60 orchid-gkowkr's manual. 



The houses in our Nurseries are of the size recommendecl 

 above, and no Orchid houses could answer better. They have 

 been built and used more than twenty years, and are well 

 worth inspection. They afford plenty of room for the plants 

 to show themselves to advantage, and they have likewise 

 roomy paths, which is a great convenience, for nothing is 

 more unpleasant than not being able to inspect the plants 

 with ease and comfort. The inside dimensions of these houses 

 are forty-five feet long, eleven feet high in the centre, and 

 eighteen feet in width ; there is in each a table six feet wide up 

 the centre, and a path all round three feet wide, with side- 

 tables three feet wide, formed of slate. The floor is con- 

 creted, three inches thick, and then covered with Portland 

 cement, which forms a capital surface. The whole is heated 

 by hot water, distributed in four rows of four-inch pipes on 

 each side in the East Indian house, and three rows in the 

 Brazilian house, and each having valves to stop or turn on 

 the water as required. On both sides of the Orchid houses 

 are upright sashes, as recommended above, glazed in the 

 manner recommended in the chapter on glazing ; there are 

 three ventilators on each side in the brickwork, close to the 

 hot-water pipes, and one at the end over the doorway. There 

 are four small top-sashes, two on either side, which open 

 with hinges, and are furnished with ropes inside to draw them 

 up and down ; these are found very desirable to let out the 

 over-heated air. These ventilators have been in use for several 

 years, and are found very useful ; for if cold wind blows 

 from the one side the other can be opened, so that the chilly 

 air, which is very injurious, does not reach the plants. 



Complaints have been frequently raised against Orchidhouses, 

 on account of their excessive heat and moisture, which quite 

 prevents the enjoyment of the beautiful flowers grown in 

 them. This objection has now lost much of its force, because 



