86 
THE ORCHID WORLD 
decade? It is never too late to start. But 
make a good beginning. 
To assume that ever\ body who reads these 
notes IS equipped with well-filled orchid- 
houses would be to go on more directl\" with 
my subject ; but as this is a new journal, 
presumabl)- read by many who are novices m 
the widest sense of the word, some details 
of a house such as I would recommend for 
the purpose of seed-raising may be welcome, 
and any existing structure that will lend itself 
to alteration may be so modified as to meet 
the necessa/y requirements, or a new house 
built. The building of a new glasshouse is 
a matter of much moment, and should be 
considered and debated from ever)- point of 
view, for upon it will depend very largel\- 
success or failure. To the less ambitious 
orchid-grower, who will be content to collect 
and grow orchids, with no idea of ever cross- 
breeding, the remarks on this question of 
orchid-house building will also appeal. 
Most gardens have one or more glass- 
houses, and, while many of these have been 
built on common-sense lines, there are large 
numbers — particularly those that have been 
built for many years — that are ill-adapted for 
their work, and which no amount of altera- 
tion would convert into suitable orchid- 
houses. Too frequentl)- the amateur puts 
himself into the hands of the horticultural 
builder. He knows the price he is willing to 
pay, and, finding a spot in the garden that 
seems suitable — probabl\- fits m and har- 
monises with existing buildings — he gives the 
order, with a rough outline of what he thinks 
he requires, and the bui'.der does the rest. 
I have heard of isolated cases where the 
gentleman, although employing a gardener, 
never took him into his confidence at all in 
this important matter of glass construction ; 
so that one need not wonder that so man\- 
silly structures have been built, even m quite 
recent years. 
When it is decided to build, the emplo\er 
should take his gardener into consultation and 
seriously discuss the question. The gardener 
should know what is expected to be grown 
in the house or houses, and have time to 
thresh the thing out in his own mind. It is 
also advisable that he should visit places 
where success has been achieved and stud)' 
the houses carefully, taking measurements, 
etc., adopting what he finds suitable, and 
introducing an improvement into his own 
design where it suggests itself. My own 
experience of most establishments — even 
where the glass has been constructed with 
all the foresight that mature experience can 
give — is that there is nearly always something 
not just right. Ever)'thing may look perfect 
until you have the experience of the man who 
has tested it in a practical way. I have no 
sympathy with the gentleman who, employing 
a gardener and does not consult him, meets 
with bad retu/ns from his glasshouse. 
For a collection of orchids to attain any 
eminence — and it is possible for even a small 
collection of orchids to attain some eminence 
— a first essential is for a hearty good feeling 
to exist between the grower and his employer, 
for in no other direction that I can think of 
is continuit\- of work and purpose more neces- 
sary than in the management of a collection 
of orchids, and this is doubly so where hybri- 
disation and the raising of them from seed is 
contemplated, for then one must look many 
years ahead for the result. A discouraged 
orchid-grower can never do himself justice. 
He can see no future in his work. The 
stimulus of his employer's encouragement and 
interest is wanting, and he works hopelessly 
along without an objecti\e, looking and 
yearning io: another appointment, which may 
be long in coming, and losing more and more 
every day that self-confidence without which 
no one can succeed. 
As soon as it is decided to build, the ques- 
tion of site comes in for earl)' consideration. 
Many things suggest themselves in connec- 
tion with this matter — subsoil, altitude, 
environment ; but as the individual is obvi- 
ously limited to his own locality, any dis- 
cussion of these would be fruitless, so we will 
leave them — with some regret. Besides, we 
are face to face with the fact that orchids are 
being grown excellently in all parts of the 
country, and in this we find much solace ; 
while we must also reluctantly acknowledge 
that they are being grown indifferently in all 
parts of the country. We are thus forced to 
