STAGING, BEDS, ETO. 91 
lin. batten should be fixed on edge along the front, to 
prevent the shingle or whatever is used falling about. This 
iron staging is very suitable for use in stoves and forcing 
houses, where several rows of pipes run beneath, and water 
is used in large quantities. Iron supports are of course 
more expensive than wooden ones, but at the same time they 
are much more lasting, especially if kept properly painted. 
The step, or ladder, stages so frequently seen in old- 
fashioned houses are seldom used now, and scarcely ever 
by trade or market growers. They are ugly, clumsy 
contrivances at the best, exhibiting more of the sides of 
the pots than anything else, and are only allowable in lofty 
structures, where the plants would otherwise be too far 
from the glass. In wide plant-houses where there are two 
pathways and a centre staging, a kind of double ladder 
or pyramidal staging is sometimes adopted for the latter, 
and is very useful where large specimen begonias, orchids, 
or the like are grown. I have several times employed such 
stages, constructed in three tiers, and chiefly of flooring 
boards, with good effect. The centre shelf ought to be 
wider than the others, and neither of the tiers should be 
elevated too much. Asa rule, however, nurserymen prefer 
flat, or level, and rather low stages to any other form, 
where the plants can all stand on the same level, and be 
easily accessible for watering, etc., as well as below the eye, 
and therefore more effective. In Fig. 67 an admirably 
designed structure intended for the culture of orchids is 
shown. This was built by Mr. Duncan Tucker, of Totten- 
ham, to whom we are indebted for the engraving. 
With very few exceptions, houses of most kinds, and 
those intended for the growth of pot plants in particular, 
