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ANNA , of the ground . They can be made, too, to See also:cover in any extent of See also:area without sustaining walls . Indeed, it has been proposed to support such See also:roofs to a See also:great extent upon suspension principles, the See also:internal columns of support being utilized for conducting the See also:rain-See also:water off the roof to underground drains or reservoirs . The lean-to is the least desirable See also:form, since it scarcely admits of elegance of See also:design, but it is necessarily adopted in many cases . In See also:glazing, the greater the See also:surface of See also:glass, and the less space occupied by rafters and astragals as well as overlaps, the greater the See also:admission of See also:light . Some prefer that the See also:sash-bars should be grooved instead of rebated, and this See also:plan exposes less See also:putty to the See also:action of the See also:weather . The See also:simple bedding of the glass, without the use of over putty, seems to be widely approved; but the glass may be fixed in a variety of other ways, some of which are patented . The Conservatory is often built in connexion with the See also:mansion, so as to be entered from the See also:drawing-See also:room or boudoir . But when so situated it is See also:apt to suffer from the shade of the See also:building, and is objectionable on See also:account of admitting See also:damp to the drawing-room . Where circumstances will admit, it is better to See also:place it at some distance from the See also:house, and to form a connexion by means of a glass See also:corridor . In See also:order that the conservatory may be kept See also:gay with See also:flowers, there should be a subsidiary structure to receive the See also:plants as they go out of See also:bloom . The conservatory may also with great propriety be placed in the See also:flower See also:garden, where it may occupy an elevated See also:terrace, and form the termination of one of the more important walks . Great variety of design is admissible in the conservatory, but it ought always to be adapted to the See also:style of the mansion of which it is a prominent appendage . Some very pleasing examples are to be met with which have the form of a parallelogram with a lightly rounded roof; others of appropriate See also:character are square or nearly so, with a See also:ridge-and-furrow roof . Whatever the form, there must be light in abundance; and the shade both of buildings and of trees must be avoided . A See also:southern aspect, or one varying to See also:south-See also:east or south-See also:west, is preferable; if these aspects cannot be secured, the plants selected must be adapted to the position . The central See also:part of the house may be devoted to permanent plants; the See also:side stages and open spaces in the permanent beds should be reserved for the temporary plants . The Greenhouse is a structure designed for the growth of such See also:exotic plants as require to be kept during See also:winter in a temperature considerably above the freezing-point . The best form is the span-roofed, a single span being better even than a See also:series of spans such as form the ridge-and-furrow roof . For plant culture, houses at a comparatively See also:low See also:pitch are better than higher ones where the plants have to stand at a greater distance from the glass, and therefore in greater gloom . Fig . 3 represents a convenient form of greenhouse . It is 20 ft. wide and 12 ft. high, and may be of any convenient length . The side walls are surmounted by See also:short upright sashes which open outwards by machinery a, and the roof is provided with sliding upper sashes for See also:top See also:ventilation . The upper sashes may also be made to lift, and are in many respects more convenient to operate . In the centre is a two-tier See also:stage 6 ft. wide, for plants, with a pathway on each side 3 ft. wide, and a side stage 4 ft. wide, the side stages being See also:flat, and the centre stage having the See also:middle portion one-third of the width elevated i ft. above the See also:rest so as to lift up the middle See also:row of plants nearer the light . Span-roofed houses of this character should run See also:north and south so as to secure an equalization of light, and should he warmed by two flow, and one or two return 4-in. hot-water pipes. carried under the side stages along each side and across each end . Where it is desired to cultivate a large number of plants, it is much better to increase the number of such houses than to provide larger structures . The smaller houses are far better for cultural purposes, while the plants can be classified, and the little details of management more conveniently attended to . Pelargoniums, cinerarias, calceolarias, cyclamens, camellias, heaths, See also:roses and other-specialities might thus have to themselves either a whole house or part of a house, the conditions of which could then be more accurately fitted to the wants of the inmates . The lean-to house is in most respects inferior to the span-roofed;one of the latter could be converted into two of the former of opposite aspects by a divisional See also:wall along the centre . Except where space does not permit a span-roofed building to be introduced, a lean-to is not to be recommended; but a house of this class may often be greatly improved by adopting a See also:half-span or hipped roof—that is, one with a short slope behind and a longer in front . Where the cultivation of large specimens has to be carried on, a span-roofed house of greater height and larger dimensions may sometimes prove useful; but space for this class of plants may generally be secured in a house of the smaller See also:elevation, simply by lowering or removing altogether the staging erected for smaller plants, and allowing the larger ones to stand on or nearer the See also:floor . The Plant See also:Stove differs in no respect from the greenhouse except in having a greater extent of hot-water pipes for the purpose of securing a greater degree of See also:heat, although, as the plants in stove houses often attain a larger See also:size, and many of them require a See also:bed of coco-See also:nut fibre, tan or See also:leaf See also:mould to See also:supply them with bottom heat, a somewhat greater elevation may perhaps be occasionally required in some of the houses . For the smaller plants, and for all choicer subjects, the smaller size of house already recom- mended for greenhouses, so o e o namely 20 ft. wide and Q,o – 12 ft. high, with a side table of 4 ft. on each side, a pathway of 3 ft. and a FIG . 4.—See also:Section of Plant Stove. central stage on two levels of 6 ft. wide, will be preferable, because more easily managed as to the supply of heat and moisture .
