184 ABOUT ORCHIDS. 
from their youth up, though they seem to begin 
at the beginning, ignorant enthusiasts who study 
them find woful gaps. It is little I can do in 
this matter; yet, believing that the culture of 
these plants will be as general shortly as the 
culture of pelargoniums under glass—and firmly 
convinced that he who hastens that day is a real 
benefactor to his kind—I am most anxious to do 
what lies in my power. Considering the means by 
which this end may be won, it appears necessary 
above all to avoid boring the student. He should 
be led to feel how charming is the business in 
hand even while engaged with prosaic details; 
and it seems to me, after some thought, that the 
sketch of a grand orchid nursery will best serve 
our purpose for the moment. There I can show 
at once processes and results, passing at a step 
as it were from the granary into the harvest-field, 
from the workshop to the finished and glorious 
production. 
“ An orchid farm” is no extravagant description 
of the establishment at St. Albans, There alone 
in Europe, so far as I know, three acres of ground 
are occupied by orchids exclusively. It is possible 
that larger houses might be found—everything is 
possible ; but such are devoted more or less toa 
variety of plants, and the departments are not all 
