tMe orchid world. 
the ridge of a large Croton house, with the 
roots hanging down and boring into the 
mounds of soil on which the Crotons were 
planted out ; and I could quote many other 
instances of individual orchids doing excep- 
tionally well with other plants ; but these 
prove nothing. What I ha\e never seen is a 
collection of epiphytal orchids — among which 
are the most gorgeous and beautiful of the 
order — grown well mixed up with other plants 
not orchids. To have a full degree of success 
with orchids they must be kept free from 
worms and all kinds of insect pests, and for 
this reason alone should be kept to them- 
selves ; but the odours, the over-shading, and 
the general conditions prevalent in houses of 
miscellaneous plants do not give the atmo- 
sphere and entourage such as is liked by 
orchids. It has been tried over and over 
again, but, go where you will, you will find 
the happiest orchids in their own company. 
I have now cursorily scanned some of the 
glass-houses in which orchids are grown, to all 
of which 1 have been aljle to find some objec- 
tion. Do not, however, let me leave the 
impression that in none of the houses men- 
tioned are orchids being grown well, for in 
all the houses mentioned — with the exception 
of conservatories such as I have described — 
instances of excellent culture may be found. 
But what I am driving at is the evolution of 
the best house, and none of these is the best, 
for the reasons I have given. 
To make a good beginning, build a span- 
roofed house running north and south. This 
house will catch the maximum amount of 
light, will be well balanced, so that each side 
will have its due share, and there will be an 
economy in internal space. We must also 
keep the roof well down ; it is better to keep 
the roof well down on the plants than resort 
to taking the plants up to the roof. The 
dimensions of this house need not be very 
great, as our first intention is to have a house 
in which to raise seed and grow small plants ; 
but it will also be large enough to accommo- 
date flowering plants if necessary, to make 
experiments in propagation, etc., and thus to 
gain gradually but surely that intimate 
acquaintance with the fundamental principles 
of orchid culture which growing them from 
seed will give. Handling them from the 
embryonic stages through all the phases ot 
their growth to flowering size is the best ot 
all education for the orchid grower. 
A cosy little house of excellent " growing " 
properties would have the following measure- 
ments : Height from apex to door-sill, / i ft. ; 
width outside, ii ft. ; and the length anything 
from 25 to 80 ft. The walls to be of g-inch 
brickwork, 4 ft. high, and the roof to rest 
directly on them, thus avoiding side lights, 
once so popular. If required, this house can 
be built long enough to be divided into two 
or three compartments, and the cooler end 
should be the one furthest from the boiler. 
Seven rows of 4-inch pipes will be sufficient 
for the warmest division of this house, and 
four rows for the coolest or Odontoglossum 
end ; if there is an intermediate department 
five rows will be sufficient. It is better to 
have a varying quantity of pipes and a free 
flow in the various departments than to rely 
entirely on the valves ; these should, however, 
be fitted in each division, and in easily got-at 
positions. The pipes must be kept well clear 
of the ground, otherwise there may be a great 
loss of heat. There should be a table of 
slates, tiles, or corrugated iron fixed a few 
inches above the pipes and overlapping them, 
to act as a break-heat ; and on this table in 
the warmer divisions coke, sand, or other 
clean moisture-holding material should be 
placed at some depth. The staging on which 
the plants are to stand should be made of 
pitch-pine, yellow deal, or other good lasting 
wood, made into convenient lengths, and be 
of open lattice-work. It should stand well 
above the lower table, which it will overlap 
considerably, so that the plants on it are in 
a measure suspended, there being a free 
movement of air through the interstices. It 
should be so fixed that part or whole could 
be raised or lowered at little trouble. There 
should be well-fitting ventilators of, say, a 
foot and a half by a foot, placed at regular 
intervals and on alternate sides along the 
apex, and' the same number or more along the 
bottom, the latter to open directly on to the 
pipes. With the blind fixtures up our house 
