FOREIGN GLASS STRUCTURES. 91 



south. This immense hollow square, which would form a 

 continuous line of about three-quarters of a mile in length 

 and from twenty to thirty feet in width, is divided into numer- 

 ous compartments for stove and green-house temperature ; is 

 heated by wood burnt in flues, and was erected at a cost of 

 $200,000. 



The immense palm-house in the public gardens at Kew was 

 commenced in 1842, under the direction of Sir W. J. Hooker. 

 It is three hundred and sixty-two feet long, one hundred feet 

 wide, and sixty-six feet high at the centre, fifty feet wide and 

 thirty feet high at the wings, and required three hundred and 

 sixty thousand square feet of glass (more than eight acres) to 

 cover the vast structure. It was completed in 1848, six 

 years after its commencement, and is now filled with lofty 

 palms and other noble tropical plants, which have reached the 

 extreme height of the building. 



In Paris, in 1847, was first opened to the public the mag- 

 nificent Jardin de l'Hiver. Passing the vestibule and a concert- 

 hall one hundred feet by sixty feet, the corridor of the Jardin 

 is entered, and a view of surpassing beauty and magnificence 

 is revealed. The structure is in the form of a cross, three 

 hundred feet long and one hundred and eighty feet wide. 

 The roof, which is of iron, is exceedingly light and elegant in 

 appearance, and is supported by more than one hundred iron 

 pillars. A corridor from fifteen to twenty feet wide* extends 

 around the entire building, and also an upper gallery, about 

 thirty feet up- the pillars and six feet wide, is suspended 

 around the building. The pillars and palisades are covered 

 with trailing vines, while thousands of camelias, oranges, 

 azaleas, ericas and other choice plants are tastefully arranged 

 along the corridors. Toward the lower end the Jardin An- 

 glais is seen a grassy lawn, one hundred and fifty feet long, 

 intersected by borders of exotic trees and shrubs. Still fur- 

 ther on are fountains and rock- work. Numerous mirrors are 

 suspended upon the walls to heighten the effect. Basins of 

 gold and silver fish, and also singing-birds and birds of plu- 

 mage abound. This immense building is heated by one steam- 

 engine to a temperature of fifty-six degrees, Fahrenheit, in the 

 coldest days of winter. 



It must be borne in mind that these magnificent structures, 



