CONSERVATORIES 



153 



by an artificial shading only. The artificial shading 

 may be wanted as well, but the living leafage is more 

 pictorially satisfactory as a means of representing the 

 subdued light of a tropical forest. 



And winter gardens so arranged as to give some 

 such illusion during the five dull months of our 

 northern climate are undoubtedly desirable, and for 

 the best enjoyment of plants should be arranged in 

 a free, informal manner. 



There is another class of structure, such as the 

 large Orangeries attached to old houses of the palatial 

 class, that would demand more formal treatment, 

 because the buildings themselves have a distinct 

 architectural value that should be not only recognised 

 but intentionally emphasised. These are nearly all 

 on the same general plan, with one blank wall at 

 the back and one main face pierced with large lights 

 often with arched heads, and between them impor- 

 tant pilasters that carry the cornice. And often 

 this face was designed in relation to the adjoining 

 parterre, for its original purpose was that it should 

 be a place for storing the large boxes or tubs of 

 tender trees, such as Oranges or Oleanders, that would 

 stand out on the terraces in summer. 



The modern greenhouse, on the other hand, is a 

 thing so hopelessly ugly that I consider it should 

 never intrude into dressed ground or be visible from it. 

 Any attempt at so-called ornament, of turned finials 

 or florid cast-iron ridges, only makes matters worse. 



