December iO, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
1003 
New Glass Range at Vernon Park. 
A line range of glasshouse-} has been erected at Vernon Park 
for the Corporation' of the County Borough of Stockport, and 
we give an, illustration of the Palm house and conservatory 
which constitute the central feature of the range. 
This house is a handsome lofty span-roofed structure stand¬ 
ing on, a terrace at the western side of the park. The building 
is 60 ft. long, 24 fti wide), and’ 20 ft. high to the apex of the 
lantern. The building isi divided into two compartments each 
30 ft,, long. One section of this is devoted 1 to Palms and 
foliage plants, while the other is intended for flowering plants, 
and will he kept at, a temperature suitable for the kinds 
employed. The design of the building is light yet substantial. 
There are: fourteen wide bays on either side comprising the 
fronts, and these have sills of pitch pine and muntins of red 
deal surmo,united by ,ai transom relieved, by iron cusps in the 
upper sashes. The massive roof rises from the plate to a 
height of 12 ft. on either side, and is carried on stout rafters 
of red deal, strengthened with brackets, tension rods, and 
thrust principals. 
The lantern adds greatly to the attractive appearance of the 
frames equal in length to the house® named, and 4 ft. wide. 
The, span-roofed houses are each 14 ft. wide, -and the three- 
quarter span 12 ft,, wide. This latter consists of a propagating 
house and stove. The central span embraces a, cool house, in¬ 
termediate house, and warm house. The other span-roofed 
building is entirely devoted 1 to the keeping of bedding plants 
in the winter-time. 
These large houses are> fitted with iron muntins, the roofs 
being strengthened with ornamental iron! saddles 1 and thrust- 
principals at intervals. The front lights are worked by means 
of lever tackle. The top- ventilator, however, situated along 
one 1 side of each roof is continuous and opened by means of 
Messrs. Messenger and Co.’s; balance gear, specially devised for 
lengthy top ventilators. These houses are fitted with iron 
stages on which the forcing beds or other requirements are 
placed. The-glazing ini this instance is entirely of 21-oz. Eng¬ 
lish sheet glass. Heating is accomplished by means of two 
powerful T'rentham Cornish boilers, each having a heating 
capacity equal to- 2,575 ft. of 4-in. piping. Needless to say, 
the latter is the siizei in: all of the buildings, except where the 
pipes join) the boilers, where the piping is 5 in,. 
New Palm House and Conservatory at Vernon Park. 
house, a,si it, isi capped by ornamental cresting, finial, and vane. 
This lantern extends nearly the whole length of the building. 
At either end of the building the public will have access by 
means of a pair of folding doors. The interior arrangements 
arei compact and convenient. An iron staging, 8 ft. wide, 
extends along the centre. The pathways all round this are 
4 ft. wide, thus affording plenty of room for the public without 
brushing against the plants. The side stages are 3-i ft. wide. 
Ventilation is secured by the wholei of the front lights and 
also both sides of the lantern hieing attached to gear whereby 
they are opened throughout, their entire length simultaneously. 
Under the side stages are six rows of 4-in. hot-water pipes), 
while three rows are placed under the centre stage, thus secur¬ 
ing ample heating power'. The roof of the building is glazed 
with rough rolled plate, while the fronts and ends are fitted) 
up, with 21-o-z. English sheet glass. Our illustration shews the 
building immediately it, was completed, but- 'before the terrace 
on which it stands had been put in order. - 
About, 20 yards from the Palm house i® what they term the 
working range, consisting of two span and a three-quarter span 
houses each 110 ft. long. There are als,oi two rows of pit 
The whole of the glasshouses have been built from plans 
prepared by Messrs. Messenger and Co., Limited, horticultural 
builders, Loughborough and London., the w-ork being carried 
out, under the supervision of the Borough Surveyor of Stock- 
port, John, Atkinson), Esq. The expeditious! manner with 
which the firm accomplished their contract afforded complete 
satisfaction to the Corporation and their surveyor. 
The opening ceremony was conducted on the 3rd ult., when, 
Messrs. Messenger and Cot presented the chairman of the 
Parks Co mmit tee with a, handsome silver-gilt key bearing the 
arms of the borough in ornamental characters and a suitable 
inscription commemorating the occasion. 
Fruiting of Aspidistra i.trida variegata.— At the meeting 
of the Royal Botanic Society on the 25th ult. a fruiting plant 
of Aspidistra lurida variegata was exhibited. The fruiting 
of tnis plant seems a rare occurrence. On the same occasion 
a seed of Mangifera indica was shown, witli six seedlings pro¬ 
ceeding from it. Both of these were grown in the gardens of 
the society. 
