SHADING. 13 



which combines all these necessary requirements. It is a 

 strong, durable, cotton netting, woven in squares, but so dose 

 as to exclude the direct rays of the sun, whilst it gives the 

 greatest amount of light attainable through shading. It 

 stands exposure much longer than canvas, and, owing ^to its 

 thick texture, may be used as a protection against frost. 

 Next to this the best material we can recommend is canvas. 

 In mounting the blinds one side must be made fast to a strong' 

 roller, and the other must be nailed to a lath fixed lengthwise 

 near the top of the sashes, care being taken that the blinds 

 are quite equal in breadth throughout, or the rollei; wUl not run 

 regular. A narrow covering should be fixed along the ridge- 

 of the house, under which the blind may rest when not in use, 

 in order to protect it from wet. The blinds and rollers may 

 be taken down during winter, as little or no shade will be 

 required during that period ; and if they are looked to after 

 damp weather, and in winter thoroughly dried and stored 

 away in a dry shed, they will last for several years. Some 

 cultivators, however, like to use them as a protection in winter 

 on frosty nights, as recommended in our Orchid Manual; 

 and when this is done, they must be rolled up at daybreak, 

 so that no light may be excluded from the plants during the 

 short winter days. 



Blinds for the sides can be made of canvas or tiffany; we 

 use and prefer the latter. The strips should have rings 

 sewed to them on both edges, to fasten on hooks, fixed in 

 the house at corresponding distances. This fixing is neces- 

 sary to prevent the wind blowing the bhnd on one side, and 

 thus exposing any part of the interior to the sun's influence' 

 in an unguarded moment. 



