GREEN-HOUSE AND CONSERVATORY, 



983 



nagement of the plants afterwards, than upon any particular 

 style of the building, although it must be admitted that some 

 houses of this kind are very defective. It is, however, always 

 advisable, where circumstances will admit of it, to have all the 

 sides of the house of glass, or nearly so ; but as it is seldom 

 the case, where the conservatory forms part of, or is attached 

 to the mansion, that this can be attained; in such cases, 

 therefore, one of the sides may be opaque, as in the case of 

 our plate, (see Plate,) which represents a beautiful structure of 

 this sort, built from the design of W. Atkinson, Esq. for P. C. 

 Labouchere, Esq., at his seat. Highlands, near Chelmsford. 



Conservatories have hitherto, for the most part, been fixed 

 structures ; portable houses, however, of this sort, have their 

 advantages, excellent specimens of which may be seen at 

 Cowes Castle, in the Isle of Wight, the seat of Julius Nash, 

 Esq., where, in summer, the glass doors and lights are removed, 

 leaving the plants to the enjoyment of free air, rain, and sun, 

 whilst the skeleton of the structure forms a beautiful architec- 

 tural piazza of considerable length. Other specimens occur, 

 where the whole house is removed, and the beds, flues, and 

 walks turfed over, presenting an exotic shrubbery in a per- 

 fectly novel point of view. This has been long exemplified at 

 Nuneham Courtenay, in the case of an old orange-house situ- 

 ated in the flower garden, which is thus annually removed, 

 and treated in the manner above alluded to. 



In whatever style the conservatory may be designed, in re- 

 gard to form, &c., it is of the utmost importance to the wel- 

 fare of the plants intended to be cultivated in it, that the 

 bottom be rendered perfectly dry b^ draining ; and this is the 

 more necessary, as not only the natural damp of the situation 

 has to be guarded against, but also the superabundant supplies 

 of water that may from time to time be applied, provision for 

 which should be carefully and effectually made in the first 

 erection, as it cannot be effected afterwards without much in- 

 convenience : and unless the bottoms of the borders be ren- 

 dered capable of being kept dry, little success will attend the 

 cultivation of the inmates. 



Ventilation is also of the utmost importance for the purpose 

 of keeping the plants in a healthy state, and to prevent them 



