406 



PLANT-HOUSES. 



of the house and the shelves (b b, &c.) are 

 of slate. Parallel with the shelves, and 



Fig. 556. 



separating them from the narrow part of 

 the lake, are beds, (h h in ground-plan,) 

 raised feet above the level of the floor, 

 and each furnished in the middle with a 

 tank, g g, the water in which is heated 



Fig. 557. 



by a turn of the pipe passing through it. 

 At the north end, the house is closed with 

 a solid wall, covered with bark and rough 

 projections, for ferns and such plants ; at 

 the other end it opens into what is called 

 the plant-house, by two doors. The heat- 

 ing apparatus consists of a boiler, e, at 

 the close end, and of pipes running 

 through the water and under the slate 



shelves." The boiler is one by Weeks, 

 junior, formed of cylindrical pipes placed 

 in rows alternately 

 above each other, and 

 heated by one or two 

 fires, as occasion may 

 require. The pipes 

 passing through the 

 tank or lake give out 

 a genial evaporation, 

 and also keep the 

 water in a fit state for 

 syringing over the 

 plants. " From the 

 roof, as well as from 

 trees placed in the 

 centre of the lake, 

 orchidaceous plants 

 are suspended in bas- 

 kets and on logs of wood," and on the pits 

 and shelves are placed plants in pots. 



The orchid-house of S. Rucker, Esq., 

 we learn from the same authority, is 

 55 feet long, and 15 feet wide : the sides 

 are 5 feet 6 inches high. It is heated by 

 hot-water pipes, which pass along two 

 sides and one of the ends, the entrance 

 being at the other. The plants are set 

 upon a pit in the centre of the house, 

 and on stone shelves over the hot- water 

 pipes. The pit is 4 feet wide, and the 

 passages 2 feet. The water from the roof 

 is very properly collected and led by 

 pipes into a cistern under the centre 

 group of plants. The success of Mr 

 Rucker as a cultivator has been suffi- 

 ciently shown at the various exhibitions 

 of the London Horticultural Society. 



The accommodation for orchidaceous 

 plants in the gardens at Dalkeith con- 

 sists at present of two houses, of which 

 the annexed section will give a pretty 

 good idea. The house first erected is 

 heated by smoke-flues, a furnace being 

 placed at each end, these being capable of 

 being wrought together or separately. The 

 flue of the one passes across one end, along 

 the front, and, turning at the extreme 

 end, dips under the doorway, and ascends 

 the chimney at the opposite end. The 

 other flue enters the house at the opposite 

 end, and, making two turns under the 

 centre platform, dips also under the door- 

 way, and joins the other flue. A cistern 

 or tank of water extends the whole length 

 of the house, 4 feet broad and 3 feet deep, 

 supplied with water by the rain that falls 



