214 ■^'^^^ Orchid-House. 



A table about a foot wide should extend along the front of the house. 

 The pathway should be two or three feet wide along the side of the house 

 of a lean-to : if a span-roof, it may be through the centre, with broad tables 

 on each side ; or, as we consider the best and most effective arrangement, 

 a wide table may run all around the house, and the walk may be all round 

 a wide central table. The side-tables may be about three feet high : the 

 centre should be a little lower if intended for large plants. Arrangements 

 should be made for a large tank in the centre of the central table. 



Ventilation should be afforded by openings in the front wall and sliding- 

 sashes in the roof; but care should always be taken to allow the air to pass 

 over a heated surface before coming in contact with the plants. If we do 

 not wish to paint or wash the glass, it will be necessary to provide a canvas 

 awning, so arranged as to be spread and removed at pleasure. It is also 

 well in our more Northern States to have wooden shutters fitted to the 

 outside of the roof for the protection of the plants in cold winter- 

 nights. 



A pottery-room should be provided, connected with the house, and heated, 

 in order that the plants, when removed to it, may not be chilled. 



A larger house may be built on the same plan, only taking care not to 

 increase the height : orchids never do well in a high house. The interior 

 arrangements may vary considerably, according to the taste or fancy of the 

 owner. 



The material used for greenhouses is usually wood ; but, where it can 

 conveniently be obtained, iron is far better. A house made of brick, iron, 

 and glass, would last an indefinite time, and, beyond an occasional coat 

 of paint and the replacing any broken glass, would need no repairs. The 

 constant moisture of an orchid-house rots wood-work very quickly, and a 

 wooden house always affords 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 condensation is veiy 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. 



