74 THE ORCHID. REVIEW. {Marcu, 1916. 
ages | ORCHIDS AT BRACKENHURST, PEMBURY. | 3 | 
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E have long been familiar with the fine exhibits that are staged from 
time to time at Westminster from the collection of J. Gurney 
Fowler, Esq., Treasurer of the Royal Horticultural Society, and Chairman 
of the Orchid Committee, and we welcomed an invitation received the 
other day to come and see the collection itself. About two years ago Mr. 
Gurney Fowler moved from South Woodford, Essex, to Pembury, near 
Tonbridge, Kent, where he has erected a fine new range of Orchid houses, 
with the latest improvements, and as the climatic conditions of the district 
are well suited to Orchid culture, an increased measure of success may be 
anticipated. The situation is an open one, at an elevation of over 400 feet 
above sea level, with a southern aspect, and, being entirely outside the fog 
area, the light is good during the winter months, which is an invaluable 
asset in Orchid culture. 
The range consists of six houses, about 60 feet along, in some cases 
with partitions, extending from a half-span corridor, over 30 yards long, 
and running east and west. Four of the houses are 12 feet wide, and the other 
two 21 feet. On the north side of the corridor is an additional house, devoted 
to Cymbidiums, Odontoglossums, and other Cool:Orchids. Here also is the 
Potting Shed, the Stokehole, and an office, where the records of hybridising 
operations and a fine collection of Orchid paintings are kept. The range 
is heated by a pair of Robin Hood boilers, either of which can be discon- 
nected as necessary. There is also the convenience of electric light, and 
the whole of the arrangements have been well thought out. In this Mr. 
Gurney Fowler has had the assistance of Mr. T. Armstrong, of the firm of 
Armstrong & Brown, whose long experience as a successful cultivator and 
hybridist is a guarantee that essential points have not been overlooked. 
The houses are fitted with open lattice-work stages, and canvas; blinds. on 
rollers are used for shading. Top and bottom ventilators are fitted, the 
latter consisting of wooden shutters fixed in the side walls. 
The collection generally is in excellent condition, and besides many 
interesting things in bloom, a series of choice varieties and examples of 
good culture were pointed out, of which we can only mention a few, for the 
contents of the corridor alone would exhaust the space at our disposal. 
This corridor, which has a southern aspect, is largely devoted to 
Dendrobiums, which were about at their best at the time of our visit, 
the back wall being covered with about four hundred plants in bloom, and 
making a magnificent display, the combination of rose-purple, white, and 
yellow being particularly effective. 
