parlor. The kitchen windows are of rough glass, so as to transmit light without looking into the conservatory. Its length on the front of the main house is 31 feet; on the kitchen, 15 feet; on the end of the main house, 19 feet; the depth in front is 19 feet; on the side, 15 feet; the porch is 10 × 10.

Plate No. 1 shows the ground plan. The whole front floor, not occupied by plants, is covered with alternate flags of purple and green slate; Malone sandstone, or strips of hard pine may be used. The outside foundation is a stone wall, 3 x 4 feet; above the base rises an ornamental brick wall, 3 feet, with ventilators, as in the greenhouse, opposite the hot-water pipes, and opening and shutting in sections—the curved form of the house making it impossible to move all at once; they are 4 feet apart, and 1 foot square. The hot-water pipes and boiler are similar to those in the greenhouse; the boiler is in a shed at the kitchen corner of the house, and not shown in the plan; the pipes surround the porch, or may cross it

under the floor. Where they cross the pathway, and would be stumbled over if on its level, they sink on one side and rise again on the other, as in the greenhouse. No such rise and fall is necessary where they cross the entrance from the parlor, as the conservatory floor is there sufficiently above the level of the parlor floor to let the pipes pass under. The smoke flues traverse the walk along the front and return along the back of the conservatory into the kitchen chimney.

Above the brick wall rises a perpendicular glass front, 8 feet high, and from the top of this the glass roof springs back to the main wall of the house in a curvilinear manner. This gives an immense amount of light, and demands a great deal of heat to warm it properly. It is ventilated by a revolving sash in the middle of the top, and by ventilation through the wall of the house, similar to the greenhouse.

The ground floor is not covered to its utmost capacity, but is arranged so as to give as pleasant an effect as possible.

INTERNAL TREATMENT.-d represents groups of plants standing

in pots, such as Camelias, Daphnes, Cape Jessamines, Laurestinus, Pettosporums, Oranges, etc. They may be kept here constantly, or be brought in when about to flower. e marks beds of plants, Roses, Geraniums, Heliotropes, etc. These beds are 4 feet deep, well drained at bottom, then filled in 18 inches with stones, which are covered with strips of turf 3 inches thick, to prevent the fine loam being washed away; then comes a foot of oyster shells, charcoal, bones; then a foot of rich loam. The plants growing here are never moved, but are not watered during the summer more than enough to keep them alive, so that they are virtually dormant at that season, but grow and blossom most luxuriantly in winter. f are stagings filled with plants from the greenhouse, ready to blossom; a succession may easily be kept up if a little care be taken; hh are beds similar to e, but smaller, and filled with bulbs, Verbenas, etc.; mm represent the posts of the conservatory, which, in No. 2, are shown covered with vines; nn are busts or any small statuary; oo, large statues of a character adapted to gardens, Flora, Pomona, etc.; pp, standing baskets of flowers; RR, doors; ss, ground-glass windows leading into the house; xx, hot-water pipes; gg, basins for fish, aquariums, or fountains.

In No. 2, c shows the wall of house; j, gutter; y, ventilator; b, pipes for heating beds; oo, hanging baskets; v, moulding to connect house and roof.

EXPENSE.

A conservatory of this kind would be a real winter garden, and would give more pleasure than any greenhouse. Water would be supplied from the house cistern, and could be made to serve many ornamental purposes. Such a building would, of course, be expensive, but nothing for which money is ordinarily expended would give a larger return in satisfaction. As the conservatory need not be stocked till next month, we reserve a list of plants for it till then.

CHAPTER IV.

GRAPERY.

By referring to the index of our plan, you will find the grapery marked by the letter B. It is quite a large building, eighty feet long; two-thirds is lean-to, one-third span; and it is filled with vines. It is divided by two glass partitions into three parts, so arranged that the heat may be increased or diminished in either at pleasure, thus enabling us to have a succession of fruits at those seasons of the year when it is most desirable. The space on the floor of the cold grapery, where in greenhouses would be a staging for the culture and exhibition of plants, is an espalier on which are Peaches, Nectarines, and Cherries.

The sections of this house have vines in them, respectively two, three, and four years old, and are, during this month, in very different conditions. The central portion is the cold grapery, where it is but rarely necessary to have any artificial heat, and which ripens its crop in August and September. The left section is to be a retarding-house, whose fruit is to be fit for use in December, January, or February. The right side is a forcing house, where the fruit will be ripe in June, July, or earlier, according to the age of the plant forced. For details of this building, a description of the border, etc., see the October work for the grapery.

FORCING-HOUSE.-In September, examine your forcing-house, clean the sashes, repair glass, paint or whitewash the wood-work, and get all things ready for work. As the evenings begin to cool, be careful to close the doors and sashes, and if any sudden frosts make it necessary, draw the shutters up over the sashes.

Our vines having been planted three years, we may this year begin forcing with vigor.

Much care should be taken in a forcing-house, lest being tempted

by a desire for a large and early crop, which may remunerate us for previous outlay, we force the vines when young at too early a month in the year. A forcing-house reverses nature's order and converts winter into summer; and in managing it, we must be careful to be governed by the corresponding natural analogies. Out-of-door plants move slowly from frozen ground and cold air to thawed earth and genial temperatures. Therefore, our aim in the forcing-house must be to keep it as cool as possible in September, without subjecting the roots or vines to a chill. We may begin forcing this year at least fifteen days earlier than last. In this connection, I can do no better than to quote from J. F. Allen's treatise on the grape, as there is no more skilful or successful cultivator of the grape in this latitude.

"If it is intended to winter-force, you must not commence the process the first year before the first of March; the second year you may begin the middle of February; the third year, the first of February; and so on every year until you reach the first of December; beyond this you can hardly go, as this allows only time to prune and clean the vine after it has gone to rest." We shall in this, the third year of our forcing-house, begin to force about the first of February.

RETARDING-HOUSE. The vines in the retarding-house are ripening their second crop of fruit. Having thinned the grapes in August, there is but little to do in September, excepting to moderate the growth as much as possible by keeping the house cool when the sun shines. It is important to keep the house dry to avoid danger of mildew; shut the doors and sashes as the nights grow cool; if there is any appearance of mildew, dust the vines with flowers of sulphur, and shut up tight at night.

COLD GRAPERY.-In the cold grapery at the first of the month there will be a little fruit ripening and a little ripe. There should be but little, taking it altogether, as a vine two years old is too young to be allowed to bear any thing but specimen bunches. It is true, that vines of that age will often bear heavily if allowed, but the final effect of this is injurious, and only tends to weaken the

plant and reduce its capability to bear large and steady crops hereafter.

Pinch back fruit and fig-trees in pots, to ripen and improve the wood. Having followed the directions for the earlier months (calendar) of this year, in August, or September

Be

"You may begin at the lower part of the cane, and with a sharp knife cut clean out all the laterals for eight or nine feet, leaving those on the upper part of the cane for the autumn pruning. careful in doing this not to injure the bud or leaf of the cane where you cut, for from this eye your fruit is to come the next summer."

If there are any bunches of fruit on the vines, keep your house as cool and dry as possible, as this is the only means of preserving the fruit; either extra heat or moisture will occasion mildew or decay.