wet this season better than 
any other. From some cause or other not apparent, it 
has not thrown up its flower trusses in the batch of 
earliest forced ones for the past two years. This is to 
be regretted, as the redundant supply of pollen it pro¬ 
duced was considered serviceable in securing a more 
even set on the two first named. With us it produces 
by far the most fruit the third year than either of its 
early companions. President, which was at its best on 
July 18th, when we had a heavy rainfall, suffered 
greatly, and berries not half swelled decayed, as well as 
others more advanced. At the time, the rain was most 
desirable for all kind of vegetation, but the dull muggy 
weather that we had for some days after reduced our 
Strawberry crop one-fourth. 
Sir Joseph Paxton, from its handsome appearance, 
great size, and good flavour, either forced or grown out- 
of-doors, is a great favourite here for the dessert, and it is, 
moreover, very prolific. Unser Fritz produces a few 
fruits even larger than Sir Joseph, and from its bright 
crimson glossy appearance attracts attention on the 
dinner table, and a few fruits gathered from mid-seasou 
forced plants looked very conspicuous on the dish during 
the past season in the company of President and Sir J. 
Paxton, and it proved equally prolific, but outside it is 
not so, though the plant is as vigorous as any we have. 
British Queen, though favoured with a portion of a 
south border, would, from the appearance of the fruit, 
be scarcely recognizable by those who have only been 
accustomed to see fruit grown in the home counties. 
In pits, which we devote to the last batch in pots, it is 
nothing like what we have had it elsewhere, and not to 
