Mr. Meston's communication, which will be found on another page, directs our attention to some points of importance on this subject It is very well known that plants on ordinary stages, whether the house be a lean-to, span-roofed, or curvilinear, do not enjoy equally the advantages of light and air; and this, beside being a great inconvenience to the gardener, prevents that symmetry of growth so desirable. Every person, who has grown only a few window plants, has observed the influence of the light and felt the necessity of turning the plants from day to day to keep them from becoming one-sided and irregular. There is also another point from which the matter should be viewed; and that is its appearance. The ordinary stages are certainly the most formal arrangements possible, and admit the exercise of taste in the grouping of plants to a very limited extent; and thus very much of the gratification which a collection of plants might afford is necessarily lost. It is impossible to inspect them all satisfactorily; and the labor of watering, cleaning, etc., is greatly augmented on these accounts alone. Some system of fitting up the interior of green-houses with groups of stages seems to us exceedingly desirable.

These would admit of the tasteful grouping of plants, as in a flower garden, and all would be accessible by foot-paths, which also, under such an arrangement, add greatly to the convenience and elegance of the house. Cast-iron appears to us to be the most suitable material for such stages, being, at the same time, durable and capable of being made light and elegant in appearance. It can not be supposed that such groups of stages would provide accommodation for so many plants in the same house as the common lean-to, triangular, or curved stages; hut this is a consideration of minor importance, as it seems to us, in private estahlishments; for one hundred plants, well grown and tastefully arranged, would certainly yield more satisfaction to the proprietor than one thousand indifferently grown and huddled together on a common stage.

The professional plant-grower must economize his space, his object being, generally, not to grow fine specimens, but to propagate and bring forward into a saleable condition as many plants as possible with a certain amount of heat and house room: all his space must be filled to the best advantage without any particular reference to appearance. Whatever method be adopted in the arrangement and display of plants in houses, it must always be borne in mind that they must be as near the glass as possible, more especially all soft-wooded plants that are liable to be drawn up into lean, lanky forms in the absence of a sufficient degree of light. Large houses generally are difficult to manage in this respect; and this is one reason why we often find very poor plants in elegant houses, and very good ones in what might be considered mere sheds. As the comfort and convenience of a dwelling are more important than the style or appearance of its architecture, so in plant-houses the first and foremost consideration always should be the well-being of the plants; but this affords no reason why good taste should not be exercised as far as may be consistent with circumstances.