4G orchid-grower's manual. 



require plenty of heat and sunlight. There should be upright sashes on 

 both sides of the house, with glass from twelve to fifteen inches high, 

 but not made to open. Many Orchid growers object to side sashes, and 

 sometimes recommend brickwork up to the spring of the roof, but that 

 is not, in our opinion, the best plan ; on the contrary, we would advise 

 any one about to build an Orchid house to have upright sashes on both 

 sides and at each end. 



For cool Orchids either a span-roofed structure or a lean-to may be 

 used. If a span-roofed house be decided upon, the same height of ridge 

 should be given as that recommended for Brazilian and Mexican kinds, 

 but it need not be so broad, say about twelve feet, having two side tables 

 with a path up the centre, and two rows of pipes on each side, with side 

 ventilators in the brickwork made to open, as well as top ventilators. 

 We give a plan and section of such a house on p. 45, to explain more 

 fully what we recommend. 



From experience we have found that Orchids do best with abundance 

 of light, which is the only way to ensure good strong ripe pseudobulbs 

 fit for flowering. Small houses of the size recommended are best. In 

 different parts of the country there exist large lofty houses, but in no 

 instance have we seen plants growing well in them ; such houses require 

 a great amount of fire heat to keep them at the proper night tempera- 

 ture ; Gattleyas and many other Orchids do well in them, but the 

 sized house here recommended is more suitable for the gardens of 

 amateurs about towns. 



We have used single roofs for nearly forty years, and have always 

 found them to answer well, but a few years ago double-roofed houses were 

 adopted by many Orchid growers. In no instance did any improvement 

 in the health of the plants take place, but rather the contrary, the result 

 being that after a time the system was abandoned, it having been found 

 (in some cases by dearly bought experience) that double-roofed houses 

 were a complete failure. We never had faith in the double-roofed house ; 

 and it appeared to us strange that growers of these valuable plants 

 should adopt such new ideas before they had been well tried on a small 

 scale by those who understood the treatment of this race of plants. 



The houses in our Nurseries are of the size recommended above, and 

 ho Orchid houses could aiiswer better. They have been built and used 

 more than thirty years, and are well worth inspection. They afford 



