The Greenhouse is a structure that is perhaps the most varied in shape, size, style, and appearance, of any that are used for horticultural purposes, and the contents are as a rule of the most heterogeneous character. Apart from the house or plants, the heating arrangements are generally far from useful, and on this alone much of course depends. As it is our wish to give only useful information combined with practicability, we shall treat the subject from the beginning, describing the way to stock various structures for the use of ameturs.
As all our readers probably know, a greenhouse is a rather costly building when puu up by a builder, as generally a lot of superfluous ornamentation is added to the erection, which, while giving a rather showy appearance to the house, tends to obstruct the light, and so reduce the value of the house for horticultural purposes. Ventilation is a subject of paramount importance, as on the method of obtaining this a very great deal depends ; in fact, we may say that more plants are injured from bad ventilation than from any other cause. Illplaced ventilators, and inaccessible swing sashes, are often 30ui*ces of continued annoyance and loss, and in a well-found house or conservatory should not exist, but still it often happens that for some caprice of the builder the ventilation is “badly arranged”; and as a certain consequence the plants suffer. The heating arrangements are the most troublesome of any, as in hundreds of cases some loudly praised affair which is well recommended by the vendor is purchased by the amateur, and before the season is out breaks down, and consequently entails the whole or partial loss of the stock of plants that has cost so much labour to get together. It is therefore the best plan to have a well-constructed affair at first, the cost of which in most cases not being much more than the cheap apparatus.