It will be seen (fig
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4) that along the ridge of the roof a raised portion or See also:lantern light b, b is introduced, which permits of the fixing of two continuous ventilators, one along each side, for the See also:egress of heated and foul See also:air, openings a, a being also provided in the side walls opposite the hot-water pipes for the admission of pure See also:cold air
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This type of house is also very suitable for greenhouse plants, but would not need so much See also:heating apparatus
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Three or four rows of flow and return pipes respectively will be required on each side, according to the heat proposed to be maintained
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In their interior fittings plant stoves require more care than See also:green-houses, which are much drier, and in which consequently the staging does not so soon decay
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In stoves the stages should be of See also:slate or See also: The Vinery is a house devoted to the culture of the See also:grape-See also:vine, which is by far the most important exotic fruit cultivated in See also:English gardens . When forming part of a range a vinerT would in most cases he a lean-to structure, with a See also:sharp pitch (45 -50°) if intended for See also:early forcing, and a flatter roof (4o) with longer rafters if designed for the See also:main and See also:late crops . (I) The lean-to (fig . 5) is the simplest form, often erected against some existing wall, and the best for early forcing, being warmer on account of the shelter afforded by the back wall . In this house the principal part of the roof is a fixture, ventila- tion being provided for by small lifting sashes against the back wall, and by the upright front sashes being hung on a See also:pivot so as to See also:swing outwards on the See also:lower side . The necessary heat is See also:pro- vided by four 4-in. hot-water • pipes, which would perhaps be best placed if all laid side by side, while the vines arc planted in front and trained upwards under the roof . A second set of vines may be planted against the back wall, and will thrive there until the shade of the roof becomes too dense . (2) The See also:hip-roofed or three- See also:quarter span (fig . 6) is a See also:combination of the lean-to and the span-roofed, uniting to a great degree the ad- vantages of both, being warmer than the span and lighter than the lean-to . The heating and ventilating arrangements are much the same as in the lean-to, only the top sashes which open are on the back slope, and therefore do not interfere so much with the vines on the front slope . In both this and the lean-to the aspect should be as nearly due south as possible . Houses of this form are excellent for See also:general purposes, and they are well adapted both for muscats, which require a high temperature, and for late-keeping grapes . (3) The span-roofed (fig . 7). the most elegant and ornamental form, is especially adapted for isolated positions; indeed, no other form affords so much roof space for the development of the vines . The amount of light admitted being very great, these houses See also:answer well for general purposes and for the main See also:crop . The large amount of glass or cooling surface, however, makes it more difficult to keep up a high and See also:regular temperature in them, and from this cause they are not so well adapted for very early or very late crops . They are hest, nevertheless, when grapes and ornamental plants are grown in the same house, except, indeed, in very wet and cold districts, where, in consequence of its greater warmth, the lean-to is to be preferred . on piers and See also:arches to allow the roots to pass outwards into a prepared border, the trees being planted just within the house . Abundant means of ventilation should be provided . For more general purposes the house represented in fig . 8 will be found more useful . One set of trees is planted near the front, See also:ant trained to an arched trellis b . Another set is planted at the hack, and trained on a trellis c,which is nearly upright, and leans against the back wall; or the back wall itself may be used for training . There are no upright front sashes, but to facilitate ventilation there are ventilators d in the front wall, and the upper roof sashes arc made to move up and down for the same See also:object . Two or three hot-water pipes are placed near the front wall . The back wall is usually planted with See also:dwarf and See also:standard trees alternately, the latter being temporary, and intended to furnish the upper part of the trellis, while the permanent dwarfs are gradually filling up the trellis from below . In any See also:case the front trellis should stop conveniently short of the top of the sashes if there are trees against the back wall, in order to admit light to them . They would also be better carried up nearly parallel to the roof, and at about I ft. distant from it, supposing there were no trees at the back . A span-roofed house, being lighter than a lean-to, would be so much the better for peach culture, especially for the