The OrcJiid-House. 213 



be a separate building. A portion of the greenhouse divided off by a glass 

 partition, in which the requisite heat can be obtained, will answer perfectly 

 well for most orchids ; and the plants may be rested in the greenhouse. 



To grow orchids with perfect success, and where there is a large collec- 

 tion, we need three separate houses or apartments, — the stove, or East- 

 Indian house, the intermediate or Mexican house, and the resting-house. 



The best aspect for an orchid-house is east and west ; that is, if span- 

 roofed, the house should run north and south : if the house is " lean-to," 

 let it face the south east. 



There has been much difference of opinion in regard to the adaptation 

 of lean-to houses to orchids. In England and the Continent, all the most 

 successful growers use span-roofed houses ; and we have no hesitation in 

 pronouncing them better adapted to the growth of the plants. The one 

 argument in favor of lean-to houses which is of any weight is that they 

 are more easily kept at the necessary temperature, which, in our cold win- 

 ters, it is difficult to preserve. If, however, we make our houses low (and 

 an orchid-house should be only about thirteen feet high), a span-roofed 

 house is easily heated. 



A small house may be from thirty to fifty feet in length by twelve feet 

 wide ; or, if span-roofed, double this width. It should be built like a pit, 

 the floor of the house being about three feet below the level of the ground. 

 The walls should be brick or stone, as high as the ground surface. On this 

 a heavy frame should be laid, and then sashes with heavy uprights reach 

 to the frame supporting the roof. The whole height from the ground inside 

 to the slope of the roof should be about six feet. The whole of the front 

 wall is often built of brick, which possesses many advantages , the only 

 objection being the obstruction of light. 



The pitch of the roof should be thirty to thirty-three degrees. The 

 glazing should be close : the larger the plates, the better ; but they should 

 not be above a foot in width. The northerly end should always be of 

 brick-work, as being warmer, and affording a convenient place for the 

 growth of climbing-ferns and small orchids. The southerly end should 

 be glazed with smaller glass than the roof, say twelve to fifteen inches long 

 by eleven or twelve wide. In a lean-to house, the back wall should be of 

 brick, as being more durable ; but wood may be used. 



