CONSERVATORIES. 



369 



ing, this is effected by hot water, which, 

 entering at one corner, is made to travel 

 in six coils of 4-inch iron pipe round the 

 whole area, within a short space of the 

 boundary, and in four pipes up and 

 down the middle of the house. The pipes 

 are enclosed in drains about 3 feet deep, 

 which are connected with each other at 

 right angles by hollow chambers or drains, 

 for the purpose of conducting the heated 

 air across the space intervening between 

 one row of pipes and the other — the warm 

 air rising through shafts closed in with 

 iron gratings, and placed at distances 

 varying from 15 to 25 feet square through- 

 out the entire area. 



" In addition to the pipes, an iron tank, 

 2 feet in width, and 6 inches in depth, 

 passes all round the inside, close to the 

 glass, which comes down to the ground 

 all the way round. This tank is furnished 

 with openings for the escape of vapour, 

 which can be closed when required, and 

 an aperture, covered with a grating, is 

 left along each side of the tank, to allow 

 the heat radiated from the sides to escape 

 into the atmosphere of the house. The 

 whole is warmed by two of Burbidge and 

 Healy's ribbed boilers, each measuring 

 29 inches in width. Each boiler is pre- 

 sumed to heat 2500 feet of 4-inch pipe. 

 The chimney and boiler are at some 

 distance from the house, to which the 

 pipes are led through a covered drain." — 

 Gard. Chron. For the mode of ventilation, 

 which is, of the kind, very complete, 

 vide section Ventilation. The internal 

 arrangements are quite a departure from 

 the stiff and formal style generally fol- 

 lowed in structures of the kind. Here, 

 so far as the space enclosed will admit of 

 it, the plants are grouped in clumps, 

 while specimens of extra merit stand 

 singly, the majority of them being in a 

 portable state, so that the arrangement 

 can be varied or changed to suit existing 

 circumstances; and ample space is afforded 

 between them, so that visitors may ramble 

 amongst them with as much freedom as 

 in a shrubbery in the open air. A por- 

 tion of this fine structure is separated 

 from the main body by a glass screen, 

 and is kept at a much higher temperature, 

 to accommodate the tropical plants grow- 

 ing in it — exemplifying what we have 

 elsewhere noticed, that glass structures, 

 however large, may be partitioned off by 



VOL. I. 



glass screens, to suit any circumstances 

 of temperature or culture. In this part, a 

 very successful attempt has been made 

 to give additional interest to the interior, 

 by elevating the surface considerably, 

 and giving it the character of rock-work, 

 adding to the extent of promenade, as 

 well as placing many of the low-growing 

 plants much nearer to the light, and 

 enabling the visitor to extend the range 

 of vision over the greater part of the 

 interior. The whole structure is com- 

 posed of iron rafters and sashes, part of 

 which are movable, for the purpose of 

 ventilation. Were this structure finished 

 according to the original plan, it would 

 be one of the best specimens of hothouse 

 architecture in existence, exceeding even 

 that at Kew in the correctness of its 

 proportions — if not architectural, at least 

 cultural. 



On the subject of conservatory-build- 

 ing we have the following very sensible 

 remarks by Mr Marnock, in a leading- 

 article in " The Gardeners' Journal " : 

 " In the arrangement and construction 

 of horticultural erections of all kinds, 

 and especially such as are of large dimen- 

 sions, Light is decidedly the first and 

 most important question to be consider- 

 ed. An architect is by education taught 

 to study and apply principles which, 

 when carried into effect, as we sometimes 

 see them in the construction of conser- 

 vatories and plant-houses, are too often 

 in direct opposition to those laws which 

 nature has determined as essential to the 

 development of vegetable life. The archi- 

 tect, guided by the principles of his own 

 art, must of necessity, if the erection be 

 one of importance, introduce opaque 

 pilasters or columns of due proportion, 

 with frieze, cornice, and blocking course 

 of the same material : add to this, what 

 is a common accompaniment of ordinary 

 conservatories, the back and end walls of 

 masonry. Such conservatories may be 

 suitable asylums for the blind, but they 

 are ill adapted for the growth of plants. 

 If, therefore, our experience be worth 

 anything, nothing can compensate for 

 the want of light, nor can anything 

 justify the adoption of a single square 

 inch of opaque material in any part of 

 the roof or sides, from the level of the 

 floor upwards, except so far as the 

 strength and durability of the structure 