crop grown just If This type of house, cheaply constructed, is in general use for raising grapes for See also:market . The Peach House is a structure in which the ripening of the fruit is accelerated by the judicious employment of artificial heat . For early forcing, as in vineries, the lean-to form is to be preferred, and the house may have a tolerably sharp pitch . A width of 7 or 8 ft., with the glass slope continued down to within a See also:foot or two of the ground, and without any upright front sashes, will be suitable for such a house, which may also be conveniently divided into compartments of from 30 to 50 ft. in length according to the extent of the building, small houses being preferable to larger ones . As a very high temperature is not required, two or three pipes See also:running the whole length of the house will suffice . The front wall should be built00 O~/72i// /~ j/// ... / , /i~/;,i//iii ii%~';,'/diLZ.,//,.;,~ii~/,~i~.i~~ %, in anticipation of those from the open walls since a high temperature, is not required . A low span, with dwarf side walls, and a lantern ventilator along the ridge, the height in the centre being 9 it., would be very well adapted for the purpose . The trees should be planted inside and trained up towards the ridge on a trellis about a foot from the glass, the walls being arched to permit the egress of the roots . A trellis path should run along the centre, and movable pieces of trellis should be provided to prevent trampling on the See also:soil while dressing and tying in the See also:young See also:wood . The Forcing House.—Whenever continuous supplies of cucumbers, melons and tomatoes are required, it is most convenient to grow them in properly constructed forcing houses . Span-roofed houses (fig . 9) arc probably the most useful for the purpose . They are usually 12 to 14 ft. wide, by to to 12 ft. high, and of any convenient length . Heating is effected by means of hot-water pipes below the beds, and against the side ventilators . The walls bordering the central paths are arched or clotted to admit heat from the See also:chambers below the beds . Side pipes are occasionally dispensed with, heat being obtained by means of slots at the back of the beds, communicating with the chambers . The beds are also of use for plunging pot plants . Ventilation is provided at sides and top . Pits and frames of various kinds are frequently used for the cultivation of cucumbers and melons, as well as hot beds covered by See also:ordinary garden frames . In these cases the first supply of heat is derived from the hot bed made up within the See also:pit . When the heat of the See also:original bed subsides, linings of fermenting dung must be added, and these must be kept active by occasional turnings and the addition of fresh material as often as required . It is better, however, to effect both top and bottom heating by hot-water pipes . Orchard Houses are span-roofed or lean-to structures, in which various fruits are cultivated without the aid of artificial heat . Peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries and the more See also:tender varieties of plums and See also:pears succeed well in houses of this See also:kind . The types of houses in general use are substantially as shown in fig . 7, for span-roofed, and as fig . 5, for lean-to; in each case without the heating apparatus . The orchard house is among the most generally useful of all garden structures . These houses require careful management in early summer so as to induce the more delicate varieties of peaches and nectarines to See also:complete and ripen their growth before cold, sunless weather sets in . In commercial establishments where utility is of more importance than See also:ornament, the glass houses and hot water apparatus are not of so elaborate a type as indicated in the foregoing remarks, and in many cases excellent produce is grown in structures more or less dilapidated . In some places movable greenhouses have been erected for market purposes, so that the soil may be exposed to the sweetening effect of the weather, when the glass roof is moved to an adjoining patch . Pits and Frames.—These are used both for the summer growth and winter See also:protection of various kinds of ornamental plants, for the growth of such fruits as cucumbers, melons and strawberries, and for the forcing of vegetables . When heat is required, it is sometimes supplied.by means of fermenting dung, or dung and leaves, or See also:tanner's bark, but it is much more economically provided by hot-water pipes . Pits of many different forms have been designed, but it may be sufficient here to describe one or two which can be recommended for general purposes . An excellent pit for wintering bedding-out plants or young green-house stock is shown at fig. to . It is built upon the See also:pigeon-hole principle as high as the ground level a, a, and above that in 9-in. See also:brickwork . At a distance of 9 in. retaining walls b, b are built up to the ground level, and the spaces between the two are covered by thick boarding, which is to be shut down as shown at c in cold weather to exclude See also:frost, and opened as shown at d in mild weather to promote a See also:free circulation of air through the pit . The height of the pit might be