June, 1915.] 



THE OKClIll) WORLD. 



STAGING. 



Tllli old books oil Orchid yiowiuy- tell 

 us how the houses were heated with 

 brick flues, and of the various 

 contrivances for jjroduciny a close and humid 

 atmosphere, while the higher the temperature 

 so much the better were the plants expected 

 to grow. Now I do not suggest that anyone 

 wishes to go back to this state of things, for 

 it has long been found unsatisfactory, but 

 with regard to the staging there are still 

 various opinions concerning its structure. 

 Not so long ago all houses were built with 

 a double staging, the top portion of lattice 

 pattern, the lower one of solid composition 

 and generally covered with gravel or similar 

 material ; the intervening space being rarely 

 more than six inches. But this style seems 

 to be passing away, and we are now recom- 

 mended to allow a free circulation of air 

 round the plants, and to use but a single 

 stage, and that of lattice pattern. 



From a practical grower's point of view 

 I believe the single stage to be the best, but 

 it must only be used where the atmosphere 

 of the whole house can be kept in a suitably 

 moist condition. Of course, there are some 

 houses that have to accommodate other plants 

 than Orchids, and where this is the case it 

 is absolutely necessary that an under-stage 

 be used to produce the requisite amount of 

 atmospheric moisture, at least round about 

 that portion where the Orchids are placed. 

 But in most gardens it is now possible to 

 devote a house entirely to cool-growing 

 Orchids, and another to the warmth-loving 

 kinds, and in either case they are so 

 constructed that it is possible to maintain 

 the requisite moisture without under-staging, 

 and thus allow the plants that free circulation 

 of cur which is regarded as essential to the 

 making of a robust constitution. 



In the first place it is the hot-water pipes 

 that have a considerable influence on the 

 production of a suitable atmosphere. In 

 several houses that I have visited the pipes 

 are placed too near the staging, probably 

 with the idea that the nearer they are to the 

 plants so much the better. But this is not 



the best principle of correct Orchid culture, 

 as many have proved to their cost. In 

 houses devoted to cool-growing plants the 

 best results are obtained when the pipes are 

 at least three feet from the staging. They 

 should not lie on the ground, but about one 

 foot above, where they are near enough to 

 warm the soil and thus evaporate some of its 

 moisture. About nine inches above the pipes 

 a structure composed of tiles or similar 

 moisture-holding material should be placed, 

 this being kept continually damp in order 

 that an abundance of moisture may be sent 

 forth into the interior of the house. With 

 this arrangement there is no fear of producing 

 a dry atmosphere, for the more the pipes are 

 heated so much the more water do they 

 evaporate from the damp soil beneath and 

 the wet tiles above. Although this description 

 of the moisture-holding structure on top of 

 the pipes may read very much like that of 

 an under-staging it is m reality quite a 

 different affair. 



One other point which requires notice is 

 the shading and ventilation. Dry air entering 

 at the lower ventilators rapidly absorbs 

 moisture from the interior of the house, and 

 a rapid and continuous current of air passing 

 through the house on a hot summer's day 

 will very soon take out of it a considerable 

 quantity of moisture. Although a certain 

 amount of ventilation is absolutely necessary, 

 too great an amount is on this account 

 considerably harmful, and entails much extra 

 work in damping down. To overcome this 

 difficulty every means must be employed to 

 shade the house in a manner that will not 

 only keep out unnecessary sunshine, but also 

 prevent the house from being over-heated. 

 Prevention is better than cure, and it is easy 

 to understand that if the glass is properly 

 shaded early in the morning there will not be 

 any need for an excessive amount of dry air 

 to rush through the house. I much prefer 

 blinds fixed about twelve inches above the 

 roof, and during the greater part of the 

 summer a canvas or whitewash covering on 

 the glass itself. 



I hope from the above remarks that readers 

 will understand how by correct shading. 



