THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
33 
the ground. The foundation of concrete is made of half 
hydraulic cement and half sand, mixed into a soft, paste¬ 
like consistency and poured into frames of plank arranged 
so as to give the proper form. Before the cement is set 
small stones should be thrown into it and tramped down 
a little. In this concrete, bolts which are to pass through 
the sills are often imbedded to hold them in place. Per¬ 
fectly fresh cement and sharp sand must be used; when 
properly put together this wall is durable. The lumber 
now used for constructing glass-houses is largely cypress, 
it being worked into the desired form for sills, plates, 
posts, sash-hars, etc., at factories. The sash-bars have 
on their sides grooves or gutters to catch the drip from 
the glass inside. All the wood-work is primed over with 
white lead paint before working, and again as soon as it 
is put together, and all joints are thoroughly filled with 
the same paint. 
The glass is imbedded in putty made one-half or one- 
third white lead, and is held in place by large zinc points 
or common picture frame brads. As soon as the glass is 
laid all of the wood-work is thoroughly painted inside 
and out. Most of the glass used is No. 2 double-thick, 
bedded in putty and lapped at the joints about g of an 
inch, but the use of the Gasser zinc strip, which makes a 
perfectly tight house, is very satisfactory. In this method 
the glass is butted together and lies flat on the sash-bar, 
is more firmly and easily fixed in place, requires much 
less putty, and is not so likely to be loosened by the action 
of frost. Butting the panes of glass and filling the spaces 
between them with white.lead has been tried and found 
very satisfactory. If the lead will remain between the 
joints for two years and not allow any more drip than 
glass butted with zinc strips does, and this seems likely, 
this method should supersede the old one of lapping" the 
glass. Ventilation is obtained by hinging sashes in the 
roof and on the upright sides. The sashes of the roof 
shut down upon the sash-bars, and are easily raised or 
shut down at all times without sticking. The ventilating 
sashes are opened by an arm attachment fastened to the 
gas-pipe rods, and are moved by different kinds of lifting 
apparatus. Very few new houses are heated with the 
old four inch hot water pipes. Most of them have 
small pipes for steam or hot water. The flow-pipes are 
ranged high along the central portion of the house, and 
the returns, of smaller size, in stacks along the sides. 
For general purposes, except possibly in very large estab¬ 
lishments, hot water will be more satisfactory than 
steam for heating purposes, although the latter may he of 
some advantage in the growth of certain kinds of crops. 
The beds for growing crops are on the ground level or 
raised slightly above it, or sometimes the walk is next the 
wall, and the whole central part of the house is devoted 
to crops. 
Among recent callers on Rochester nurserymen was 
H. M. Whiting, of Boston. 
WILLIAM E. ROSSNEY. 
The West has made rapid strides in the nursery 
business as in all branches of trade, and with the marked 
progress have come into prominence many young men 
who not long ago left their homes in the East to seek 
fortunes in new fields. One of the most notable exam¬ 
ples of success in this direction is the subject of this 
sketch, William E. Rossney, president of the Phoenix 
Nursery Company, at Bloomington, Ill. 
Mr. Rossney is a young man but by his untiring energy 
and devotion to business he has reached a position 
which ordinarily comes only to those who have spent 
many years in attaining it. Fifteen years ago Mr. 
Rossney was a book-keeper in the office of Frost 
Brothers in this city. At that time Frank K. Phoenix 
was conducting in Bloomington a nursery business of 
large proportions, which not long afterward came into 
the possession of Sidney Tuttle. Twelve years ago Mr. 
Tutt'le while on an eastern trip engaged Mr. Rossney as 
book-keeper. Henry C. Frost told Mr. Rossney there 
was opportunity for him to rise rapidly in the new loca¬ 
tion. Subsequent events showed how the young man 
improved the opportunity. He has risen from the 
position of book-keeper to membership in the company 
and finally to the general management of one of the 
largest nursery businesses in one of the most prominent 
points in the country. 