reduced according to the size of the plants; and, to secure the interior against frost, flow and return hot-water See also:pipe e should pass along beneath the staging, which should be a strong wooden trellis supported by projections in the brickwork . The water which drains from the plants or is spilt in watering would fall on the bottom, which should be made porous to carry it away . For many plants this under current of ventilation would be exceedingly beneficial, especially when cold winds prevented the sashes from being opened . A pit of this character may be sunk into the ground deeper than is indicated in the figure if the subsoil is dry and gravelly, but in the case of a damp subsoil it should rather be more elevated, as the soil could easily be sloped up to meet the retaining wall . Frames.—Frames (fig . 1t) should be made of the best red See also:deal, t in. thick . A convenient size is 6 ft. wide, 24 in. high at the back and 15 in front; and they are usually 12 ft. See also:long, which makes three See also:lights and sashes, though they can be made with two lights or one light for particular purposes . Indeed, a one-light See also:frame is often found very convenient for many purposes . The lights should be 2 in. thick, and glazed with 21 oz. See also:sheet glass, in broad panes four or five to the breadth of a light, and of a length which will See also:work in conveniently and economically, very long panes being undesirablefrom the havoc caused by accidents, and very short ones being objectionable as multiplying the chances of drip, and the exclusion of light by the numerous lappings; panes about 12 in. long are of convenient size for garden lights of this character . In all gardens the frames and lights should be of one size so as to be interchangeable, and a See also:good supply of extra lights (sashes) may always be turned to good account for various purposes . Span-roof garden frame (fig . 12) may under some circumstances be useful as a substitute for the three-light frame . It is adapted for storing plants in winter, for See also:nursing small plants in summer and for the culture of melons and other crops requiring glass shelter . These frames are made II in. high in front, 22 at the back and 32 at the ridge, with ends of 12-in. red deal; the sashes, which are 2 in. thick, open by gearing, the front and back separately . The lights are hinged so that they can be turned completely back when necessary . This more See also:direct and ready See also:access to the plants within is one of the principal recommendations of this form of pit . See also:Mushroom House.—Mushrooms may be grown in sheds and cellars, or even in protected ridges in the open ground, but a See also:special structure is usually devoted to them . A lean-to against the north side of the garden wall will be found suitable for the purpose, though a span-roofed form may also be adopted, especially if the building stands apart . The internal arrangement of a lean-to mushroom house is shown in fig . 13 . The length may vary from 30 ft. to 6o ft.; a convenient width is to ft., which admits of a 32 ft. central path, and beds 3 ft. wide on each side . The shelves should be of slate a, a, supported by iron uprights b, b, each half having a front ledge of bricks set on edge in cement c, c . The slabs of slate forming the shelves should not be too closely fitted, as a small See also:interval will prevent the See also:accumulation of moisture at the bottom of the bed . They may be supported by iron See also:standards or brick piers, back and front, bearing up a flat See also:bar of iron on which the slates may rest; the use of the bar will give wider intervals between the supports, which will be found convenient for filling and emptying the beds . The roof may be tiled or slated; but, to prevent the injurious See also:influence \ \~\\ c of hot sun, there should be an inner roof or See also:ceiling d, the space between which and the See also:outer roof FIG . 13.—Lean-to Mushroom House. e should be packed with sawdust . A hot-water pipe f should run along both sides of the pathway, See also:close to the front ledge of the lowest beds . The different shelves can be planted in See also:succession; and the lower ones, especially those on the floor level, as being most convenient, can be utilized for forcing sea-kale and See also:rhubarb . The Fruit Room.—This important See also:store should be dark, moderately dry, with a steady, moderately cool See also:atmosphere, diemosu vU i ViIIIIiaonm See also:mao 0 .w flames . The water-See also:tube type, with multiple waterways, consists of a number of See also:separate tubes joined together in various ways . Some of these are built in the form of a See also:blunt See also:cone, and are known as conical tubular boilers . Others are built with the tubes arranged horizontally, and are known as See also:horizontal tubular boilers . The See also:majority of the latter are more or less See also:saddle-shaped . Boilers with a single waterway are of three principal types, the Cornish, the saddle and the conical . The Cornish is cylindrical with the See also:furnace occupying about half the length of the See also:cylinder . The saddle is so named from its supposed resemblance to a saddle . It is set to span the furnace, additional