THE ORCHID HOUSE. 55 



and the replacing any broken glass would need no re- 

 pairs. The constant moisture of an Orchid house rots 

 wood-work very quickly, and a wooden house always af- 

 fords many safe lurking-places for noisome insects. The 

 only advantage of a wooden house is that the moisture 

 condenses less rapidly. 



Where the rafters are all made of iron, the condensa- 

 tion is very great, and the continual dropping may injure 

 the plants ; but by making a small groove in each sash bar 

 to allow the water to run down to the bottom of the bar, 

 where a small zinc gutter may be provided to receive it, 

 this objection is removed. Even in a wooden house it is 

 a good plan to channel the sash bars and provide in the 

 same manner for carrying off the water. 



Unless we design to have a number of houses for Or- 

 chid culture, it is best to divide the house in the middle 

 by a glass partition ; this will give us two houses, one for 

 Orchids which come from the warmer parts of India, near 

 the heating apparatus, and the other for those which 

 come from cooler climates and which require less heat 

 and moisture. 



INTERIOR ARRANGEMENT. 



The tables around the sides of the house are for the 

 smaller pots. A slight trellis-work fastened to any back 

 or side wall is useful for such plants as Vanilla and Ren- 

 anthera ; it should be set out a few inches from the wall, 

 in order that the roots of the plants may not be chilled by 

 a cold surface. 



In the arrangement of plants care should be taken to 

 place the largest and tallest growers in the centre of the 

 table, and to grade down the plants to the sides, as thus 



