64 Gardening in Egypt. 



These are usually low, span-roofed structures, known 

 in England as " pits," having their staging or platforms 

 level with the ground, and the slanting roof rising a 

 few feet above. Ample provision should be made for 

 ventilation, by having a door at each end, and the top 

 and side lights should be made to open, while a tank 

 may be let into the stage in the middle of the house 

 for the supply of water. The outside could be im- 

 proved by having a lawn and flower-beds surrounding 

 the house, and the sloping entrance tastefully decorated 

 with rock-work, or a large specimen plant each side. 

 Shade can be obtained by rolling-blinds, which should be 

 drawn up when the sun is not shining, and the roof 

 may easily be cleaned from the dust by an occasional 

 washing with the hose. The advantage of a low roof 

 is that it enables the plants to be kept near the glass, 

 which promotes strong robust growth, and prevents 

 sickly drawn plants. 



A very convenient staging which will impart a 

 tasteful appearance to the house might also be built 

 of rocks, which, if obtained from the coast, should 

 be previously soaked in fresh water to free them from 

 the salt, and then planted with Ferns, Begonia Re.r, 

 Fittonias, Lycopodiums, Marantas, Sanchezia nobilis, 

 PeperorniaS) &c., which often grow like weeds when 

 planted out, and the owner would thus have a bank 

 of foliage reaching from the ground to the roof instead 

 of an open, unsightly staging. From the roof could 

 be hung Orchids, Nepenthes (pitcher plants), Platyceriuvi 

 alcicorne (stag's horn fern), Ophioglossum pendulum (ribbon 

 fern), Eschemanthus, and other suitable plants. Houses 

 of this kind are warm in winter and protected, they are 

 also cool, and retain the moisture in the summer, by 

 being low in the ground, besides costing about half the 

 amount of a tall, elevated conservatory. 6 



The next class of plant houses, are the tall con- 

 servatories which are generally raised a step or two 

 above the ground, or at least level with it ; these may 

 be either lean-to, a tall span, or arched roof. Houses 

 of this kind are very decorative in themselves, and 