exposure to heat being secured in a variety of ways by flues . Exposure in the conical See also:boiler is direct on its inner surface, and is supplemented by flues . Tubular boilers, especially the horizontal types, are very powerful and economical . The Cornish type is a rather slow and steady boiler, and is much used for providing heat for large areas . The saddle boiler is very commonly employed to provide heat for moderately sized and small areas . Both are powerful and economical . Conical boilers are more ex-pensive to set by See also:reason of their shape, and are not so convenient to manipulate as the horizontal kinds . All the above types require a setting of See also:masonry . Portable boilers are convenient for heating small areas, and are less expensive to instal than those described above . They are less economical, however, owing to loss of heat from their exposed surfaces . What are called sectional boilers as used in See also:America and on the See also:Continent are being introduced to See also:British gardens . Portions can be added or taken away according to the amount of heating surface required . Water Supply.—Wastage of water in the boilers should be made good automatically from a cistern controlled by means of a See also:ball-See also:cock . It should be placed as high above the boiler as practicable . The feed should connect with the return pipe near the point at which it enters the boiler . Stokeholds.—These have usually to be excavated to admit of the boilers being set below the level of the pipes they are intended to serve . In consequence of their See also:depth, the draining of stokeholds often presents difficulties . Care should be taken to allow sufficient room to properly manipulate the fires and to store See also:fuel . It is important that the ventilation should be as efficient as practicable, especially where See also:coke fuel is to be used . Stoking.—The management of the furnaces is relatively easy, and consists in adapting the See also:volume and intensity of the fires to particular needs . It involves the keeping clean of flues, ashpits and especially the fires themselves . Where coke or ordinary hard See also:coal are used, the removal of clinkers should be done systematically, and the fires stirred . See also:Anthracite coal fires should not be stirred more than is absolutely necessary, and should not be fed in driblets . They require more See also:draught than coke fires, but care must be taken not to give too much, as excessive heat is likely to melt or soften the See also:fire-bars . Draught is regulated in the ashpit by opening or closing the bottom See also:door of the furnace and by the damper on the See also:smoke See also:shaft . The latter must be of a fairly good height, according to circumstances, to secure a good draught . See also:Solar Heat.—The importance of sun heat to the general well-being of plant See also:life, its influence on the See also:production of flowers and the ripening of edible fruits, has long been appreciated in See also:horticulture . The practice of " closing up " early in the afternoon, i.e. the closing of ventilators (accompanied by syringing and damping of surfaces to produce a humid atmosphere) has for its object the conservation of as much solar heat as practicable . Ventilation.—This consists in the admission of air for the purpose of preventing stagnation of the atmosphere and for the regulation of temperature . Means of affording ventilation in all plant houses should be provided in at least two places—as near the floor as practicable, and at the top . See also:Mechanical contrivances whereby whole sets of ventilators may be operated simultaneously are now in See also:common use, and are much more convenient and economical than the older method of working each ventilator separately . Efficient ventilating can only be effected by the exercise of common sense and vigilance, and care must be taken to avoid cold See also:draughts through the houses . and with the means of giving sufficient ventilation to keep the air sweet . It should also be sufficiently commodious to permit of the fruit being arranged in single layers on the shelves or trays . A type of building which is becoming increasingly popular for this purpose, and which is in many respects See also:superior to the older, and often more expensive structures, is built of wood, with or without brick See also:foundations, and is thickly thatched with reeds or other non-conducting material externally—on walls and roof—while the interior is matchboarded . Ventilation is afforded at the ends, usually by tilting laths, operated by a See also:cord . Two doors are provided at one end—an inner, and an outer—the inner being glazed at the top to admit light . They are generally span-roofed, about 6 ft. high at the See also:eaves, and 8 or ro ft. high at the ridge, according to width . The length and breadth of these stores should be governed by the amount and character of the storage See also:accommodation to be provided . If intended for storage only, a width of 9 ft . 6 in. would suffice, but if intended to combine display with storage, the internal See also:diameter should be about 13 ft . In the former type, the walls are fitted with four rows of shelves, about 3 ft. wide, and about i ft . 