VENTILATION AND CISTEENS. 



11 



two at the north end near the top of the house. The ven- 

 tilating shutters are made of wood, about two feet long, 

 one foot \vide ; sliding slate ventilators answer perhaps 

 better: there should be two glass ventilators at the 

 south end near the roof, as the top-lights of the house 

 are not made to slide. 



Every Orchid -house requires to be shaded. The 

 best material for shading is canvass, and there should 

 be blinds on each side of the house, with a strong lath 

 at the top to nail the canvass to, w4th a roller at the 

 bottom. The canvass must be nailed to the roller, but 

 care should be taken in doing this that the awning 

 roll up regularly from the bottom to the top. I never, 

 however, allow the canvass to be down, except when the 

 sun is powerful, for I find that too much shade is injurious 

 to most kinds of Orchids. The awning will also be useful 

 in the winter season for covering the house during a frosty 

 night, being a great protection to those plants that are 

 near the glass. It is advisable to have a covering on the 

 top of the house for the protection of the canvass when 

 rolled up, in order to keep it from the wet. 



Slate cisterns, for collecting the water which falls on 

 the roof, are very important in a house. We have cisterns 

 on each side of the house over the hot-water pipes, which 

 keep the water at the same temperature as that of the 

 house. 



The best houses for the culture of the Orchids, in my 

 opinion, are those with span roof, facing east and west, and 

 not more than 10 or 11 feet high in the centre, 17 or 

 18 feet wide, and about 60 feet long, with a glass division 

 in the centre to separate them into two houses. One for 

 those that come from the East Indies, which ought to be 

 next to the boiler ; and the other house for those that 

 come from cooler regions : there ought to be upright 



