J^^^TMg^g- 



C0NSERVAT0RIE8. 



portion of conservatory decoration, and as, for want of such conveniences to train them 

 to, they arc much less cultivated than they deserve ; for among them some of the 

 most beautiful and profuse bloomers are to be found. A further use to which these 

 might be put, in the case of a tropical conservatory, might be to use each alternate 

 column for taking away the rain water, anil to make the others the means of heating 

 the atmosphere, the hot water ascending up the center of the column, and descending 

 down the sides. The heat, by this means, would be radiated to all parts of the house. 

 The conducting pipes, both for the flow of the hot water and its return toward the 

 boiler, should be placed under the walks, in a detached chamber, and, from these 

 pipes, branch ones might be carried under the beds to afford bottom heat when 

 required. These could easily be regulated by proper stopcocks placed on the mains, 

 and could be reached by having ornamental brass ventilators fixed in the floor, and 

 made to open sufticiently t« admit a turncock key for the purpose of turning oflf or on 

 the circulation to the beds under the plants. The branch pipes should be laid among 

 the drainage, and not in the soil of the border. Such beds might also be very 

 efficiently heated by forming brick-and-cement tanks under them, and supplying 

 them either by branch nozzles from the mains that supply the columns, or by a sepa- 

 rate set of main pipes, which would be better, as the pressure of the water in the col- 

 umns would be liable to burst the tanks, unless these were made exceedingly strong. 

 Indeed, it is always better to have separate boilers where two objects are to be served, 

 as in such a case as this. In ornamental conservatories, such as this is, when intended 

 for tropical plants, it will be found exceedingly useful to have elegant vases distribu- 

 ted through it. At times these may be occupied with single specimen plants, but 

 their legitimate use is to act as reservoirs of hot water, to be supplied by small pipes 

 passing up through them, and not only to give out heat by radiation from their sides, 

 but vapor from their tops. Vases, however, for this purpose, should be metallic, as 

 giving off" heat more rapidly than stone, composition, or earthenware ; and care 

 should be taken that they associate with the style of architecture of the house. 



In defining wherein the conservatory diff'ers from the green-house, we have said 

 above that, in the former, the plants or trees are planted out in a border of prepared 

 soil. This, however, is not absolutely necessary, nor at all times expedient. The 

 trees or plants may be grown in large tubs, boxes, or pots ; but as these are in gen- 

 eral unsightly, they may be set in a floor sunk under the level of the walks, and 

 elevated or lowered according to the depth of the tub, box, or pot — the space above 

 being covered with portable panels of cast-iron grating of ornamental pattern, so as to 

 form, when arranged, a very complete flooring. Or the boxes may be plunged, or 

 covered with stones, flints, brickbats, coarse gravel, &c., to within a few inches of the 

 floor level, and finished off" with a covering of clean gravel, moss frequently renewed, 

 or any other similar contrivance, to hide the cases in which the trees are planted — 

 leaving, however, the surface of the soil exposed to view, for the purpose of watering 

 and for the admission of air to their roots. By these latter means they will appear 

 as if planted out in the general eff'ect, but, at the same time, be capable of removal 

 when fresh arrangements are deemed expedient, or of being taken to some other 