6 in. apart . The shelves are of deal strips, 2 or 3 in. wide, laid about r in. apart for ventilation . These are being superseded, however, by sliding-out trays of convenient lengths and about 9 in. deep, working on fixed framework . By this means the storage accommodation is nearly doubled and the fruit is more easily manipulated . The central gangway is about 3 ft . 6 in. wide . In the latter a central See also:exhibition See also:bench about 3 ft. wide and of convenient height is provided . Gang-ways 2l ft. wide flank this, while the shelves or drawers with which the walls are fitted are about 22 ft. wide . Care of the Fruit Room.—This consists mainly in the storing only of such fruits as are dry and in proper See also:condition; in judicious ventilation, especially in the presence of large quantities of newly-gathered fruit; in the prompt removal of all decaying fruit; and in the exclusion of See also:vermin . It is also advisable to See also:wash all woodwork and gangways annually with a weak See also:solution of See also:formalin, or other inodorous germicide . Heating Apparatus.—Plant houses were formerly heated in a variety of ways—by fermenting organic matter, such as dung, by smoke flues, by See also:steam and by hot water circulating in iron pipes . The last-named method has proved so satisfactory in practice that it is now in general use for all ordinary purposes . The water is heated by a furnace, and is conveyed from the boiler into the houses by a main or " flow " pipe, connected by means of syphon branches with as many pipes as it is intended to serve . When cooled it is returned to the boiler by another main or " return " pipe . Heat is regulated in the structures by means of valves on the various See also:branch pipes . The flow pipe is attached to the boiler at its highest point, to take the heated water as it ascends . The return pipe is connected with the boiler at or near its lowest point . The highest points of the pipes are fitted with small taps, for the removal of air, which would retard circulation if allowed to remain . Heating by hot water may be said to depend, in part, on the influence of gravity on water being to some extent overcome by heating in a boiler . It ascends the flow pipe by convection, where its onward See also:journey would speedily end if it were not for the See also:driving force of other molecules of water following, and the suction set up by the See also:gravitation into the boiler of the cooled water by the return pipe . The See also:power of water to conduct heat is very low . The conducting power of the iron in which it is conveyed is high . It is, however, probable that See also:conduction is to some extent a See also:factor in the See also:process . Pipes.—It is a See also:mistake to stint the quantity of piping, since it is far more economical and better for the plants to have a larger surface heated moderately than a smaller surface heated excessively .
In view of the fact that air expands, becomes lighter and rises, under the influence of heat, the pipes should be set near the floor
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If intended to raise the temperature of the structure, they should be set on iron or brick supports just clear of walls, See also:earth or other heat-absorbing bodies
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Those intended to provide bottom heat, however, are set in (a) water tanks running under the beds, or (b) in enclosed dry chambers under the beds, or are (c) embedded in the soil or plunging material
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The first-named method is distinctly superior to the others
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Pipes of 2 in., 3 in., 4 in. and 6 in. diameters are mostly used, the 4 in. size being the most convenient for general purposes
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The See also:joints a:e packed or caulked with See also:tow, smeared with a mixture of See also: See also:Sound friable loam cut one sod deep from the surface of a pasture, and stacked up for twelve months in a heap or ridge, is invaluable to the gardener . When employed for making vine See also:borders, loam of a somewhat heavier nature can be used with advantage, on account of the porous materials which should accompany it . For stone fruits a calcareous loam is best; indeed, for these subjects a See also:rich calcareous loam used in a pure and simple state cannot be surpassed . Somewhat heavy loamy are best for potting See also:pine apples, for melons and strawberries, fruit trees in pots, &c., and may be used with the addition of See also:manures only; but for ornamental plants a loam of a somewhat freer texture is preferable and more pleasant to work . Loam which contains much red matter (iron) should be avoided . Sand is by itself of little value except for striking cuttings, for which purpose See also:fine clean sharp See also:silver sand is the best; and a somewhat coarser kind, if it is gritty, is to be preferred to the comminuted sands which contain a large proportion of earthy matter . See also:River sand and the sharp grit washed up sometimes by the road side are excellent materials for laying around choice bulbs at planting See also:time to prevent contact with