THE ORCHID WORLD. 
[April, 1913. 
Some of Mons. Firmin Lambeau's Orchid houses at Villa Vogelsang, Brussels. The method of 
shading and gearing Jor manipulating the blinds is worthy of notice. 
SHADING. 
THE shading of Orchids requires con- 
siderable care and attention, more 
especially during the early part of the 
summer, for it is then that the young growths 
are particularly sensitive to any excess of 
light, and when once they have become burnt 
and hardened further progress is rendered 
very slow. 
Many growers aim at producing a soft and 
vigorous growth during the early part of the 
season by heavily shading the houses. Plants 
so treated invariably make rapid headway 
and grow at a much quicker rate than those 
given greater light, but at the end of summer 
more light must be allowed, for unless the 
plants are sufficiently ripened they will not 
be able to withstand a long period of 
winterly weather. 
Although permanent shading has given 
excellent results in the hands of experienced 
trade growers, its use is not recommended 
to amateurs. By far the best method is to 
have shading that can be easily manipulated. 
Lath roller-blinds are excellent in this respect, 
for apart from their use as a means of pro- 
ducing shade they are very handy at night- 
time to keep off cold winds and severe frosts. 
Our illustration shows some of Mons. 
Firmin Lambeau's Orchid houses fitted with 
lath roller-blmds. The method of rolling 
them up and down by means of gearing is 
very ingenious, and considerably better than 
by the use of cords, which frequently become 
unworkable when sharp frosts prevail. 
Another method often adopted is to place 
the blinds on the house in such a way that 
the laths are parallel with the sash bars. 
When so arranged no gearing or cords are 
necessary, and the rolling up can be accom- 
plished when passing along the side of the 
house. Whichever method is adopted, an 
important point is that the blinds must be 
raised about nine inches from the glass by 
means of suitable iron or wood devices. 
Th is will allow a free circulation of air over 
the glass, and will also give room for the 
top ventilators to be opened when required. 
In the .South of England, and other places 
where the sun is particularly powerful during 
the summer months, it is a good plan, in addi- 
tion to the use of blmds, to shade the house 
b\' giving the glass a thin coating of white- 
wash. By so doing there is always some 
slight protection to the plants, should by any 
means the unrolling of the blinds be forgotten 
or the house left without an attendant. If 
the plants are left unshaded for only a few 
minutes, considerable damage may be done 
by the sunshine falling direct upon the 
leaves. 