earth which is perhaps manure-tainted . Sea sand may be advantageously used both for propagating purposes and for mixing in composts . For the growth of pot plants sand is an essential part of most composts, in order to give them the needful porosity to carry off all excess of moisture from the roots . If the finer earthy sands only are obtainable, they must be rendered sharper by washing away the earthy particles . Washed sand is best for all plants like heaths, which need a pure and lasting peaty compost . Peat soil is largely employed for the culture of such plants as rhododendrons, azaleas, heaths, &c . In districts where heather and gritty soil predominate, the peat soil is poor and unprofitable, but selections from both the heathy and the richer peat soils, collected with See also:judgment, and stored in a dry part of the compost yard, are essential ingredients in the cultivation of many choice pot plants, such as the Cape heaths and many of the Australian plants . Many monocotyledons do well in peat, even if they do not absolutely require it . Leaf-mould is eminently suited for the growth of many free-growing plants, especially when it has been mixed with See also:stable manure and has been subjected to See also:fermentation for the formation of hot beds . It any state most plants feed greedily upon it, and when pure or free from decaying wood or sticks it is a very safe ingredient in composts; but it is so liable to generate fungus, and the mycelium or spawn of certain See also:fungi is so injurious to the roots of trees, attacking them if at all sickly or weakened by drought, that many cultivators prefer not to mix leaf-mould with the soil used for permanent plants, as peaches or choice ornamental trees . For See also:quick growing plants, however, as for example most annuals cultivated in pots, such as balsams, cockscombs, globe-amaranths and the like, for cucumbers, and for young soft-wooded plants generally, it is exceedingly useful, both by preventing the consolidation of the soil and as a manure . The accumulations of light earth formed on the surface in See also:woods where the leaves fall and decay annually are leaf-mould of the finest quality . Leaves collected in the autumn and stored in pits or heaps, and covered with a layer of soil, make beautiful leaf-mould at the end of about twelve months, if frequently drenched with water or rain during this See also:period . Composts are mixtures of the foregoing ingredients in varying proportions, and in combination with manures if necessary, so as to suit particular plants or classes of plants . The See also:chief point to be See also:borne in mind in making these mixtures is not, to combine in the same compost any bodies that are antagonistic in their nature, as for example See also:lime and See also:ammonia . In making up composts for pot plants, the fibrous portion should not be removed by sifting, except for small-sized pots, but the turfy portions should be broken up by hand and distributed in smaller or larger lumps throughout the See also:mass . When sifting is had recourse to, the fibrous matter should be rubbed through the to decompose . Manures (see MANURE).-These are of two classes, organic and inorganic—the former being of See also:animal and See also:vegetable, the latter of See also:mineral origin . The following are organic manures: See also:Farm-yard manure consists of the mixed dung of horses and See also:cattle thrown together, and more or less soaked with liquid drainings of the stable or byre . It is no doubt the finest stimulant for the growth of plants, and that most adapted to restore the fertile elements which the plants have abstracted from exhausted soils . This manure is best fitted for garden use when in a moderately fermented state . See also:Horse dung is generally the principal ingredient in all hot bed manure; and, in its partially decomposed state, as afforded by exhausted hot beds, it is well adapted for garden use . It is most beneficial on cold stiff soils . It should not be allowed to See also:lie too long unmoved when fresh, as it will then heat violently, and the ammonia is thus driven off . To avoid this, it should be turned over two or three times if practicable, and well moistened—preferably with farm-yard drainmgs . Cow dung is less fertilizing than horse dung, but being slower in its action it is more durable; it is also cooler, and therefore better for hot dry sandy soils . Thoroughly decayed, it is one of the best of all manures for mixing in composts for florists' flowers and other choice plants . See also:Pig dung is very powerful, containing more See also:nitrogen than horse dung; it is therefore desirable that it should undergo moderate fermentation, which will be secured by mixing it with See also:litter and a portion of earth . When weeds are thrown to the pigs, this fermentation becomes specially desirable to kill their seeds . See also:Night-soil is an excellent manure for all bulky crops, but requires to be mixed with earth or peat, or coal-ashes, so as both to deodorize it and to ensure its being equally distributed . Quicklime should not be used, as it dispels the greater part of the ammonia . When prepared by drying and mixing with various substances, night-soil is sold as desiccated night-soil or native |